Back Getupdates What is competitive marketing intelligence? IN Competitive Intelligence byDawnHoefferle June24,2022 Weareshapedbyourenvironment.That’struewhetherwe’retalkingaboutindividualsor organizations Companiesstartbydevelopingaproductorservicethatfillsaneedinthemarket Theygrowbycontinuingtomeetmarketdemandandthechangingneedsofthecustomer That’swhyunderstandingyourmarketandyourcompetitorsiscrucialtobusinesssuccess It’s alsoimportantfordevelopmentandframingofyourmessaging,positioning,andvalue proposition It’skeyindeterminingthechannelsyou’lluseforpromotingyourproductsand services,andwhichyou’lluseforselling Andit’stheinformationusedtosupportthego to
marketteam,endtoend.
Competitiveintelligenceiswhatfuelsmultiplelevelsofdirectionandcorporatestrategy. Competitivemarketintelligence,though,usesthesameorsimilarinformationtodefinewaysto reachthecustomerandinspirethemtospendtheirmoneyandoffertheirloyalty.Competitive intelligenceandcompetitivemarketingintelligenceareintertwined,buttheyaren’tthesame thing
What is competitive intelligence?
It’slikelyyou’realreadyfamiliarwithcompetitiveintelligence,butjustincase:competitive intelligence(CI)involvesresearching,monitoring,collecting,andanalyzingdataaboutyour competitorsandyourcompetitivespace Thepurposeistodevelopgaininsightsintowhatis happeninginyourindustryanddevelopintelligencethatcanguidetheorganizationinmaking informed,data drivendecisionsaboutgoals,strategies,andgrowthopportunities.
Thisisn’tjustaboutkeepingtrackofyourknown,directcompetitors.It’saboutunderstanding thecompetitivelandscape,whatgapsandopportunitiesexistforthecompanytoconsider,and evenwhatadjacentmarketsmightbeavailabletoyou orwhichonesmightproducenew competitorsordisruptiveproducts.
What is competitive marketing intelligence?
Ifthat’sthebasicdefinitionofcompetitiveintelligence,thenwhatiscompetitivemarketing intelligence?
Thepurposeofcompetitiveintelligenceistobetterunderstandthelandscapeatthebusiness level whatarecompetitorsdoing,whatcouldtheybedoing,andwhatsignalsaretheysending thattheymightbedoinginthefuture?
Competitivemarketingintelligence,ontheotherhand,looksintheotherdirection atthe customer Itseekstounderstand:
Howdocustomersuseyourcompetitor’sproducts?
What’smostimportanttoyourstakeholderaudience?
Howdocustomersuseyourproducts?
Howdotheyfeelaboutyourbrandandyourcompetitors?
Whatarethepainpointsyouraudienceistryingtosolve?
Howdopotentialcustomersviewyourproductsincontrasttoyourcompetitors?
Etc
Competitiveintelligenceandcompetitivemarketingintelligenceisn’taneither/orscenario.They servethesamepurpose ensuringthatthecompanycanmakeinformeddecisions buttheydo sowithadifferentperspective Oneishowtorespondandanticipatecompetitormoves the otherishowtobetterhelpandspeaktopotentialbuyersandusedtodevelopabettercustomer experience
Tobesure,optimizingthecustomerexperience frominterestthroughpurchase,use,and advocacy isjustasimportantasunderstandingthecompetitivelandscape Customer experienceisnowacompetitiveadvantage,andsometimestheonlything intheconsumer’s mind separatingoneproductfromanother Companiesthatprioritizethecustomerexperience aremorelikelytoweathereconomicchallengeswell accordingtoMcKinsey&Co.thosethat didsointhelastrecessionrealized3Xshareholderreturns.
Sources of competitive marketing intelligence
Onceyouunderstandtheanswerto“Whatiscompetitivemarketingintelligence?”andits differencetotraditionalcompetitiveintelligence,thenextstepistobeginactingonthat knowledge.Collectingtherightinformationtoanalyzerequireslookingintherightplaces.Here areafewplacestosourcethisinformationfrom:
Competitor’swebsites:Acompetitor’ssiteisagreatplacetolookforinformationfor competitiveintelligence,butitcanalsopointtowardcompetitivemarketingintelligence insightsaswell Watchforchangesinlayoutormessagingonthesite,aswellaswhatsorts ofleadmagnetsthecompanyisusing Eventhekeywordstheytargetcansaymuchabout theirowncustomerresearchanditsresults.
Productreviews:Thesecanbeawealthofcompetitivemarketingintelligence.Customer sentimentcomesthroughclearlyinincentivizedreviews,andtheycanalsoofferasenseof theimpactacompetitor’smessagingishavingonitsintendedaudience Infact,even lookingatwhoisleavingareviewcanpointtowhichaudiencesyourcompetitorislanding wellwith,andwhichonestheyarenot.
Thirdpartyarticlesandblogs:Whatarebloggersinthespacesayingaboutyouand aboutcompetitors?What’sthefeedbacktheyaregiving?Whendotheymentionyour productsandthoseofyourcompetitors,andinwhatcontext?
Socialmedia:Similartoproductreviews,socialmediacanbeagoldmineofcustomer sentiment.Don’tlimityourselftojustTwitter,Facebook,andLinkedIn alsoconsidersites likeReddit,whereconsumersopenlydiscussaproduct’sperformanceaswellasthe effectivenessofmarketingmessagesandcampaigns Thiscanalsoprovideinsightsonyour ownbuyerpersonas.
Marketreports:Thesethird partyreportsarecrucialforcompetitiveintelligenceand marketingintelligencealike,especiallywhentiedtoothermovementsbyyourcompetitors Forexample,ifareportshowsagrowthforecastforanorganization,istherea correspondingchangetomessagingorhowtheyaddressaudienceneeds?Aretherenew products,andwhatistheconsumerneedthatthosefill?Tiethattogetherwithlaterreports tocompletethestory
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sharedwiththerestofthego to marketteam.Addingsystematicresearchandreviewofthe competitivemarketingintelligencespacewillgiveyoutherunwaytoseechangescomingand makedecisionsconfidently
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