Why is it necessary to reinvent ourselves when we talk about competitive intelligence? Basically, because digital is a path of constant disruption, with permanent innovation, which subjects the teams whose mission is to extract intelligence from data and turn it into business for their companies to new and unforeseen challenges. Talking about intelligence means talking about finding and interpreting data, in an environment with an online presence and an exponentially growing digital footprint, which requires the development of new practices and processes in each of the phases of the task.
That is why it is good to keep abreast of developments in markets with greater knowledge in the field, and if we talk about "spearhead" we must inevitably look to the Anglo-Saxon market, where we can obtain reports and note trends in terms of competitive intelligence. One of the reference firms in this regard is Crayon, which will shortly bring its 2019 Competitive and Market Intelligence report. So it is a good time to take a fleeting glance back and note what this report, which according to its authors is the most extensive on the subject, showed last year. 700 interviews in decision-making positions over four months, the findings of which can be addressed by following this link.
The executive summary of the report provides some noteworthy theses:
- Small companies may struggle to invest in competitive and market intelligence techniques, but for large companies it is no longer a novelty: 89% of large companies have staff dedicated to this task, and 1 in 4 (26%) use three or more Competitive Intelligence tools.
- Many of the teams, programmes and initiatives are, however, newly or very recently created, with 4 out of 10 then in their first year of operation, and only 1 in 5 (22%) with clear and defined objectives.
- Almost half (49%) saw quantitative benefits directly linked to the adoption of these techniques, and a higher percentage (61%, including the above percentage) considered that there were at least qualitative benefits.)
- A sign of how much virgin road remains to be traveled is that almost half (43%) of the time spent on competitive intelligence is given over to research tasks, while the remainder is spent on analysis or research. It's indicative of the market's still immaturity, which is reinforced when you consider that most reported tracking 10 or fewer data sources, "which doesn't even begin to cover a company's digital footprint," the report's authors noted.
- Despite all of the above, the vast majority (77%) felt even then that having a holistic view of competitor intelligence is important for business success. And for a similar percentage (79%) having such information in a timely manner is a critical success factor, even though gathering all the information can be time consuming.
- Moreover, there is a general consensus that all this work is of little use if it does not end up in the hands of the relevant positions in a company. This is shocking in view of the "primary" system (e-mail, 84%), which is used to transmit intelligence.
We will keep an eye on the update of this report to compare the evolution from one year to the next. We are sure we can take note of the main developments and share them on our blog, which is always aimed at adding value to the activities that generate the most business for our clients.
Photo by Jonathan Klok on Unsplash
