One of BRAINTRUST's areas of expertise is "competitive intelligence," a term that is still unfamiliar to many companies, yet one of the most profitable investments they can make. In this post, we aim to shed some light on this concept, which is used fluently and with ease on the other side of the Atlantic and is proving to be one of the most important assets any company can have.
To understand the concept of competitive intelligence, we can refer to the definition provided by the Spanish Association for Quality (AEC), which explains on its website that it is a process of "obtaining, analyzing, interpreting, and disseminating information of strategic value about the industry and competitors, which is transmitted to decision-makers at the appropriate time." This is undoubtedly a barrage of words with considerable weight that are worth repeating: one, information of strategic value; two, competitors; three, decision-making; and four, and no less important, the right moment.
Competitive intelligence connects with multiple disciplines from which it draws and to which it in turn returns a differentiated and optimized approach. Does it have to do with marketing? Yes, but unlike static or seasonal market analysis, in this discipline we identify facts and evidence that are valuable for competitiveness, and not just about the market itself. Is it related to technological development? Obviously, but always to the extent that it determines actions based on strategic movements in the environment. Is it related to process innovation? Yes, insofar as its objective is to anticipate the capabilities of competitors. And it guides all these disciplines in their subsequent activity, because it is capable of generating marketing based on facts and evidence, technological development inspired by the environment, and process innovation that looks not inward, but toward anticipation of the market. There is even a Spanish standard, UNE 166006:2011, which covers many of the aspects we have just discussed: R&D&I Management: Technology Watch and Competitive Intelligence System. The standard also includes references to development, innovation, and technology.
We go beyond the norm. At BRAINTRUST, we add the "customer" as a fundamental piece of the puzzle, and we monitor the "environment" (macroeconomic, sectoral, and regulatory framework), seeking differentiation. At BRAINTRUST, we are experts in analyzing the market, the competition, and the customer, both nationally and internationally, and we provide a methodology that has been tested and successfully implemented in various countries (Spain, Portugal, Chile, and Brazil, among others), as well as in multiple sectors. We currently have various "observatories" in place with a methodology applicable to areas such as Energy, Telco, Insurance, and Health, where we have always worked for the leading companies in each of these sectors.
Of these observatories, we must highlight what we call"360º CompetitorObservatories," which develop and implement a methodology that has been proven over the last 10 years. Their purpose is to collect information on a market and an industry, analyze it continuously, and issue alerts on the most significant milestones of the competition. Its scope can be summarized as obtaining allabove- andbelow-the-line(ATL and BTL) actions through a panel of our own customers and those of our competitors, stimulating key study processes, analyzing tactical offerings, and monitoring sector indicators. Beyond a mere theoretical exercise, the Observatory is strongly practice-oriented, as its implementation yields deliverables for the client such as the "Monthly Competition Table," weekly reports, the "Marketing Tracking Tool," and ad-hoc studies requested on a monthly basis.
Our experience in Competitive Intelligence is complemented by the Innovation Observatory, the Process Benchmark, and the Customer ExperienceMaturity Model. The first helps us detect innovations in the environment, in our client's sector, or in related sectors, so we can create a file on them and study their possible cases and applications. Thanks to the unique features of the BRAINTRUST Benchmark, we have an exclusive ability to complement internal analyses with a benchmark view of the client's activity compared to that of its competitors. Finally, our maturity model allows us to perform a precise analysis of the level of service offered by our client's competitors, to determine the experience they generate in the market and to provide guidelines on the policy to be adopted in this area.
These are the broad outlines of competitive intelligence and how we understand it at BRAINTRUST. We are convinced that every step we can facilitate by applying this discipline is a boost to our clients' business lines, and that is why we want to continue to be one of the leading consultancies in this field. More than just a buzzword, competitive intelligence sets the right direction, the right course, and goals linked to improvement, consolidation, and growth.
