The importance of competitive intelligence in businesses

In order for a business to be competitive in its particular marketplace it must constantly be aware of its competitors’ practices, products and services. Doing this will create an effective marketing strategy that will drive customers away from its competitors. This process called competitive intelligence.

Competitive Intelligence is the gathering and analyzing of data about products, customers, competitors and other aspect of the environment that helps you formulate an effective marketing and business plan or make business decisions. The one most important piece of the competitive intelligence process would be to understand what your competitors are doing and use that information and analysis to gain a business edge. This might seem like an uncomfortable proposition; the good news is that you can learn a lot about what your competitors are doing without compromising any ethical boundaries.

Here are some reasons why gathering competitive intelligence is important for any business marketing strategy:

1. 1. With a list of data you become aware of the market dynamics and you are able to know when you are being outsmarted or if you are in fact outperforming in the competition.
2. 2. Gathering those data could give you complete knowledge of the external business environment which can influence your marketing strategy as well as the long term view for your company.
3. 3. You can make a risk assessment by knowing the changes happening in the market and how they will influence your own business.
4. 4. With competitive intelligence, you could analyze any opportunities for your products, whereas a segment ignored by your competition can be immediately taken over by your products.
5. 5. You learn from your competitors’ mistakes. It is great to make mistakes on trying unique initiatives so you can learn and don’t repeat the mistake again. Having somebody else make the mistake to learn from is even better, though, as there is no cost.

Businesses, especially those at the top, should be updated in competition data on a daily basis for them to be able to survive in today’s competitive world. There are various sources in corporate marketing from whom you could gather market data and develop competitive intelligence that helps your business be competitive in your market.

FH Cooper Llc, an international marketing organization, is dedicated to giving businesses competitive, strategic and effective technology marketing solutions. Learn more at https://cooperllc.net/.