Free Competitive Intelligence? Try Some Win Loss, On the House

To get your sales intelligence started right in 2008, Primary Intelligence is offering a free review of one of your recent sales opportunities. Whether you want to replicate a recent success or find out how “the big one got away,” Win Loss is the perfect feedback mechanism to discover the truth behind prospects and their decision-making process.

You might also want to know what is keeping your mid-market from expanding or understand recent sales efforts in a new market. There are literally dozens of reasons why Win Loss feedback would make sense for your company.

Let me know if you’re interested. I’ll hook you up with an account representative that will help show you whether our services are right for your company and your sales environment. You can reach me (Chris) at cdalley@primary-intel.com, 801-838-9600 x5050)

And, you never know. You might find that the competitive intelligence we provide through Win Loss might be a whole lot more actionable than some of the “tried and true” secondary sources most people are used to using.

If you are a current Primary Intelligence client, I’m afraid that this offer likely doesn’t apply. For that, you have my apologies. However, talk to your account representative. They’ll try to find a way to take care of you.

Competitive Intelligence Tip #3 for 2008 – Leverage Your Intel to Beat the Competition to the Battlefield

In a marketing case study published by SCIP way back in 2001, the following description of the competitive environment illustrated the need to involve more sales and marketing people within the competitive intelligence efforts.

“A truism: In the face of economic uncertainty, companies must be more aggressive in order to gain competitive advantage. A fact: Under pressure to deliver against difficult odds, sales and marketing groups increasingly are being embedded into company-wide CI operations. The result: A real difference in revenue generation, from winning a small sale, to taking advantage of a major market opportunity.”

In a case study of Merck’s intelligence efforts, a description of the objectives included the following:

“The project involved re-positioning a current Merck drug so that it claimed the competitive space a rival's product was aiming to occupy -- thus delaying the competitor's launch to the point where, because of patent expiration timetables, a major rollout no longer made financial sense.

Summed up, this project involved using publicly available data to predetermine the competitor's plans for marketing and positioning a brand still in development. Once anticipated, a pre-emptive counterstrategy was conceived and employed by Merck, by repositioning a product already on the market. This forced the competitor to conduct new trials to reposition its brand, resulting in a significant delay in market entry, and allowing Merck's existing brand to enjoy sustained growth and increased market share.

While the specifics may relate to pharmaceuticals, basic CI technique was at the heart of this success. Early warning of the competitor's intentions was gleaned by attending professional medical meetings and gathering public domain information such as efficacy and safety data, and clinical trial results -- providing clues on how a forthcoming development may be marketed.

‘We found that the message around the competitor's product, which hadn't been introduced yet, was very strong. Not only strong, but in a market segment that no one else occupied," related Mr. Kalb. "Our own original data about a Merck product showed if our product was positioned in the same area where their product was most likely going to be positioned, we could block them. We could get into their space before they got there, and occupy it in a way that prevented them from claiming a unique selling proposition.’”

Merck ended up running simulations of marketing messages, strategies, product marketing and attempted to anticipate where the competitor’s product would be of most value. As a result of these exercises, Merck was able to beat the competitor to its intended market, causing the competitor to delay its product launch 18-24 months due to repositioning efforts. Additionally, Merck was able to take advantage of being first to market and weakening all subsequent efforts of the competitor.

Merck estimated a gain of $150-200 million over the competitor due to its competitive intelligence project, which was still bringing in gains. These gains may have eventually total out somewhere in the $300-400 million range.

Not a bad bit of ROI for a hard working competitive intelligence team.

Not every competitive intelligence initiative is such a big hit. In fact, some CI efforts do little more than monitor trends. But, if you are in a position to understand company strategy, future direction and aspirations, you need to step away from the day-to-day and examine how your current CI might lead to bigger insights. If you can improve your company’s overall performance by just 1-5% with intelligence, the ROI story can be very impressive.

And remember. Every extra dollar you earn for your company is a dollar your competition will never see.

Competitive Intelligence Tip #1 - Make Your CI Produce Revenue

In a post by Jan P. Herring titled “How Much is Your Competitive Intelligence Worth,” the distinction between information and intelligence is made in a way that speaks to me:

“In the final analysis you can evaluate your company’s CI effort if you properly define what and how you intend to measure. In my experience, senior level users of BI/CI are not as interested in financial or quantitative measures of your CI products & services as they are in having intelligence that visibly affects their decision-making or business actions in a positive fashion. They do, however, expect to see some form of related action. Those actions that result in grater sales, profits, or other measures of business success are the most valued.

An old friend and associate, Robert Steele, probably put it best, “Information costs money. Intelligence makes money!” Essentially, any competitive information that a business manager acts on becomes intelligence. And, intelligence used by a company that makes money is good intelligence!”

He also discusses various ways that Competitive Intelligence can produce ROI, but more importantly, can be measured to validate the ROI:

Time saving: Savings for both professional and support personnel

Cost savings: Elimination or reduction in expenses

Cost avoidance: Elimination of planned expenses

Revenue increases: Increases in the number of sales or size of sales

Value added: Benefits not easily related to specific dollar values, e.g., more effective strategies or better new products and services.

In so many places, we have tried to espouse the same message. Competitive intelligence professionals need to be looking for the ROI in their initiatives. Or, too often, you will be known as the producer of information, not intelligence. And, really? What value is there in that?

Links to other Primary Intelligence thoughts on CI/ROI
Webinar: CI with ROI
Another Endorsement for Win Loss Analysis
Competitive Intelligence – The Difference Between “Interesting” and “Effective”
What are the top challenges with regards to Competitive Intelligence?
Making Competitive Intelligence Effective with Cross-functional Teams (Part 2 of 4)
Increasing ROI from Competitive Intelligence Efforts
Analytics in Competitive Intelligence: Stated Importance vs. Derived Importance

Competitive Intelligence Newsletter – Before Battle, Know Your Competition

This week, the cover story by Thayne Johnson provides an insightful look into competitive intelligence methods that show competitor movements in real time.. You’ll also find information on how Sales Intelligence matters to your success. Finally, a report from ES Research Group will help your sales leadership make sense of sales effectiveness enhancement companies.

Cover Story
Sun Tzu Says Know Your Competition
By Thayne Johnson, Primary IntelligenceThe war of business may not be carried out with weapons of war, but battles over prospects, budgets and market share are fought every day. The casualties of war are growth, personal opportunity and in some cases, companies that fall by the wayside. Just like in an army, every member of a business has to take a part in the competitive nature of the business battleground...(For more, click here)

Announcing the 2008 Sales Training Vendor Guide
Corporations continue to spend a significant portion of their revenues on sales training. Unchanged from last year, enterprises spend between $4 billion and $7 billion per year training sales professionals. Of all the excellent sales training vendors out there, only a few are a fit for your organization. This ESR/InDepth™ Report is designed to help your organization increase the return on your sales training investment.
ES Research Group has compiled their findings into a 200 page report. This 3rd party evaluation is a “must read” for companies seeking sales performance enhancement.
For a free summary, CLICK HERE.

BlogCentral
What is Sales Intelligence and Why Does it Matter?
If a business exists to make money (and really, what other purpose does the business entity have?) as efficiently as possible, and the role of sales is to create the revenue streams as effectively as possible, then isn’t sales intelligence...(For more, click here)

The A-List Archive
Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Selects Siemens. What Were the Key Value Factors?
Originally Published in December 2004.
Executives at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital wanted to enhance their medical information systems by upgrading and expanding their current technology. An evaluation of MEDITECH, Eclipsys, and Siemens resulted in the selection of a number of Siemens applications, including several from its Soarian product line. Although Siemens was the incumbent provider, this had very little to do with the decision...(For more, click here)

Using Win Loss to Win Back Business (After they have experienced the competition)

During our most recent webinar (hosted on 10/25/2007 and available for download here), Ron Sathoff and I talked about three of the biggest benefits of Win Loss. One of those points was the ability to win back business that was previously lost to a competitor.

At Primary Intelligence, we emphasize competitive intelligence that will help your sales, marketing and business development organizations create more revenue, strengthen competitive positioning and refine value propositions to be more effective than your competitors. Our goal is to provide your company with increased revenue through your sales and marketing efforts.

How do we do this? Primarily, we use Win Loss studies to measure competitive performance during some of the most valuable times; namely, when your company, product and sales performance are being compared with your direct competitors. We also take the opportunity to ask about the key loyalty drivers based on their current experience with their new vendor.

Using these data, combined with additional client satisfaction questions based on their current experience, Primary Intelligence provides a win-back index that helps prioritize sales and account management efforts with your lost deals long before their current vendor starts to worry about retention.

Imagine begin able to target your competitors’ defectors before the competitors can develop retention strategies.

One of our current health insurance clients said that using this system, they were able to win back 7 of 30 losses within 12 months of the initial loss. What would a 23% win back rate do for your company’s top line revenue?

If you have any questions, experiences or thoughts, let me know. I’d enjoy talking with you to understand how you achieve these same types of results. (cdalley@primary-intel.com, 801-838-9600 x5050)

Using Win Loss to Produce Tactical Competitive Intelligence

During our most recent webinar (hosted on 10/25/2007 and available for download here ), Ron Sathoff and I talked about three of the biggest benefits of Win Loss. One of those points was the level of actionable competitive intelligence that is available through debriefs of your recent sales prospects.

At Primary Intelligence, we emphasize competitive intelligence that will help your sales, marketing and business development organizations create more revenue, strengthen competitive positioning and refine value propositions to be more effective than your competitors.

How do we do this? Primarily, we use Win Loss studies to measure competitive performance during some of the most valuable times; namely, when your company, product and sales performance are being compared with your direct competitors.

Some examples of this type of reporting and analysis include:

Competitive landscape analysis:


The chart above shows the frequency of encounters with specific competitors. In many cases, we’ll identify changing trends in the major players in different industries. We help show when the boutiques and upstarts are gaining traction. We’ll show the competitors that fight the hardest and those that fall by the wayside when you are in the opportunity. Of course, all of these findings can be filtered by vertical, company size, etc…

Competitive Performance Analysis


To increase your effectiveness and win more business, you have to know where you compare on key decision-making criteria versus you strongest competitors. Your prospects watched you perform and compared your capabilities with other companies in the deals. Over time, your strengths rise to the top while your weaknesses become very apparent.

With this type of intelligence, you can pinpoint today’s strengths and tomorrow’s improvements. Make sure that you are able to address perceived areas of deficiencies before the competition can exploit them.

Not only will this information help you sell more effectively, but you can keep tabs on the competition. Over time, you can watch where their strengths and weakness scores move. You can infer the areas that the competition has targeted for improvement and move to counter their gains.

SWOT Tables, Illustrated with Examples


Finally, let’s make the Strengths and Weaknesses section of the SWOT mean something. Direct quotes from your prospects explaining specific strengths and weaknesses put teeth into your recommendations. Sales people usually like this stuff the best because they can read a few sentences and use that information right away.

Boy. Today’s post has really come across as a commercial… more so than usual. But, that’s the way things go some days.. even in Australia. (Gold stars for anyone that posts or replies to me with the source of the “even in Australia” comment.)

Competitive Intelligence and the Marketing Department Merging (Old News, Interesting Article)

Yesterday, Jon Lowder of SCIP, posted various CI related links, one of which describes the continuing trend to combine sales and marketing efforts.

The article is two years old and written from the pharmaceutical industry. However, I found the overall content interesting and recommend that you give it a read, too.

(Teaser) One of the statements that took me a bit by surprise was, “some experts argue that market research is just a subset of competitive intelligence.[CBD1] ” My personal observation is that CI usually lives side-by-side or as a subset of market research. Please, let me know if you are in a company where market research is a subset of competitive intelligence.

The article can be found HERE. I’ll give you a few paragraphs to whet your appetite:

More companies are folding Competitive Intelligence departments into Market Research. Here's why that strategy makes sense—and some hints on making the new relationship work.

That sort of insight has led to the latest trend in the world of competitive intelligence. Recognizing that competitive intelligence and market research overlap, companies across multiple industries are combining the two functions. The jury is still out on how effective this strategy will be in the long run, and on what the best way is to structure the two functions to work well together. But in the meantime, market-research groups have been turning their attention more and more toward collecting and analyzing competitive intelligence to support specific product goals. The pharmaceutical industry in particular has been integrating competitive-intelligence and market-research efforts to engender greater strategic impact from their market-research functions.

Fifty years ago, market-research groups enjoyed vast resources—large budgets and staffs to support almost any research need—as the industry began to adapt to more consumer-driven markets. Slowly, though, companies pulled back their market-research dollars and eventually shrank internal market-research groups to one or two team members.


The pharma industry witnessed some of the most drastic cuts in market-research resources. In the mid-1980s, pharmaceutical market-research teams were almost non-existent, even in the most-respected firms. Outsourcing became a quiet solution to data collection and cost savings. Most pharma companies outsourced all their market-research work during the 1980s.

The 1990s, however, saw a shift back to building internal market-research teams, which has lasted to the present. Those teams were built to support the blockbuster generation: Find a market gap, use the data to develop a first-to-market product, and brace yourself for the sales upswing. As scores of blockbuster products approach patent expiration and companies begin looking to lifecycle management teams to expand their franchises, market-research resources are settling to a more comfortable size... (for more, click here)

Competitive Intelligence Newsletter: Double Your Money: Win Back Lost Sales…

In this week’s cover story, Mike Brose talks about the double benefit of winning back accounts that were never yours. And, don’t forget to download our recent webinar: Three Benefits of Win Loss You Can’t Ignore

Cover Story
Double Your Money: Win Back Lost Sales with Intelligence
By Mike Brose, Primary Intelligence
Too often, companies are willing to wave "goodbye" to lost prospects, hoping that, "Someday, they'll give us another shot." In essence, the effort that was put into selling is dismissed. Rare is the company that has a formal win back program. But these companies have learned very clearly just how profitable those programs can be... (For more, click here)

BlogCentral
Why is Competitive Intelligence Not Effective?
In short, does your company make changes to increase revenues and profitability based on your intelligence efforts? Based on our experience, if you are like most companies, the effect of your intelligence efforts are minimized and, often, substantially... (For more, click here)

The A-List
iLinc Wins Pfizer Contract with Mixture of Technology, Content and Customer Focus
Originally Published in December 2004.
Executives at Pfizer's Global Learning and Development Group wanted to upgrade its training and assessment tools for its pharmaceutical sales personnel. The three short-list vendors were required to submit proposals, which were evaluated by DeLosa and a team of Pfizer personnel from strategic services and healthcare systems training. Although the proposals were intended to be the main element of the evaluation process... (For more, click here)

Effective Competitive Intelligence - Problem 5 - Acceptance

In my last post, I started talking again about effective competitive intelligence. Again, my definition of effectiveness is:

– Strengthen your company’s position
• How is our value proposition perceived?
• What is the competition doing?
• Which industry-wide best practices will truly apply?
– Discover new markets
• What is possible with new technologies?
• Where should we steer the company?
– Develop new products/services/solutions
• What problems do our clients experience that we can address?

So, you (the intelligence professional) have figured out how to develop an intelligence program that provides the right information at the right time. You have listened to intelligence needs, adapted your techniques to generate information that has been requested and you have time on everyone’s calendar to present findings.

So, you have done everything right. Personal and professional success are yours, right? Hopefully so, but, no guarantees.

In a recent poll, Primary Intelligence found that 51% of sales, market or competitive intelligence people said that their executives were either mediocre or poor at using intelligence. At best, they listened to intelligence briefs but rarely incorporated the intelligence into their decision-making processes.

This same topic was addressed in our recent webinar which can be downloaded HERE.

The truth of the matter is that executives may or may not rely on intelligence to make strategic decisions. Very few executives receive formal training on the use of information and too few know how to accurately assess the value of different information sources.

To be clear, I’m not questioning the intelligence of corporate leaders. And, I am also happy to acknowledge the fact that a large percentage of executives are intelligence driven. But, the reality of the situation is that a great number of intelligence professionals work in companies where the value of their efforts will not be fully realized.

So, assess your situation. Figure out where you are. And remember, if nobody will listen, it doesn’t matter how loudly you shout.


If your goal is to make a difference in your company with your efforts, you need to be honest with yourself about your (or your department’s) ability to engage the executive level. If you can’t see that happening in the near future, either find a situation that will allow you to accomplish your goals or readjust your expectations. Anything else is fooling yourself, or drawing a paycheck. (No disgrace in feeding the family). Make sure you learn as much as you can in order to improve the résumé while you’re there.

I am personally associated with a gentleman that moved through three different companies in a 12 month period until he found a situation where he had potential to provide guidance at the executive level. When he was hired at the last company, he was brought on to provide competitive intelligence. Now, he is part of regular strategy meetings. He found a company that was receptive to his efforts and proved the worth of his skills and experience. He went for his goal.

As a last thought, answer this question about your company’s commitment to intelligence: ““If we find intelligence to answer our most pressing questions, are we willing to change?”

Let me know what you think. If you are in a great situation (or otherwise), I would enjoy hearing from you. (cdalley@primary-intel.com, 801-838-9600 x5050)

Webinar Invitation - Three Benefits of Win Loss You Can't Ignore

In the last five years, Win Loss analysis has gone from a little known niche project to a recognized best practice. In the most progressive companies, executives demand that sales, marketing, and product development listen to Win Loss feedback and work together to become more competitive.

The opportunity to increase your sales and marketing success sits right at your doorstep. But, do you have everything you need to achieve the greatest potential? Can you make simple changes that will result in gargantuan increases?

Primary Intelligence would like to invite you to a presentation that will show:
• How to increase market share with predictive analytics
• Competitive Intelligence with insight rarely seen
• Win back programs that really work

Date:
Thursday, October 25, 2007

Time:
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT
1:00 PM - 2:00 CDT
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM MDT
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PDT

REGISTER HERE

Those that will benefit include:
• Marketing leaders
• Market research managers
• Market and Industry analysts
• Product development managers
• Sales leaders
• Corporate leadership positions (CEO, CMO, CSO)

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now

https://www.gotomeeting.com/register/913347113

Effective Competitive Intelligence – Timeliness is Key

In my last post, I started talking again about effective competitive intelligence. Again, my definition of effectiveness is:

– Strengthen your company’s position
• How is our value proposition perceived?
• What is the competition doing?
• Which industry-wide best practices will truly apply?
– Discover new markets
• What is possible with new technologies?
• Where should we steer the company?
– Develop new products/services/solutions
• What problems do our clients experience that we can address?

One of the biggest obstacles to creating effective competitive intelligence is the timeliness of the data. If intelligence is not available at the moment of need, it does little good. And the value deteriorates quickly after the decision for which it was generated has been made. In other words, intelligence should be present before decisions are made as often as possible.

To judge your situation, ask yourself:

How much time passes between question and answer?

How out of date is the intelligence after it is finally collected?

Can spontaneous requests for intelligence be fulfilled in a timely manner?

In my experience, the timeliness issue is magnified in two scenarios: First, if your company has a reactive approach to intelligence and second, if your company has not yet developed a consistent intelligence plan to feed its strategic decision-making process.

The first example is characterized by companies that do not typically rely on intelligence. The reactive approach goes something like this: “We just lost [major account] to who? Find out why!” Or, “When did [company] start [entering our space/offering new features/pricing us out of the market]?” There isn’t anything wrong with being surprised by a market event. But, if surprising market events are the driving force for your intelligence, timeliness is going to be an issue. Unfortunately, it probably isn’t your biggest issue.

The second example may be the result of a company that has not yet consistently incorporated intelligence at the highest levels. In this case, you or your department has some selling to do. You are going to have to make a case for the benefits of your intelligence, ability to deliver and willingness to produce and analyze the information that is most applicable to the current ideas in the boardroom. You have to find the channels that will eventually grant you access to those people.

If you review the definition above, you’ll see that effective intelligence often has to be placed in the hands of senior management, at the least. Otherwise, how will the most productive changes be made?

Webinar Wrap-up: Effective Competitive Intelligence

Last Thursday, Mike Brose and I hosted a webinar called, “The Sad Story of Intelligence that Didn’t Make a Difference.” That is a fairly lengthy title and I’ll work on being more concise in the future.

But I digress…

Over time, we have seen many organizations that spend money on intelligence initiatives. Those initiatives might be market, sales or competitive intelligence. Most every company conducts some form of intelligence gathering. Whether primary or secondary, the intelligence is deemed important enough to have an effect on the success of the business.

However, we have also observed that many companies spend resources on the gathering of intelligence but have very little commitment to the use of that information. Rarely will a business spend so much money with so little regard for the potential return on investment. I take that back. Advertising seems to often fall into that category. But, that’s not the topic…

The topic of the webinar was based on helping companies make more effective use of the intelligence at hand. We expressed that we were not so concerned with the source or topic of the intelligence. Instead, we suggested how any type of intelligence might display more potential simply by making sure that it would be acted upon.

If you would like to download a copy of the presentation, please click HERE


And, if you would like a summary, delivered in person, or would like to subscribe to our webinar notifications, send me an email and I’ll make sure to keep you in the loop. (cdalley@primary-intel.com, 801-838-9600 x5050)

Competitive Intelligence – The Difference Between “Interesting” and “Effective”

I always think that it is critical to make your competitive intelligence efforts as effective as possible. Over time, we at Primary Intelligence have seen so many initiatives, either in play or proposed, that seek to know just about anything you can imagine. Many requests have been merely puzzling while others have been, at best, illegal.

These questionable requests include things like: (Skip to the bottom of the list to resume the idea of the thread)

How is LaborFree’s sales organization structured (numbers; roles; management structure; span of control; by product)? Is there a sales organization chart that presents this structure? In a more general sense, is there a detailed, company wide org. chart? If so, please provide.

To whom does sales report, both regionally, and at the corporate level?

How are the sales offices geographically dispersed?

What is the role, and extent of, inside sales?

What is the typical, daily experience of a LaborFree sales associate (number of prospect/client contacts; “roll-calling” requirements; prospecting vs. account maintenance/growth; interaction with accountants and existing clients to acquire referrals; support from other LaborFree’s organizations and management, etc.)?

How extensively do LaborFree sales associate make use of product demos in the sales process? Describe the typical sales call.

Describe LaborFree’s discounting practices, at the time of initial sale.

How does LaborFree calculate its customer retention rate (by client, or by revenues)? What has that rate been over the last five years?

Does LaborFree use its LaborFree Agency commission revenue to support discounting to customers who use the pay-as-you-go insurance products? If so, to what extent?

Number of orders submitted / % errors

Number of payrolls setup / % perfect

Number of first payrolls processed /% perfect

Number of hot-start orders submitted / % actual starts

Average cycle times

How does LaborFree categorize its expenses? Provide specifics.

As compared to SOFTTIME-ES, are similarly-labeled expenses actually alike, or are there definition differences? What are these differences?

As compared to SOFTTIME-ES, does LaborFree match us expense-for-expense, or are there whole categories of expense not present in the LaborFree business model?

Where LaborFree and SOFTTIME-ES expenses are similarly defined, where are their expenses materially less or more (proportionately) than SOFTTIME’s expenses?
Per the above question, why are their expenses proportionately less or more than ours, for similar activities?

Of course, those RFPs always included the instructions, “No illegal methods may be undertaken to gather this information.”

When I see such requests, I have to ask the question, “How will this help a company sell more? I can see why the information is interesting. In fact, I have a definition of “interesting information.” Basically, anything that a company doesn’t know is easy to categorize as “interesting.”

But, “interesting” doesn’t often generate revenue. “Interesting” doesn’t make more sales happen. “Interesting” might not even make the company stronger. Interesting might only be interesting to one person; not to an entire company.

So, how does one sort out the difference between “interesting” and “effective”?

Start by defining those things that your company defines as effective. How do you make choices about services in other industries? How does your company define ROI? Certainly, healthy companies do not make a habit out of wasting dollars.

If you need some ideas, let me share some of ours. What makes intelligence effective? In order to be effective, the intelligence should:

1 Strengthens your company’s position

• How is our value proposition perceived?
• What is the competition doing?
• Which industry-wide best practices will truly apply?

2 Discovers new markets

• What is possible with new technologies?
• Where should we steer the company?

3 Develops new products/services/solutions

• What problems do our clients experience that we can address?

Apply this litmus test to your current efforts. Compare the day-to-day requests against these standards. If the comparison leaves you wanting, you have to figure out how to put changes and such in place to stop the cycle of “interesting, but worthless” information.

If you have a different set of “ effective” definitions that work for your company, let’s chat. I would appreciate your input. (cdalley@primary-intel.com, 801.838.9600 x5050)

The PI Competitive Intelligence Blog Saved You $8,000

Best Practices, LLC recently published a report called, “Building & Sustaining Impactful Competitive Intelligence Organizations.” This report is 132 pages and carries a price tag of $7995. I haven’t read the report. I probably won’t purchase it. But, if anyone has a copy they would loan me for some casual reading, I’d be very appreciative…

The key findings of the report are remarkably similar to information available from Primary Intelligence. For example:

· Best organizational fit: Organizational placement or “fit” of the CI function significantly impacts its ability to influence and engage decision makers. Strategic planning and business development are the locations most often cited by study participants as desirable departmental homes.

Primary Intelligence resources:

Blog: Creating Effective Intelligence, 4 part series starting here

Blog: The Wrong Way to do CI

Upcoming Webinar: Use Cross-functional Teams to Increase Intelligence Effectiveness (Click here to send an email for more info)

· Customer focus: High performing CI organizations operate within a framework that emphasizes customer focus to shape projects that have maximum impact. Top organizations target and serve critical customer segments that have the greatest impact on the business, personally engage with these customers to understand their business needs, and become instrumental in providing intelligence to inform their customers’ most important decisions. World class CI groups understand the specific needs of each customer and create custom deliverables to meet their individual requirements.

Primary Intelligence resources:

Blog: Why Haven’t I Been the Target of CI?

Blog: It’s Not About the Price

· External customers: External customers are a rich source of competitive intelligence because they talk with competitors and receive competitor product pricing and features information on a continuous basis. Customers also use competitor products and can identify weaknesses in them. However, tapping into this rich resource is a challenge for most CI groups.

Primary Intelligence resources:

Blog: VOC and CI

Blog: CI, Right Under Your Nose

Webinar: Using Your VOC Programs to Generate CI

I’m sure there was a lot of work put into the Best Practices report. Hopefully, those that purchase the report will act on the data and become more effective. But, visit some of our links above to find methods to put these concepts in practice, without having to spend $8,000.

In the meantime, I’m going to rethink this “free blog content” concept. Would my thoughts be taken any more seriously if we charged $5000/year for them? I’ll let you know as soon as we put the e-commerce system in place. ( ^;

How Can You Tell if Competitive Intelligence is Effective?

Any electrical socket around you provides a tap to a near endless supply of energy. Inside the wires, there is enough power to run a houseful of gadgets, recharge your electric car or deliver a nasty shock (don’t try that at home).

But, until you use the power in the line to do something (turn on the TV, cook a gourmet dinner, recharge MP3 players and such), it really isn’t of much value. In order for the electricity to be effective, it has to power something that is important to you. Otherwise, it is just a bunch of electrons with potential energy sitting in copper wiring.

Your competitive intelligence is very similar to the electricity in your wires. You can produce as much sales, market or competitive intelligence as you like, but until someone uses it to power change in your organization, it really isn’t effective at all.

And, that’s how I would define “Effective Competitive Intelligence.” The intelligence is effective if it:

1. Strengthens your company’s position
2. Discovers new markets
3. Develops new products/services/solutions

Competitive Intelligence is simply a means to an end. It is not the end itself. Improvement can be made without intelligence (just like you can blend your own kitchen concoctions by hand), but with the intelligence, the final result is usually achieved more quickly and, probably, in a better fashion.

In order to maximize effectiveness, Primary Intelligence recommends that you:

1. Choose your competitive intelligence initiatives wisely.




2. Make use of the intelligence and create change. Previous posts provide thoughts on ways to make intelligence most effective. You can find a 4-part series on the topic here: (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4)

If the second part doesn’t happen and the intelligence is change is never made, the first part doesn’t matter one bit. The first part is only a means and a means without an end has very little value.

If you have ideas on this topic, let’s talk. (cdalley@primary-intel.com, 801-838-9600 x5050)

Making Competitive Intelligence Effective with Cross-functional Teams (Part 4 of 4)

Finally, the last installment in this rather long thought. Some day, I’ll learn that blogs are about short, concise thoughts. Maybe multi-part installments are better offered in newsletters or other forums. Until then, this is what you get.

On the topic of making Competitive Intelligence effective, I have observed a number of companies over time that have produced extraordinary results through innovative use of the information. It is my experience that these successful companies do the following:

1. Have a commitment to making decisions with intelligence


2. Create a cross-functional team, including leaders from Sales, Marketing, Product Development, Finance and the Executive Board


3. Determine the most effective routes to generating effective competitive intelligence


4. Involve a 3rd-party to provide guidance (This is not a shameless plug. I’ll explain later)


5. Provide a strong voice to evangelize the competitive intelligence


6. Demand accountability of leaders based on their willingness to consider and implement changes based on the intelligence initiatives

In the last few posts, (8/1, 8/6, 8/8) I have talked about the first five points in the bullet list above. I’ll finish up with the sixth point today.

Demand accountability
In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins talks about a Culture of Discipline. He says, “A culture of discipline is not just about action. It is about getting the disciplined people who engage in disciplined thought and who then take disciplined action.

This doesn’t directly speak to accountability, but I believe it is implied. A culture of accountability rests on the shoulders of a culture of discipline.

The expectation has to exist in your organization that intelligent actions will be followed through. High-level authorities in the company should expect reports on intelligence driven initiatives. Middle managers should be willing to report on their teams’ progress. The cross-functional team ought to establish metrics for success. Such metrics might include ROI, market share growth, retained accounts, minimum client profitability, etc… Intelligence can be an integral part of increasing any one of these metrics.

Final thoughts
Before I started this series of thoughts, a little competitive intelligence project seemed so simple. Don’t worry. It still can be. But don’t expect much out of it.

If you are willing to look at the big picture, you’ll see the necessity of incorporating more structure into your competitive intelligence programs.

Author-Christopher Dalley, Primary Intelligence

Making Competitive Intelligence Effective with Cross-functional Teams (Part 3 of 4)

This is the third in a four-part installment of thoughts on making competitive intelligence effective in your organization. Wasn’t sure I had this much information on tap. Then again, I probably don’t have a shortage of words anywhere else in my life. Why should this be any different?

On the topic of making Competitive Intelligence effective, I have observed a number of companies over time that have produced extraordinary results through innovative use of the information. It is my experience that these successful companies do the following:

1. Have a commitment to making decisions with intelligence


2. Create a cross-functional team, including leaders from Sales, Marketing, Product Development, Finance and the Executive Board


3. Determine the most effective routes to generating effective competitive intelligence


4. Involve a 3rd-party to provide guidance (This is not a shameless plug. I’ll explain later)


5. Provide a strong voice to evangelize the competitive intelligence


6. Demand accountability of leaders based on their willingness to consider and implement changes based on the intelligence initiatives

In the last few posts, (8/1, 8/6) I have talked about the first three points in the bullet list above. I’ll talk a little more about the fourth and fifth points today.

Involve a 3rd-party vendor
Eat our own dog food. Drink our own champagne. Breathe our own exhaust. Doesn’t matter how you say it. You live inside your company. Objectivity is very difficult under the best conditions and hardly anyone works under the best conditions.

It is possible to conduct your own intelligence initiative in-house and some types of intelligence (web scraping, financial reports, other factual information) can be done efficiently by your own employees.

But, don’t underestimate the importance of an unbiased voice. This is not a shameless plug for a company like Primary Intelligence. Rather, successful companies I have observed have acknowledged that they have internal biases, agendas, perceptions, etc… and that an objective viewpoint of the marketplace provides value that simply isn’t possible from internal sources.

You might involve a consultant from the beginning of the process. You might contract with a data collection company to gather the intelligence. But, don’t summarily dismiss the benefits that might be brought to the table by a 3rd-party vendor.

Provide a strong voice
Who will be the leader that will preach the necessary changes in the company? Ideally, that voice will come from the cross-functional group. If it is someone else in the company, invite them to become part of the cross-functional group.

Any number of business publications can provide mountains of information on leadership and change management. I’ll leave it to you to find the right voice.

And, if you want to chat, let’s chat. Post a response, call (801-838-9600 x5050) or send an email (cdalley@primary-intel.com)

Making Competitive Intelligence Effective with Cross-functional Teams (Part 2 of 4)

On the topic of making Competitive Intelligence effective, I have observed a number of companies over time that have produced extraordinary results through innovative use of the information. It is my experience that these successful companies do the following:

1. Have a commitment to making decisions with intelligence


2. Create a cross-functional team, including leaders from Sales, Marketing, Product Development, Finance and the Executive Board


3. Determine the most effective routes to generating effective competitive intelligence


4. Involve a 3rd-party to provide guidance (This is not a shameless plug. I’ll explain later)


5. Provide a strong voice to evangelize the competitive intelligence


6. Demand accountability of leaders based on their willingness to consider and implement changes based on the intelligence initiatives

Create a cross-functional team
All too often, research and intelligence is conceived, developed, gathered, ignored and buried in one small corner of one department of a company. The information never gets to see the light of day in areas of the organization that might make very good use of the findings.

In a whitepaper distributed by the Corporate Executive Board (Which I can’t find a link to online anymore. If you would like a copy of the report, email cdalley@primary-intel.com and request the British Telecom case study), one of the most important drivers of success was the fact that British Telecom, the subject of the study) created a Strategic Action Committee comprised of key stakeholders in the company that could work together to act upon the data. Also, a Marketing Strategy and Insight Group, staffed with representatives from Marketing, Product Management, Sales Customer Service, Pricing, Solutions, etc… was responsible for disseminating intelligence to the key internal stakeholders.

Significant strategic business change requires action on the part of most every department in the company. The business change conversation won’t be effective until the every department provides a senior management member to work on this collaborative team.

Determine the most effective routes
The first item of business for the cross-functional team is to decide what needs to be understood. A wish list of intelligence can be created, but eventually, this needs to be pared down to something that can be accomplished and will provide value.

The matrix below may help you categorize your initial intelligence initiatives. Go for the types of intelligence that are easy to generate and that have a high ROI potential, based on the intelligence needs identified by the cross-functional team. (For more thoughts on categorizing ease of gathering intelligence, you may refer to a previous post)




Once you have a group of change agents assembled and an intelligence plan, you are almost ready to move into the field.

In the next posts, I’ll elaborate on the remaining points.

And, if you want to talk, let’s chat. Post a response, call (801-838-9600 x5050) or send an email (cdalley@primary-intel.com)

Why Haven’t I Been the Target of a Competitive Intelligence Program?

Last month, my wife, kids and I piled into the family suburban. We started from our home in Salt Lake City, pointed the car east and didn’t stop driving until we hit New York City. We’re a road trip family, but I don’t think we’ll need to see I-80 again for a while.

As we traveled, we frequented dozens of hotels, restaurants, tourist traps… I mean, attractions, gas stations and everything else that goes with a long road trip. You really shouldn’t travel 5,000+ miles without stopping to see a lot of places.

Anyway… at the consumer level, my observation overall was that the companies with whom I interacted had no program whatsoever to understand me as a client, let alone gather little bits of competitive intelligence. Maybe they are all making money hand over fist and they don’t see the need, but even with my feeble understanding of the synergy between sales, marketing and competitive intelligence at the consumer level, I saw opportunities for each of these vendors and service providers to pry a little more cash out of my wallet and away from competing establishments.

I’ll provide one quick example: We stayed at many different hotels/motels, often just off of the freeway. After a long day’s drive, we would attack the pack of motels, looking for the right amenities and the best bargain. When I approached the clerk in each motel, the conversation started with availability and quickly turned into a negotiation. If you were watching, you would have thought we were in a middle-eastern bazaar, haggling over the price of a gourd.

Never once did the clerk at the desk ask me where else I was considering. Never once, was I asked what was important to my family. Maybe the guest rooms had a comment card for me to fill out, but it was likely hidden behind some brochure.

To its credit, one of the hotel chains (of whom I am a loyalty program member) sent me a couple of emails after my stay asking about my satisfaction. They ought to ask me about my stay at a couple of the competitors’ establishments also. As a traveler, I’m looking for comfort and a decent price. I’ll tell them what the competition is doing if it will help me get a better stay for my family next time.

Maybe, my next gig will be a consultant to consumer-oriented companies. The dollars and margins may be smaller, but the volume can be huge. It would make my day to be influential in the change of an entire industry with a few simple measures.

It's Not About the Price

My wife took me shopping at the mall. As we passed Macy’s, I saw a display of men’s shoes, all very good looking. Later, we were picking up some household items from Wal-Mart and I saw the same styles of shoes sitting on top of boxes in the middle of their aisle and at least 70% less than Macy’s. At that price, only a fool would pay more for (more or less) the same product.

But, I went back and bought the shoes from Macy’s anyway.

Why did I spend the extra money? Because Macy’s provided me with an experience, perception of quality and personal attention that Wal-Mart couldn’t. If it were all about price, I would have made a different decision.

But, it wasn’t.

And it usually isn’t in B2B sales either.

Recently, Primary Intelligence interviewed a lost sales opportunity for one of our clients. They had battled it out with two other providers and in the end, they weren’t selected, but it wasn’t about price.

Primary Intelligence: What were the primary reasons you did not select Rare Gems?*
Prospect: “The program costs were high relative to the other finalists, especially under the subscription model. We looked at both scenarios because we weren’t sure we wanted to keep the subscription model. They were pricier either way, but especially pricier if you looked at the subscription scenario. The other thing was they made a business decision to withdraw from retail participation, and so that was going to be viewed negatively by our client base.”
Primary Intelligence: Would you say that Rare Gems' final price proposal was more than, less than, or about the same as the other short-listed vendors?
Prospect: “More.”
Primary Intelligence: Were you going to choose the lowest-priced vendor no matter what?
Prospect: “No.”
Primary Intelligence: Would you have selected Rare Gems if it had been less expensive?
Prospect: “No. That was not the only factor.”
Primary Intelligence: What could Rare Gems have done differently to win your business?
Prospect: “If you are going out to the marketplace and you are looking for a vendor, moving away from the retail thing—that whole business model—is a difficult approach for our population. They came with a great variety of products, but they were high-end products, which is not always what people are looking for in terms of product. I think there was a gap there that they weren’t filling. Their price was way off as well.”

*Vendor names were changed for confidentiality purposes

To be competitive, you have to understand the value that sells. Price will be a component in the value equation, but it won’t be the only one. And, from our experience, it isn’t even in the top two most of the time.

Don’t believe the price myth. Listen to your wins and losses. Find out what they value and how you can best meet those value needs. If you do, you will win more. Lots more. Otherwise, you’re hoping that your price is attractive enough to lure in the price shoppers and those clients are hard to keep around.

If you have thoughts on the subject, give me a call at 801.838.9600 x5050 and we’ll chat.