Assessing The Competition – Part II

Mark Jordan

In today’s technology driven world, the Internet should be your first stop. There are two broad resources available to you on the web. First, visit your competitor’s website and look for the following:

• Is the product or service offering clearly explained?
  
• Is the content of the site applicable to the target audience?
  
• Is it easy to navigate around the site?
  
• Can online functions be completed easily and quickly?
  
• Is it user-friendly?
  
• Is it professionally written and aesthetically pleasing?
  
  

Now look at your website using the same criteria. If your site is not clearly superior, commit to making it the best. You may also observe customer listings, job openings, credit profile information, and press releases.

Next, take advantage of the Internet search engines to find all references to your competitors including media reviews and financial profiles. Here you may also find newspaper and magazine articles that reveal information on such items as suppliers, vendors, employees, and advisors.

Finally, you can review online databases. Hoovers.com, Freeedgar.com, and Business.com are three of the most commonly used for gathering research reports and business profiles. Another resource for intelligence should be the legal arena. Court records provide a wealth of knowledge regarding your competitors’ legal history. Are they currently involved in any lawsuits? Are they a regular occurrence? You can search the patent and trademark database at uspto.gov to learn about new products or technology your competitors have in the works.

Industry and trade organizations are an obvious choice for business intelligence. Utilize trade publications and industry meetings. Visit with trade suppliers to gain their insight. Chambers of commerce will also readily provide company information.

Your last and most valuable intelligence- gathering tool is personal contact. Start by visiting your competitor’s facility site if possible and observing traffic, type of customer, price, and quality. If possible, visit a similar business in another city. Talk to independent sales representatives and former employees. Visit with customers and suppliers. Consider a survey or focus group to gain insight into specific issues with a clearly identifiable target market. Next weeks third and final installment on assessing your competition will examine the key benefits of intelligence gathering and explore a process known as benchmarking.

After you examine your competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, management team, and credibility in the marketplace, you will be prepared to:

• Differentiate your product or service.
  
• Address your own advantages and disadvantages.
  
• Substantiate your marketing statements regarding quality and superiority.
  
• Provide critical decision-making information to your management team.
  
• Provide your sales team with meaningful discussion points.
  
  

Case in Point

A manufacturing company located a press release on its primary competitor during a business intelligence Internet search. The press release touted the imminent release of a new product that would clearly give them a competitive edge. Armed with this information, they quickly planned the development and release of their own updated product. Their competitor was first to market but they were not far behind and only suffered a temporary drop in revenue.

Many business owners carry their evaluation process one step further by embarking on a process known as benchmarking. Benchmarking is a system where competitors work cooperatively to establish key measurements for use by all industry participants. Benchmarking enables you to understand where your company stands in relation to others in areas such as:

• What is the standard staff-to-employee ratio?
  
• What is the normal inventory turnover?
  
• How long should it take to respond to service calls?
  
• How many customer complaints should we be receiving each year?
  
• What should my employee turnover ratio be?
  

Clearly, you need to engage an outside firm to implement a benchmarking program. Extensive planning, external and internal data collection, and data analysis need to occur. Frequently an individual business owner initiates the idea and turns it over to an industry organization to see it through.

Utilize all of the available business intelligence resources to maximize your position in the marketplace. You will be better positioned to avoid competitive surprises and capture greater market share.