Competitive Intelligence

In competitive markets the quality of the competitive strategy is now as important as the customer strategy in determining customer performance. All strategies require information and competitive strategies are no exception. As a result there is an existing and growing requirement for competitive intelligence. This book shows how to collect and analyze competitive intelligence, including the use of electronic resources, as part of a competitive strategy. Front Matter....Pages i-xv Competition....Pages 1-11 Intelligence....Pages 12-23 The Development of Competitive Intelligence....Pages 24-32 Framework for Competitive Analysis....Pages 33-49 Overview of the Sources of Intelligence....Pages 50-55 Secondary Sources of Intelligence....Pages 56-73 Intelligence on the Internet....Pages 74-85 Primary Intelligence Collection Techniques....Pages 86-108 Market Research as a Source of Competitive Intelligence....Pages 109-114 Analysis — Filling the Gaps and Stretching the Data....Pages 115-122 Verifying Intelligence....Pages 123-129 Competitive Intelligence Resources....Pages 130-146 The Intelligence Briefing....Pages 147-154 Controlling the Intelligence Collection Process....Pages 155-159 Legal Factors and Ethical Guidelines....Pages 160-169 Processing and Distributing Intelligence....Pages 170-179 Measuring the Effectiveness of Competitive Intelligence....Pages 180-183 Counter-intelligence....Pages 184-214 Deception and Misinformation....Pages 215-221 Back Matter....Pages 222-236 To beat your competitors you must know exactly what they are doing. It is impossible to put together a successful competitive strategy if you are unsure what your competitors are doing, what they plan to do or even who your competitors really are. As markets evolve even more rapidly and companies adapt their plans much faster, the demand for competitive intelligence has spiralled. Christopher West, an expert in the field, shows you how to collect, analyse and use competitive intelligence from a variety of sources, including the internet, and change your competitive strategy accordingly. All good strategies must be based on sound information, and as competition intensifies throughout the world the quality of competitive strategy has become as important as customer strategy in determining company performance. As a result there is an existing and growing requirement for competitive intelligence. This book shows the legal and ethical methods that can be used to collect and analyse the competitive intelligence required for sound competitive strategies. Chris West. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 229-230) And Index.