Competitor intelligence statistics provide you with information about your competitors to help you compete better in today’s competitive environment.

My last two posts have dealt with important competitor intelligence statistics that help you to answer two questions about competitors:

Today’s post covers more competitor intelligence statistics to answer a third question:

What Are Your Competitors’ Strengths And Weaknesses ?

You need to know how your competitors differ from you in:

How Do Your Compare?

Let’s say that one of your competitors is a medium size business that sells a product like yours, but with a special technical feature than your’s doesn’t offer. Can you still compete?

Your competitor intelligence statistics should reveal what you can offer that will enable your product to compete.

Perhaps you can provide better customer service and faster distribution. Then these become your strengths.

Completing Your Competitive Table

I recently illustrated the process of using a table to help you easily see how you compare. You can see this table and read my post at The Effect Of Competition On Pricing Strategy.

After you complete your similar table, it’s time to determine “What characteristic best separates you from your competitors?”

I’ll help you to answer that question in my next post on Competitor Intelligence Statistics.

You can read more about pricing decisions at:
Pricing Strategy: Extenuating Circumstances

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Posted 6-4-08: Competitor Intelligence Statistics 2

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In order to illustrate using competitor intelligence statistics in your business, I’m using my own business as an example.

In yesterday’s post, I identified my major competitors for my textbook. For today’s post, I’ll present some really simple statistics that deal with market share to show you how much information this one variable of competitor intelligence statistics can help you to answer the question:

How Much Of The Market Do Your Competitors Have?

My answer to this question builds from yesterday’s post. It then builds from what I learned about who my competitors are to determine the market share for each, and the weakest area of competition for my design book.

Another Example of Competitor Intelligence Statistics

If my competitor intelligence statistics determine that 20 percent of small business owners use agencies to design their publications, and another 30 percent outsource publication design to freelancers and print shops, then half of small business owners use my competitors.

If 30 percent of the remaining small business owners hire employees with graphic design skills, those employees probably have their own books written from a graphic design perspective. That leaves approximately 20 percent of the market using books on individual publications to design their publications.

Presently I have the best opportunity to win sales in the 50 percent not outsourcing their publications, particularly the 20 percent using individual publications because by buying my more expensive book, they can save over buying multiple individual books on each type of publication.

Competitor Intelligence Statistics Example Conclusion

This example illustrates how competitor intelligence statistics helped me to determine which part of the market provides the weakest competition so I can win part of their sales.

If you take a similar approach to using the simplest of competitor intelligence statistics, you too can find the best opportunities for your products and services.

Of course, the more competitor intelligence statistics that you gather, the more those statistics can reveal opportunities for your business to beat your competitors. So start today gathering your own competitor intelligence statistics.

Tomorrow’s post will cover other Competitor Intelligence Statistics to help you with your competitor analysis. If you found this post through a search, you can access it by clicking on the link in the prior sentence.

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Posted 6-3-08: Competitor Intelligence Statistics 1

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Gathering competitor intelligence statistics can increase your business’ changes of success. This post provides examples from my own business to help you with your competitor analysis.

Today’s post will answer the following question:

Competitor Intelligence Statistics: Who Are My Major Competitors?”

I started my business as a publisher with a traditional, print-and-bound book on publication design. So I’ll begin by gathering competitor intelligence statistics for other publication design books. However, many general graphic design books also compete with mine, so I also need to gather competitor intelligence statistics for these books and their publishers.

Still that’s only a small part of my competitors.

People who provide consulting and workshops on publication design are competitors. People who publish books on individual publications like newsletters, magazines and identity symbols must also be considered competition. People who provide publication design information on Web sites and in e-books also compete with my book. Thus I need to gather competitor intelligence statistics on all these people and their businesses.

Graphic design, public relations and advertising agencies, free lancers and print shops who provide publication design services are other competitors that I need competitor intelligence statistics on.

Because many people don’t think they need to know anything about publication design if they are hiring someone else to produce their publications, freelancers may also eliminate buyers for my book and are competitors for whom I need to gather competitor intelligence statistics.

I believe that people outsourcing their publications, still need to know enough about publication design to direct and evaluate the work of those who design their publications. But that is a marketing message I have to convey to my target market of small business owners.

Otherwise I loose sales because of agencies. Thus, I should consider agencies as competitors and gather competitor intelligence statistics on them.

Competitor Intelligence Statistics: You Can Use This Same Process”

If you go through a similar process to what I did for my business, you can better identify your major competitors for whom you need to gather competitor intelligence statistics.

Tomorrow’s post will continue the example from my business to answer the question

“What Statistics Give You A Competitive Edge Over Your Competitors?” You can access it by clicking the link above.

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Posted 6-2-08: Competitor Intelligence Statistics -
Major Competitors Example

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