The competitive intelligence reports provide different businesses with insights into their competitors’ strategies. It helps the brand find the right opportunities to improve its techniques and stay ahead of the competition. In addition, it provides market trends and identifies opportunities to differentiate your business. These reports could be adjusted to provide data that would enhance the business.
Key Components of a Competitive Intelligence Reports
The report has some key components that should be included in it, helping the business to gain the main data.
- Competitor Overview
It starts with an overview of the brand competitors, and the direct and indirect competitors. And the company size and what they are working on providing. In addition to the difference between your business and them.
- Product & Service Analysis
It provides details about the competitor’s products and services that they are providing. Comparing their features, benefits, and unique selling points. Also the pricing strategy for each competitor and each product.
- Market Trends & Industry Insights
This report includes market trends and shifts, as well as any change in customer behaviors and its effect on competitors. It helps the business find the right growth opportunity to start enhancing its position.
- Marketing & Branding Strategies
An overview of the competitor’s marketing strategies and campaigns through the different channels. Including the social media presence, and their strategy for digital marketing. And the type of content that they are providing and the different channels they use.
- Sales & Customer Acquisition Tactics
The distribution channels that the competitors are using, and the communication channels with the customers. Including the loyalty programs for the customers, and the lead generation methods that they are following.
How to Write Good Competitive Intelligence Reports?
To be able to have an advanced competitive report, there are some steps to consider.
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Define the Objectives of the Report
Know the purpose of the report that you are conducting. What are the specific insights that you are searching for? And who are your competitors that you need to gather insights about? And for what purpose would this report be used?
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Identify Key Competitors
Create a list of the competitors that you have in the market. Know your direct, indirect, and potential competitors. Identify the market leaders and the competitors that are targeting the same and different competitors as you.
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Gather Competitive Intelligence Data
Collect different data and insights from different sources. There are public sources that are open and available to be used for collecting data. Also, the digital platforms include the social media platforms and websites.
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Organize & Analyze the Data Collected
After collecting the data and insights organize them into categories. Create the categories based on the data that you have collected, and the insights that you want to reach. Use charts and tables to visualize the data better and analyze them.
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Keep the Report Updated
Always keep the data and insights in the report updated. Gather the data all the data and change the insights to stay updated all the time and be able to use the report in the right useful manner.
Competitive Intelligence Reporting Structure
Competitive Intelligence Research Tools
| Tools | Features |
| AIM Research | Provide the business with insights about all the competitors in any market. With the ability to gather any type of insights or information for the business. |
| SEMrush | It tracks the competitor’s performance on their website and the SEO ranking. It analyzes the keyword performance of the competitors and their web traffic. |
| Crayon | It provides real-time tracking of the competitor’s performance on the different platforms. And provide a competitive dashboard for the competitors and their strategies. |
| Brandwatch | It is an AI-powered tool for social listening and competitor analyses. It tracks the brand mentions, social media trends, and online performance. |
| Hootsuite | It tracks the social media performance across different channels. It tracks the customer’s engagement, and the reach and analyzes the sentiment. |
Challenges in Creating Competitive Intelligence
- Data Accuracy & Reliability
Finding the right insights and data about the competitors is challenging. The available data could be from secondary sources that are not accurate enough to rely on.
- Keeping Up with Rapid Market Changes
Staying updated with the market changes and the competitor’s techniques changes is hard. Also, many trend changes very quickly, which is challenging to maintain.
- Difficulty Accessing Competitor Information
Many companies keep hiding their information from the public. Which makes it harder to gather information and insights about their strategies and techniques.
Conclusion
The competitive intelligence reports provide many different insights for different businesses. Helping them to have all the needed information, to improve their performance. By understanding the competitor’s strategies and techniques, and the results of these strategies. In addition, it tracks all the market trend that occurs and knows how to use them for the business benefit. Leding to find the right opportunity for the business to stay in the head of the market. You can start now with AIM Technologies to conduct your research, through requesting a demo.
FAQs
How can businesses use competitive intelligence to stay ahead of their competitors?
Through gathering insights and information about the competitor’s strategies. To be able to know what techniques they are following, and enhance the performance based on these insights.
How does Product & Service Analysis help businesses differentiate themselves from competitors?
By knowing the unique points in each competitor’s product or service, and working on providing better products. To be able to compete and find the gap and use it to differentiate your business.
Why is tracking Market Trends & Industry Insights important in competitive intelligence reports?
Because it provides the business with any new trend that occurs, to help the business use it. To be able to reach more target audiences and make use of these trends for the business benefit.
Why is it essential to keep competitive intelligence reports updated?
To stay aware of any changes that happen in the market and for the competitors. To work on using these changes to compete in the market and reach your business goals.
