Research Question
There is no doubt that the development of business enterprises in conditions of the modern market is becoming challenging, caused by a number of political and economic factors, including the abundance of competitive core companies. This means that modern business cannot develop without hindrance, as when entering the market, it is bound to face a significant number of obstacles that make it carefully adjust its activities to external parameters. Furthermore, although competition is a necessary element of the economy, which allows minimizing the likelihood of monopolization of the sphere, often, the pressure on small businesses is too high on the part of competitors. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to admit that the presence of competitive companies in an industry can be crucial for the economic development of an organization. This effect is justified by the right structural and systematic analysis of competitors’ commercial offers it is possible to identify their weak and strong points, which can be used to manage their own business. This work is aimed at academic research on the problem of marketing analysis of competitive enterprises for the development of the business company.
Thesis Statement
Competitive intelligence of a particular market sector is crucial for the development of the company, as it will improve the development of its products, find its unique strategic path and develop a pricing policy.
Annotations
Singh, S. (2018). How to gain and leverage competitive intelligence to drive future growth. Forbes. Web.
Shailendra Singh is one of the regular authors of the Forbes Blog dedicated to the economic and technological development of companies in today’s market environment. While most of his journalistic work focuses on the high-tech revolution, and ways to achieve financial success, he has devoted this article to the importance of competitive intelligence for the company’s modern business leader. In his article, the author not only discusses the need for operational research on the competitors’ market but also gives three specific scenarios in which competitive intelligence becomes particularly relevant.
First of all, it should be noted that the modern world, according to Singh, dictates new economic rules, whereby companies that aspire to development must have the properties of complexity and multifactorial. In other words, the manager must not remain an executive who only formally leads their subordinates: on the contrary, if the leader is interested in development, they must take an active part in market research. In the author’s opinion, such rules are justified by technological progress in all sectors of the modern world and the desire to have significant financial resources. There is no doubt that one of the primary goals of a business is to make a profit and to maintain or increase the level of competitiveness, it is necessary to open new organizational directions.
After introductory paragraphs about the relevance of competitive intelligence to business companies, Singh writes about three ways in which this strategy can be applied in practice. According to the author, executives can turn to intelligence to better understand the consumer market, analyze competitors’ performance, and find unknown market trends that could be a threat to the company’s development. More specifically, executives can make significant improvements for their company by conducting market intelligence assessments with the research team. The author notes that such an assessment will be useful for understanding market trends and client needs, and if the information obtained is used correctly, the company can improve its competitive performance significantly. Moreover, organizational leaders need to keep abreast of the latest market news regarding mergers between companies, partnership development, or new product launches, as this information can help structure their business. Finally, the journalist writes about the potential threat that accompanies the business enterprise: the exponential growth of niche markets. This means that companies or industries that may not have given high hopes before are gaining popularity in a short period, which may disrupt the natural functionality of existing organizations.
It is worth noting in addition that this article seems to be very useful for a wide range of readers, from people interested in economics to company executives. Indeed, the global conglomerate probably knows a lot about competitive intelligence, however, the small companies standing on an initial way of evolution can use the given information to develop new intra-organizational directions. Even though market analysis may seem daunting, Singh notes that the consistency and frequency of this procedure allow for effective navigation for the company.
Wolf, N. (2019). How to implement a competitive intelligence process to grow your business. COACT. Web.
First of all, it should be clarified that this article is the corporate property of the American company COACT, of which Wolf, the author, is an employee. At the beginning of the work, the author briefly informs the reader that this material will be aimed at specific examples of the implementation of competitive intelligence strategy in the company. However, during the reading, it becomes clear that Wolf additionally provides information about what market intelligence is in general. The paper includes excerpts from two articles on how to use these models in a company’s corporate activities and one real-life example that shows the importance of investing in competitive intelligence.
First, the author tells the reader what competitive intelligence is and for what purposes it is used. Wolf writes that this strategy is implemented collectively by leaders and research groups and is aimed at predicting qualitative changes in the company along with the evolution of competitive suggestions. Talking about how enterprises can use knowledge about intelligence, the author turns to two studies that provide specific models. In particular, Wolf writes about the six-step exploration process that involves planning, collecting information, analyzing, presenting results to management, examining the structure of exploration, and disseminating information about the organization. On the other hand, the author presents the reader with a seven-step algorithm of win/loss analysis, following which will improve the indicators of competitiveness. This method is aimed at structural interviewing of the company’s clients to learn more about their image, authority, strengths, and weaknesses. In addition, clients often refer to examples of other competitors in the interviews, which is also valuable for analysis. The author pays particular attention to the mechanics of information distribution: In order to optimize internal processes, Wolf recommends sharing marketing findings only with the relevant departments.
Furthermore, the author gives an example of the use of competitive intelligence in a company, namely the IBM case. Wolf writes that in the ’90s, the technology giant IBM experienced a severe crisis caused by stagnation and the evolution of competitors. The situation changed with the arrival of a new CEO, who decided to invest in the development of competitive intelligence: the emphasis was placed on research of customers and competitors of the market industry. The result of this approach was the return of the company to the same level of competitiveness. Moreover, the experimental practice showed that all levels of the company needed its intelligence department depending on the field of activity.
In conclusion, it should be noted that this article is mostly aimed at competitive intelligence specialists or organizational leaders who sought to implement changes in the company. This is justified by the fact that the author provides specific implementation methods that may be useful for companies. Moreover, although the article contains two images for a more precise understanding, in general, the text is rather professional and is aimed at companies.