Performing a Competitor Analysis

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(bright music) In these lessons, we'll examine the basic processes for competitor analysis and the use of competitive intelligence in more practical applications using the metric models and how to optimize these outcomes with realistic decision-making. Crucial to the start of a competitor analysis is a development of tactical intelligence. This is the focus on an internal examination of your company's offerings for efficiency and effectiveness and discovering your core or distinctive competencies that can give your firm an advantage over other companies. This is the evaluation of your company that determines the biggest benefits they enjoy and the biggest threats they suffer from to decide what can be done about it efficiently. Michael Porter created the value chain analysis, which are the internal activities that evaluate each division or department based on their relative value and efficiency of operations, or which area is inefficient and in need of replacement. The essential determinations are either the primary activities that handle direct production of the offering, and usually face-to-face interactions with consumers, or the support activities of the firm that give the primary activities the ability to perform duties. Each activity can perform its duties without the other. But together, they can be focused on taking top level managers' organizational goals, spreading them to middle managers planning for operational objectives and ensuring frontline managers compliance and achievement with daily tasks. Strategic intelligence is the focus on the competitor's operations and the competencies they show in relation to their maintained market positioning. No analysis metric is complete unto itself for the initiative, but rather all are needed to accurately identify the competitive state of those key competing companies. This will include analyses such as the continuous cycle of competitive intelligence, including market intelligence and planning, data collection and research, analysis and production, and dissemination and distribution. Porter's five forces model which identifies a degree of competitive rivalry, the threat of new entrance, the power of suppliers, the threat of substitutes, and the power of buyers. The scoring of priority status on each one helps determine the level of decision-making time and effort to address the key challenges more efficiently and effectively. The SWOT analysis of the firm's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as the SWOT analysis of key competitors, or as much as can be discerned from market evidence through advertising, customer opinions and possible suppliers. The Boston Consulting Group Matrix of offerings viability, including the most profitable and least budget consuming cash cows, the next profitable and highest budgeted stars, the somewhat profitable but low budget priority question marks, and the least profitable and least budgeted pets that are good to keep around but seldom represent significant consideration. Then counterintelligence should be considered. The temptation of key competitors doing whatever is necessary to learn about your analyses and strategies is great. So it's best to take measures to protect your intellectual property developed around these analytical developments, especially with our reliance on technology to store such data.