Competitive Intelligence Software Key Terms

Master the terminology used in competitive intelligence software

Competitive intelligence involves gathering data about competitors, analyzing the data and using the findings to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Competitive intelligence software simplifies the process by providing templates for entering information and using models, forecasting tools, and online research to analyze competitive data. It's important to understand some of the key terms before choosing a vendor of competitive intelligence software.

 

Competitors

Before gathering and analyzing information about your competitors, it's important to figure out who those competitors are. Competition is found at various levels and from areas you may not have considered competition. It goes beyond those who make items similar to your product.
Try: Read an article from the Toolkit Media Group about the different levels of market competition and how to identify them.

Profiling

Profiling is used to gather intelligence about competitors and enter information. It discovers financial, marketing and company data as well as trends and events. Information for profiling usually must be gathered beforehand and entered into a competitive intelligence software application.
Try: See OneSource to get an overview and definition of company profiling.

Five Forces

Five Forces, developed by Michael Porter, is a model of competitive analysis used by competitive intelligence software. It states that all industries are influenced by five forces.
Try: Get a thorough explanation of Five Forces from the Internet Center for Management and Business Administration.

SWOT analysis

SWOT analysis is used to evaluate industries and companies. It stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Try: See Marketing Teacher for a quick lesson in SWOT analysis.

Value Chain

The Value Chain framework is a model used to analyze activities that help a company create competitive advantage and value. It includes an analysis of inbound and outbound activities and logistics, marketing and sales efforts.
Try: Get an overview of Value Chain modeling from Value Based Management.

Advertising and marketing analysis

Finding out about competitors' advertising and marketing is a big part of analysis that may be included with competitive intelligence software. It includes deep analysis tools to see the effects of recent advertising strategies as well as an overall view of a competitor's marketing strategy.
Try: Check out the VMS website to get an overview and understand the capabilities of its advertising analysis software. Entrepreneur Magazine provides a list of tasks to complete to analyze competitors' marketing efforts.

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