A frequent goal of the Competitive Intelligence (CI) Community is to create a sustainable competitive advantage. Better decisions are made based on the best information available; informational advantage supports better decisions and leads to differentiated strategies or tactics, thereby improving the overall competitive advantage.
What is Informational Advantage?Common estimates suggest that close to 80% of the information needed to complete a competitive intelligence task is available through published or searchable sources. In today’s information-rich environment, it’s easier than ever to obtain that 80%. AI tools can sift through published material faster than most humans and pull out most of what is needed to complete the assignment.
AI has made accessing the 80% of information available through public sources faster and easier. Legal and ethical primary CI can collect an additional 15% of the information needed to support CI and decision-makers. This 15% of available information also holds significantly higher value than the 80% of public information. (The remaining 5% is generally only available through illegal and unethical methods. Often, that final 5% of value is more confirmation than new insight and, as such, doesn’t add to the analysis or recommendations for action.)
Informational advantage comes from the 15% of information that can be legally and ethically collected using primary interviews; a competitor can only obtain it if they ask the same questions to the same sources under the same conditions. Knowing something your competitors don’t know gives you an advantage when building strategy or tactics.
How to Gain Informational AdvantageGetting an informational advantage comes from two sources:
1. The first and easiest is your own company’s employees. Talking with your colleagues in sales, service, product, and support departments can provide a real “feet-on-the-street” perspective of the market, customers, and competitors. Your sales team can help you determine what customers value and their perception of the competition. Service and warranty staff know what goes wrong with your product or service and that of the competitors. Other parts of the company that directly and indirectly interact with the market can add to the competitive advantage.
2. The second is a bit harder; it comes from talking with your customers and industry ecosystem. This group has direct interaction with your competitors and knows the market. While your competitors may also be able to have conversations with this group, only you can determine what to ask.
Combined, these two sources allow you to gain an informational advantage in the market. Competitors cannot access the information sources you used (though they may be able to access different information, but not the same information). This allows you to create a differentiated strategy.
Data can be gathered to create informational advantage using both internal and external (consultant) partners. Most often, external partners are used for external collection, which offers the added benefit of a different perspective and less company influence bias.
How to Leverage Informational AdvantageAn informational advantage allows companies to tailor strategy and tactics to the market based on information competitors don’t have. This supports differentiated actions and, ultimately, a more sustainable competitive advantage.
At a tactical level, there are many ways to generate informational advantage. Tools such as Win/Loss can identify specific advantages against individual competitors and unmet needs in specific customer types. Targeted primary research can access competitor ecosystem partners for their perspectives. Other CI activities can add to your informational advantage. Tactical informational advantage can also support more cogent and compelling battle card messaging and overall marketing. This informational advantage can support dynamic pricing, small product improvements, and other market-facing actions.
At the strategic level, informational advantage can guide new product development, acquisitions, divestitures, and alliances. Incorporating your informational advantage into strategy planning can lead to more accurate assessments of competitor behavior, market directions, and evolving customer needs.
At Fletcher, we excel in helping clients gain, use, and retain an informational advantage. To learn more about how we can support your informational advantage, please contact us. We’re happy to share our insights and help your company leverage informational advantage in the market. Reach out
