There is a wealth of information that is available about private companies on the Internet. In this presentation I tell you how you can exploit these sources to gain insights into your privately held competitors.
3. I need
Competitor X’s
price list,
customer list and
tax filings.
I need
Competitor X’s
price list,
customer list and
tax filings.
Decision-Focused
Intelligence
#sla2011ci
4. I need
Competitor X’s
price list,
customer list and
tax filings.
I need
Competitor X’s
price list,
customer list and
tax filings.
I also need their CEO’s 4th
grade report card, her
mother’s maiden name and
the book report she wrote
on “The Lion, The Witch
and the Wardrobe” in the
5th grade.
I also need their CEO’s 4th
grade report card, her
mother’s maiden name and
the book report she wrote
on “The Lion, The Witch
and the Wardrobe” in the
5th grade.
Decision-Focused
Intelligence
#sla2011ci
5. I need
Competitor X’s
price list,
customer list and
tax filings.
I need
Competitor X’s
price list,
customer list and
tax filings.
I also need their CEO’s 4th
grade report card, her
mother’s maiden name and
the book report she wrote
on “The Lion, The Witch
and the Wardrobe” in the
5th grade.
I also need their CEO’s 4th
grade report card, her
mother’s maiden name and
the book report she wrote
on “The Lion, The Witch
and the Wardrobe” in the
5th grade.
Decision-Focused
Intelligence
#sla2011ci
6. I have an
important
decision that I
need to make.
I have an
important
decision that I
need to make.
Decision-Focused
Intelligence
#sla2011ci
7. I have an
important
decision that I
need to make.
I have an
important
decision that I
need to make.
There are some things I
need to understand about
Competitor X to help me
make those decisions.
There are some things I
need to understand about
Competitor X to help me
make those decisions.
Decision-Focused
Intelligence
#sla2011ci
8. Strategic Planning
Partnership
Mergers & Acquisitions
Business Development
Research & Development
Product Development & Life Cycle
Market Entry/Exit
Marketing & Advertising Planning
Tactical Sales Activity
Decisions Commonly
Supported
#sla2011ci
9. Define KITs: Choosing Analytical
Models
Which
analytical
frameworks
will we use?
Choose The Right
Analytical Frameworks
#sla2011ci
10. Define KITs: Choosing Analytical
Models
Match Analysis to Your Business Decision
Business and Competitive Analysis
Babette Bensousan and Craig Fleisher
Choose The Right
Analytical Frameworks
#sla2011ci
11. Define KITs: Common Information
Requirements
Product Revenue
Pricing
Profitability
Market Share
Strengths
Weaknesses
Product Revenue
Pricing
Profitability
Market Share
Strengths
Weaknesses
Marketing and Sales
Partners
Current Markets
Market Position
Marketing and Sales
Partners
Current Markets
Market Position
Supply Chain
Capacity
Facilities
Employees
Hiring
Supply Chain
Capacity
Facilities
Employees
Hiring
Likely Strategies
Financial Capacity
Executive Decision-Making
Industry Trends
Opportunities
Threats
Likely Strategies
Financial Capacity
Executive Decision-Making
Industry Trends
Opportunities
Threats
Financials
Ownership
Legal and Regulatory
Kinds of Information
Commonly Sought
#sla2011ci
14. Plan Research Strategy
DataIntelligence
PrimarySecondary
Hiring
Locations
Channels to
Market
Current
Markets
Company
Revenue
Ownership
Legal
Regulatory
Industry
Trends
Employees & Skills
Market Share &
Position
Capacity
Opportunities & Threats
Product
Revenue
Suppliers
Product
Profitability
Supply
Chain
Decision
Making
Capacity to Act
Strengths &
Weaknesses
A Framework for
Research Planning
#sla2011ci
24. Legal and Regulatory Filings
• Regulatory Filings
• Environmental
• Employment
• Building Permits
• Export Permits
• Shipping Records
• Legal Filings and Decisions
• Patents & Trademarks
• Securities
• Government contracts and proposals
Budget time
and funds!
• Regulatory Filings
• Environmental
• Employment
• Building Permits
• Export Permits
• Shipping Records
• Legal Filings and Decisions
• Patents & Trademarks
• Securities
• Government contracts and proposals
Budget time
and funds!
Jurisdiction-Specific
•National
•State and provincial
•City, county, municipal
Not all offices are Internet-ready,
some may require an office visit
Search
+jurisdiction
+”public records”
+”probate”
+”legal records”
Directory of resources in the
appendix
Jurisdiction-Specific
•National
•State and provincial
•City, county, municipal
Not all offices are Internet-ready,
some may require an office visit
Search
+jurisdiction
+”public records”
+”probate”
+”legal records”
Directory of resources in the
appendix
Legal & Regulatory
Filings
#sla2011ci
29. Legal and Regulatory Filings
• Location openings
• Site growth
• Hiring & firing
• Near-term activities
• Changes in management
• Industry position
• Execute profiles
• Company profiles
• Location openings
• Site growth
• Hiring & firing
• Near-term activities
• Changes in management
• Industry position
• Execute profiles
• Company profiles
Location and industry specific
Search
+city
+”newspaper”
Search
+industry
+”journal”
Search
+industry
+product
+technology
+”association”
+”society”
Location and industry specific
Search
+city
+”newspaper”
Search
+industry
+”journal”
Search
+industry
+product
+technology
+”association”
+”society”
Local and Industry News
Sources
#sla2011ci
36. Legal and Regulatory Filings
• Locations
• Centralization
• Employees’ skills
• Outlines of organization charts
• Targets for primary research
• History of business initiatives
• Perspectives of customers
Remember your ethics.
Don’t be scary or pushy!
• Locations
• Centralization
• Employees’ skills
• Outlines of organization charts
• Targets for primary research
• History of business initiatives
• Perspectives of customers
Remember your ethics.
Don’t be scary or pushy!
LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com
Ning
http://www.ning.com
Industry-specific social networks
Search
+industry
+”social network”
Directory in the appendix
LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com
Ning
http://www.ning.com
Industry-specific social networks
Search
+industry
+”social network”
Directory in the appendix
LinkedIn
#sla2011ci
44. Legal and Regulatory Filings
• New hiring
• Skills sought
• Location of new hires
• Clues to expansion
• Clues to new market entry
• Clues to priorities
• Postings reveal corporate culture
• New hiring
• Skills sought
• Location of new hires
• Clues to expansion
• Clues to new market entry
• Clues to priorities
• Postings reveal corporate culture
Leading general job sites
Monster
CareerBuilder
Yahoo Jobs
Indeed
Industry-specific job sites
Search
+industry
+”job”
+”career”
Pay attention to sponsored search
results and ads when doing a jobs
keyword search
Leading general job sites
Monster
CareerBuilder
Yahoo Jobs
Indeed
Industry-specific job sites
Search
+industry
+”job”
+”career”
Pay attention to sponsored search
results and ads when doing a jobs
keyword search
Job Sites
#sla2011ci
45. Use Google Maps for Location Details
• Street view or sky
view
• Square footage
• Number of parking
spaces suggests
workforce size and
capacity
• Appearance of
buildings
• Vehicles in the lot
• Street access
• Utilities evident
• Preparation for
location visit
Google Maps
#sla2011ci
47. Appendix: Directory of Filings
Databases
• Fuld & Co. on-line resources:
– http://www.fuld.com/fuld-bin/f.wk?fuld.i3.home
• BRB Publications Free Resource Center
– http://www.brbpub.com/freeresources/pubrecsites.aspx?h=1
• State and Local Government on the Net (US)
– http://www.statelocalgov.net
• Virtual Gumshoe (US)
– http://www.virtualgumshoe.com/resources/
• International Organization of Securities Commissions
– https://www.iosco.org/lists/display_members.cfm?memID=1&orderBy=none
#sla2011ci
48. Appendix: Directory of Newspapers
and Industry Journals and
Organizations
• Google News
– http://news.google.com
• NewsVoyager
– http://www.newspaperlinks.com
• BizJournals (US city-specific business journals)
– http://www.bizjournals.com
• Scirus Scientific Journal Directory
– http://www.scirus.com/
• Google Scholar
– http://scholar.google.com
#sla2011ci
49. Appendix: People Search Engines
• Pipl: http://www.pipl.com
• Spock: http://www.spock.com/
• 123people: http://www.123people.com/
• Yo Name: http://www.yoname.com/
• Masters of Criminal Justice Web Directory of People Search
Engines
– http://www.mastersincriminaljustice.com/blog/2009/50-best-people-
search-engines-to-track-down-anyone/
#sla2011ci