An introduction to the most effective Competitive Intelligence practices for small business owners and entrepreneurs to understand their competitive situation, make effective business decisions, maximize opportunities, and minimize risk.

1. Competitive Intelligence
for
Entrepreneurs
August Jackson

2. Competitive Intelligence is a systematic
and ethical approach to identify external
risks and opportunities early enough to
take action to maximize
opportunities and
minimize risk.

4. Competitive Intelligence Helps You Make
Better Decisions
• Develop strategy
• Evaluate competitors
• Evaluate partners
• Identify unmet needs
• Differentiate yourself
• Launch new products
• Enter new markets
• Benchmark yourself
• Anticipate obstacles and disruptions
• Understand risks
• Evaluate opportunities

5. Define your plan for collection and
analysis based on the intelligence cycle
.
.
.
.
. What do we
need to know?
Do our
research
Analyze
and
process
Communicate
and discuss
What do we need
to know now?

6. Your competitors’ web
presence tells us what
they prioritize

10. Review sites capture
customer and employee
perspectives

14. Competitors’ social media
marketing and presence
tells you who
they are

17. Win / Loss analysis to get
real-time feedback

18. Talk to your customers after the sale
(even when you lose) to understand…
• Solution fit for
customer need
• Missing features
• Un-needed features
• Competitive price
position
• Competitive value
position
• Customer experience
of buying
• Billing and payment terms and experience
• Why customers buy the competition
• Why the customers choose to do nothing
• Installation and onboarding

19. Capture and process
information

20. Capture and process
• Need a digital system to capture it all
• Need frameworks to process

24. Use SWOT the right way
to identify your strategic
options

25. Strengths Weaknesses
Opportunities Threats

26. Strengths Weaknesses
Opportunities Threats
Factors you control
Factors beyond you control

27. Strengths Weaknesses
Opportunities S / O Strategies
Use strength to maximize
opportunities
Attacking strategies
W / O Strategies
Counter weaknesses by
exploiting opportunities
Build strengths for attacking
strategies
Threats S / T Strategies
Use strengths to minimize
threats
Defensive strategies
W / T Strategies
Counter weaknesses and
threats
Build strengths for defensive
strategies

28. For more information…
• Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals
• Competitive Intelligence Advantage (book)
• Business and Competitive Analysis: Effective Application of
New and Classic Methods (book)
• Competitive Intelligence Podcast
• B2B Revealed Podcast

29. Thank you!
August Jackson
august@augustjackson.net
linkedin.com/in/augustjackson/
@8of12