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1. Value Chain Management - Broken Links
(Articles/Value Chain)

...rocesses and capabilities of key suppliers.  Gaining an in depth understanding of your suppliers' business strategies, decision making processes and competitors allows you to evaluate their...

2. Definition Competitive Intelligence
(Articles/Business Intelligence)

...l collection and analysis of information regarding the capabilities, vulnerabilities, and intentions of business competitors, conducted by using information databases and other "open source...

3. Definition Business Intelligence
(Articles/Business Intelligence)

What is Business Intelligence? If you search the internet for definitions of Business Intelligence you will receive a variety of answers. Is there a common understanding of the relevant elements?&nbsp

4. SWOT Analysis - What's Next?
(Articles/Competitive Intelligence Methods)

There is no general way of handling the results of a SWOT analysis which fits for each and every business. Every business is different and so are the actions deducted from the SWOT analysis. Here

5. Introduction to Strategic Planning
(Articles/Strategic Planning)

...ld.  The latter might be harder to achieve.    Strategic planning, within business, may provide a general direction for the strategic management to a company or give...

6. PEST Analysis
(Essentials/Analysis - A Crucial Step)

...p; Identifying PEST influences is a helpful method of summarizing the external environment in which a business operates. Nevertheless, it has to be followed up by consideration of how a business...

7. Introduction to Competitor Analysis
(Articles/Analysis)

  Business takes place in a very competitive, unpredictable environment, so it is important to understand the competition.     Questions like these can be of assi

8. SWOT Analysis - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
(Articles/Competitive Intelligence Methods)

...nt used to assess the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats in the process of a project or in a business venture or in any other situation obliging a decision in strategic planning. It ent...

9. Competitive Intelligence vs. Espionage
(Essentials/Gathering Information)

...ished from industrial espionage, as CI practitioners in general abide by local legal guidelines and ethical business norms.   There is a severe code of ethics followed by honest competitive inte...

10. What Is A Business Wargame?
(Articles/Competitive Intelligence Methods)

Simply, a business wargame is the adaptation of military wargaming to a business environment: it helps a company with strategic, operational and tactical planning, and execution. A wargame is a rol

11. A Note On Ethics
(Essentials/Do You Need Help?)

..., there are certain practices that may enter into a gray area. When in doubt, consult with your lawyer or a business ethics expert to make sure you are approaching competitive intelligence from a comp...

12. Making Decisions
(Essentials/Do You Need Help?)

...oosing your approach for reacting to industry trends and changes. You may also want to write or revise your business plan at this time. Determine the factors. Which competitive factors are the current...

13. Facilitating Change
(Essentials/Do You Need Help?)

...itional research to make sure that your potential changes are good ones. You will also need to revise your business plan or create a new one that will include the new information and your strategy to...

14. Further Analysis - SWOT
(Essentials/Introduction To Profiles)

...ses. What are you competitors’ strong and weak points? Determine as many factors as possible for each business that you can consider competition. Strengths can include “a great customer se...

15. Success Factors
(Essentials/Introduction To Profiles)

...r direct competition will probably share these factors with you. Brainstorm or research what it is for your business. These factors can range from customer influenced to management influenced. Some c...

16. The Profile - Determine Competitor's Success Factors
(Essentials/Introduction To Profiles)

...dience.   Some believe that taking advantage of a niche is one of the most effective ways for a small business to compete with larger companies. In general, they take advantage of certain specia...

17. What Goes In A Competitor Profile
(Essentials/Introduction To Profiles)

...competition. How much of a threat is this company to you? Are they direct or indirectly competing with your business?   Patents or trademarks. Do they hold any patents or trademarks? Check ...

18. Introduction To Profiles
(Essentials/Introduction To Profiles)

...ntage. This is an important aspect of the profile. You need to determine the competitive advantage that the business has. For example, a toy company’s competitive advantage may come in the form ...

19. Ways To Analyze
(Essentials/Analysis - A Crucial Step)

...clining? How are the prices within your industry? Basically, you will need to consider how competitive your business is with your competitor. If the competition is fierce, you will need a more aggress...

20. Organize The Information
(Essentials/Organize The Information)

... information you compiled for competitive intelligence. The best system is one that is compatible with your business and your personality.   The system should be easy to access and manage by all ...

21. Sources Of Additional Online Information
(Essentials/Sources Of Information)

...you to have your own blog, so there are a lot of people who have these online diaries. Both individuals and businesses currently have them so you can obtain a range of information from using them. The...

22. Networking Essentials
(Essentials/Gathering Information)

...rmation and insights into your own company.   People in your personal network include friends, family, business colleagues, and your customers. Find a way to stay in touch with them so you can ta...

23. Gathering Information - Beginning Stages
(Essentials/Gathering Information)

...titors and the general market, a great place to start is in your own files and resources. First, check your business plan. It should contain a section on the market and your competition. Copy the rele...

24. Protect Your Secrets
(Essentials/Understand Your Company)

..., do your best to protect your computer network from hackers. Always be mindful of talking about business in public and instruct those who possess the knowledge that needs to be protected t...

25. Form A Group
(Essentials/Understand Your Company)

...estment (such as those in sales who work on a commission basis) to increasing the competitive nature of the business. Once the members are selected, they need to understand that they have the sole re...

26. How To Motivate
(Essentials/Understand Your Company)

...tant to keep them motivated. This is also a reason why it is important to understand your employees and the business environment. In order to choose your method to motivate them, you really need to un...

27. Assess Your Options
(Essentials/Understand Your Company)

...u need to assess your options in order to get the most out of this method.   Consider the size of your business. If your business is small with few employees, you can either do this yourself or o...

28. Your Company
(Essentials/Understand Your Company)

...o;t have a system that will help encourage and educate them, this could damage company moral. Also, if your business doesn’t have measures that keep your company’s information private, thi...

29. Hiring Professional Services
(Essentials/Competitive Intelligence Steps - an Overview)

...ious means such as surveys. Some will even perform the analysis of the data. The Association of Independent Business Professionals is a great place to check for qualified people. Make sure that the in...

30. Is It Worth It?
(Essentials/Competitive Intelligence Steps - an Overview)

... outsource or if you decide to do all the work internally. Determine how using the process will affect your business if you give some of your employees the part time task of gather and analyzing infor...