Just as you wish to know information about your competitors, they want to know things about you. That is the nature of competitive intelligence. To prevent your competition from learning too much, you need to find a way to protect your secrets.
What information should be kept confidential?
Basically, if the knowledge can help another company succeed, it needs to be protected.
For example, if you sell fried chicken, you should keep the recipe a secret from the general public. This also includes things you wouldn’t expect such as executive travel arrangements, which can reveal locations to top secret locations, etc.
Once you figure out which information is vital to your company’s success, put a method in place for protecting it. Shred all relevant trash to prevent the competition from going through it. Make sure your employees know which information shouldn’t be shared. If you don’t have one already, install a security system. Also, 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 to do the same. The person sitting next to you on the subway or who is in back of you in line at the coffee shop while you are in the middle of an important conversation could be someone who is employed with the competition. Using your laptop or talking on the phone in public is always risky.
Competitive Intelligence