The world today is more dynamic and faster than ever. With information changing and updating every minute, there’s no secret that knowledge is critical for business. The trend applies to every industry, niche, business, and sector.
Previously, competitive intelligence analysts were serving specific teams, mainly Sales. But now, they have to operate as command central for the whole organization. To ensure this, effective distribution of competitive intelligence is imperative.
Here are five tips to keep in mind.
Centralize Intelligence in One System
Centralized intelligence entails the following:
- Consolidating data from across applications, systems, and the organization
- Making insights accessible and available for everyone in the organization
- Driving governance processes for insights and data, all while ensuring security and privacy
It helps put all information in one place and make it accessible to everyone within the organization. Doing so is better than having separate processes that don’t talk to each other or rely on emails for updates.
Evalueserve Survey 2021 showed that using a centralized intelligence platform helps teams locate information much faster than without a centralized platform.
Don’t force people to wait until the end of the month or quarter to find out where they stand with their competitors. In fact, it’s better to share information as close as possible to real-time because that can be more actionable.
Open Access to All Team Members Who Need the Intel
Ensure all team members who need the competitive intelligence data can easily access it. One was to ensure this through a Single Sign-One, which allows users to enter their login credentials on a single page and access all SaaS applications.
Research has shown that diverse contributions lead to better decision-making. It’s best to keep the relevant stakeholders on board since another study showed that 86% of workers attribute workplace failures to ineffective communication or lack of collaboration.
Keep in mind that you’re only giving people access to the information. The authority to control the storage platform or make changes still lies with specific people in the team.
Integrate Your CI Program with Your Existing Communication Tools
Integrating your competitive intelligence program with your communication tools, such as Slack or Teams, ensures that the information reaches all team members with ease.
For instance, Power Bi integrates with third-party platforms and Microsoft products, such as Teams, Cortana, Excel, and Exchange. Meanwhile, Tableau supports Salesforce integration.
Integrations are especially crucial when you have geographically dispersed teams. With integration, everyone from execs to entry-level employees will participate in market intelligence with full transparency.
The Ultimate Guide to Integrating AI into Your Competitive Intelligence Program |
Create Regular Competitive Intelligence Newsletters for Relevant Stakeholders
It’s also important to regularly update relevant stakeholders by sending out competitive intelligence newsletters every week or month. When stakeholders have immediate and timely access to actionable information, they’ll deliver better results.
Some notable stakeholders include:
- Sales Reps
- Marketers
- Executive Leaders
- Product Managers
- Customer Success Reps
Categorize Your Competitive Intelligence Based on Intelligence/Industry Type
Did you know the volume of data created by US companies every year is sufficient to fill 10,000 Libraries of Congress? That’s too much data to handle.
By categorizing your CI based on the industry or specific metrics, you can better handle which insights are more profitable. For example, if you have an online competitor, categorize it by the brand’s size, distribution channel(s), annual revenue, and price point.
Doing so will help teams target specific aspects that need monitoring or action plans.
Likewise, you can categorize your CI based on specific intelligence types, such as sales, marketing, advertising, etc.
Bonus Tip: Get Creative
When it comes to CI, there’s no one-fit-all solution. While some teams prefer video and audio content, others may be fond of reading reports. Test different CI types and see what works best for your organization.
