A US-based competitive Intelligence company Crayon says its study into the Competitive Intelligence practices among US business show that the large majority are investing in Competitive Intelligence. Its report 2020 State of Competitive Intelligence puts this figure at 94%.
Further results indicate that it is not only large companies that have the luxury of a Competitive Intelligence capability: Thanks to digital technologies including Artificial intelligence, businesses of all sizes to use Competitive Intelligence. As more small businesses establish themselves as eCommerce retailers or add it to their existing brick and mortar outlet, CI is becoming increasingly more important. The changing competitive landscape demands CI solutions. Automation, data proliferation, measurement tools, and so much more have transformed the way businesses can capture and analyze their competitors’ movements and take action to get ahead. Some of the most interesting findings that can be extrapolated to South Africa are listed below:
1. The availability of digital technology is making businesses more competitive.
2. More companies have CI teams which indicates the level of competition in their industry.
3. Businesses of all sizes say they have seen an increase in the number of competitors go up from 25 to 29 year-on-year.
4. Competitor research is the most time-consuming task of CI for 36% of the respondents but automation (analysing and communicating) makes is more effective. Competitor websites, customers, employees and social media accounts are the go-to sources. Simply monitoring and reacting to competitors is however not enough – companies have to develop competitive insights and use these to drive growth for the company.
Access the full report here: https://www.crayon.co/state-of-competitive-intelligence