Why is it that the strategic type of commercial intelligence is capable of ensuring high business efficiency, because daily activities the company is affected by a whole range of unfavorable factors, risks, threats or opportunities external environment?
The fact is that the main purpose of strategic commercial intelligence is to obtain preventive knowledge about upcoming events, trends and tendencies. In other words, intelligence must provide preventive information - of a proactive nature, that is, before the onset of unfavorable market factors or opportunities.
By forecasting the future situation and receiving information from a strategic plan. Commercial intelligence provides informational support until its practical implementation, i.e. until the moment when the situation moves into the zone of a tactical, current or daily plan. This is necessary to adjust the company’s activities in accordance with ongoing market changes and to most effectively adapt the company to ongoing market changes.
Thus, tactical commercial intelligence as intelligence of current risks and opportunities is an integral part of
commercial intelligence, but provided that the deployment of research is carried out “from above” - from strategic goals and business objects, and these current risks are directly related to the ability to implement the company’s strategic goals.
There is another type of intelligence that deals with a very significant range of threats and opportunities in the external market environment. We are talking about operational, sudden risks and opportunities that can significantly complicate the company’s position and the ability to achieve strategic business goals.
Operational commercial intelligence, which carries out research into such operational risks, is also integral part or a type of commercial intelligence.
Now we can summarize and define the component types of commercial intelligence: as already noted, all types of intelligence closely interact with each other, and each type of intelligence has its own area of research, as well as its own forces and means by which intelligence activities are carried out.
So, the components and integral parts of commercial intelligence are:
The actual strategic part of commercial intelligence, or strategic commercial intelligence, which considers risks, threats and strategic opportunities that affect the ability to achieve the long-term goals of the organization.
The most optimal information on these types of risks, opportunities and related research objects (issues) can be provided by primary sources and information about long-term plans and intentions of a competitive market environment. Such information may be contained, inter alia, in various documents: business plans, development plans, statements, etc.
Final information, or intelligence assessment on strategic issues, goals and objectives, is, as a rule, not direct, but inferred information based on preliminary analysis and synthesis of received and available information.
The operational part of commercial intelligence, or operational commercial intelligence: analysis and synthesis of verified information in order to obtain assessments and recommendations for responding to specific manifestations of environmental factors;
active use of the findings to improve the efficiency of one’s own activities.
Operational commercial intelligence should provide informational solutions to tasks and problems that are not predicted and suddenly arise in the course of the daily activities of a business structure. The peculiarities of the activity of an operational risk group, which is sudden and often unpredictable, also forces commercial intelligence officers to focus more on the primary sources and actual activity of this risk group.
Summary information on operational risks and opportunities represents both inferential information and factual tactical information about what is happening. In addition, the ability to identify intelligence signs of these new, hitherto unknown risks, threats and operational opportunities is becoming especially valuable.
A separate part of operational commercial intelligence is the ability to conduct one’s own intelligence operations. For example, to provide control influence on the external market environment, in order to achieve one’s own strategic business goals or solve operational problems.
The tactical part of commercial intelligence, or tactical commercial intelligence, looks at the risks and threats to an organization's day-to-day operations.
Intelligence information on these types of risks or opportunities represents information about current or just occurred, everyday events that in one way or another affect the business. The optimal method for obtaining such information is direct and immediate observation of the state of the market or the activities of a specific object of intelligence interest.
Thus, we get three types of intelligence in finished form, closely interacting with each other and united by the single concept of “commercial intelligence”:
Strategic commercial intelligence.
Operational commercial intelligence.
Tactical commercial intelligence.
Despite the fact that in in some cases the same information can be used by different types of intelligence, yet each type of intelligence operates with information that differs significantly in information coverage, depth and content,
All information received by the commercial intelligence system, depending on its content and belonging to certain objects of intelligence interest, is also divided into three components - strategic, operational and tactical.
Strategic information is a set of facts and inferential analytical data that allows one to draw conclusions regarding the main aspects of the driving forces and trends in a segment of market activity, as well as to determine and provide information on ways (strategies) to achieve the intended strategic goals.
Information of a strategic nature has a broader scope of problems that have long-term prospects than information of an operational or tactical nature. These problems relate to the sphere of strategic business management and are within the direct competence of senior managers and the business owner. As a rule, according to the method of obtaining, strategic information is the result of a research process in relation to a clearly defined range of tasks and objects, i.e. it is inferential information. It is intended to achieve the previously outlined strategic goals of the organization and comprehensive management of strategic risks in the market segment of its own activities.
Operational information is relevant to the special operations theatre, but is primarily concerned with unplanned and sudden events occurring in the day-to-day operations of a business entity and is intended to:
firstly, to solve unexpected problems and tasks during the daily activities of the company;
secondly, the actual intelligence structure of the company’s commercial intelligence for the purpose of preparing and conducting special operations, as well as in the interests of specific operational developments of intelligence objects, sources of information, etc.
Operational information concerns various business risks that arise during the daily activities of a business structure and require a quick, prompt and competent response. Operational information may indicate a lack of any important information (hinting, however, at its source) of a strategic or tactical nature.
Tactical information is information about specific current events and facts, it is intended for employees of line departments in the daily activities of a commercial company,
Tactical information may initiate an intelligence search for new risk groups or opportunities, or indicate that additional information is needed in the event of emergency situations,
True intelligence analysts, who are well acquainted with the realities and peculiarities of their company’s business sector, are well aware that when searching for answers to their strategic tasks, they must focus on the most advanced achievements of scientific and technological progress. Achievements that meet the needs of tomorrow, capable of ensuring business efficiency, sustainability and profitability for the longest possible time.
Thus, main feature The deployment of an organization's commercial intelligence system lies in its primary focus on the strategic goals of the business.
However, one should not discount the fact that the company’s commercial interests and its successful ongoing activities are not limited only to information needs relating exclusively to strategic goals.
Any events that occur are based on a chain of cause-and-effect relationships, by studying which, with a high degree of probability, you can predict how the situation will develop in the future and what it may lead to. In much the same way, watching the sun set on a clear, windless and cloudless day, we can confidently assume that tomorrow we will have excellent sunny weather without precipitation.
Due to its high efficiency Many non-linear methods and techniques were kept secret for thousands of years and were the greatest secret of sovereigns, rulers and generals.
However, let's turn to the realities of modern business.
Nonlinear strategic management, an integral part of the organization's strategic management, ensuring the effective achievement of the organization's strategic goals in the long term.
Nonlinear strategic management is the process of developing and implementing ways to achieve the organization's strategic goals through the actual management of environmental factors using methods of information and information-psychological programming.
Thus, the general goal of all nonlinear management is one - achieving the strategic goals of the organization in the shortest possible time and at the lowest cost.
In practical terms, nonlinear management or its cycle is a set or chain of interconnected competitive strategies, accompanied by a high psychological impact on the external environment.
For example, viewing newspapers and magazines, stock market reports, searching and obtaining information from the Internet, etc. Unfortunately, in the vast majority of cases, passive methods involve obtaining information from secondary sources, which, as a rule, are not fresh, complete, and (due to obsolescence) ) reliability of information.
Active methods, on the contrary, involve an active search, development and access to primary sources that have information relevant to the immediate goals, objectives and objects studied by intelligence in the interests of achieving strategic business goals.
Whether you like it or not, getting out and getting information from the original source will require you to show some activity; in any case, you will still have to tear your butt off the soft chair. What can be classified as active methods of obtaining information? Well, for example, observation (both personal visual and environmental monitoring), contact with persons who have either information or the ability to gain access to it. Direct infiltration of an intelligence target (which, in principle, can be considered a type of surveillance), installation of audiovisual technical means of recording information, undercover penetration, and, perhaps, that’s all.
There are also borderline, between active and passive, methods of obtaining information. Well, for example, in what category should we include telephone calls to potential sources of information? On the one hand, we don’t seem to get up from our chair, on the other hand, we have the opportunity to contact, for example, an expert who can be considered a primary source.
While observing the main requirement of intelligence - secrecy, it is necessary to take into account that specialized exhibitions can be closely serviced by a security service that uses, among other things, listening and recording conversations and negotiations. Based on this, at meetings it is necessary to adhere to the cover story and behave accordingly, that is, as a visitor, expert, journalist, sociologist, in general, not to stand out from the general crowd of participants and visitors.
If its employees are not sufficiently competent in the problem under study, intelligence activities are coordinated and directed by specialists in this matter; however, for the company’s professional commercial intelligence system, keeping non-specialists in the intelligence agency is an unaffordable luxury.
The time has come to reveal another secret of commercial intelligence, directly related to its secrecy. Disclosure or “exposure” of one’s own intelligence capabilities can not only have the most detrimental effect on the company’s business reputation, but also make the success of its business in a sustainable dependence on the external market environment.
The issues of purity and inviolability of business reputation, however, have already been considered in sufficient detail, including the seventh Chinese warning, but the alternative of becoming dependent on the external environment requires more detailed consideration.
The particular value of commercial intelligence lies in the ability to predict upcoming events with a high degree of reliability. In fact, if the business owner and top management of the company are well versed in past and current business trends and situations, then an employee of the commercial intelligence structure must study and know the future state, situations and business trends that are as close as possible to the time horizon of the intended strategic goals and objectives .
Such knowledge ensures preventive preparation for expected and calculated changes in the external environment and an adequate response of the company to both threats and risks, and to emerging opportunities. Thus, the possibilities of foresight come down to obtaining special knowledge on a particular topic, based on the interests of ensuring the strategic goals of one’s own business.
However, commercial intelligence must not only hear the as yet unheard and see the as yet unseen, but also analyze it, communicating the results and findings to decision makers in order to convince them of the objectivity of the trends found and proposed. The use of intelligence information provides the business owner and top management of the company with the ability to minimize upcoming risks as much as possible.
Finally, another property of commercial intelligence is the ability to actually manage strategic and tactical risks of the external environment, turning the risks and threats of the market segment into new opportunities to ensure the success of one’s own business.
To summarize the statement that commercial intelligence is a key success factor in achieving strategic business goals, we can list the following properties that support this statement:
focus of commercial intelligence solely on achieving strategic goals and business objectives;
the possibility of obtaining predictive information of a preventive nature and a high degree of reliability;
the ability to monitor strategic and tactical risks, threats and opportunities and related development trends and changes in the market situation;
practical assistance in implementing the planned strategic objectives and achieving strategic business goals;
practical possibilities for managing some strategic and tactical risks of the external environment; the possibility of creating a beneficial arrangement of competing forces in the segment of its own activities for the company, in order to minimize risks in achieving its own strategic goals;
purposeful search for opportunities (technologies, business processes, new market segments, etc.) of the market environment and their active use.
This is far from a complete list of the properties of commercial intelligence, which largely depends on the specific area of business; however, any practitioner can easily find additional arguments confirming the high effectiveness of commercial intelligence in achieving strategic goals and truly turning it into one of the key factors of commercial success.
White or black?
I was inspired to write this text by the article “ Competitive intelligence and recruitment" from our portal, where the author described the possibilities of using recruitment for what he called competitive intelligence. Competitive intelligence is serious business. Therefore, in order to understand its essence, it is better to use the works of recognized and authoritative professionals in this field of business.
Competitive intelligence is defined as the use of government intelligence methods tailored to business needs. Their essence was most succinctly stated by the last head of Soviet foreign intelligence, Leonid Shabarshin: “Among the countless circumstances and reasons influencing the fate of the individual and the social organism, knowledge plays a decisive role as the basis of activity. The formula “Knowledge is power” by the English philosopher F. Bacon should become the motto of intelligence, the art of acquiring and increasing knowledge of what is deliberately hidden. A more expansive interpretation of intelligence is also possible - clarifying the circumstances that favor or hinder the implementation of a particular action associated with a risk for the plotter.” There is no negative connotation in the term “scheming.” It means someone who makes some kind of plan.
Since the time when Leonid Shabarshin wrote these words, in addition to the hidden knowledge that was mined by state intelligence, and the unknown knowledge that science is looking for, knowledge has appeared that is open, but accessible only through the use of information and analytical technologies. This happened because every year the volume of information grows in hyperbole. As a result, everything is there in plain sight, but impossible to find. This is what competitive intelligence does. According to E. Yushchuk, it is “much closer to marketing and information and analytical work than to the security service.”
I. Nezhdanov, based on the worldwide practice of using business intelligence, gave the following definition of it: “Competitive intelligence is the collection of information and research carried out on an ongoing basis, both the market and the entire business environment, in order to identify real and potential factors that influence or can affect a firm's ability to compete successfully in the market." It is quite obvious that an organization’s personnel are the most important factor in its competitiveness, a source of opportunities and potential risks. Moreover, we must always remember that, as V.I. Yakunin wrote: “Exaggeration of threats itself becomes a destructive factor and a source of danger.”
Competitive intelligence must be distinguished from industrial espionage. In accordance with SKIP standards ( International community competitive intelligence professionals), competitive intelligence always operates, unlike industrial espionage, in strict accordance with the law and compliance with business ethics. Accordingly, many of the proposals of the author of the article that prompted me to write this text relate to the use of recruitment as a tool of industrial espionage. Of course, not in terms of breaking the law, but in terms of freedom with business ethics.
Competitive intelligence also differs from counterintelligence. Counterintelligence is primarily the prerogative of the security services. A competitive intelligence officer strives to find friends among strangers, and a counterintelligence officer tries to find enemies among his own.
One more distinctive feature competitive intelligence is its focus on a specific business result. It works under the motto of Soviet foreign intelligence: “We act in order to find out, and we learn in order to act.”
What does HR have to do with it?
In the proposed text, I would like to express my opinion on the use of competitive intelligence capabilities to solve pressing HR problems.
One of the well-known specialists in the field of competitive intelligence, American Helen Burwell, classifies competitive intelligence as one of the most important competencies of HR and the area of their professional functions.
Let's look at practical examples of why HR should either learn competitive intelligence techniques or seek the services of professionals in this field.
The most important task of HR is to find the top managers, key employees, and leading specialists that the company needs to ensure its competitive advantage in today’s difficult conditions. It is very, very difficult to solve this problem by simply publishing vacancies and searching through the candidates who responded at a qualitative level. First of all, with this approach the company finds itself in a passive position. She chooses only from those who responded themselves. And it’s far from a fact that these are the ones the company needs. Both Russian and global experience show that many valuable employees are not inclined to publish their resumes and publicly search for work. At the same time, under favorable circumstances, they are ready to discuss and, if there are points of contact, move to another company.
One might say, this has something to do with competitive intelligence. After all, executivesearch and headhunting are well known to everyone. But they emphasize the presence of unique, already established connections in the business community. Accordingly, they suggest not so much the use of information technologies, search and analytical systems, but rather focus on personal connections, relationships, and thorough knowledge of a specific area of the business environment. Although there are common features, which relate competitive intelligence to executivesearch and headhunting.
Competitive intelligence uses the Internet much more actively than traditional executivesearch. Nothing disappears in it, everything is preserved. Even those pages that have disappeared from the servers. This applies to texts, discussions, photos, videos, and even messages on Facebook and Twitter. As Barack Obama recently said in connection with the Internet: “Everything you do will sooner or later be remembered in your life.” life path" Almost every person today leaves an information trail. Accordingly, competitive intelligence technologies make it possible to use these traces to search for those workers who are needed for a specific position in a specific company. And not just search, but correctly build friendly, mutually beneficial relationship with them about moving to a new place of work.
At the same time, I would especially emphasize that the search and analysis of information must strictly take into account the Law “On Personal Data” and other legislative acts. This, in particular, means that information about the applicant “must be obtained from him himself,” i.e. from the information he posted on the Internet. You can and should analyze social networks, electronic media materials, conference reports, press releases and many other sources. Also, for these purposes, you can use certified databases and services, for example, Integrum, Moscow Center for Economic Security, etc.
By the way, the use of competitive intelligence technologies makes it possible to counter industrial espionage through recruiting. His techniques are described with varying degrees of frankness in the article about which this text appeared. The apparent effectiveness of recruitment as an espionage tool is based on the fact that often security services deal mainly with people already included in the staff, and also check candidates according to certain procedures related to crime, violations, etc. Thus, a person with a clean biography according to the questionnaire during lengthy preliminary interviews with personnel officers, correctly asking questions about the future place of work, can extract a lot of information from the company - a potential employer. At the same time, it is assumed in advance that he should not reach the final interviews, when the security service can seriously get involved. Therefore, if such a candidate first goes through recruitment agency, working with competitive intelligence technologies and psychotechnologies, then it simply does not reach the potential employer, being cut off at the interview stage at the agency.
Business intelligence with its information and psychotechnologies, as an analysis of risks and opportunities, is directly related to the work of HR with existing personnel. It can be called a kind of HR intelligence. Competitive intelligence is focused primarily outside the organization, on the competitive environment, and on finding friends among strangers. Counterintelligence and, accordingly, security identify enemies among their own, those who are about to, or in the worst case, are already causing this or that harm to the company. But in life there is not only black and white. But also gray. In the gray zone, normal, loyal employees may nevertheless pose risks to the organization. For example, they may be overly frank in in social networks, on forums and blogs and, without any malicious intent, create additional risks for the company. I repeat once again, we are not talking about attackers, those who cause or even intend to cause harm. Therefore, HR specialists must conduct an HR analysis of risks and opportunities associated with personnel using information and humanitarian technologies. Here, the company’s IT departments can undoubtedly help them. In cases where risks are fraught with possible threats, HR services should delegate the work to security services. This will bring nothing but increasing the authority and efficiency of the organization’s HR service. Of course, all this work, as an element of competitive intelligence, must be carried out in strict accordance with the law and ethical standards.
Competitive intelligence technologies can also significantly help when dismissing an employee. Any employee, especially one who is significant for the company, is a carrier insider information. Therefore, monitoring the Internet for employee activity is very important. Thanks to this, in many cases it is possible to predict in advance with varying degrees of probability the employee’s intention to change jobs. He doesn't violate anything. And therefore, often, in medium-sized and, especially, small companies, this kind of monitoring is not the prerogative of the security service. However, it is important for HR managers to know this intention. Based on the knowledge gained, the employer can already draw a conclusion - either it is necessary to try to retain the employee, or resort to outplacement, or take care in advance to find a replacement so that the departure does not affect the competitiveness of the company.
What does ethics have to do with it?
Competitive intelligence standards, as stated above, require strict compliance with laws and adherence to the requirements of business ethics. A skeptical specialist may argue what kind of business ethics can we talk about in conditions of almost endemic corruption and the legacy of “wild capitalism”. Nevertheless, it is beneficial to adhere to this approach. And, of course, it is necessary to be fully armed to fight industrial espionage.
Why is violating business ethics irrational? To begin with, because, as one wrote clever man: “You shouldn’t commit burglary if you can get through the door.” And most importantly, the use of unethical methods is highly likely to provoke retaliatory actions. A war begins, and this requires resources. And in many cases the result obtained turns out to be best case scenario incommensurate with the costs, and in the worst case, the process generally gets out of control.
Let's see how HR can prevent completely legal industrial espionage. Let me give you an example.
It is known that the more precisely you formulate a problem, the better and faster you will get its solution. But we must remember that in today’s fickle and highly competitive world, any personnel information about a company is fraught with risks. Let’s assume that an organization simultaneously posted vacancies on one of the job search sites financial director, deputy chief accountant and personal assistant to the manager. For competitors of the company that posted the vacancies, this is simply invaluable data. It becomes clear that something happened in the organization and, probably, in the financial unit. From here, competitors can develop a specific plan for their activities. In addition, it is quite logical for them to try to monitor job sites, look at recently posted resumes and look among them for those workers whose departure led to the publication of the vacancies with which we started. And then, they will meet them with clear goals.
Does this mean that vacancies should not be published openly? Of course not. It’s just that HR, familiar with competitive intelligence methods, will do it in such a way as to minimize risks. For example, it will divide publications over time, post them on different sites, and provide a minimum of information. In addition, understanding in advance the possibility of leaving, as already written above, he will be able to report to the manager about a possible problem and suggest personnel methods a solution that is beneficial for the organization.
Books are published about competitive intelligence and materials are posted on the Internet. The term has come into wide circulation. When engaging in competitive intelligence, you need to delve deeply into its essence, master the technology and be fully aware of the responsibility of your work. Otherwise, the outcome may be disastrous. I’ll give an example from one popular article that gives advice to a recruitment agency on how to use HR technologies. According to the author of the article: “They can become a source of further funding. It is important for the agency to understand that a candidate from the core market is of interest to the company, regardless of whether he is hired or not. That is, for agencies working without prepayment, it makes a lot of sense to stipulate a separate fee for the fact of presenting “specialized candidates”. Moreover, this can be a separate service - without working for a company for a separate vacancy, send candidates from competing companies there for “intelligence conversations.” Thus, the agency expands the range of services provided, and the employer receives an additional channel of information at its disposal.”
Now let's see what happens if the recruitment agency decides that the proposed recipe is competitive intelligence in its execution. Professional communities today communicate closely with each other, constantly exchanging useful and interesting information. Obviously, after just two or three months of such intelligence work, it will become clear to the specialists and top officials passing through the agency that none of them were hired. And, since the employer is interested in not just any employees as a source of information, but the most knowledgeable and knowledgeable ones, it is logical to assume that these employees themselves have certain capabilities. One must think that the owners of those companies from which employees are invited for an interview with the agency will also quickly calculate everything and will not remain indifferent. Such an agency will inevitably find itself under double strike and the job seekers that were exploited and the companies that were targeted. As a result, instead of an “additional service”, at best there will be big problems and troubles.
Who does competitive intelligence?
The answer to this question is very simple. Professionals. Most of them in Russia are united in the Russian Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals and the Community of Competitive Intelligence Practitioners. In companies, as a rule, competitive intelligence specialists are structurally part of various departments. At the same time, according to one of the most authoritative people in the world of competitive intelligence, I. Nezhdanov, it is very effective to create a small but independent unit subordinate to the first manager.
It is important that HR people also master competitive intelligence methods. Moreover, this is fully consistent with the philosophy and practice of competitive intelligence in Russia and in the world. A significant part of the people professionally involved in competitive intelligence are not only people from the intelligence services, but also business analysts, marketers, i.e. subject teachers who have completed special training courses in competitive intelligence methods. Well-known experts in this field B. Gallad and J. Herring, summarizing the experience of the most competitive companies, noted that many of them offer specialized competitive intelligence courses for top managers and specialists in business analysis, marketing, HR, etc. departments.
In Russia, personnel officers can learn competitive intelligence at E. Yushchuk’s courses, A. Masalovich’s seminars and, if trained, information and analytical technologies at I. Nezhdanov’s seminars.
The material uses: Y. Nezhdanov’s book “Analytical Intelligence for Business” and his blog http://analitirus.blogspot.com, E. Yushchuk’s book “Competitive Intelligence: Analysis of Risks and Opportunities” and his website http://ci-razvedka .ru, materials from the sites www.rscip.ru, http://forum.razved.info and http://it2b.ru R. Romacheva.
1This article is devoted to the practical application of competitive intelligence technologies and tools on the Internet. The study examined in detail the classification of information search tools on the Internet that can be used to increase competitiveness various organizations. As a result of a detailed analysis, the main tools of competitive intelligence on the Internet are identified and their distribution into groups is given. The correct selection of such tools contributes to the formation of a universal system that allows not only to assess the competitiveness of an organization at the moment, but also to obtain an adequate assessment of the position of competing organizations in the market. In addition, such a system allows you to respond in a timely manner to rapidly changing operating conditions. Thus, a competitive intelligence system using the Internet must be customized to the specifics of the company’s activities, and must also include flexible search mechanisms, prompt delivery of data and high-quality information assessment.
information
Internet
business intelligence
competitive intelligence
competition
competitiveness
1. Averchenkov V.I. Monitoring and system analysis information on the Internet: monograph [electronic resource] / V.I. Averchenkov, S.M. Roshchin. – 2nd ed., stereotype. – M.: FLINTA, 2011. – 160 p.
2. Bogomolova I.P. Analysis of the formation of the category of competitiveness as a factor of market superiority of economic objects // Marketing in Russia and abroad. – 2013. – No. 1. – P. 25.
3. Vasyukova S.A. Economic intelligence and counterintelligence - elements of a modern market economy // Scientific session of MEPhI. – 2010. – T.3. – pp. 177–178.
4. Martic A. Through knowledge - to the stars // Company management. – 2001. – No. 5. – http://management.web-standart.net/ article0$id!13211.htm.
5. LotusSoftware from IBM offers a new solution for knowledge management systems. – http://www.ibm.com/ru/news/nfolder/ 31_10_01_02.html (request date 04/20/2015).
6. Divnenko Z.A., Maslov D.G. Analysis of the categories “competition” and “competitive intelligence” as enhancing factors of enterprises’ competitiveness / Z.A. Divnenko, D.G. Maslov // Models, systems, networks in economics, technology, nature and society. – 2015. – No. 1 (13). – pp. 8–12.
Modern needs for business intelligence and counterintelligence, ensuring specific aspects of business security, have led to the development of an entire industry. New economic relations in Russia, they force participants in this turbulent process to form effective development strategies.
Mostly helpful information intelligence information is obtained from secret sources, but in practice this is far from the case. Sometimes up to 95% of information can be gleaned from open sources, you just need to properly organize their study.
As in any other activity, the effectiveness of economic (competitive) intelligence is determined according to the cost-effect scheme. There are three types of effects for intelligence activities:
1) profit;
2) cost savings;
3) prevention of material and moral damage.
Sometimes, with low costs and high efficiency, you can achieve significant results, preventing financial and moral losses of the enterprise. You can give an example of how, by paying about $500 and spending only three weeks, the security staff of one American enterprise prevented losses in the amount of $450 thousand. In the certificate prepared by the employees after the reconnaissance, a recommendation was given to refuse to cooperate with the company that offered a seemingly profitable deal, for the following reasons:
The company has only existed for six months;
Registered at a “purchased” legal address, at which many other companies are registered;
The company's management was previously engaged in a completely different type of activity and suffered significant losses;
The company has never carried out the proposed transactions before;
The staff consists of only two people and occupies a rather modest office in a small town, etc. .
The enterprise's competitive intelligence system gives a kind of multiplier effect, combining the interests of ensuring the economic security of the enterprise with solving marketing issues, since on its basis an effective economic policy of the enterprise is developed.
Information is the most expensive commodity in the world. Governments are creating official structures to ensure timely receipt and storage of information, enterprises feel the need for modern technologies information analysis, constant updating of security software and maximum integration of the entire system of analysis, processing and application of constantly updated information of various kinds.
The level of competitiveness of an enterprise is largely ensured by a well-organized system for collecting business information, which forms the basis for making management decisions, strategic planning, marketing research and PR companies.
Competitive intelligence is the most important tool for minimizing risks and ensuring profits, since in a certain sense this is an “early warning” system about the intentions of competitors, possible turns and changes in the market, possible results of influence political technologies for business activities.
Great help for effective system increasing the competitiveness of an organization is the creation of a single integrated data bank using modern computer technologies, where all information coming from open and confidential sources is accumulated.
Due to the rapid development of the global Internet and the strengthening of its influence on the activities of enterprises and organizations, the increase in the number of information resources, it is competitive intelligence on the Internet that has become the most important function of modern management and the main condition for the dynamic development of business.
Knowledge of the principles of competitive intelligence on the Internet and the practical use of special search engines are necessary in the work of any enterprise.
Existing tools for searching information on the Internet can be divided into several groups:
Catalogs;
Information retrieval systems;
Metasearch engines;
Monitoring and content analysis systems;
Object, event and fact extractors;
Knowledge management systems (DataMining, TextMining);
Specialized competitive intelligence systems.
A catalog is a hierarchical system that provides classification of information. Catalogs do not work with indexes, but with descriptions of Internet resources. They are filled by Webmasters or special editors who view information resources on the Web. A typical example of using a directory is the need to find on the Internet a group of information resources on a certain insufficiently narrow topic, for example, sites that provide contact information for organizations. The most developed directories today are Yahoo!, OpenDirectory, Yandex.
An information retrieval system (IRS) is a system that provides selection, indexing and retrieval of information based on an index. Search engines should be used when you need to find information on specific issues or to ensure complete coverage of resources. An example of an application when searching for information retrieval systems may be requirements to find the website of a specific organization or provide an answer to a question. The leading information retrieval systems are Google, Yandex, MSN and others.
Metasearch engines are add-ons to search engines and electronic catalogs that do not have their own database (index) and, when searching according to the user’s search instructions, independently generate queries for several external search tools, and then analyze the results and produce a list of links in the order determined by the ratio of response ratings for several search tools at once.
The most significant metasearch engines are MetaCrawler and MetaBot.ru. Their main advantage lies in the ability to send queries entered into them to other systems, and then summarize the results. This guarantees the “objectivity” and “completeness” of the results obtained, however, given the differences in approaches to processing terms different systems, the result may not always be relevant to the query. Metasearch engines are most effective in the initial stages of information search. They help localize search tools that contain information about the information the user is looking for.
Monitoring and content analysis systems provide regular search and “downloading” of information on given topics and from given sites, as well as analysis of the content of received documents. Such systems generally have a developed query language, which makes it possible to significantly detail and specify queries in comparison with conventional search engines. Such systems also store in their databases full texts source documents, which ensures the safety of these documents over time and the possibility of their processing and content analysis both in the current time and in the future. A significant advantage of such systems is that complex queries consisting of tens or hundreds of search words and expressions, once compiled by a domain expert analyst, can be saved as a cataloged query or category and subsequently recalled automatically or manually from the saved list for searching. search or content analysis.
If monitoring systems can distinguish from the information flow those set for monitoring famous objects, then extractors of objects, events and facts are able to isolate from the flow of information previously unknown objects, events or facts that correspond to a certain predetermined type.
Knowledge management systems are designed to automatically analyze and find relationships between documents, people and information throughout an organization.
Knowledge management refers to the set of strategies and processes for identifying, acquiring, disseminating, using, controlling and sharing knowledge necessary to ensure the competitiveness of an organization.
These systems are able to identify new knowledge and patterns. For example, the system can independently, without human participation, draw a conclusion about the fact of acquaintance between people, based on the data available in the system about their graduation from the same school and the same class in the same locality. Examples of knowledge management systems are KnowledgeDiscoverySystem and SharePointPortalServer.
Specialized systems for competitive intelligence may include one or more of the search tools listed above, specifically tailored for these specific tasks. In addition, the needs of competitive intelligence require, as sources of information, in addition to full-text documents from the Internet, also databases available on the Internet, proprietary documents, tables and databases belonging to the structure, as well as formalized and informal documents and databases obtained from other sources. .
Specialized systems include systems that perform searches:
Files (for example, FileSearch.ru, Files.ru;
News in electronic media (for example, Yandex News, Moreover);
Products in certain types of stores (bookstores or computer stores) (for example, Yandex Products, Torg.ru);
People (for example, People on the Net, White Pages of Russia, Yahoo! PeopleSearch;
Information in music archives (for example, MP3Search);
Pictures (for example, Yandex Pictures, Google Image Search);
In catalogs of regional resources (for example, Yandex Regions, Bryansk Weblist Emelya, etc.).
Having analyzed the main competitive intelligence tools on the Internet, we can distinguish the following groups:
1. Tools for tracking mentions (Google Alerts, SocialMention, Marketing Grader).
3. Analysis and monitoring keywords(Competitive Research & Keyword Research Gadget, Google Keyword Planner, Monitor Backlinks, SEMRush, SpyFu, The Search Monitor, iSpionage).
6. Checking link mass, backlinks and liquidation (Majestic SEO, Ontolo, LinkProspector, OpenSiteExplorer).
7. Universal tools (SimplyMeasured).
Properly selected competitive intelligence tools on the Internet form a universal system that will allow company management to quickly respond to changes in the market situation, assess risks and opportunities, predict them and, as a result, make the right management decisions.
The main purpose of competitive intelligence systems is Information Support transition from traditional intuitive decision-making based on insufficient information to management based on reliable forecasts and knowledge.
According to the information processing cycle in the classical scheme of the information intelligence cycle, the system we are considering must, independently or with the participation of the operator, provide:
Selection of topics and areas of intelligence interest (target designation);
Selecting information sources (websites, blogs, forums, etc.);
Automatic search and downloading of information on specified monitoring areas and specified sources according to a planned schedule (planning and data collection);
Processing collected data and turning it into information;
Content analysis and synthesis of information - turning it into knowledge;
Timely delivery of information to end consumers.
Of course, a competitive intelligence system that uses the Internet as one of the sources of information must be customized to the specifics of the company’s activities, and must also include appropriate classification, flexible search mechanisms, prompt delivery of data and high-quality assessment of information.
IN Lately the arsenal of competitive intelligence methods has been significantly enriched, which allows, if necessary, to conduct a comprehensive comparative analysis of performance indicators and business processes with a selected competitor in order to improve the work of the management company. Information about the results of other people's applied and fundamental research allows you to save your own effort and money and focus all your attention on production and marketing. The further development of the scientific and technological process, the increase in the flow of patents and the tightening of competition as a “war of all against all” makes the development of a competitive intelligence system increasingly relevant.
Modern approaches to studying the essence and methods of competition are embodied in new concepts of strategic management, when various ways to achieve leadership of enterprises in the market are developed and put into practice. These aspects of competition theory may be of interest to Russian companies that are at the stage of strengthening their positions in the global and regional markets.
Reviewers:
Vinnichek L.B., Doctor of Economics, Professor, Head. Department of "Organization and Informatization of Production", Penza State Agricultural Academy, Penza;
Khrustalev B.B., Doctor of Economics, Professor, Head. Department of Economics, Organization and Production Management, Penza State University architecture and construction, Penza.
Bibliographic link
Maslov D.G., Tuskov A.A., Divnenko Z.A., Yudina E.S. COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE ON THE INTERNET: TECHNOLOGIES AND INFORMATION SEARCH TOOLS // Basic Research. – 2015. – No. 5-3. – P. 631-634;URL: http://fundamental-research.ru/ru/article/view?id=38312 (access date: 02/18/2019). We bring to your attention magazines published by the publishing house "Academy of Natural Sciences"
There is a well-known expression: who owns information, owns the world. Have reliable information information about a partner, a competitor, about upcoming changes in the market is extremely important for any business, which is why the owners of business structures create competitive intelligence
The essence and functions of competitive intelligence
Competitive (commercial, business) intelligence (eng. Competitive Intelligence, abbreviated CI) - collection and processing of data from different sources to develop management decisions in order to increase the competitiveness of a commercial organization, also a structural unit of an enterprise that performs these functions.
According to an independent expert Heinrich Lemke, the competitive intelligence service must be clearly separated from the enterprise security service, since the scope of activity and the objects of intelligence development of the company’s commercial intelligence are exclusively external risks, opportunities and threats that affect the company’s ability to achieve its strategic goals. The risks and opportunities explored by the organization's commercial intelligence system are exclusively market in nature and relate to a greater extent to future market conditions and market conditions, which should take shape in the future, that is, at the time horizon of the company’s (future) planned business goals and delayed from the current state for some time period. At the same time, the scope of activity and objects of research of the security service, as a rule, are external and internal risks and threats to the current activities of the company, which are criminal in nature and disrupt the normal daily activities of the company. Another area of active development of the security service is the activity of the competitive environment, associated with unfair competition and directly encroaching on the normal activities of the company, as well as the loyalty and integrity of partners, employees and other participants influencing the business activity of the company.
The following functions of competitive intelligence can be distinguished:
Studying the activities of competitors and the competitive environment;
- checking the reliability of business partners;
- collecting information on the Internet and monitoring the media;
- research and assessment of markets or entire regions (together with other departments, for example, marketing);
- forecasting changes in the market situation and competitors’ actions;
- identifying new or potential competitors;
- assisting management in the process of adopting the positive experience of other companies;
- assisting specialists from other departments in assessing the prospects for acquiring or opening a new business;
- obtaining information legally and analyzing new technologies, products or processes that may significantly affect the company’s business;
- identification weaknesses competitors;
- together with the security service, identify potential sources of leakage of confidential information within the company.
What is the main goal of this type of activity as competitive intelligence?
helps to understand Dmitry Zolotukhin, independent expert on business intelligence issues: “In my opinion, the goals of competitive intelligence vary depending on the direction of application of efforts - management, marketing, PR, HR, etc. My understanding of the strategic purpose of competitive intelligence is the need to ensure a constant alignment between the company's current strategy (often adopted once and for all), the actions through which it is implemented, and the state of the company. constantly changing outside world. This means that decision makers in a company must be provided with relevant, reliable and timely data on the company’s position in relation to the external environment at any given time.”
So, the essence of competitive intelligence is the collection and analysis of information that is useful for the business of the company for which this commercial intelligence service works. In essence, business intelligence has the same tasks as the state intelligence service - to identify a danger or, conversely, a prospect, evaluate the information and notify management about the results or take action themselves, if possible.
Business intelligence and industrial espionage
Although many people believe that competitive intelligence and industrial espionage are the same, in reality they are not. Indeed, despite the fact that the goals of these types of activities often coincide (obtaining the most complete and reliable information about the activities of competitors), their methods differ.
Industrial espionage is a form of unfair competition in which the illegal receipt, use, disclosure of information constituting a commercial, official or other secret protected by law is carried out in order to obtain advantages in the implementation of entrepreneurial activity, as well as receiving material benefit. That is, the basis of industrial espionage as a type of activity is the acquisition and subsequent use of commercial or official secrets. This is the difference between competitive intelligence and industrial espionage: competitive intelligence is an activity within the legal framework, and industrial spies “work” outside this field. As Evgeny Yushchuk confirms in his book “Competitive Intelligence: Marketing of Risks and Opportunities”: “In real life the line between competitive intelligence and industrial espionage depends on the skill of the one who conducts it, without conflicting with the criminal code..."
Specialists in the field of industrial espionage mainly use methods such as: bribery or blackmail of persons with access to classified information; theft of various media with information of interest; introduction of an agent into a competing company in order to obtain information that is a commercial or banking secret; implementation of illegal access to commercially significant information through the use of technical means (tapping telephone lines, illegal penetration into computer networks, etc.). These acts violate great amount Articles of the Criminal Code, primarily Article 231 “Illegal collection for the purpose of use or use of information constituting a commercial or bank secret.”
To put it somewhat simplistically, the illegal act of “industrial espionage” is directed against an object “trade secret” (the main thing is to obtain necessary information), and various rights and interests of individuals and legal entities, such as: the right to security (threats), the right to privacy (blackmail), copyrights, the right to confidentiality of information. In light of this, it is necessary to define the concept of “trade secret,” but there is a slight difficulty: various legislative acts provide wording that differs from each other. Vladimir Ivashchenko in his article “Fundamentals of the methodology for investigating illegal collection and disclosure of a commercial secret police” analyzed them and made the following conclusions: a trade secret is characterized by the following set of features: information is secret, is unknown and is not easily accessible to persons who usually deal with the type of information , to which it relates; due to the fact that it is secret, it has commercial value. He gives the concept of a trade secret - this is information that is useful and is not generally known to society. It has an actual or commercial value from which profit can be made and for the protection of which the owner takes measures in all areas of life and activity.” Thus, we can say that the activities of industrial espionage are aimed at obtaining information that is not publicly available and is protected by law.
Meanwhile, unlike adherents of industrial espionage, employees of business intelligence services use mainly open sources of information from the media, the Internet, analysis of rating agencies, etc. In the West, those involved in commercial intelligence have long understood that the only way work long and effectively - “be friends with the law.” Roughly speaking, commercial intelligence officers can use all methods and methods of collecting and processing information that do not contradict the law. The main weapon of competitive intelligence is high-quality collection, systematization and, most importantly, analysis of information, and not surveillance, bribery and illegal hacking. And this is not surprising: even for government intelligence services, at the present stage, collecting information from open sources is paramount. For example, at the end of the twentieth century, the US CIA released data according to which 85% of all information about the USSR in Langley was obtained from open and completely legal sources - Soviet newspapers and magazines, atlases and reference books, analysis of speeches of Soviet leaders on radio and television, documents of conferences, symposia, plenums and congresses. The Soviet government itself translated the latter into 100 languages of the world and replicated them for public attention millions of copies. To analyze this entire “sea” of information, the CIA employed thousands of analysts from completely peaceful professions: economists, geographers, sociologists, psychologists, linguists, ethnographers, statisticians, cybernetics, and even gerontologists. But then there was no Internet.
To more accurately understand the role of open sources in commercial intelligence, we again turned to Dmitry Zolotukhin for comment: “According to the majority of experts in the information and analytical sphere, the part of the information that can be obtained by using only open sources is 90-95%. By “open sources,” competitive intelligence specialists mean absolutely every opportunity to obtain the necessary information that does not require actions that directly violate the law or generally accepted ethical standards of doing business (the latter is usually fraught with reputational risks that will be much more tangible than the information result obtained). In my personal opinion, the situation is complicated by the fact that, often, the remaining 5% contains the very zest that constitutes the company’s competitive advantage in the market. Therefore, competitive intelligence techniques are used to first collect this 95% of information, in order to then take advantage of often the only opportunity to ask the question, the answer to which will “complete the mosaic.”
It would seem that if 90% of information can be “obtained” using open sources, then analysis is paramount in competitive intelligence. The expert clarifies: “We can probably say so, because the amount of available and accessible data is increasing every day and it is necessary to master effective work algorithms in order to manage large-scale information flows, clear them of “information garbage” and find “golden grains” strategically important information.
However, on the other hand, this is the same as asking: “Is the main thing about a car the wheels?” Of course, because she won’t be able to travel without them. But she will also not be able to move normally without an engine or steering wheel. Most likely, we need to talk about an integrated approach. Moreover, in the current conditions of limited resources, a competitive intelligence officer must be “... a Swede, a reaper, and a player of the pipe.”
Regarding the use of new methods in intelligence, Dmitry Zolotukhin noted that it is already quite difficult to come up with something new in business intelligence. The set of methods and techniques is only being refined in accordance with the demands of the new time. At the moment, he and a colleague are writing a book about eliciting information during communication. No one has written about this before, although the idea is far from new.
Based on all of the above, we can conclude: taking into account the development of the information component of society, analysts will increasingly displace the “James Bonds” in government intelligence services, and even more so in commercial ones. Competitive intelligence itself (as well as, unfortunately, industrial espionage) will exist as long as business activity will exist, because as Samuel Butler said, “All commerce is an attempt to foresee the future.” And competitive intelligence is a service that is designed to foresee the future.
Competitive intelligence is a marketing tool for studying the competitive environment, which is a targeted collection of information about competitors for making management decisions on further business strategy and tactics.
Competition concept is a diagram external factors impacts that carry both prospects and threats for business. Therefore, the concept of competitive intelligence should be extended not only to existing companies selling similar products or services, but also to possible competitors in the future, and also partly to suppliers and customers.
Information about counterparties can become a significant competitive advantage, and obtaining insider information is a separate marketing task.
The goals of competitive intelligence include only the actual extraction of information, and not its analysis. Analysis is present only as a tool for extracting the necessary information from indirect data.
Competitive intelligence tasks are an auxiliary information function of the supplement marketing analysis for strategic management purposes.
It is always taken into account that countering a competitor is preferable to copying it, because the strategy of “getting ahead” in the long term is more profitable than the strategy of “catching up”. In addition, we must remember that every ruble taken from a competitor, in contrast to income from the development of unoccupied niches, brings not only extra income, but also takes away the competitor’s income, which weakens it in the competition. And competitive intelligence is aimed, most often, at strengthening negative trends in a competitor, while the rest of marketing is looking for new niches.
In some types of activities, commercial collection of information about companies is an integral part of the business process, for example, in marketing, journalism, consulting and recruiting.
Objectives of competitive intelligence:
- Determining the true strategy of competitors to adjust your own strategy. True strategy rarely coincides with the company's mission. Understanding the direction of a competitor’s development trend line makes it possible to determine how successful competition will be in this field of activity in the future. Perhaps the project should be accelerated in the direction of the competitor's movement in order to occupy this field first, or perhaps the project should not be started and the resources should be used to occupy another market niche.
- Determining the potential of competitors (their strengths and weaknesses) to adjust your own strategy. A company can do one thing really well, and one thing only. Whether this is true or not, the buyer believes it. Therefore, knowing what competitors are doing really well is a warning against competing in that field and deciding to move efforts in another direction. Knowledge of weaknesses is necessary to discredit a competitor, especially if this is presented to them as a competitive advantage.
- Determination of organizational, financial, technical and other ways to ensure competitive advantages for the purposes of possible copying or neutralization. The way in which an activity is carried out can constitute a significant competitive advantage. Parts of a set of measures or tools that make the production of a product or service cheaper or of better quality are most often amenable to copying, devaluing this very advantage. The list of these solutions is quite extensive and is called in general terms"technology".
- Assessing the total market capacity through the sum of competitors’ shares to assess the state of the industry based on changing dynamics. A change in the overall market capacity allows us to understand the correctness of our own actions: if the market capacity grows, but our sales volume remains unchanged, then something is being done wrong, and competitors are potentially winning our market share. If the market capacity is decreasing, but the sales volume is unchanged, it means that it is growing in relative volume and we are doing everything right. The simplest way to determine the guaranteed market capacity is based on the total sales of all market participants.
- Assessing the degree of profitability of the terms of cooperation with certain suppliers and buyers. Knowledge of the terms of delivery and sales helps to correctly determine your own field of bargaining with both. This is the most popular topic of competitive intelligence and exists, in one form or another, in every company.
Tasks of competitive intelligence:
Competitive intelligence most often solves the problem of clarifying very specific indicators and circumstances, most often in the form of an order from management to “find out how they are doing? Why can they do it, but we can’t?” ours, in three shifts, seven days a week, by illegal immigrants, thus reducing the share of overhead costs in the price in various ways.
- Definition of the main unique trade offer competitor. One or at most two associations of a brand and its defining quality are fixed in the consumer’s head. If Windows is the most feature-rich system, then competing in this field will require enormous financial resources. The USP can be partially neutralized by adding a second one, which is an inherent drawback, for example, “it constantly freezes,” or by contrasting quality in another plane - “Linux is free operating system"The USP is not always widely known - it may not coincide with the declared one. The real USP of Windows is a wide selection of compatible applications, ensured by its monopoly position in the market. It is the clarification of the real USP that is the subject of competitive intelligence.
- Determining a competitor's pricing policy. The most common marketing tool is monitoring competitors' prices. The subject of the reconnaissance is not the price list, but the table of discount coefficients for it. In the b2b area, this is most often classified information, a carefully camouflaged system of individual discounts and bonuses. The smaller the client market, the more difficult it is to find out prices, the more unique they are for each client. Competitive intelligence is especially important when participating in tenders.
- Determining methods for promoting activities or products. The distribution method and sales organization can be copied, and the main and additional sales channels can be “recaptured”. The most successful payment schemes for sales representatives, discount and reward systems, little-known sales channels, new markets, the prospects of which have been proven using the funds of the marketing department of competitors - all this is a subject of interest.
- Determining the development line of a competitor. What direction is the competitor most actively developing and why, is it worth fighting with him in this field, what will he easily “give up”, and what will he fight for “until the last bullet” - everything you need to know when planning your own development strategy. Perhaps, just when you are about to start working on machines for selling PIN codes, at this very time personnel have already been recruited for a similar department of the largest Internet provider in your region. Is there any point in fighting?
- Determining the range of real competitive advantages. Knowing the strengths of a competitor allows you, at least, to avoid nonsense when discrediting a competitor, directing your efforts to obvious advantages. You should nobly agree with them and extol and improve the more important, from your point of view, benefits of cooperation.
- Determining the range of significant shortcomings of a competitor. This knowledge, especially if it is little known to clients, impresses them when communicated. In addition, a competitor’s weakness, especially if it is inherent, is an area for developing and promoting one’s own advantage. “We have a shorter line” - a classic parry of a small company against a large one.
- Determining the circle and terms of cooperation of the competitor’s counterparties and suppliers. Knowledge of prices, deferred payments, the amount of commodity lending and similar terms of cooperation makes it possible to achieve conditions for yourself that are no worse than those of competitors, or at least determines the limits of competition opportunities
- Determining the circle and terms of cooperation of the competitor’s counterparties-buyers. The same is true for clients. Buyers often, if not always, exaggerate the merits of doing business with your competitors to achieve what they want rather than what they can achieve.
- Determining the circle and terms of cooperation of counterparties of a competitor’s service. Suppliers that serve competitors' businesses, such as transport companies, providing communications, providing rent, influencing general level expenses. Surely among them there are very successful solutions that you yourself did not imagine.
- Identification of a group of key counterparties of a competitor. Knowing your competitor's key customer group is essential when planning your own sales. Usually they are not “attempted”, because this is a life-and-death war. But if a war suddenly breaks out, this knowledge will also help deal the strongest blow.
- Identification of key persons of the competing organization and their real status. It happens that the director of a company decides little, and the fifty-fifth deputy influences the company's policy. Determining top personnel can help predict the future policy of a competitor, based on psychological characteristics, helps to better understand the boundaries possible actions competitor. Influencing “agents of influence” is sometimes technically simpler and more effective than influencing the management of a competing company.
- Identification of external key support figures and the extent of their communication. Identifying individuals who support a competitor and provide him with administrative, financial and other resources allows one to know the limits of a competitor’s capabilities and makes it possible to weaken or even destroy these ties. It even happens that everything “rests” on them; it is enough to quarrel between them to completely destroy a competitor. To do this, you need to know the nature of this connection. The most stable ties are family ties, supported by mutual financial obligations.
- Determining sources of current financing for a competitor. Source of initial capital and funds for development -bank loans, private loans, own investments - determines the margin of financial stability of a competitor and, as a rule, clarifies the previous point.
- Assessing the prospects for a competitor's investment financial resources. The ability to attract additional credits, borrowings, and investments determines the financial capabilities of a competitor, which makes it possible to predict its development. The ability or impossibility of borrowing money on time can decide the outcome of both the battle and the entire war.
- Determining the structure of income by type of activity or product. Determining the amount and structure of revenue allows us to judge the stability, priorities and main “food area” of a competitor. If the main income of a consulting firm comes from audit services, it can afford to promote reference and legal systems both at dumping prices and calmly part with this area in the future.
- Determination of the cost structure by type of activity and product. The cost structure allows us to judge how a competitor is managing own resources, and, taking into account the previous point, compare them with your own, determine the amount of profitability of the activity and each of the competitor’s products. Competitor pricing is easy to predict with this information. A competitor's high fixed costs can seriously cripple it in a price war.
- Determining the profitability of activities or products. The performance of products allows for comparative analysis to improve their own performance, and also shows the limits of competition. With a profitability of 15%, the competitor has the same discount threshold - then you know that he will work at a loss.
- Determination of the mechanism and structure of creating added value in the context of the enterprise’s economy. Knowing the nature and location of added value, you can easily predict what a competitor will fight for most fiercely, where you can inflict maximum damage on him if necessary. For example, the main income of many enterprises in the West is the “inflated” stock exchange growth of the enterprise’s shares on the stock market, and not at all the profit of the activity.
- Determination of the structure of business processes for creating added value in the context of procedural implementation. In what place and at what moment the greatest added value arises allows us to judge what the competitor will “hold on to,” what is well organized, and where it is weak spots. You might be able to sell an oil refinery easily, but not a gas station. We must remember that in business, unprofitable areas become unprofitable much more easily than profitable ones.
- Determining technical development plans for an activity or product. The identification of technological innovations, usually called industrial espionage, allows them to either be copied or prevented from entering the market. It is the theft of technical solutions, technologies and inventions that is most often called competitive intelligence.
Classification of competitive intelligence methods:
1. Direct and indirect
1.1. Direct are called methods for obtaining information of immediate interest. For example, obtaining sales volume from a quarterly report joint stock company published in the media is a direct method.
1.2. Indirect A method is a method for calculating an indicator of interest from others related to it. Most competitive intelligence methods are indirect because indirect data is more readily available. For example, actual profit is easily derived from the official statement of cash flows because revenue data is often reliable and expenses can be determined from common sense, calculating the necessary organizational resources and their market value.
When lying, one should strictly observe a sense of proportion. It is best to make all contacts with a tired intonation in your voice. Lazily slow speech makes it possible to hide interest and time for reflection if you are asked a question for which you have not thought out the answer.
2. Surveillance and infiltration
2.1. External called observation without contact with representatives of a competitor, as they say, at a distance. Any method that uses contacts with members of a competing organization is associated with an invasion of it. You can’t see much from a distance, so most methods of competitive intelligence involve obtaining information from employees of a competitor’s company under some plausible pretext, more or less common in ordinary business life.
2.2. Penetration It is better, of course, not to carry it out with the help of your own personnel, but with forces attracted from employees of consulting companies that provide this type of service, or from acquaintances, friends and relatives, at worst. In particularly serious cases, preferably residents from another city.
Competitive intelligence techniques:
The list of fundamentally possible methods and techniques is given below without description, since they are so diverse and their number is so large that an entire chapter can be devoted to each of them. Therefore, in order to save printing space detailed description seized.
1. Collection of information from open sources
Open sources - print media, the Internet, various professional meetings, industry reports, reports submitted to government agencies that are not a trade secret. The larger the competitive intelligence target, the more information about it is available in open sources.
1.2. Attending exhibitions, industry conferences and seminars
1.3. Assessing the volume, structure and cost of advertising expenses
1.4. Collection and analysis of financial reports
1.5. Collection and analysis of industry marketing reports
2. Collection of sensitive information
The less known the competitor, the less information about him in open sources. Most often you have to look for information in close proximity to a competitor or directly from him. Here a lot depends on the artistry of the “scout”. The ability to inspire confidence, to provoke not the best feelings, vanity, first of all, provides more than half of the success.
2.1. Survey of common clients
2.2. Common Supplier Survey
2.3. Collecting information from former employees
2.4. Collecting information from applicants
2.5. Collecting information from other competitors
2.6. Incomplete trial purchase
2.7. Completed trial purchase
2.8. Organizing an attempt at collaboration or collaboration on one’s own behalf
2.9. Organizing an attempt at cooperation under the guise of a potential supplier
2.10. Organizing an attempt to cooperate under the guise of a service provider
2.11. Competitor survey under the guise of marketing research
2.12. Provoking a competitor's employee with a targeted question on an Internet forum
2.13. Collecting information under the guise of an applicant
2.14. Organizing and maintaining acquaintance with a competitor’s employee from a third party
2.15. Using anonymous online dating with an employee of a competing organization
Starting from this point, the implementation of techniques makes sense if very, very significant sums are at stake. Only interests worth millions of “non-Russian” rubles can justify costs of several thousand dollars.
2.16. Organization of cooperation under the guise of a service provider on behalf of a third company
2.17. Organizing a merger attempt on your own behalf
2.18. Organizing an investment attempt (full or partial purchase of a competitor’s business) from a third party
The methods, starting from paragraph 19, violate both the Laws “On Trade Secrets”, “On Banking Activity”, “On the Police”, “On public service", as well as the criminal code in terms of invasion of private personal life, illegal entry into premises, illegal access to information systems, abuse of power, illegal business activities, as well as more serious crimes related to recruitment - blackmail, threat of violence, bribery. Therefore, these methods are presented for educational and informational purposes, as well as for organizing counteraction, and their use is strongly not recommended.
2.19. Using connections in government bodies
2.20. Using connections in law enforcement agencies
2.21. Using connections in a criminal environment
2.22. Using connections in banking
2.23. Copying competitor information system data
2.24. Penetration into information system competitor
2.25. Use of technical means of audio and video surveillance
2.26. Recruiting a competitor's personnel
2.27. Incorporating your personnel into a competitor's structure
2.28. External surveillance of contacts of key persons of a competitor organization
2.29. Using a competitor's employee's existing sexual object as a source of information
2.30. Organizing a sexual contact with an employee of a competing organization with the subsequent use of the object as an informant
It should be noted that in order to recognize information as reliable, it must be consistent from two or three different sources.
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