What is competitor intelligence?
Competitor intelligence is the systematic gathering, analysis and interpretation of information about competitors to inform strategic decision making. Competitor intelligence involves:
- Identification of competitors: Understanding competitors’ market presence and scope through in-depth competitor research and competitor analysis.
- Analysis of competitor strategies: Evaluating competitors’ strengths, weaknesses and strategic approaches.
- Monitoring competitor activities: Tracking competitors’ actions, market trends and the emerging threats they present.
- Benchmarking performance: Comparing performance metrics against competitors in key areas.
Some of the main benefits of competitor intelligence are:
Gain insights into competitor behaviour and market dynamics
Identify competitive threats and opportunities
Inform strategic decision making and market positioning
Enhance competitive advantage and market responsiveness
Optimise sustainable growth and profitability
Key questions that are answered by competitor intelligence
Competitor intelligence aims to answer several key questions to help guide strategic decision making:
- Who are our main competitors, and what are their market positions?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of our competitors, and how do they compare to ours?
- What strategies are our competitors employing to gain market share and differentiate themselves?
- How do our products/services compare to those of our competitors in terms of features, pricing and value proposition?
- What emerging trends or threats do our competitors face, and how might they impact our competitive position in the market?
In On Africa’s competitor intelligence services
At In On Africa (IOA), we pride ourselves on the ethical data collection and analysis of competitor information to inform the strategic decision making of our clients in their current and future markets.
Driven by a team of highly skilled research professionals, we conduct primary competitor research (e.g. in-depth interviews, consumer surveys and mystery shopping) and secondary research (e.g. assessing competitor websites, social media, reports and customer reviews).
We interrogate and visualise the competitor landscape to offer our clients a deep understanding of their competitors’ positioning, growth strategies, existing challenges, customer value propositions, costing and the other critical factors of interest to our clients.
Our competitor intelligence ranges from once-off in-depth industry and market assessments through to a wide range of on-going competitor monitoring and benchmarking services.
Competitor intelligence project case study:
Client:
Multinational telecommunications company
Countries:
Ethiopia and Nigeria
Methodology:
Mixed-method approach with detailed desktop research assessment and nearly 60 in-depth interviews.
IOA was commissioned by a leading international telecommunications giant to conduct highly sensitive competitor and market research in Ethiopia and Nigeria. The aim of this study was to help guide our client in their African business strategy in order to expand their market share. This included a strong focus on how competitors in these markets are differentiating themselves to secure large government and private contracts.
The research included the assessment of more than 650 research documents, such as competitor websites, news articles and industry reports, among others, and conducting approximately 60 in-depth interviews with relevant key informants. These interviews were conducted with government leaders, senior officials in public agencies and leaders and senior management of top telecommunications companies in both countries.
Key project outcome:
As part of the reporting process, IOA provided our client with detailed competitor analysis, PEST and SWOT analyses, together with a variety of strategic recommendations which our client used to guide their refinement of their African market business strategy.
Find out more about how IOA can help you better understand your competition in Africa.
Read more about IOA’s various service offerings and examples of our past work.