Regular Reports Your presentation of your CI analysis and related data may not necessarily be a written report, but if it is, you should consider developing a format for the final report before you begin. For example, in developing a format ... [full story]

Selecting the Right Way to Present CI As detailed in Chapter 13 and in Bottom Line Competitive Intelligence, [10] there is a very significant link between the orientation of CI that you are providing and the optimal ways to communicate that ... [full story]

Overall Drafting Suggestions Every CI assignment is different because its audience is different and the CI to be communicated differs. However, there are several basic rules that apply to all communications. As a former CI director for Eastman Kodak noted, "CI ... [full story]

Likelihood One problem often associated with presenting intelligence conclusions is that there can be lacks of consistency in communicating how "good" or "strong" the conclusions are. For example, it is very common to include in a report a phrase such as, ... [full story]

Dealing with CI's Half-Life How do you handle CI that is, or will soon become, dated? As already indicated, the half-life of some CI can be very short. You should keep this in mind and consider protecting your end users from ... [full story]

Organize Your Analysis Manipulating and structuring research results can help you to put together seemingly isolated pieces of data and achieve an unexpected result. Outlines and Templates. How are you assembling the data to help you produce your analysis? One way is ... [full story]

Evaluating the Raw Data Dealing with Accuracy and Reliability. You can never assume that all data is accurate or that all sources are equally as reliable. If you make that assumption, by not probing both accuracy and reliability, you may be ... [full story]

Hints for Handling CI Data While the process of analyzing the results of data gathering differs for each project, there are several process techniques that a CI analyst should keep in mind in every situation. For convenience, we have divided them ... [full story]

The Process of Analysis In preparing a CI report, the analyst faces a mass of data, which has probably been accumulated in no particular order. It is usually incomplete and can contain misinformation and even disinformation. Analysis is the process by ... [full story]

Planning for As-Yet Uncommissioned Research If you face the likelihood that you will have to conduct research against any one of an identifiable set of targets, but you do not know when that will happen, it might be useful to develop ... [full story]

Telephone Interviews Telephone interviews can be a powerful way to supplement secondary research. However, effective telephone interviewing can be a difficult process. Before undertaking it or authorizing others to do it for your firm, you should first acquaint yourself with a ... [full story]

Visualization and Research Planning Another option for developing a CI research strategy in a case where you are faced only with a general statement of end user needs is to visualize a blank page in front of you. In fact, some ... [full story]

Starting with Sources of Raw Data Who Creates Data versus Where You Locate It As you focus on where the raw data you need might be located and accessed, always keep in mind that the place you get data is not necessarily ... [full story]

Common Media Data Sources Business Newspapers and Magazines advertisements and want ads articles reporters Wire Services articles reporters Directories and Reference Aids Local and National Newspapers advertisements and want ads articles reporters obituaries Technical Journals articles authors Trade Papers and Journals, Financial Periodicals advertisements and want ads articles reporters marketing studies and media kits special issues related publications Security Analysts' Reports company reports industry profiles The media, ... [full story]

Common Private Sector Data Sources Your Primary Competitor's Employees sales market research planning engineering purchasing former employees of the target company Your Primary Competitor Internet home page catalogs and price lists in-house publicaitons press releases and speeches advertisements and promotional materials products annual reports regulatory filings customers and suppliers retailers, distributors, and agents advertising and marketing agencies Other Competitors Business Information ... [full story]

Examples of Common Specialized Interest Data Sources Consumer and Other Advocacy Groups product tests and comparisons regular publications onetime studies and position papers Experts consultants expert witnesses security (stock) analysts Trade Associations regular publications membership directories special studies and reports meetings and reprints of speeches statistical abstracts Academics and Academic Resources faculty regular publications, special and onetime ... [full story]

Examples of Government Data Sources U.S. Government regulatory agencies trade promotion offices congressional hearings winning competitive bids court cases and records patents and trademarks agency and contractor studies: regular and onetime Foreign Governments reglatory agencies trade promotion offices quasi-government bodies regular publications patents commerical attaches State Governments regulatory agencies court cases and records winning competitive bids environmental permits and other ... [full story]

Competitor Data as a Commodity Competitor Data as a Commodity Instead of looking at data sources at the beginning of your CI research, approach the task by thinking of the data on a competitor that you are seeking as a commodity, a ... [full story]

Competitor Data as a Commodity Instead of looking at data sources at the beginning of your CI research, approach the task by thinking of the data on a competitor that you are seeking as a commodity, a tangible product. When you ... [full story]

Strategies, Objectives, and Perception of Self business philosophy and corporate strategy how strategy is made and implemented targeted markets and market shares target growth rates and other financial objectives technological trends and objectives information technology (IT) strategy recent improvement and restructuring initiatives and their results supply chain management ... [full story]

Personnel, Resources, and Facilities labor force: cost, availability, turnover, and quality union status, contracts raw materials: prices, sources, and availability quality control programs in place or planned level and consistency of quality control manufacturing and operating costs facilities: locations, current performance, and potential planned improvements to existing facilities ... [full story]

Technology, R&D current manufacturing methods and processes key patents and proprietary technology access to, use of, and dependence on outside technology need for new technology potential changes in manufacturing methods and processes size and capabilities of research staff usual lead-time between a research and development breakthrough and ... [full story]

Financial and Legal Positions long-term borrowing capacities and ability to secure equity financing short-term borrowing capacities sources of financing, including duration and strength of the relationship sales margin, return on assets, and return on equity profitability of key divisions, products, or services projections of financial position, ... [full story]

Marketing market shares by product and service line, by geographic area, and by industry segment marketing approaches and their current effectiveness samples of advertising, product literature, and other promotional materials samples of products and services probable future changes in marketing direction and timing history of any ... [full story]

Sales and Pricing commercial, nonprofit, and government sales domestic versus foreign sales seasonal and cyclical patterns and problems pricing strategy: who prices products and services and how price levels and flexibility credit, discounts, incentives, consignments, and other special pricing policies type of sales force: in-house versus independent ... [full story]

Products and Services product lines and services currently offered current and future applications of products and services depth and breadth of products and services currently offered analysis of new products and services, including impact on the market and on competition who makes decisions on new ... [full story]

Identity full name name or acronym commonly used ultimate parent major shareholders or partners. directors and officers, their backgrounds, and other business relationships corporate and management organization: formal and informal ownership history [full story]

For Individual Competitive Target(s) identity decision making products and services sales and pricing marketing financial and legal positions technology, R&D personnel, resources, and facilities strategies, objectives, and perception of self perceptions about competitors and customers CI capabilities [full story]

Industry Structure number of competitors, their product lines (or range of services), and locations market shares, gross sales, and net profitability of all competitors expansion potentialities of all competitors important differences among all competitors industry marketing, distribution, and pricing practices rate of technological change in this ... [full story]

Issues Associated with Needs Determination CI versus Policy Making The key mission for a CI unit should be to provide needed information that will serve as a key element in a firm's decision making. That means that those providing the CI must ... [full story]

Due Dates CI should be provided when and to whom needed. That is because CI, like many other types of information, often has a relatively short "half-life." Half-life refers to the period of time for which the data you have collected ... [full story]

Ongoing Contact The experiences of dozens of the world's best practice firms in CI clearly indicates that the best CI emerges when the end user and the CI professional have regular contact, scheduled and unscheduled, during the work on the assignment. ... [full story]