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Regular ReportsRegular ReportsYour 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 for a regular CI report on each of a pre-selected set of competitors, you have several options:
The key benefit of developing your own standard form is that each report has the same structure. That makes it easy for end users to find what they want when they want it. It also makes it easy to upload portions or even all of such documents to an Intranet. The primary disadvantage is that it may scatter data needed by one reader among several categories. The major benefit of a tracking form paralleling the target is that each report can be prepared quickly by reference to the target company's own documents, advertising materials, Web pages, reports, and so on. You do not have to skip from place to place to insert new raw data as much as you might with other options. The primary disadvantage is that, unless each of your competitors is structured and managed similarly, each CI report will differ in structure and order, That will make it harder for your end users to find comparable CI about each firm. The major benefit of the form that parallels your firm's organization and responsibilities is that it provides a uniform format where each end user always knows exactly where to look for key CI. One major problem with it is that such a format requires a substantial amount of effort to create and to keep up to date. Another problem is that end users may tend to read only "their" section, which means that they may miss key CI findings and trends mentioned elsewhere. CI Report Form Templates. Following are examples of the three types of documents you can use to communicate the CI you collect, in writing, on individual firms. They are:
Competitor Alert. From time to time, you may find that you need to communicate raw, almost unevaluated data on a specific competitor very rapidly to a number of end users. To do this, you should consider adapting the "Competitor Alert" form (see Table 12.2). Using this type of form, you would insert the following under each heading:
If you are using a memo or e-mail, you might want to add a "distributed to" line, showing all of those to whom this is sent. This helps avoid having those receiving the Alert send copies to people who have already received it. Periodic Competitor Report. Providing a higher level of CI analysis is one through the "Periodic Competitor Report" (Table 12.3). This differs from the "Competitor Alert" in that it is distributed on a regular basis and includes some analysis of the data's significance. When using this form, you would put the following information under each heading:
If you are using a memo, you may wish to add a "distributed to" line, just as in the "Competitor Alert." Full Competitor Profile. At the top of this information pyramid is the "Full Competitor Profile," a form that stresses the analysis of raw data accumulated over a significant period of time. A "Full Competitor Profile" may be distributed in its entirety or in sections. Do not maintain this only for your own use. You do better to develop and distribute smaller versions of this if they are of value to your end users. The sample "Full Competitor Profile" has two key aspects. First, it should be arranged in a way that tracks, at least approximately, a firm or SBU's own internal organization. Second, it should move end users upward from data to analysis. If mounted on an Intranet, this form can be the location of hyperlinks to other documents and resources. Here are some tips to using a "Full Competitor Profile" (pp. 157–158):
Beyond Parts 1 and 2, the end users would usually only want to read the portions applicable to them. So, for example, a top marketing officer would read sections 3.3 and 4.3, and, if data is wanted in addition to analysis, Section 5.3. A sample profile outline follows.
The key benefit of using the profile is that each report on each competitor has the same structure. The disadvantage is that it may scatter data vital to one end user throughout several rigid categories. Intranets. A newer way of providing CI is now emerging. By exploiting the benefits of computer software like Lotus Notes, firms are adopting a passive, but technology-based, dissemination mode. In these systems, CI analysts still establish the needs of their clients, as well as other potential readers of the analysis. They then develop reports of varying length, complexity, and frequency. What the reports all have in common is that, when completed, they are posted on a firm's Intranet. While not directly distributed, they are significantly more accessible as they are now "centralized rather than scattered, pigeonholed, or otherwise hidden." [14] The ideal is that those interested in the intelligence will seek it out. To date, the limited number of experiments with this seems less promising than many had expected. In particular, research indicates that companies using an Intranet for research purposes [15] are having poor results. A recent study concluded that there are "two underlying reasons why research Intranets fail:
Experience also shows that, in the case of Intranets which are not designed for do-it-yourself research, significant efforts must be made to assure that the potential users of this intelligence actually take the time to read it. Like other forms of information, "[I]t also has to be 'promoted' and 'sold.' Information audits routinely reveal that many employees do not use existing information resources because they don't know they are available." [17] Realizing that these readers have numerous demands on their time, CI professionals are finding that they must prepare the reports to be more attractive, in a communications sense, than they might otherwise have to be. [6]Ann Selgas, "Seven Success Factors for CI Today," in Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals, Conference Proceedings (Alexandria, Va.: Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals, 1999), 150–51. [7]For a more extensive discussion of this, see John J. McGonagle and Carolyn M. Vella, Bottom Line Competitive Intelligence (Westport, Ct.: Quorum Books, 2002), 231–233. [8]Bill Fiora, "Choose Your Words Carefully," Competitive Intelligence Magazine 6 (January–February 2003), 38 [9]See, for example, Paul Waddington, "Effective writing: how good copy can make your information work harder," SCIP.Online 1, no. 21, December 17, 2002. [10]John J. McGonagle and Carolyn M. Vella, Bottom Line Competitive Intelligence (Westport, Conn.: Quorum Books, 2002). [11]For an example of this, see Leonard M. Fuld, "The Magic of Storytelling," in Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals, "Conference Proceedings" (Alexandria, Va.: Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals, 1996), 243–55. [12]Tomas J. Walters, Jr., "High Impact Presentation Tactics to Improve the Intelligence Experience," in Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals, "Conference Proceedings" (Alexandria, Va.: Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals, 2001), 363, 375. [13]For example, there should never be more than three points on each overhead. [14]Bart Victor and Andrew C. Boynton, Invented Here (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1998) 39–40, describing Monsanto's experience. [15]These typically "feature a combination of research resources ranging from company-generated content (company news and directories) to links referencing outside sources (e.g., commercial databases such as Hoovers, Dow-Jones, and other research Web sites)." Alison J. Head, "Why research intranets fail," SCIP.Online 1, no. 28, March 25, 2003. [16]Alison J. Head, "Why research intranets fail," SCIP.Online 1, no. 28, March 25, 2003. [17]Jean L. Graef, Excecutive Briefing: CFO's Guide to Intellectual Capitol (Montague, Mass.: Limited Edition Publishing, 1997), 41. 331
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