Competitive Intelligence, Why Do You Need Software?

If you are new to the world of Competitive Intelligence you may want to start by using some free generalist tools, but to generate value for the organisation you should rely on competitive intelligence software.

If your company does not manage accounting with a spreadsheet, it is because it needs to be efficient, and take advantage of the knowledge already embedded in specialised software.

What tools exist to carry out a competitive intelligence process in your company?

If you are thinking of using free tools to carry out competitive market intelligence, you should know that you will have to use at least a dozen different tools: the usual Google alerts, Twitter searches or databases of articles or patents, RSS generators, content aggregators on your desktop, and a long etcetera.

In addition to the task of learning, installing and updating each of the tools, there is another drawback: you will have to integrate information that will reach you in a variety of ways and formats (web news, files, email newsletters, etc.).

Why implement competitive intelligence software in your business?

However, surely your goal is to make your company more intelligent and to optimise time and processes, and not to turn it into an IT company that reinvents the wheel. If so, at this point you will have already discarded the option of the multiple tools you will need to fulfil the same function as a technological solution for the competitive intelligence that allows you, from a single place, to analyse your competition, monitor your market and, in short, gather all the information you need in an efficient way. And that this translates into benefits for your business.

The tool that allows you to make decisions

Adopting Competitive Intelligence software allows you to "stand on the shoulders of giants" because it incorporates all the learning obtained by the practice of companies that have already walked the path that you are now going to start. Needs that have arisen and have been implemented as functions in the software, and that you do not yet know what you are going to find.

Competitive intelligence is not only for large companies

Here, size does not matter too much. We have the example of competitive intelligence in a company in the agricultural sector with less than 25 employees that, due to its small size and the larger size of its competitors, has to keep the efficiency of its resources at the highest possible level. This is why it has adopted Antara Mussol, for an intensive competitive intelligence of its market by integrating its team. In the last two months, it has detected an average of one new business threat every two weeks, improving the company's resilience thanks to the Competitive Intelligence software.

Software in a collaborative environment

If you are part of a team, you will have to share information, and involve colleagues in the analysis, in the generation of value. Because competitive intelligence analysis is, above all, collaborative. And that would mean making them part of a tangle of tools, formats and different ways of dealing with information depending on where it comes from.

How to choose the most suitable competitive intelligence software

If you want to choose the right competitive intelligence software, you first need to know what companies look for when evaluating the different alternatives on the market. Consider whether these parameters and their prioritisation match your own, look at market comparisons, and then create your own comparison.

• Here you can download a Competitive Intelligence Solutions Benchmarking Report that compiles the independent opinions of Competitive Intelligence Function practitioners and leaders.
• You can also download this template to create your own benchmark based on your assessment of the different competitive intelligence software.

Once you have done the benchmarking, and before making a final decision, it is a good idea to draw up an action plan and agree it with the supplier. This will allow you to take into account the cost of the implementation process and the necessary training before you take the plunge.

Planning the technology implementation

You can also design the implementation process by drawing on the experiences of others. You should identify the internal customer, the degree of management support, which department to start with, choose the lead team and plan the training. It is advisable to start with the department that has the best culture of collaboration and information sharing and use that pilot as a best practice case for the rest of the company.

Do you want to know more about the implementation of competitive intelligence software in your business? Contact us!