1/12/2006

Gathering Competitive Intelligence

"The most important distinguishing feature of successful companies is how they monitor and respond to events and conditions in the
environment in which they operate. Unless you notice what is happening, you will blunder along in the dark, not knowing where you are going, what your competitors are doing, or what business opportunities are passing you by.

Enter competitive intelligence: a systematic and ethical programme for gathering, analysing, and managing information about your business environment that can affect your company's plans, decisions, and operations.

The potential benefits of implementing a CI programme are many. Timely intelligence will help you to anticipate and minimise risk, identify business opportunities and new markets, make sound decisions, innovate, improve your strategic planning, and allocate your resources more effectively. Intelligence operations are not a form of spying; they may (indeed, should) be conducted both legally and ethically. They can be set up with little cost, carry little risk, and are easily concealed..."

Read more in this article from FreePint.

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