competitor analysis - sources of information
Davidson (1997) describes how the sources of competitor information can be neatly grouped into three categories:
• Recorded data: this is easily available in published form either internally or externally. Good examples include competitor annual reports and product brochures;
• Observable data: this has to be actively sought and often assembled from several sources. A good example is competitor pricing;
• Opportunistic data: to get hold of this kind of data requires a lot of planning and organisation. Much of it is “anecdotal”, coming from discussions with suppliers, customers and, perhaps, previous management of competitors.
The table below lists possible sources of competitor data using Davidson’s categorisation:
| Recorded Data | Observable Data | Opportunistic Data |
| Annual report & accounts | Pricing / price lists | Meetings with suppliers |
| Press releases | Advertising campaigns | Trade shows |
| Newspaper articles | Promotions | Sales force meetings |
| Analysts reports | Tenders | Seminars / conferences |
| Regulatory reports | Patent applications | Recruiting ex-employees |
| Government reports | Discussion with shared distributors | |
| Presentations / speeches | Social contacts with competitors |
In his excellent book [Even More Offensive Marketing], Davidson likens the
process of gathering competitive data to a jigsaw puzzle. Each individual
piece of data does not have much value. The important skill is to collect
as many of the pieces as possible and to assemble them into an overall picture
of the competitor. This enables you to identify any missing pieces and to
take the necessary steps to collect them.
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