11 Facts About Competitive intelligence

Competitive intelligence is the process and forward-looking practices used in producing knowledge about the competitive environment to improve organizational performance.

Term CI is often viewed as synonymous with competitor analysis, but competitive intelligence is more than analyzing competitors; it embraces the entire environment and stakeholders: customers, competitors, distributors, technologies, and macroeconomic data.

In 2004, the Institute for Competitive Intelligence was founded, which provides a postgraduate certification program for Competitive Intelligence Professionals.

Organizations use competitive intelligence to compare themselves to other organizations, to identify risks and opportunities in their markets, and to pressure-test their plans against market response, which enable them to make informed decisions.

One of the major activities involved in corporate competitive intelligence is use of ratio analysis, using key performance indicators.

Examples of competitive intelligence research is evident in daily newspapers, such as The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and Fortune.

However, competitive intelligence is much more than this, as the ultimate aim is to lead to competitive advantage.

Market intelligence is industry-targeted intelligence developed in real-time aspects of competitive events taking place among the four Ps of the marketing mix in the product marketplace to better understand the market's attractiveness.

Market Competitive intelligence has a shorter time horizon than other Competitive intelligence areas, and is measured in days, weeks, or months.

Unique among corporate functions, competitive intelligence has a perspective of risks and opportunities for a firm's performance; as such, it is part of an organization's risk-management activity.

Competitive intelligence research is distinguishable from industrial espionage, as CI practitioners generally abide by local legal guidelines and ethical business norms.