Knowing as much as possible about your competitors, how they operate, and what products they sell for what price is a huge advantage in today’s business world. Which is why businesses of all sizes are using the services of a competitive intelligence Specialist. While many large businesses and corporations have their own in house intelligence specialists small and medium size business often out source this work. Regardless of whether the work is done in house or out sourced this specialist will play a major role in how your company thrives both now and in the future.
What Does A Competitive Intelligence Specialist Do?
An intelligence specialist does a variety of SWOT analysis reports tasks all aimed at one goal, to give you the information you need to help move your company forward and stay ahead of the competition. In order to do this the specialist needs to have good business research and analysis skills, and a talent for writing. Here are some the tasks the intelligence specialists does.
Research other companies in your field, and gathers a wealth of information about them. This research may include conduction interviews both in person and by phone, Doing data research using the computer, government publications, and even magazines and newspapers.
He then compiles all this information and does a competitive intelligence analysis of the overall competition and the individual companies and provides a report on his findings to the head of your company.
Along with or as part of the competitive analysis the Specialist may also include a comparison of how your company measures up to the competition drawing conclusions to where your business is stronger and those areas that need improvement.
This specialist will then advise on both short and long term goals for your business including marketing strategies, development of new and competitive products and possible candidates for employment.
How To Chose A Competitive Intelligence Specialist
When choosing a specialist to do a competitive analysis for your company you want to make sure that the person you hire is good at what he does and does his job honestly and ethically. Here are some things you should look for when hiring a competitive intelligence specialist for your business.
Experience. This is a highly skilled job and requires a great deal of knowledge, skill, and business savvy so you want to make sure that the person you choose for your business has worked in the field long enough to have some experience, collecting and analyzing data and drawing the correct conclusions from the data he collects.
