When you are collecting competitive intelligence (CI) on your competitors there are plenty of different sources that you can get the data from, but which data is the most valuable?

1. PRIMARY INTELLIGENCE VERSUS
SECONDARY INTELLIGENCE
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When you are collecting competitive intelligence (CI) on your
competitors there are plenty of different sources that you can get the
data from, but which data is the most valuable?
The answer depends on what you are going to be doing with the
information and invariably it is better to have more data if you have a
sufficient process for analyzing and compiling it into a usable form.
Whether your main source of CI is derived from primary or secondary
intelligence sources it is always advised to corroborate the information
be sure that you are not basing any decisions off of rumors.
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WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRIMARY
INTELLIGENCE AND SECONDARY INTELLIGENCE?
The simplest explanation is that primary intelligence involves a source
that the information contained comes directly from your competitor
(i.e. interviews, focus groups, speeches by management, annual
reports, etc.), whereas secondary intelligence is information that
indirectly references your competitor (i.e. news, blogs, studies, reports,
etc.).
Combining all of this CI can provide you with the best scope of
information, but the data still needs to be analyzed and compiled for
best results.
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THE MOST IMPORTANT CI SOURCE IS THE ONE
THAT CAN BENEFIT YOU
Depending on the need for the information there are several ways to
get data either from primary or a combination of secondary
intelligences sources to give your company what it is looking for.
Having a good CI analyst or team of analysts will make sure that
whatever information that is gathered in corroborated before it makes
it into the report. With good analytics a couple of secondary sources
can be just as good if not better than a single piece of data from a
primary source.
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Most of the time it is also much more expensive to obtain a reliable
primary source of CI and it can be much more cost effective to infer the
data from a collection of secondary intelligence sources.
The best results are always gained from a mixture of primary and
secondary intelligence data, but a good analyst can make up for the lack
of data or sources.
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Using competitive intelligence in any capacity is virtually required to
compete in the business world, and having a properly developed CI
process will help you make the most of the information that you are
able to obtain.
Hiring a good analyst or developing a process to analyze and compile
the data will ensure that the data that you collect is actionable and will
lead to an advantage, or at the very least keep you aware of what your
competitors’ future plans are so that you don’t get left behind.
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7. For additional information about Competitive Intelligence
please visit www.Intelligence2act.com