product camp 2014-enhance competitive edge-2014-03-29

© 2014 Insight Researchers LLC © 2014 Insight Researchers LLC 1

Enhance Your Competitive Edge!

Product Camp March 29, 2014

© 2014 Insight Researchers LLC © 2014 Insight Researchers LLC

Today’s Session Environmental Change is Constant

Real-Life Examples

Helpful Tips & Valuable Sources

Let’s Hear From You

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© 2014 Insight Researchers LLC 3

Environmental Change is Constant


New laws? New regulations? Candidates to watch?

Demographics Behaviors Attitudes Beliefs

Tech to lower costs? Tech to replace

offerings? Optimize manufacturing

or supply chain?

Strategies for bad economy? Global markets International developments

Political / Legal / Regulatory

Social / Cultural Trends

Technology Economy / International

Customers

Losing market share? Know desires? Know future needs?

Competitors

New competitors or products?

Recent surprises? Know how you

compare?

Substitutes

Potential entrants? Favored substitutes? New opportunities?

Industry Trends

Best practices? Convergence? New opportunities?

Suppliers

Best prices? Single supplier? Supply chain threats?

The Market Intelligence Environment Market intelligence is the systematic collection, analysis and communication of objective information about the external world to decision-makers.


Real Life Examples

© 2014 Insight Researchers LLC

Which Markets are Profitable?

Buyers Industry Competitors

Substitutes

Potential Entrants

Suppliers

Political / Legal /

Regulatory

Social / Cultural

Economy & International

Technology

5

Macro Environment Industry Strength of Force

7

10

4 9

6

9

8 5

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Source: Environmental Scan Collected and analyzed information from a wide variety of sources. Environmental scan looks at each of the forces, discusses expected changes in them, how the changes in one force will impact others, how changes might impact future profitability, predicted strength of the company in the future (based on current strategy), and proactive/reactive actions to consider.


Which Trade Show to Attend?

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Conference / Show Place Date

Com

pany

A

Com

pany

B

Com

pany

C

Com

pany

D

Com

pany

E

Com

pany

F

Com

pany

G

Com

pany

H

Com

pany

I

Com

pany

J

Com

pany

K

Com

pany

L

Com

pany

M

Com

pany

N

Tota

ls

Website Conference A Beijing, China 2012-12 0 Conference B Dallas, TX 2012-12 1 1 1 1 1 5 Conference C Istanbul, Turkey 2012-12 1 1 1 3 Conference D Las Vegas, NV 2012-12 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 Conference E San Francisco, CA 2012-12 1 1 1 1 1 5 Conference F Washington, DC 2012-12 1 1 Conference G London, England 2012-11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 Conference H Toronto, Canada 2012-11 1 1 Conference I Vienna, Austria 2012-11 1 1 1 3 Conference J Amsterdam, Netherlands 2012-10 1 1 1 3 Conference K Chiba, Japan 2012-10 1 1 Conference L Chicago, IL 2012-10 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Conference M Frankfurt, Germany 2012-10 1 1 1 1 4 Conference N Nashville, TN 2012-10 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 Conference O New York, NY 2012-10 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 Conference P Washington, DC 2012-10 1 1 1 3 Conference Q Orlando, FL 2012-10 1 1 1 1 4 Conference R San Francisco, CA 2012-10 1 1 Conference S San Jose, CA 2012-10 1 1 Conference T Denver, CO 2012-10 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 Conference U Singapore 2012-10 1 1 1 3

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Source: Misc. websites from those sponsoring events and company websites. Tracking a list like this enables companies to see which events are most popular, which other companies show up where, and when to time product releases. Can also have a similar list for memberships to industry organizations.


How Does the Market Find Vendors?

8

8% 14%

27%

25%

26%

18%

17% 5% 2%

17% 22% 18%

25% 17%

14%

8% 14% 21%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2013 2012 2011

RFP/RFI

Trade Show/ Conference

Sales Rep / Consultant

Peers/Social Networking

Industry Analyst

Internet Search

Already Knew Vendor /Product

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Source: Win/Loss Analysis Respondents were asked to indicate all ways they used to identify vendors. Let’s you know where to invest your $: Trade shows? Search Engine Optimization and/or online ads? Channel sales? Online forums?


What’s Most Important for Decisions?

9

3.25

4.25

3.5

3.25

3.25

5

5

5

4.75

3.5

4.75

3.5

4.5

2.7

3.7

2.6

3.2

3.3

4.4

3.8

4.5

4.1

3.8

3.8

3.2

4

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Vendor Company Size

Vendor Financial Stability

Vendor's Brand

Vendor's Customer Base

Vendor Partnerships

Product Features

ROI

Successful Implementation

Ease of Use

Product road map

Price

References (customer / consultant)

Integration w/other HW/SW

(1 = no importance; 5 = key criteria) 2012 2013

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Source: Win/Loss Analysis


Win & Loss Reasons

10

Price 23%

Relationship w/Competitor

18%

Product Attributes

6%

Technology 24%

Stay w/Incumbent

29%

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Source: Interviews w/Sales Sales persons were interviewed quarterly to learn about deals.


Tips & Sources for Information


Open Ears / Open Mind

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Explain to employees that you want to hear everything about external environment – may not share because don’t think you care – may think you already know. Encourage to offer dissenting viewpoints from your own. - employees may be scared to voice unpopular thoughts - need dissension to consider all perspectives.


Employees

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Webmaster – key words, links – check competitors Marketing - positioning Sales – talk to customers, hear about competitors Business Development – know what’s happening in market Technical Support – see other products, hear complaints Customer Service – hear complaints Purchasing – talk to suppliers Human Resources – interview candidates


Customer Feedback

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Getting feedback from customers is crucial – you need to know about their needs and desires. Can be in the form of Customer focus group (picture) Customer survey – sent after various stages in purchase process (order, delivery, installation/implementation, service) Win/Loss survey – both customers and those who did not buy Voice of Customer Customer Advisory Boards Observation in stores or elsewhere Chat rooms Monitor social media


Google Alerts

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Set up Google alerts about customers, suppliers, competitors, specific topics to always be on top of things. Note: Google News brings different sources than regular Google. Use other Search Engines too – different results Some things don’t show up on Google at all – deep web


Company Websites

Meta tags (key words) Job openings Management News articles Product information Be wary

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Securities & Exchange Commission

Presenter

Presentation Notes

10Q – quarter 10K – annual 20F- foreign 990 – non-profits S1 – IPO (initial public offering)


Track employee movements Job openings Discussion groups Customer wins Watch your own settings for privacy!


Social & Other Media


Industry & Security Analysts

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Analyst reports – get alerts on new reports even if don’t have subscription


Trade Shows

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Place to meet: Customers Partners Distributors Competitors Learn about positioning People talk freely Observe who interacts with whom Learn trends


Trade Pubs/Associations 22

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Also consider trade association publications – not just publications geared for a specific industry


For Additional Information

Shelly Azar www.insightresearchers.com

[email protected] 314-225-7815

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Fast changing world = new opportunities Can’t rely on “truths” of past because assumptions might not hold for future. Best strategies on ongoing intelligence. Make better decisions.

http://www.insightresearchers.com/

mailto:[email protected]


Market Intelligence Enhances Your Competitive Edge. Be Informed to Make the Best Decisions. Your Business Depends on It!

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