WISC's competitive intelligence search can help companies understand the scope of competition so products and services can be effectively positioned. Monitoring competitors is one key to differentiating your business in the minds of customers. WISC's quick competitive intelligence projects are a great way to begin learning about competitive strategies.

These assessments can help you:

• Uncover the products featured by competitors
• Understand competitor distribution channels
• Explore industry and market trends from the perspective of related companies
• Benchmark your plans and priorities relative to other industry players

In competitor searches, WISC:

• Works with the client to develop a project scope. Criteria are established on the number of companies, type of product(s), NAICS codes, and/or geographic area.
• Performs a competitor search of several databases, buyers guides, trade association directories, and other resources (electronic and hard copy) for direct and indirect competitors.
• Conducts a patent search of assignments to companies identified above with full text and/or abstracts, depending on relevance (less drawings or legal/technical analysis).
• Works with you to develop interview questions, then conducts phone interviews to all selected companies (20 or more).
• Analyzes and summarizes relevant trends via interviews with industry experts, trade association reports, published market studies, and other sources as needed.
• Creates a competitor matrix that displays competitor information for quick comparison purposes.
• Develops a summary report that analyzes research results with comments on potential competitive advantage(s) and recommendations on possible next steps.

These projects can be customized to expand the number of competitors involved and level of analysis.

Starting a Competitor Intelligence Project