Numerous businesses globally often view competitive analysis tools as a waste of time and resources. However, with the recent pandemic that has almost brought down the global economy to its knees, the move by businesses to E commerce has become crucial for small and medium scale enterprises to monitor their digital performance.
Corporate intelligence and social media tools, otherwise known as competitive intelligence tools, have brought about solutions to increased competition from rivals. These tools help in carefully collecting, analyzing and compiling information collected from digital ads through another firm’s web traffic. Laws surrounding business practices, however, have provisions that state that any information collected from a competitor in the market should be extracted in a legal and ethical manner stipulated by law.
How Exactly Does Competitive Intelligence Work?
Competitive intelligence is a process that takes a few steps to achieve business objectives using social media tools. These steps cannot be skipped or over run otherwise the results will be completely different. The first step to achieving competitive intelligence is identifying the specific and similar firms in the market that exhibit stiff competition. Information collected on competitors, however, can be of published or non-published nature.
The second step is to ensure that the company has identified the specific insights or aspects that pose a high competition from a rival firm. This step will come a long way in ensuring that the company has a well-planned strategy on how to improve their business practices and objectives.
The last and most crucial step is creating a competitive analysis report from the information collected on a given competitor. Analysis helps in evaluating and analyzing the information to come up with findings. The executive board of the company is hence required to convert the findings into results through informed and consultative decision making.
Competitive Intelligence Tools
Similar Web Pro
Similar Web Pro is another unique tool that is effectively used in obtaining competitive intelligence. It can also be described as a market intelligence platform that undertakes an infroed and comprehensive analysis of websites and apps.
Similar Web Pro also provides a couple of services that help collect competitor information using social media tools and ensures brand stability. The first service includes the web analysis option using social media tools. This option helps a company to check ad engagements and traffic flow of a company’s digital activities.
Consequently, the Similar Web tool also comes in handy while trying to identify SEOs and PPC keywords where SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. PPC keywords, on the other hand, are commercial words or statements that contain a brand’s name.
Companies can also use Similar Web Pro to identify and fulfill the audience interests and feedback on the brand position and quality. Sources from where a competitor is tapping traffic or popular pages can also be extracted by use of similar web pro.
Brand Watch
Brand watch is a unique tool that is incorporated to aid in improving ad monitoring and competitor’s digital consumer intelligence in a market. Businesses can be able to harness useful insights that can help in securing a competitive edge in a market. Consequently, businesses are also able to make smarter and more informed decisions from observing consumer trends.
New market opportunities are also potentially available for every business that choses to work with Brand watch to improve its digital consumer and competitor intelligence. Threats are inevitable to any business. Brand watch gives companies a heads up before a major disaster or market failure is around the corner. With such information prior to a market collapse, businesses are able to shield their entities and resources before a loss. Just like any other tool, Brand Watch provides useful feedback from consumers.