How are you? So I came across a recent report that shocked me! So, I decided to write about it in case you’re in the same position.
According to the State of Competitive Intelligence, only 36% of companies have defined KPIs for their competitive intelligence (CI) programs. The percentage is increasing, but that is still flat-out unacceptable.
Without clear KPIs, you’ll miss opportunities or fail to anticipate competitive threats. And what happens because of that? You’ll see decreased market share, lost revenue, and missed growth opportunities.
So you need KPIs that show the impact of your competitive intelligence program. But you must have the right KPIs. They need to be based on business outcomes and provide actionable insights.
With effective KPIs in place, you can:
- Understand your competitive landscape
- Make informed decisions
- Increase market share
- Improve revenue
- Improve your competitive intelligence program
And, of course, develop more effective strategies and stay ahead of the competition.
So here’s what you’re going to do to develop effective KPIs:
1. Define goals and objectives: Clearly define the goals and objectives of the competitive intelligence program, including what outcomes your program is intended to achieve and how those outcomes will be measured.
2. Engage stakeholders: Engage stakeholders across the organization, including sales, marketing, product, and executive leadership. Cross-functional collaboration ensures your KPIs capture perspectives and outcomes important to the business.
3. Identify relevant KPIs: Your KPIs could include –
- Market share gained/lost as a result of competitive intelligence insights
- Number of new product or service ideas generated as a result of competitive intelligence
- Number of competitive threats successfully anticipated and mitigated
- Number of competitive threats missed or not acted upon
- Reduction in customer churn as a result of competitive intelligence insights
- Cost savings achieved as a result of competitive intelligence insights
These KPIs can help you track the impact of your competitive intelligence programs beyond revenue and win rates.
4. Set realistic targets: Set realistic targets for each KPI and establish a plan for tracking your progress. This can help ensure your program progresses toward its goals and identifies areas for improvement.
5. Use quantitative and qualitative metrics: Incorporate quantitative and qualitative metrics to capture a complete picture of your performance. This can help you identify areas for improvement and provide insights into why certain outcomes are being achieved.
6. Review and update KPIs: Regularly review and update KPIs as your business landscape evolves and new challenges arise. This can help ensure your program remains relevant and effective over time.
Following these steps, you can establish KPIs that deliver business-critical outcomes. And develop an effective competitive intelligence program providing actionable insights and better decision-making.
That’s it for today. I hope you found value in this issue and now know how to improve KPIs for competitive intelligence. Good luck with your KPIs!
Let me know if you have any questions.
Take care, and have an excellent rest of your day.
-Stewart Swayze