Last week, we covered six types of news that your competitive intelligence process should pick up. If you missed it, you can check out that post here.
This week, we’re discussing six more kinds of news stories that your business needs to be track if you want to stay on top of the competition…
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Financial Results:
It may seem obvious, but staying on top of your competitors’ financial release statements can give you a glimpse into the health and growth of their business. Your competitive intelligence process should keep up with each of your major competitors’ financial results on an ongoing basis.
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Management Publicity:
When an executive at a competing company talks, you should be listening. Management statements, interviews, and articles can contain useful details about a company’s current products and future ambitions. Whether published on a competitor’s website or through a third-party media outlet, a good CI process will capture those details.
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Industry Events:
Conferences and tradeshows are popular forums for announcing new products, services, and strategic initiatives. If a competing business is presenting at an industry event, a thorough CI set-up should let you know when and where, as well as who presented what.
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Sponsored Content:
Separate from traditional ads, sponsored content often takes the form of an article or report published through a third-party outlet. This type of content rarely shows up on competitors’ websites and can be difficult to spot in the wild. If your CI process doesn’t catch instances of sponsored content, you may be overlooking interesting insights into how other businesses present themselves and their products to the public at large.
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Employee Content:
Similar to sponsored content, employee content typically consists of an article or report written by an employee for a competing company. Unlike sponsored content, these pieces are attributed to a specific employee and blend with the normal content found on the publishing site.
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Rebranding:
Fresh new branding can mean a number of things for a company. Whether a rebrand is indicative of a strategic shift, merger, or an attempt at a fresh start, knowing when a competitor changes its name, website, or other brand details is vital information that your CI process should catch.