Here's how you can use competitive intelligence to make strategic decisions.

Don't waste your energy gathering granular data. Getting lost in the nitty-gritty of their ads copywriting is time consuming. Instead, start with understanding the market. What are your target segments of the market? Which competitors are going after the same segment? Are there segments where your product is the best one? What is the size and growth of your best segments? Segmenting the marketing will inform your product positioning and have a bigger strategic impact than tracking competitors' marketing campaign. Only then, you can start using tools such as: - Ahrefs & Google ads keyword explorer to understand the keywords the competitor is targeting - Ads libraries (Linkedin, Meta) to understand their campaigns - Social media monitoring

One of the best ways to gather data for competitive intelligence is to use a tool that helps you aggregate information faster. I love using apps like Klue to build competitive insights, get automatic news on competitor moves, and build a repository of data on the shifting marketplace. If you're not using a tool like Klue, set Google alerts, check your competitors' landing pages often, and most importantly, use their apps! Using a competitor's tool is the best way to understand their unique value proposition and build empathy for your lost deals and churned customers.

Competitive intelligence is vital for making informed strategic decisions. By providing a deep understanding of the competitive landscape, market dynamics, and customer needs, CI enables businesses to develop strategies that are proactive, innovative, and aligned with market conditions. This comprehensive approach ensures that companies remain competitive, resilient, and well-positioned for sustained growth.

Gather Data is the best way to use competitive intelligence for strategic decisions. Think of it like being a detective. By collecting data on competitors, market trends, and customer preferences, you get a full picture of the landscape. This information is your secret weapon, helping you understand where you stand and what moves to make next. It’s like having a treasure map that guides you to the best opportunities and helps avoid pitfalls. So, always start with thorough data gathering to inform and shape your strategic decisions effectively.

Examine the data to identify market trends and competitor strategies. Look for patterns in their product launches, marketing campaigns, pricing strategies, and customer engagement tactics. Analyzing trends helps you understand the competitive landscape and anticipate market shifts.

There are plenty of ways to identify gaps in the market. Here are a few to consider: 1. Talk to your current customers/clients/users 2. Competitive Analysis - standard approach to analyse your competitors 3. Look at PEST factors - political, economic, social, and technological These can help you identify the gaps in the market and potentially an opportunity to differentiate your product in the market.

Analyzing your competitors can reveal gaps in their product offerings or marketing strategies that you can exploit. Look for features they've overlooked or market segments they're not addressing effectively. By identifying these gaps, you can differentiate your product and create value propositions that resonate with customers who are not fully satisfied by your competitors. This strategic insight can guide your product development and marketing efforts to better meet customer needs, giving you a competitive edge.

Use the insights gained from competitive analysis to refine your marketing, product development, and sales strategies. Adjust your positioning, messaging, and value proposition to better differentiate your product from competitors. Strategic adjustments ensure your product remains relevant and competitive.

Competitive analysis isn't a set it and forget it component of product marketing. The industries we work in are always shifting and the competition with it. PMMs need to continuously monitor competitors to stay updated on their moves and strategies. Sign up for competitor newsletters, set reminders to comb through websites, and see what they're doing to differentiate in order to identify any product gaps. There have been times in the past where strategies needed a revamp based on new competitive insights. So, regularly reviewing and adjusting plans to make sure they remain aligned with a dynamic market environment is very important.

The most important thing should be to create a shared view of competitive and market intelligence across the organization to reduce duplication of effort and establish a single version of the truth. It should come from all stakeholders to make it more holistic, impactful, and current. This will help marketing and sales teams develop a strategy that includes demand generation, regional events, targeted product demos, and thought leadership partner programs and product teams to de/refine their product roadmaps.