How can you use competitive intelligence to identify acquisition targets?

2 Identify potential targets

Once you have defined your objectives, you can use various sources of CI to identify potential targets. Industry reports and databases can provide insight into the size, growth, trends, and segments of your industry, as well as key players, market share, and competitive landscape. Financial statements and filings can give you information about the financial performance, profitability, assets, liabilities, and valuation of potential targets. News and media can help you learn about the latest developments, events, and announcements of potential targets. Additionally, social media and websites can offer insight into the online presence, activities, and engagement of potential targets. All of these sources can provide valuable information about a target's reputation, customer feedback, stakeholder relations, culture, values, and vision.

3 Analyze and compare targets

Once you have identified potential targets, you need to analyze and compare them based on your objectives. To do this, you can use various tools and methods of CI, such as SWOT analysis to assess the strengths and weaknesses of each target, benchmarking to compare performance with your own or the industry average, gap analysis to identify the gaps between your current state and desired state, and scenario analysis to evaluate the possible outcomes of acquiring each target. These methods can help you determine the competitive advantages and disadvantages of each target, identify best practices and areas for improvement, understand the potential value and fit of each target, and evaluate the implications and risks involved.

4 Select and approach targets

After analyzing and comparing potential targets, you need to select and approach the most suitable ones. CI can help you do this by utilizing techniques like scoring and ranking, due diligence, and negotiation. Scoring and ranking can help you assign scores and ranks to each target based on your objectives and criteria, while due diligence can help you verify the information about each target. Additionally, negotiation can help you communicate with each target, establish rapport, trust, and mutual interest, as well as propose and agree on the terms of the deal. Utilizing CI to identify acquisition targets can help you make informed decisions while increasing your chances of success. It also helps with monitoring and evaluating the performance of acquired targets, as well as identifying new opportunities in the market.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?