Last updated on
2024年11月3日
What are some of the best practices for designing and conducting competitive intelligence surveys?
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Before you start designing your survey, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and what you want to learn from your respondents. Your objectives and questions should be aligned with your competitive intelligence goals and priorities, and they should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely (SMART). You should also consider who your target audience is, how you will reach them, and what incentives you will offer them to participate. Having a well-defined purpose and scope for your survey will help you avoid wasting time and resources on irrelevant or vague data.
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I find the topic unconnected. Because in real world setup Competitive Intelligence (CI) cannot be done by surveys! Either you do a plain vanilla survey or marketing survey - not link it to CI. At-least never mention during the interview / primary research phase. CI is not a single step or a multi questionnaire process but a combination of complex understanding and analysis of openly available information about competitor (target org) as well as internal information which are gathered from line managers or key stakeholders. Context switching as well as context understanding play crucial role while conducting CI. Surveys focus on specific questions may not cover all the nuances/complexities of an org's operations, strategies, etc.
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Clear objectives are essential for effective CI surveys, aiming for SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. For instance, a SMART objective might be determining the percentage of "highly satisfied" customers by a specific date. This clarity aids in designing targeted questions. Additionally, survey questions must be clear, concise, and unbiased, as even slight wording changes can affect responses, highlighting the importance of careful question crafting.
Depending on your objectives, questions, and audience, you can choose from different survey methods and tools to collect your competitive intelligence data. Some of the common methods include online surveys, phone surveys, email surveys, and face-to-face surveys. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of cost, response rate, quality, and flexibility. You should weigh the pros and cons of each method and choose the one that best suits your needs and budget. You should also select a survey tool that is easy to use, secure, and compatible with your chosen method. Some of the popular survey tools include SurveyMonkey, Qualtrics, Google Forms, and Typeform.
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There are many survey tools available, each with unique features. Popular ones like SurveyMonkey and Qualtrics offer advanced functionalities. For competitor insights, tools like Crayon and SimilarWeb are useful. The choice depends on the survey's complexity, budget, and analysis needs. Simple internal surveys could use Google Forms, while complex market research may require advanced platforms like Qualtrics.
Designing a competitive intelligence survey requires creating effective questions and layout to elicit accurate, relevant, and actionable responses from respondents. When crafting the questions, it’s important to use simple and clear language that avoids jargon, ambiguity, and bias. Closed-ended questions with predefined choices or scales are best for easy quantification and analysis. Open-ended questions should be used sparingly when more detailed or nuanced feedback is required. Additionally, the order and flow of questions should follow a natural progression and use skip logic and branching to tailor them based on previous responses. Visual aids such as images, charts, or graphs can also be used to make the questions more engaging.
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Various approaches can be used based on competitive intelligence (CI) objectives, such as competitive benchmarking, customer satisfaction, and industry trend surveys. Each serves to compare performance, assess customer perception, or identify market changes. Ethical considerations and data privacy, including transparency and adherence to regulations like GDPR, are essential.
Before you launch your survey, you should test it thoroughly to ensure that it works properly, that it meets your objectives and questions, and that it does not contain any errors or flaws that could compromise your data quality or validity. You should test your survey on a small sample of your target audience or on a group of colleagues or experts who can provide honest and constructive feedback. You should also test your survey on different devices, browsers, and platforms to ensure that it is compatible and accessible for your respondents. Based on the results of your testing, you should refine your survey questions, layout, and settings to improve its performance and usability.
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Before launching, it's crucial to conduct rigorous testing, including pilot testing with a small sample to identify issues. Analyzing this data helps refine the survey. A/B testing can also optimize response rates and data quality by comparing different versions.
Once you are satisfied with your survey design and testing, you are ready to launch it and collect your competitive intelligence data. You should choose an appropriate time and channel to distribute your survey invitation to your target audience, and you should follow up with reminders or thank-you messages to increase your response rate and engagement. You should also monitor your survey progress and response rate regularly to ensure that you are getting enough and representative data for your analysis. You should also be prepared to deal with any issues or challenges that may arise during your survey administration, such as technical glitches, low participation, or negative feedback.
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Timing and channel selection are key to maximizing survey response rates. B2B surveys often succeed via email during business hours, while B2C surveys may do better on social media in the evenings or weekends. Personalizing surveys by using respondents' names and tailoring questions can further enhance engagement and response quality.
The final step of conducting a competitive intelligence survey is analyzing and reporting your survey results. You should use appropriate statistical methods and tools to analyze your quantitative data, such as frequencies, percentages, averages, correlations, or regressions. You should also use qualitative methods and tools to analyze your open-ended data, such as coding, categorizing, or theming. You should look for patterns, trends, gaps, or outliers in your data that can answer your questions and objectives. You should also visualize your data using charts, graphs, or dashboards to make it easier to understand and communicate. You should then create a report that summarizes your key findings, insights, and recommendations based on your data analysis. You should also include the limitations and implications of your survey results, and suggest any further actions or research that may be needed.
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After collecting data, it's essential to analyze and report it to transform it into actionable insights. Tools like descriptive statistics, data visualization, and trend analysis help identify key patterns. Reports should be concise and visually engaging, using executive summaries, charts, and infographics to convey insights effectively. Combining survey data with other competitive intelligence sources offers a comprehensive view of the competitive landscape.
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For SaaS companies, I think a great moment to push a CI survey, or at least a light version of it, is when customers churn. Ask them the reason why they're leaving and include an option "Switching to another product". If they select this option, kindly ask which one and why. Just saw it on Appcues unsubscribe flow 5 minutes ago :)
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There's lots of ways to assess the competition. One often overlooked method is to conduct mystery shops. These provide first hand, real world insights into what competitors are doing well and can uncover weaknesses that can be exploited.
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Case study: A software company conducted a competitive intelligence (CI) survey to understand competitors' product development strategies. Targeting industry experts and competitor employees, the survey used various question types to collect data on R&D investments and product roadmaps. The findings helped the company refine its product strategy. Effective CI surveys, when designed and executed well, provide crucial insights for strategic decision-making in a dynamic business landscape.