Confessions of a Corporate Spy
Just the Facts, Ma'am
The job isn't complete until a client has the information necessary to make a decision. I like to produce a report heavy on direct quotes. It's more than color; it's boardroom ammunition. One of the quintessential problems with competitive intelligence is getting anyone to act on the data. A good journalist understands that it takes some emotional resonance to sell a story.
But format can vary greatly, depending on the urgency of the need for the data and the intended audience. When I'm conducting research for a company's internal team, as often as not, it just wants results, raw. When the ultimate audience is corporate investors and analysts, I know I will be contributing to a PowerPoint presentation. I hate PowerPoints; they tend to strip the intelligence of both its emotional impact and the depth of quantitative data needed for informed decision making.
The grand goal of good intelligence gathering has to be more than a pretty deck. There has to be a focus on actionable intelligence, the kind of information that lets you make decisions. Clients reach out for help with a competitive-intelligence problem because they're confused and, perhaps, afraid of making the wrong strategic decision. The idea of sending someone to quietly ask questions at a Talbots or to trawl through Facebook postings looking for the person trashing your business online has a mildly theatrical element to it. That speaks to the emotion underlying the industry--fear. The goal of competitive intelligence, ultimately, is to reduce anxiety about making decisions under uncertainty and with limited information. I suppose that's why I can feel like a con artist at times, even when I'm asking polite, honest, upfront questions. At the end of the day, that's what I'm selling--confidence.
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Consider It Done
What the author will seek to do or learn on your behalf, the likelihood he will get what he's after, and the time it will take.
Cell-phone number of your competitor's main contact with Walmart:
• 80 percent chance; five minutes.
The names and contact information of the people suing your biggest rival:
• 80 percent chance; 30 minutes.
Stake out your competitor's booth at a trade show to see what people are saying about your product:
• 95 percent chance; four hours.
The market segmentation your competitor is using in its advertising:
• 95 percent chance; one to three days.
Stake out your competitor's manufacturing facility to see how much stuff it's making:
• 95 percent chance; three days to three weeks.
The names of your competitor's top five salespeople and their salaries:
• 80 percent chance; margin of error +/- 10 percent; three days.
Identify which of your competitor's former executives are most likely to come to work for you:
• 80 percent chance; one week.
Profit margin of your privately held competitor:
• 50-50 chance; margin of error +/- 10 percent; five to 10 days.
