How do you systematically organize & update your competitive intel when there's so much new information that can flow in every day?

This is a great question because without a framework for competitive intel you’ll get overwhelmed and lost in the noise. Here’s a few tips to get started: Define and tier your competitors. Every industry is saturated and you can’t track every competitor or alternative that your sales team comes across. Bucket your competition into tier 1 (who you’re always going head-to-head with), tier 2 (other common players you come across in deals), and up-and-coming competitors to keep an eye on. Keep the t ...Read More

Web tracking tools like Crayon and Klue help us curate intel from the web, and Slack gives us a constant feed of discussion where people around the company share insights.  But what holds it all together and prevents it from feeling overwhelming is having our durable view of our competitive differentiation. We have a specific set of capabilities + a surrounding narrative that we believe cuts through the competitive noise. Once you've defined that clearly, minor pieces of competitive intel start ...Read More

You're right: competition never stands still. And when you capture competitive information, it's likely that you are seeing the result of what they put into motion weeks, months, or quarters ago.  I've approached the flow of information coming from the competitive landscape differently from company to company. Here are a few guideposts that I've used:  Time-based: Find a cadence -- like 1x per month, 1x per quarter, etc. -- to update your competitive intel, including content like Competitive Car ...Read More

I really love using Klue as a source of truth, it does half of the updating for me.I also have a Google Spreadsheet tracker I use with a tab for each competitor and key categories like "product releases" where I link to any resources I can find (i.e. Product Showcase webinar, press release announcement) and add notes on "WHAT THAT MEANS" for our company.I really also love doing newsletters because you can look back and see what updates you shared, and what else you may need to consider discussin ...Read More

Yeah, there's a lot of new info flowing every day. But a lot of it is noise. First make sure you understand what's important to the company. What are the big goals you're trying to hit? What's the direction that your product is going in? With those things in mind, you should be able to filter out a lot of garbage that isn't worth your time. In terms of channels to put the GOOD stuff in... I have two: 1. A Slack channel dedicated to competitive intel (open to everyone in the company) 2. A monthly ...Read More

Staying on top of competitive intel requires a structured approach since a lot happens in any given week and you can get requests from all over the business. Here's how my teams try to manage it: Prioritize Top Competitors: Focus on the top competitors and their key market activities, like webinars or blog posts, to ensure you're monitoring the most impactful information. You can't be everywhere, so prioritization on what will make the biggest impact is key. Centralize Requests: Use a central pl ...Read More

We’re able to stay organized and updated on competitors largely due to crowd-sourcing information. We have a Competitive Intelligence Slack channel that extends across teams throughout the entire company so that individuals and groups can contribute any notable findings or insights. Updates, press announcements and feedback from customers is all shared in this one central location so that others can easily access it, as well as contribute. Additionally, new information is added into a grid or sp ...Read More

Mural's PMM team has a dedicated team member for competitive intelligence, which helps us stay on top of our very competitive space. We also utilize Crayon to not only surface new intel, but also organize and create resources for internal teams. Intel that's gathered through other means (i.e. seller interviews, VoC, executive conversations, etc.) is added to existing resources as well. Valuable new information is shared out in real-time via a PMM Slack channel that relevant audiences are a part ...Read More

Establish a Centralized Repository: Create a centralized repository or knowledge management system to store and organize competitive intelligence. This can be a shared document, a dedicated folder structure, or a specialized competitive intelligence software tool. I use a pretty simple google spreadsheet where I date and track links by competitor and source. Set up Information Gathering Channels: Implement channels to capture new competitive information efficiently. This can include setting up G ...Read More

Much like with target audiences, you have to choose a heirarchy of competitors. This should be informed by the alternatives you come across most often in sales calls. This can be tough when alternative companies are getting a lot of media attention, but my rule generally is, until we start seeing a competitor on calls, we don't build a profile. This is partially for focus and partially because without hearing directly from your buyers why they are considering another provider you are putting a l ...Read More

this is such a good question. comp intel is not a one time activity. its ongoing. same with positioning btw. I separate 3 things: Information collection, information analysis and information dissemination. For the latter i recommend no more than 2x per year. Ideally around key events, like annual sales kick off or annual customer event. Why? Quite simply because Sales can't absorb more. They need to retain so much information as is that its genuinely difficult to absorb more. In terms of analysi ...Read More