| In spite of the current economic environment, people | | | | detailed and useful information. You can record why |
| are still buying products and services. However, with | | | | you lost an opportunity, what solution you lost it to and |
| sales volume lower and margins tighter than they have | | | | who you lost it to, for example: |
| been for a while, competition for each piece of | | | | Why?: When you win or lose an opportunity start |
| business is substantial. Competitor analysis using your | | | | recording why? This is easier to do if you use a series |
| Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system | | | | of standard responses, which will make analysis easier. |
| can give you a significant competitive advantage and | | | | These could include: "price", "reference ability", "better |
| this could be pivotal to success. | | | | product", "geography", "better presentation". |
| The key to beating competitors is to be a little bit | | | | What?: If you are in a market where you are not up |
| better than them and to work a lot harder than them. | | | | against like-for-like products or services then try to find |
| Knowing who your competition is and what their | | | | out what it is your competitor is selling. |
| strengths and weaknesses are can only help you. | | | | Who?: Record who won each sales opportunity. |
| However in order to gather the information to carry | | | | If you use all three of these in conjunction then you will |
| out competitor analysis there is an internal cultural | | | | be able to get a clear picture of who you key |
| change needed as sales people need to begin to ask | | | | competitors are and what you need to improve on. |
| who they are against in terms of competition. Making | | | | In order to facilitate this type of competitor analysis, |
| this standard practice can take a bit of getting used to. | | | | you need to have a reliable, company-wide CRM |
| Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Solutions | | | | system and the internal culture to ask for the |
| can be used as a central point for storing information | | | | information, record it and analyze it. |
| about your contacts and competitors, giving all your | | | | A well thought-out properly designed and implemented |
| employees the ability to access key data when they | | | | Customer Relationship Management System can help |
| need it. Once you have a CRM system you can | | | | you with this, putting processes in place and giving you |
| record all information relating to an opportunity, but you | | | | the tools to explore and exploit your data. |
| need to ensure you link each opportunity to competitor | | | | This article has covered the basics of using CRM |
| records in CRM.o If you win the deal, the CRM system | | | | software for competitive analysis. However, modern |
| will know who you have beaten.o If you lose the deal, | | | | CRM systems are extremely powerful, and can be |
| you need to tell the CRM system which competitor | | | | tailored to your precise business or organizational |
| won. | | | | needs. The advent of 'xRM', Social CRM, CRM 2.0, |
| This will give you enough information to begin | | | | integrated systems and business intelligence |
| competitor analysis. For example, how many times | | | | applications extends the power of CRM systems |
| have you been beaten by and in turn won against | | | | even further. Correct deployment of these applications |
| each competitor. Is one competitor dominating your | | | | enables competitive analysis to become highly |
| market? | | | | advanced, giving businesses that employ them a major |
| Once you have a CRM system in place and each | | | | advantage. |
| opportunity is linked, you can start to build up more | | | | |