No time to die but which one of your competitors is going to kill you off?

No time to die but which one of your competitors is going to kill you off?

We are getting ready for the much-delayed release of James Bond’s latest adventure in “No Time To Die”. It has got us thinking about how some companies focus on one or two competitors and forget about the rest. We called this article no time to die but which one of your competitors is going to kill you off? We attempt to show you the best way to use Competitive Intelligence and provide a tenuous link to James Bond!

No Time To Die
Five years after capturing Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Bond has left active service. He is approached by Felix Leiter. He enlists his help in searching for a kidnapped scientist called Valdo Obruchev. Bond must confront new a villain whose schemes could see the death of millions.

The point we are making is that James Bond focused his time on many foes during Daniel Craig’s adventures. All of whom could have killed him off. All didn’t, and what he didn’t realise was it was all part of a big Blofeld plan. Again James Bond fought him off and beat him. In No Time To Die, he faces a new and unexpected obstacle (A new competitor) and another internal rival. A new 007 at MI6, smoking his pipe and wearing his slippers.

Many focus on just 3 or 4 competitors
Now, companies face this situation often. Some of them even do something about it. Many focus on 3 or 4 competitors who are around them, snapping at their heels all the time.

What is Competitive Intelligence?

Competitive intelligence is the finding, sorting and critical analysis of information. To make sense of what’s happening and why. Predict what’s going to happen and give the options to help you control the outcome. Competitive intelligence offers certainty, competitive advantage, insight, growth & security.
But 90% of the time, these competitors are not going to be the one’s to put a gun to your head and finish your business off. Current competitors are not going to be the ones who will kill you off.

It’s more likely that a brand new competitor is the one who could do the damage. It’s very reasonable to suggest that the most significant threat you face is not even trading yet. They could be at this minute be just sitting and studying in their Singapore student accommodation. Hatching up a plan for world domination. And they may not have even heard of you and what you do. They may not have any desire to move into your industry. But what they do could still kill you.

Look to the horizon
So focusing your competitive Intelligence activities on your main competitors may be logical. But, it is also best to look to the horizon to spot where that fatal bullet could be fired from.

Equally, Competitive Intelligence is not all about your Competitors. Why make it easy for new competitors to enter your market and know where you are going to be. Use Competitive Intelligence to keep moving, ducking and diving into new areas. Innovate and go down new paths and attract new customers. Keep your current customers and prospects happy. Using tools like Win/Loss analysis and many other things.

Its not about copying
Competitive Intelligence is definitely not about copying your competitors either. It’s about knowing what they are doing, going to do and what you can do about it. And look to see if your competitors are working with each other. Or is your market consolidating or fragmenting. One this for sure is that the market is not standing still.

Conclusion
No time to die but which one of your competitors is going to kill you off?
In this article, we askedNo time to die but which one of your competitors is going to kill you off? We tried to link the release of James Bond’s “No Time To Die”. And just using Competitive Intelligence to look at the competitors you know and love.