Note: realnames.com has been established to alleviate the problem of
matching company and products names to actual web addresses.
Essentially, it operates as a specialist search engine.
■ Summary
CI provides an increasingly vital function, which underpins marketing
strategy. The process provides numerous benefits including anticipating
competitors’ actions, improved teamwork and promoting learning and
innovation within the organisation. CI is based on a four-stage cycle. The
cycle starts with planning and direction then moves on to collection,
analysis and dissemination. Internal and electronic data sources have
greatly widened the availability of data/information.
■ References
Kahaner, L., Competitive Intelligence, Touchstone, New York, 1997.
Pollard, A., Competitor Intelligence, Financial Times Pitman Publishing,
London, 1999.
■ Further reading
Pollard, A., Competitor Intelligence, Financial Times Pitman Publishing,
London, 1999.
Taylor, J., Competitive intelligence: a status report on US business practices,
Journal of Marketing Management, 8 (2), 1993.
Competitive intelligence 45