Keeping Tabs on the Competition –Company Research via the Internet

Research EdgeCindy Fromherz, PrincipalApril, 2011

The action of defining, gathering, analyzing, and distributing Intelligence about products, customers, competitors and any aspect of the environment needed to support executives and managers in making strategic decisions for an organization.

The competition may know a lot more about your business than you think!

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What is competitive intelligence?

For the full picture, you need to also look at key employees, products, and more

Can use the same tools to check out potential partners, customers, or suppliers

There is a big difference between public and privatecompanies in available information

The smaller the company, the less info available

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This presentation will focus on one aspect of Competitive Intelligence – private company research via the internet

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My Toolkit for Company Research

Select the tools that work for you!

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Our Example – Loubat Equipment Company

Use exact phrases, enclosed with quotes “internet marketing”

Be specific, using multiple words “internet marketing” trends “small business”

Exclude words via the minus sign“internet marketing” –”social media”

Use the OR operator to include several concepts in one search internet OR “social media” marketing

Focus using google features – news, blogs, image, etc.

See Google Search Basics for a full list of features - http://bit.ly/dVyZh1

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On-line research is easier with good search techniques!

Key personnelAddressPhone numbersE-mail addressesNAICS (industry) codes Number of employeesRevenueCorporate affiliationsCredit infoAnd more

Free sources are limited – be prepared for ads and come-ons to buy more information.

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On-line Business Databases

FreeMantaHoover’sZapdataZoomInfo

FeeinfoUSASelectoryHoover’sZapdata

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Example - RefUSA – via Public Library

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Content. Don’t overlook! But only info the company wishes you to see will be available.

CompeteAlexaAttention MeterNeilson (fee)Hitwise (fee)Yahoo Site ExplorerSEOmoz Open Site ExplorerWhoisQuarkbase

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Competitor WebsitesWeb analyticsUsage. Traffic, unique visitors, visit trends, audience demographics, etc. LinksOther sites linking to website. Indicator of trust or popularityDomain detailsWho owns, how long, other URLs on server

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Example – Site Analytics - Traffic

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Example – Site Analytics - Keywords

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Example - Links

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Social Media

Social networking sites – Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

Business reviews – Yelp, TripAdvisor, Citysearch

Blogs – company specific or other

Social content – video (YouTube), photos (Flickr), presentations (Slideshare), audio/podcasts

Groups, forums, chat rooms

Facebook business “pages” function as interactive company websites.

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Business Networking SitesTwitter

Twitter advanced search has powerful features

Also use twitseek, exacttweets, twitscoop, and twellow

LinkedIn

A million+ company profiles

Employees in your network

Company stats (job function, years experience, degree)

Former employees

Search enginesInternal to siteAggregators

Social MentionWhos TalkinCollectaIceRocketCollectaTechnoratiBlogPulse

Results will vary significantly based on the tool or technique utilized! Experiment.

(c) 2011 Bush & Associates LLC, dba Research Edge

Social Media Search Tools

Web searchUse these words with competitor’s name, brands, features, etc.

LikeLoveSucksI wishHate

Example - YouTube

Example – Social Media Aggregator

Business registration. Through Secretary of State and occupational licenses. Ownership, corporate history, registered agents, dba, trademarks, etc. Legal filings and decisions. Lawsuits, bankruptcies, assetsPermits, regulatory, environmental. Building permits, zoning requests, environmental clearances, violations Patents. Very important in certain industries - tech, biomedical, manufacturing, etc.

Availability of on-line records varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

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Public Records and other Filings

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Example – Corporations Database

Business and trade journals are excellent information sources, but free access to recent articles is limited. Look for free trial offers.

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Newspapers and Periodicals

Search within specific local news sources

Use “journal” in the search query

Use specific terms, e.g., expansion, lawsuit

Free on-line sources –Magportal, Metagrid, Highwire

Company profilesExecutive profilesChanges in managementNew locationsNew product linesFacility improvementsFuture plansLawsuits or bankruptcies

(c) 2011 Bush & Associates LLC, dba Research Edge

Example – Media Search

New hiring activitySkills soughtLocation of new hiresPay scalesClues to expansionsClues to new market entryClues to corporate strategy

National jobsitesMonsterCareer BuilderJob Search.com

Local job sitesNola.comWorkNolaLocal Craig’s List

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Advertised Jobs

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Maps

No Surprises!!

Google Alerts – for competitor’s company name, brand, key executives

Social media alerts – same as above, for favorite aggregator search engine

Subscribe to competitor’s blog (anonymous through RSS feed) or newsletter (sign-up generally required)

Monitor changes to competitor’s website –ChangeDetection.com

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Ongoing Monitoring

Research Edge is a New Orleans based consulting firm specializing in business research. We help clients understand their customers, their competition, and the environment in which their business operates so they can make smart decisions.

Cynthia B. Fromherz, Principal

Contact us at: Info@ResearchEdgeConsulting.com