Competitive intelligence

is an important aspect of strategic management. It helps decision-makers measure their

performance against rivals and make effective future strategies. However, in an age of
surplus information, sifting through the right sources for meeting specific goals and
objectives can be difficult. If you’re responsible for driving the strategy of your
organization, here are the top external sources of competitive intelligence that should be
on your radar.

1. Competitor websites
Your website is the window to the world. So it goes without saying that studying a
competitor’s website can provide tremendous insight into the way they operate. Apart
from corporate information such as their products, leadership team, and geographic
presence, websites can tell you a lot about their marketing strategies. For example,
press releases will reveal the latest company news, such as market expansion,
partnerships, and product changes. Analyzing their website content and user
experience using tools such as Google Analytics provides insight into their positioning,
traffic, keywords, and search ranking. Job descriptions posted on their careers page can
provide an inside-view on current projects, investment areas, as well as their
organizational structure.
2. Annual reports
Annual reports are a reliable source of company data such as revenues, employee
numbers, history, business growth strategies, stakeholders, subsidiaries, and so on.
They offer a comprehensive view of your competitor’s activities and their financial
health.

3. Premium databases
In situations where freely-available information is limited, paid databases like CapitalIQ
and Factiva can be useful sources of competitive intelligence. These databases provide
in-depth information on companies, products, pricing, investments, innovation, among
other business information.

4. Syndicated reports/ analyst reports

When it comes to uncovering industry benchmarks and best practices, syndicated
research reports are incredibly valuable. They provide viable information on everything
from market-related numbers to trends, growth forecasts to industry-specific company
profiles. This offers an overview of your focus market, including the key players in your
industry, how they differentiate themselves, and how their services map with market
needs, providing greater clarity of your competitive landscape.
5. Primary research
Companies looking for granular insight on their competition can conduct primary
research, such as surveys, interviews or mystery shopping. Primary information
gathered from suppliers, distributors, customers, and even industry thought leaders
offer insight on competitor products/services that might not be available elsewhere.
Data collected via primary sources help in understanding buyer behavior towards your
products versus your competition, helping you refine your marketing strategy according
to evolving customer needs.
6. Social media
Social media platforms and online forums are a gold mine of customer and competitive
intelligence. Analyzing social media conversations can reveal how your brand compares
to your competition in terms of customer sentiment and share-of-voice helping you
inform your brand strategy. Honest, unfiltered feedback about your competitors’ can
offer insight into your own products and services. These insights can then be used to
inform your product and marketing strategies. Additionally, tracking your rival’s social
profiles can help you stay informed on their latest developments, events they are
sponsoring or participating in, collaborations, messaging, among others.

7. Patent databases
Analyzing your competitors’ patent portfolio can reveal the products they are building,
the direction of their R&D and help you devise effective innovation strategies
accordingly. Addressing the gaps in your IP can help you stay better prepared for
potential disruptions in your industry due to technological innovation.

Competitive intelligence is key to identifying strategic opportunities across the

organization. But to translate intelligence into actionable insight, it’s important to
evaluate the various facets of the market along with its participants. That’s why
Netscribes takes a multi-dimensional approach to competitive intelligence which
combines data from various internal and external sources.
Netscribes works with organizations across the globe inform both strategic and tactical
decisions through holistic research and insights. To request a consultation,
contact info@netscribes.com.

ETOP Analysis
Environmental scanning is the monitoring, evaluating, and disseminating of
information from the external and internal environment to key people within the
corporation or organization. Business environment analysis is a regular business
feature. It results in a quantity of information related to forces in the environment.
It usually relates to events, trends, issues, natural calamities and
expectations. ETOP analysis (environmental threat and opportunity profile) is the
process of gathering information about events and their relationships within an
organization’s internal and external environments. The basic purpose
of environmental scanning is to help management determine the future direction of
the organization. Structuring of environmental issues is necessary to make
them meaning full for strategy formulation.

Understanding of management strategy or organization policy and effectiveness is

not as easy; it requires looking at how company is griped with challenges, looking
at the threats and opportunities and finding solutions for facing it. It requires
proper evaluation on the position of an organization, whether the adopted strategy
is working well and if not why and how should it progress ahead. Strategies are
means of operationally signing a policy for goals and objective. For company to
function very well and to be productive to its maximum standard effective strategy
should not be impeded. Sometimes very micro and neglected issues mar the
strategy.

ETOP involves dividing the environment into different sectors. Each sectors can be
subdivided into sub sectors. For example oil & gas sector can be broken down into
sub-sectors such as exploration & production, integrated oil & gas, oil equipment &
services, pipelines, renewable energy equipment, alternative fuels producers, oil
equipment, services & distribution, alternative energy etc. ETOP further analyzes
the impact of each sector and sub-sector on the organization. For example, GE Oil
& Gas as an existing organization in this sector requires to scan the environment
from an industry perspective: O&NG industry is divided into three major sectors –
upstream, midstream and downstream. The upstream sector is a term commonly
used to refer to exploration, recovery and production of O&NG. In industry jargon it
is simply called Exploration and Production (E&P). The downstream sector is a term
commonly used to refer to the refining of crude oil and the selling and distribution
of natural gas and products derived from crude oil. The midstream industry
processes, stores, markets and transports commodities such as crude oil, natural
gas, natural gas liquids (liquefied natural gas such as ethane, propane and butane)
and Sulphur.

An organization’s internal environment consists of the elements within the

organization, including current employees, management, the organization’s culture
which is defined by operating procedures and employee behavior. Though some
elements affect the organization as a whole, others affect only the management. A
manager’s philosophical or leadership style directly impacts employees. Traditional
managers give explicit instructions to employees, while progressive managers
empower employees to make many of their own decisions. Changes in philosophy
and leadership style are under the control of the manager. Unlike the external
environment of a business, the internal environment can be controlled. It is
important to recognize potential opportunities and threats outside company
operations. However, managing the strengths of internal operations is the key to
business success. Leadership matters a lot in controlling the internal environment.

The external environment of an organization are those factors outside the

company that affect the company’s ability to function. Some external elements can
be manipulated by company marketing, while others require the organization to
make adjustments. Organizations need to monitor the basic components of a firm’s
external environment, and keep a close watch on it at all times. The external
environment consists of customers, government, economy and competition.

Managing image of an organization is most important in the external environment.

Corporate image, or reputation, describes the manner in which a company, its
activities, and its products or services are perceived by outsiders. In a competitive
business climate, many businesses actively work to create and communicate a
positive image to their customers, shareholders, the financial community, and the
general public. A company that bungles or ignores its image is likely to encounter a
variety of problems. Once an organization gets into reputation problems, it goes on
growing like weeds in a garden.

Opportunities and Threats: External opportunities provide an organization with a

means to improve its performance and competitive advantage in a market
environment. Some opportunities can be foreseen, such as being able to expand a
franchise into a new city. When organizations can think far ahead, they can create
some opportunities

External threats are anything in the outside environment that can adversely affect
its performance or achievement of its goals. Ironically, stronger organizations can
be exposed to a greater level of threats than weaker organizations, because
success raises envy and competition which a successful organization needs to fight
to get ahead. Examples of external threats include new and existing regulations,
new and existing competitors, new technologies that may make products or
services obsolete, unstable political and legal systems in foreign markets and
economic downturns. When organizations are alert and have enough resource they
can turn a threat into an opportunity, such as a new technology that may displace
one of the key products but also provides an opportunity for new product
development.

 According to figures released by America’s Cambridge Energy Research

Associates, India is home to around 64 trillion cubic feet of unexplored gas

 at various locations. This gas can be extracted, and supplied into houses
and production units to trigger country’s growth.
 Demand for oil and gas in India will keep on increasing due to country’s

rising energy needs.

 Oil and gas majors like Cairn, ONGC and Reliance have lined up plans for

huge investments in-order to increase oil and gas production in the

country, which has fuelled the growth.
 GE oil & gas can grow from within by focusing on niche products and markets

where its larger rivals aren’t a factor.

 GE specializes in growth areas such as drilling equipment and compressors.

 GE is cash rich company. It aspires to continue to develop technology

overlaps between the businesses it has.

 Narendra Modi government is planning to set up several power plants. It is

considering setting up gas based power generation projects in states like-

Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. While it plans to set up
thermal power plants in states like Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West
Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar which produce coal, this is indeed good news.

For GE Oil & Gas the threats are:

 The environmental pressure and market demand that oil companies

experience today force them to explore new industries, i.e. renewables.
 State owned oil and gas companies like ONGC and Oil India limited are

market leaders in the country. However, they are facing tough competition
in oil exploration and production from private players like Reliance, Essar,
Adani, etc.
 Analysts are doubtful GE Oil & Gas can achieve enough weight without

acquisitions to be a major player in the industry.

 GE Oil & Gas needs to get bigger and develop a clearer strategy if it hopes to

keep up with its larger competitors.

 The Oil & Gas sector need to emphasize on R&D. India is weak in it.

 Currently, Dehradun based University of Petroleum and Energy Studies is

considered as the only private University which offers PHD, post graduate
 and undergraduate courses in energy and petroleum. This University aims
to create professionals who can serve India’s rapidly growing oil and gas
Industry.

This is how ETOP analysis provides clarity of which sector and sub
sectors have favorable impact on the organization. It helps interpret the result of
environment analysis due to which an organization can assess
its competitive position.