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Marketing & Competitive Intelligence FAQ
Finding Basic Competitor Intelligence
We are currently in the process of performing our market research for a new short-term investment firm that we wish to establish and we were wondering if you may be able to provide us with some insight regarding how to obtain specific data on our competitors. For example, we are looking for general business information such as the year established, number of employees, annual sales, market share, annual growth rate, and budget information.
Most of this information is in the public domain, and it should be fairly easy to collect for most markets. In many countries there is a legal obligation to file this kind of information. In most of Europe, for example, annual sales and number of employees can be found in the company accounts of all but the smallest businesses. In the US, public companies file similar data via the SEC and this data is freely available at the SEC web site (http://www.sec.gov). Even where such information is not available from company registries (for example Companies House, in the UK), company information agencies such as Dun & Bradstreet usually obtain such data as part of their overall business reporting operations. Thus D&B reports typically include year established, number of employees, annual sales over 3 years (allowing you to get a growth rate) and more.
Market share information will need to be calculated using knowledge of the total sales of all your competitors although there are frequently detailed market and industry reports available which include estimates of total market size. From this, the market share of any individual company can often be estimated. Such reports are held in the major business libraries and can usually be purchased online from the producer. It is also possible to download selected parts from host database companies such as Factiva, Lexis-Nexis or Dialog.
The only questionable information is budget information - which may be internal to the company and not readily available. (I'm assuming you mean internal departmental budgets or purchasing/investment budgets). It is, however, sometimes possible to assess investment budgets by identifying purchases and investments over a fixed period using details held in the cash flow statements and balance sheets filed in the publicly available sources.
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Quick Tip
Quick Tip: Frog in well
We think too small, like the frog at the bottom of the well. He thinks the sky is only as big as the top of the well. If he surfaced, he would have an entirely different view.(Attributed to Mao Zedung).
What is your perspective on your business environment? Are you missing opportunities because you only see your immediate industry or geographic location, when there could be new opportunities slightly further away or in related industries?
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Books - Art of the Long View
Recommended Book

The Art of the Long View Peter Schwartz
Buy UK £ or US$ This is an excellent introduction and guide to scenario planning.
Read our review of this book
If there is one book that is head and shoulders above all the other on the subject of scenario planning, this is it. Schwartz's book is a joy to read and gives a tremendous introduction to the subject, leaving the reader with a firm grounding and understanding in the way that scenario planning has helped many companies gain competitive advantage in their industries. The text includes many case studies and anecdotes making it a must-read book. Peter Schwartz is not only one of the world's leading scenario planners - but an excellent writer also.
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