Competitive Analysis

It’s tempting to say that you have no competitors, but even if you believe you re pioneering an entirely new area, you have a competitor … The current way of doing what you claim is new.  Word processors competed against typewriters; eCommerce competes with Brick and Mortar Retail, and so on.

Developing a comprehensive and thorough competitive analysis is important.  Internal resources can be used, but often look at the competitive landscape with “rose-colored” glasses.  It’s often wise to work with a team that can tell you “your baby is ugly”.  The hard part is then giving you ideas of how to improve. Criticism is easy … answers are hard.

After doing good research, role-playing can often be a constructive way to approach competitive issues. One of the most famous approaches was used by Intel to “steal” the contract for the microprocessor to be used in the IBM PC from Motorola.  The approach was called “Operation Crush” and revolutionized the semiconductor industry and other high technology markets.  It worked for them and can work for you too.