marketing

What’s Your CIQ (Competitive Intelligence Quotient)?

competitor intelligence Apple Vendor by Stevenson 1934

You may understand why buyers buy, but do you have insight on why sellers sell?
Illustration: Apple Vendor by Barbara Stevenson, 1934; via Smithsonian Museum of American Art

Past columns on this Thought Leader Zone website have looked at the difference in meaning between competitive intelligence,  competitive information and market research (see here and  here). On the main site for the official Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (www.scip.org), you can also find a series of humorous articles that look at the ”lighter side of CI.” (Find the links at the end of this post).

As a quick reminder, competitive information includes published or well-known facts; while competitive intelligence includes information, facts, trends, opinions or analysis that nobody else has. That’s what makes it so valuable and properly utilized, competitive intelligence can give your business a real competitive edge.

Whereas market research helps you better understand why buyers are buying, competitive intelligence and information can give you insights into why sellers are selling.

Do you as a thought leader know why buyers are buying and why sellers are selling in your industry? Do you have a clear view of your marketing landscape? What’s your CIQ? Ask, assess, then act. We’re here to help!

SCIP Articles: some articles require a site sign-in to view.

SCIP Article #1

SCIP article #2

SCIP article #3

SCIP article #4

SCIP article #5

SCIP article #6

SCIP article #7

SCIP article #8

SCIP article #9

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What’s Coloring Your Decisions? Color’s Critical Role in Branding

Last summer a series of blogs on this site focused on a color theme and looked at pink matters and gray matters and even the varied colors of the Olympic rings. But is there a color connected to thought leadership?

color increases brand recognition by up to 80%

Over the last few months, a new communications group I belong to has been considering that question as we put together our consultancy website. More about that in the future; but in the meantime, I invite you to review some of the interesting articles I’ve found on using color to market products…products like ”brand YOU.” Continue Reading…

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