Nimlok News On Display:
Dare to Compare – Part 1

All organizations, particularly small and medium sized organizations, should use their trade show program to develop a simple, consistent Competitive Intelligence (CI) program to continuously gather primary intelligence on key competitors.

When was the last time you took a serious look at your competitors? Keeping an eye on the pulse of your industry will help you understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOTs) of your own organization and those of others. Dare to compare your organization with others. Unless you are a multinational corporation, chances are you don't even have a CI department or key individual(s) responsible for this important function.

While most organizations with whom I have spoken gather CI at their shows, they also admit that there is no formal way to analyze or share the information with key departments or individuals in a timely manner.

There are basically three steps to developing and implementing an effective CI program:

1. Have a plan
2. Consistently monitor competitors at all shows
3. Analyze and share the information

The Plan

At least one month before each show:

1. Meet with key individuals within your organization, e.g., Sales, Marketing, Product Development, etc.
2. Identify no more than five competitors you want to monitor and identify why.
3. Identify no more than five (5) key pieces of information you wish to know about your competitors. Outline why you need this information and what you will do with this information.
4. Verify that the "unknown" information does not already exist within your organization.
5. Check the competitors' Web sites to see if this information can be found there.
6. Check the show's Web site to see where the competitors are located, size of booth, and whether they are sponsoring or speaking at the conference, etc.
7. Identify who is best qualified to get the information (e.g., if you are looking for technical information, send an engineer or technician to get the information.)
8. Identify the tools you will need to do your job, e.g., writing notes, cameras, templates, etc.
9. Consider what you will wear when visiting competitors' booths (e.g., in most industries, if you want to talk to executives, it will be easier if you are attired in a business suit vs. cutoffs and flip-flops.
10. Consider what badge you need to get the information you want. While you should never mislead or deceive anyone (CI is NOT espionage), different badges give you different access. Be sure you have the right one. Generally:
    1. Exhibitor Badges give you access to show floor before, during and after show hours. Typically no access to conference sessions but sometimes access to Keynote or General Sessions.
    2. Conference Badges give you access to the show floor during show hours, conference sessions, meals and networking activities.
    3. Visitor/Buyer/Daily Badges give you access to show floor and sometimes to Keynote sessions or "free" seminars.
11. Based on your identified needs, develop a daily time chart of what needs to be done each day, as shown in the example below:
    
    

    Time	Activity	Action
    9:00 a.m.	Attend Keynote session to hear President of Company X.	Mike
    10:30 a.m.	Visit show floor, visit Booths X, Y and Z	Anne
    12:00 noon	Attend delegate luncheon and try to sit with Mr. C.	Mike
    2:00 p.m.	Attend panel session where Company A and B are both speaking	Mike
    3:00 p.m.	Walk show floor	Mike/Anne
    5:30 p.m.	Attend networking session	Paul
    7:00 p.m.	Have dinner with former customer of Company X to get their thoughts.	President & VP Sales

By having a plan and establishing roles and responsibilities, you can share the work and keep focused throughout the show.

While most organizations may want to monitor more than five companies or get more than five key pieces of information on each, it is most important to focus. If you have too many companies to monitor or try to gather too much information, you will find yourself hitting a wall as there are only so many hours in the day. Also, there will be time conflicts as many activities run concurrently and you can only be in one place at any given time. As well, gathering too much information will make the analysis very difficult to do in a timely manner with limited resources.

It is important to develop a plan with clear objectives and expectations to submit to senior management. Once the key information has been obtained, you will be free to acquire more intelligence as it presents itself.

CI can reap huge rewards with a focused, thought out plan. Dare to compare!

Anne Barron is a Certified Manager of Exhibits and President of ABComm Ltd., www.ab-comm.com, an exhibit and event management firm specializing in strategic exhibit marketing that focuses on competitive intelligence. She is a co-author of "Conference and Trade Show Intelligence," published by the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals, www.SCIP.org.

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