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According to Forrester Research, “Companies are in a unique position today: They have an unprecedented ability to collect information about their customers through various channels. However, what has arisen from this gold mine of information is actually a pain point. Data and knowledge are collected at different levels of the organization and are often not shared or made accessible across departments. And the rise of do-it-yourself (DIY) capabilities across the organization only amplifies the problem.”

In the past, marketers learned about competitors’ (or even their own) products, services and support by conducting focus groups, completing surveys at a local mall, or by being shrewd and spying on them.

Today, organizations conduct analysis through more modern methods, utilizing technology to mine the myriads of data captured within social media channels.

 
Obviously, pinpointing these sources of competitive data is no longer a difficult or time consuming task. Information is readily available in large volumes through online reviews, professional or industry reviews, product and service ratings, web forms, survey results, online chat, customer service feedback, and more. The challenge is to utilize the appropriate tools and methods to harvest useful information, produce actionable insights from this data, and generate favorable results.

We have already discussed the benefits organizations derive from analytics. So, what are some of the options you should consider when looking for the right solution to meet your specific requirements?

When it comes to the potential acquisition of new software, organizations may be reluctant due to past failed endeavors. They want to avoid hurdles like lengthy sales processes, time to implement, IT resource drains, lack of talent, runaway costs, and the need for ongoing training. Each of these factors can negatively impact an organization’s ability to function efficiently. Companies already have enough issues on their plate, so increasing the workload and aggravation isn’t the answer. Instead, organizations are better served by user-friendly solutions that don’t require IT involvement, or a lot of “heavy lifting”.

One option to achieve this is a solution that is delivered as a service instead of a product. This eliminates the undesirable aspects of either dealing with software or locating the competitive data yourself. The idea is to let the vendor find the data for you, complete the analysis, and provide results as customizable reports (with or without sentiment), in the frequency you request. Management receives the intelligence it needs to make vital business decisions, and the organization continues to flourish and maintain a leadership role in the marketplace.

A word of caution when opting for the services approach: Take appropriate measures to ensure the report you are getting will be useful. Ask to see examples of a report so you know what to expect and can determine if the report make sense and will be helpful. If training is necessary, ask how much of your time it will require. Remember, for the information to be useful, it has to be simple for the user to navigate and understand with minimal or no training.