Competitive Intelligence revealed how a competitor was taking market share

Competitive Intelligence revealed how a competitor was taking market share. With this case study, we show how our services provided our client with greater certainty.

You know-how

You know how sometimes a competitor gets mentioned at your sales meetings more and more? Little by little, you are losing business deals to them. They are getting good at out pricing you. Everywhere you look, they are there. You are not sure if it’s a price thing. Or your sales team not performing, or something has changed with your competitor. But either way, you need to know what’s going on. What your competitor is doing and what you can do about it.

What was happening

Our client is a well-known building product manufacturer. They were concerned about a respected competitor’s new activity on their patch. They had a history of offering excellent products and had a great reputation in the industry. But they tended to focus their business where they were strong — Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. They had recently introduced a new process to their finishing. It was proving popular with customers.

Our mission

Our mission was to identify, isolate and analyse their competitor activities. Understand the new product and determine how they were gaining market share. And then understand their plans.

This is what we did

We contacted former and current employees of the business. We spoke to their customers and isolated who was working for them. Every time you talk to someone, you find snippets of information. Information from what they say to you. And what they choose not to say.

We noticed many new employees in areas of England. The area that was not traditionally within their purview. We analysed their recruitment strategy with TimeLine Analysis and noted several spikes. Traffic Analysis isolated new customers throughout the UK.

We visited their onsite showroom and factory facility. And we managed to drive around the site to assess stock levels. We could determine the sort of materials they made onsite and the number of trailers loaded per hour.

When in the showroom the salesperson was showing the new product to customers. However, he could not offer any guarantees as to how long the products new covering would last. There was a problem with the chemical product used. They were trying to find a solution with the supplier. This was interesting as they were claiming a ten-year guarantee. And they had created the new product themselves.

And this is what our client got

• The precise current revenue levels
• The split between UK trade and EU exports
• An idea of the number of vehicles leaving the site per day
• An understanding that their competitor didn’t develop their new product themselves.
• The new product had severe issues with its durability
• Our client understood their competitor’s plans and real numbers. We were enabling them to come up with actions to counter them.
• But most importantly, we told them that their competitor had been on a recruitment drive. They recruited five senior regional sales directors and 15 salespeople. To cover the rest of the UK.
• We could say to them how they were achieving new business and their current recruiting areas.

And we can do the same for you

Competitive Intelligence revealed how a competitor was taking market share

Competitive Intelligence revealed how a competitor was taking market share case study. We show how our services provided our client with greater certainty.

About Octopus Intelligence

We provide greater certainty with excellent global Commercial Competitive Intelligence and Corporate Investigation services.

We live in an uncertain, competitive and ever-shifting world. So it’s reassuring that we have your back and leave no rock unturned to answer the what and the how, the now and the next. We isolate problems, deliver answers and suggest the best way forward to grow. Using our real-world experience and best in class:

• Competitive Strategy
• Competitive Intelligence
• Corporate Investigations

We offer a boutique feel with a big business capability and real global reach. We are trusted by brands, middle-market players, investors and start-up innovators.