Changing Trends in Competitive Intelligence in 2024
The 2024 State of Competitive Intelligence Report published by Crayon is now available. Crayon compiles data each year to identify trends in the competitive landscape from how practitioners use their time and tools (like artificial intelligence), to how competitive intelligence (CI) fits into the overall organizational and business architecture of those surveyed. You may recall a previous blog post that reviewed the 2023 data. You may expect some of this year’s outcomes, others may be a little surprising.
Key Takeaways and Questions
This year’s report notes some significant changes and possible implications for moving forward that you ought to know, like:
AI is increasingly useful to CI professionals.
How might this change the nature of CI professionals’ roles?
Markets continue trending toward increases in competition.
Do organizations feel equipped to rise to the occasion?
CI investments are hanging relatively stagnant.
Should companies try to do more with less?
This piece explores the intersection of these findings, unpacks what they might mean for the upcoming year, and provides some encouragement to those out there looking for a meaningful leg-up in competitive positioning. Let’s begin:
Real Artificial Intelligence
Perhaps the most poignant development in recent months has been the adoption and use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Approximately 80% of respondents either already use or plan to adopt AI as part of their routine activities. 67% of survey respondents use AI tools to “summarize content related to my competitors with key takeaways” and 28% report using AI “To monitor/predict trends in our market”.
AI, if used correctly, helps make the job of CI analysts more efficient, including automation of certain time-consuming tasks. Most respondents indicated they would use AI to automate the collection phase of the intelligence cycle. Which would leave CI teams with more time to analyze and create useful products, and perhaps (just as importantly) have more time for communicating with stakeholders. Evalueserve, a global leader in analytics and insight generation, aligns with Crayon’s research by stating AI can help businesses enhance customer insights, improve forecasting, and streamline internal processes.
The cutting edge is the bleeding edge, however, and most AI use is in its early adoption stage among CI professionals, scantly being in use for over a year. This implies the promise of AI-fueled timely and accurate analysis is in the offing, but it’s still susceptible to errors of content and scope that requires a keen analyst’s eye to catch. For example, Pickl.AI reports that potential errors can occur using AI like overgeneralizing results, increasing dataset volatility based on quick calculations, and introducing bias into analysis. Practitioners, use AI as a tool but remember to check your blind spots!
Continued Increases in Competition
Crayon reports that since 2020, there has been a 12% overall increase in competitive demands in B2B markets among CI leaders surveyed. Half of this increase is specifically due to the feeling that markets have gotten “Much more competitive”. Respondents indicated that while 65% of deals are indeed competitive, confidence in sales enablement floats begrudgingly at 59%. This disparity persists despite widespread use of battlecards and upward of 86% of B2B companies surveyed reporting they use CI.
What could be the reason for this discrepancy? Is it that analysts reported difficulties in keeping information current, that nearly half of sales reps don’t use battlecards as analysts intend, or that almost 20% of those surveyed don’t use KPIs?
The answer is likely a blend of these factors. If analysts can quickly update their products with the most current information (likely doing so with AI) and disseminate them, is there not an adequate opportunity to establish common ground with sales teams? If emphasis is on the timely production of content, are we even sure what the content should have measured? In this case, it seems as though the Intelligence Cycle has come unglued from itself. As meetings give way to more instantaneous channels for dissemination, some benefits of CI may be left on the table. As with the evolution of AI, the adoption of dedicated CI platforms is a tremendous asset, but we should all remember to check for human understanding of our products to more assuredly reach KPIs.
Stagnant Growth of CI Resources
A major comorbid factor in this lack of confidence in sales enablement is the stagnant growth of CI teams experienced this year. Since 2023 there has been a decrease in CI teams of 3 or more people, and a relative increase in those that try to get by with fewer hands-on-deck. Sometimes this means that all CI functions stem from only a fraction of one person’s time.
This is not to say that CI is any less important. If anything, we can reference the durable fact that daily use of intelligence correlates with an increase in revenue. What explanation is there for this disparity if the benefits of using CI are so well established? A challenging economic year for some industries may have something to do with it. CI is heavily reliant on tech, and the technology industry has gone through substantial shake-ups recently. This doesn’t change the fact that in general, competitive demands continue to increase, organizations should support themselves with CI. Staffing a full-service Competitive Intelligence team may be out of reach for many businesses who can still benefit from such services. If that’s the case, then outsourcing the task to a B2B Marketing and CI agency is likely what you need.
Complete Your Strategy
HiFi Insight can provide businesses with tools for improved competitive positioning and redefined market-ready strategies. This is accomplished using data-driven marketing analytics, ad campaign management, deep dives into industries and competitors, and structured analytic techniques that can be done with stakeholders. The initial consultation is free. Contact HiFi Insight today to raise your signal above the noise.
