how good are you at obtaining competitive intelligence and applying it to business development?
by howard wolosky
“an educated consumer is our best customer®” is how an off-price clothing retailer positions itself.
although not similarly copyrighted, as of late, i have come across a number of other businesses that live by that slogan with a single word change, “an educated consumer is our worst customer.” unlike that off-price clothier, they don’t publicize the slogan that they actually live by, and, in fact, do their best to hide that fact. here are two of them:
1. a vitamin chain offers a particular supplement for 10 dollars more than its online price. a clerk at their store refuses to match the price for a regular customer. the manager insists that the customer must go home and print out the proof even though the store has internet access.
2. a bank automatically renews your two-year cd unless you come in. the rate is one percent, while if you came in, you could obtain a higher rate by renewing the cd for only seven months. additionally the bank is offering those that open a two-year online cd a much higher rate of 2.85 percent.
contrast those two examples with a national department store chain advertising that customers can check on computer terminals in their stores for cheaper prices available from competitors on the brand appliances its sells, and that it will match the competitor’s cheaper price.
clients will be needing help adjusting and prospering in this brave new world where technological advances are overhauling and significantly transforming the rules of the game. is your firm ready to help? and more importantly, how deep is the firm’s understanding and knowledge of the virtual and brick-and-mortar worlds and the possible interactions.
to find out, how about giving a 12-question test to firm members from every level of the firm–the managing partner, partners, staff accountants, marketers, technologists, and administrative support (if applicable)?
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