Clearly Define Your Business Objectives

A leading US financial services firm sought to validate existing hypotheses on their advantages and weaknesses relative to their existing competitors.

Their goal was to obtain information on competitor pricing, product, and sales processes to gain a better understanding of the market and develop a product and pricing strategy to expand market share.

Acquire & Synthesize Relevant Data

Competitors were identified in each of three markets. Knowledge gaps were identified through interviews with subject matter experts and used to refine hypotheses regarding each competitor’s relative strengths and weaknesses. Based on the existing knowledge gaps, approaches tailored to each competitor were prepared to close the identified gaps.

Develop an Action Plan

Through a series of sales calls, demonstrations, and industry research, we obtained a holistic view of both the client’s and the major competitors’ product pricing and capabilities (Fig. 1).

All steps in the sales cycle – from prospecting to follow-up – were documented from start to finish. Metrics such as time to respond, business hours, and number of steps to reach a person were documented and compared against the firm’s own sales experience.

Once onboarded, information regarding the support levels and the product features was gathered. Orders were placed through the system to track items such as the interface design, customizability, and turnaround times among other items.

The collected information was aggregated and analyzed to develop a overarching view of the market and the client’s position within.

Fig. 1 – Quantifying Value of Product A (Client) vs. Product B (Competitor)

Partner with You to See it Through

Our analysis identified key strengths and weaknesses of each major player in the target markets to better position the firm moving forward. By leveraging the competitive intelligence, sales, product, and marketing strategies were further refined and tailored according to the unique needs and pain points within each market that were identified as weaknesses in a competitor’s workflow or strengths in the firm’s workflow.

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