Competitive Intelligence Can Help Healthcare Companies in Uncertain Times

The role of competitive intelligence (CI) has grown in the last 10-15 years from the simple reactive collecting of assorted information, into strategic tool for profitable business--and continues to do so in this uncertain economy--according to a new market report.

According to a joint report, from Kalorama Information (New York, NY, USA) and Fuld & Company, CI has possibly been around longer in the medical arena than in most other industries, since it is science-driven and it must generate constant innovation to stay ahead of the competition. During times of economic uncertainty, effective CI can help companies avoid expensive missteps.

CI is an on-going process of learning about the competitive environment and making decisions based on analyzed information. CI firms look at macro issues--such as social, technical, and economic factors, partnerships between companies, industry, and universities, and emerging and alternative technologies--investigating industry dynamics and immediate competitors in a host of ways. Much of this involves travel and conference attendance. However, today budgets are being cut or frozen, and companies cannot attend as many conferences to learn about CI and competitors.

Decision-makers in the CI arena need to stretch their ever-tighter budgets. As employers cut the number of people they send to conferences, those who do attend must get the most out of it. They need to be smart about their activities, maximizing their time on the ground and knowing about what to look for.

"If a company is experiencing financial difficulty, CI is an area executives turn to for both tactical and strategic insight,” noted Leonard Fuld, president of Fuld & Company. "If decision-makers know more about a market and how to best position the company in the competitive landscape, they may be less likely to have financial difficulties.”

Kalorama Information provides independent market research in the life sciences, as well as a full range of custom research services.

Fuld & Company (Cambridge, MA, USA) is a competitive intelligence firm that provides many of the intelligence-gathering techniques currently used throughout industry, as well as the Pharma-Healthcare I3 (Internet Intelligence Index), a comprehensive online index of over 250 CI links.

Related Links:
Kalorama Information
Fuld & Company