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How competitor intelligence helps in a B2B survey for due diligence

This post talks about the importance of competitor intelligence in a B2B survey for due diligence

GrapeData
Mar 16, 2023
B2B market research

Competitor intelligence and B2B surveys for due diligence defined

It’s a known fact that competition in every industry has reached unprecedented levels. Global events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and inflationary pressures have all had a small role to play in increasing the competition. Nowadays, businesses everywhere are looking to gain a competitive advantage over others to try to increase their market share. In fact, Emerald Insight suggests that 90% of fortune 500 companies already use competitor intelligence to gain a competitive edge. 

Let’s look at what competitor intelligence means. In simple terms, competitor intelligence is a predictive process of collecting and analysing information about your business’ competition. This is done so that you can foresee the market and then develop strategies so that your business stands one step ahead of everyone else.  

The question then is how do companies use competitor intelligence? One way of doing so is in a B2B survey for due diligence. Since competitor intelligence gives information about the industry landscape including the number of players, it can help tremendously in a B2B survey for due diligence. This type of survey can take many forms as well; it can be about a new product launch or a new market entry. Other types include vendor due diligence to see the best product available on the market. Or it can be a general industry overview in a particular geography. So, competitor intelligence can be a useful input in a B2B survey for due diligence. In the next section, let’s explore how exactly this takes place. 

The role of competitor intelligence in a B2B survey for commercial due diligence

Let's dive into the role of competitor intelligence in B2B surveys.

1. Drives growth and improves business performance

It’s no secret that conducting competitor intelligence would mean gains for your business. Insights about the number and size of players, product offerings, and marketing strategies, when translated into actual data can result in huge gains. Additionally, using a B2B survey for due diligence would make the data collection faster and smoother. Through a B2B survey for due diligence, information from various survey respondents can be sourced quickly. Online panel providers can help facilitate this data collection. We can source survey respondents from different industries and from all over the world. 

Usually, these survey respondents are professionals such as C-level executives and decision-makers. They are one of the best ways to find out ground-level insights into your business and industry. Using their valuable insights, you can then devise a growth strategy for your business. 

2. Enhances the efficiency of different units of a business

Knowing the ins and outs of a market such as products and services, pricing, features, etc can help improve coordination between different departments. Let’s take a look at how this can be done. If a company has intel on the market, it can disseminate this information throughout the organisation. Product-level insights can help the sales team and product team devise strategies. In addition to this, insights also help the marketing team devise effective advertising campaigns. 

Let’s understand how this can be done. A B2B survey for due diligence can help conduct this competitor's intelligence. For example, GrapeData recently helped a Swedish company gather marketing insights for a Sweden-based dairy company. The company was experiencing low sales volumes, due to a bad marketing campaign. We were able to get a hold of qualitative insights through surveying decision makers and consumers. Through the survey project, they were able to revamp their marketing strategy, leading to increased sales. 

3. Spots industry trends to get the first mover’s advantage

Competitor intelligence is arguably the best way to get get the first mover’s advantage in your industry. Knowing information about your industry such as threats, and opportunities ahead of time can help you plan for these. Threats and opportunities make up the external component of a business environment. Whereas, the strengths and weaknesses of a business make up the internal environment. Together, these four combine to form what is known as SWOT analysis, for a business. This analysis can be valuable in forward-looking strategies. In this way, the business can get a first movers advantage.

Again, a B2B survey for due diligence can help get this first mover advantage. To illustrate, let’s look at a recent case study. GrapeData partnered with a mid-side watch company that was completing a move into Augmented and Virtual Reality, earlier this year. Through our survey for due diligence, the company devised personas and mapped the buying journey of customers. This process helped them decide whether customers would be interested in such a product. They were able to move in quickly into AR and VR, having gathered the data. 

4. Provides the foresight to develop business strategies in dynamic environments

In any business or industry, having foresight is key to sustaining your foothold in the market. The predictive analysis gives the power to foresee any changes and consequently adapt to them.  Generally, competitor intelligence and market research are good tools to get this predictive power. Additionally, the global economic landscape today is more uncertain than ever. A news article by IMF Blog paints a gloomy picture of this outlook, riddled with high energy and food prices. In the face of this uncertainty, it’s wise to plan ahead for any obstacles. A B2B survey for due diligence helps your business deal with this uncertainty. 

For instance, GrapeData recently supported a research project on private healthcare institutions in Florida. A research institution wanted to gather sentiment on the state of the services offered in healthcare since the state has historically faced many challenges. The aim of the project was to help hospitals develop best practices in healthcare and see where outliers lie. Using this analysis of past data, they could also predict future issues, if any. Overall, the goal was to increase the preparedness of private healthcare providers. You can read more about the industry survey here. 

Where can you find competitor intelligence-based B2B surveys for due diligence?

GrapeData is a survey solution, backed by the latest and most intelligent technology. As a tech-enabled solution for sourcing B2B survey respondents, we can help you conduct the best possible competitor intelligence surveys. With knowledgeable survey respondents from all over the world, we provide the highest quality answers to your survey questions. To do this, we carry out extensive screening processes for the respondents. Additionally, we make sure to send out personalised assignments for every contributor. GrapeData works in all industries to diligently find the best contributors. In the past, some of our recent projects have been in the Private Equity, Management Consulting, and Healthcare industries. To know more about our projects, please contact our sales team at sales@grape-data.com

Final thoughts

To sum up, competitor intelligence is imperative for businesses to sustain and grow over time. It can provide insights about future prospects, as well as foster growth in the present. Plus, it can give businesses an edge over the competition, which is so important to have today’s climate. Competitor intelligence conducted through B2B surveys for due diligence can increase the efficiency of business teams. However, B2B surveys for due diligence are one way to conduct competitor intelligence. Various internal programs with measurable KPIs can be set within an organisation to conduct competitor intelligence. 

If you’d like to know more about competitor intelligence, please feel free to connect with one of our team members. would be happy to help you. Reach out to us using these contact details.

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