Annual credit report – Is data driven competitor analysis the only way?

The short answer is yes – but an additional question is ‘why’? We will now look at the many reasons why competitor analysis is better when it is driven by data. When your business is competing you need to look at the competitors. After all, if you don’t know exactly what you’re up against then how can you possibly overcome them?

An annual credit report and company search on your top competitors is an essential part of the process of doing good business. Without a solid approach you may find that your competitor analysis is not as effective as it could be – and by extension your business is not as effective as it could be.

So when you do your company searches on competitors,  what are the things to look out for and why is a data led approach so good?

Searching The Right Way

Competitor analysis is all about getting information, but it’s really about getting the right information. There is literally no point in getting information only to find that is not accurate. Think about it like a secret agent, if James Bond is acting on bad intelligence then achieving his mission is going to be more difficult. That’s when the most important thing about company searches comes into play – accuracy.

We are synced with Companies House, so it’s every piece of information you find is the absolute latest and most accurate and sourced from the official registrar of companies. Accuracy of data is paramount in a data led approach to competitor analysis.

The Importance Of Data

There is no point in doing anything that is not data driven, the business world functions on data and information. It’ not about emotion, if you ever make a decision with your heart – it’s less likely to be correct than if you make it with your head.

In this sense data trumps everything. There is something inarguable about reliably sourced data – be that in a business sense or otherwise. It’s scientific really, there aren’t too many ways to be sure of things in business – but data is one of them.

You can see a company’s credit rating or limit, for example, and you just know that it’s the most accurate data you could possibly find – which means you can act on it with great reliability.

Searching, Finding & Action

There is no point in searching and finding valuable data unless you actually do something about it. The ultimate point of data driven searching is data driven action, you ultimately won’t benefit from the insights you draw if you don’t act.

You really need to keep yourself familiar with the data, but use it for an action. Are your competitors specialising in some way? If so, use that insight in your marketing plan – maybe you want to offer an area of specialisation as they do, or maybe they are too big for you and you focus your attention on the area of the business that your competitors are not focussed on.

It’s really up to your own judgment. You can also keep ahead of any changes in data by using a company tracker. We provide company trackers for just £2.50 for a year of continual tracking. This means that you are informed of changes as and when they happen, and can react accordingly.

Company Searches & Reports For Business Competition

If you’ve done your company searches correctly you will find that you are much more prepared and ultimately more able to compete. The bottom line is that knowledge is the key to insight, and good insight is they key to good action. So when you do your next company searches, remember that data is the only way forward – and that you need a strong action after finding this data for the most effective competitor analysis.

Data led competitor analysis is not the only way of doing things, but it certainly is the most effective. Don’t forget the check out the rest of our blog for more, especially the ‘Company Credit Check’ section.

By Alex Novakovic at MadeSimple – Follow Alex on Google+