When it comes to our sales and relationship management activities, one of the most important things we can research is the competitive situation. In order to develop an effective competitive strategy we need to understand our competitor's strengths, weaknesses and relationships. Yet this can be tricky.

Here's the challenge: we have to do our research in a very positive way, as disparaging competitors is almost universally despised by customers. No one wants to work with someone who tries to gain advantage by tearing others down.

Learning what competitors do well is easy. Asking the following types of questions can give us this type of information:


How long have you been working with (competitor)?
Why did you decide to work with them?
What do they do well?
What do you like most about working with them?


Finding out what's not going as well is a bit more delicate. When doing so, ask positive questions, and gently dig deeper. Consider questions like these:


What are the key criteria you use to score your various suppliers?
Who do you consider to be your top suppliers?
What capabilities would you like to add that you don't have now?


Certain questions - while not negative - are sensitive enough that they should only be asked of a good coach:


How is (competitor) perceived by others in the organization?
Who are they connected to?
With whom do they spend most of their time?
What kind of relationship do they have with (decision maker)?


 

In the end, taking time to do competitive research is important, and doing it the right way is critical.