In this session, we will present traditional as well as innovative ways to obtain competitive information and then discuss the ethics and morals behind using these techniques.

Obtaining Competitive Info: Tools and Ethics/Morals

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You will learn:-- How to download an entire website for evaluation-- How social media mining can help to find competitive informationg p p-- What SEO tools can be used to learn about your competitors keywords, ad spend, etc.-- What job boards can tell you about competitors

We will discuss (Warning, everyone may not agree ☺) :( g, y y g )-- Should you ask customers for competitor presentations / RFP answers?-- If it’s right to act as a consult when calling into competitors-- Whether joining competitor user groups / mailing lists under an alias

John MansourManaging PartnerProficientz

Gary Palgon; CISSPVP Product Management and Strategy Liaison Technologies o c eLiaison Technologies

TYPICAL TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Industry Analystsy yTrade Shows Focus GroupsCustomer Advisory BoardsProfessional Services or Customer SupportCompetitor CollateralUser groupsThird party analysis/testingThird party analysis/testing

And many more more to followAnd many more…more to follow

THIRD PARTY WIN/LOSS ANALYSIS:

Th t did ’t h ffi i t f diThe customer didn’t have sufficient funding We went with a vendor that worked with us.

Our product doesn’t have the right featuresOur product doesn t have the right features You guys came in and blew the demo…!

The customer lost interest!The sales rep never called us back !!

Is it to ask a customer for competitive information?pCopy of the RFP answers / presentations?View / copy of the competitive product?

JOB BOARDS AND COMPETITOR INTEL

Can tell you about a new yproduct they may be developingC t ll b tCan tell you about a new market they may be entering

I it OK t i i b t iti t bt i titi i f ?Is it OK to inquire about a position to obtain competitive info?Is it OK to interview about a position to obtain competitive info?

DOWNLOADING COMPETITOR WEBSITEhttp://www.httrack.com/ is a free tool to download websites- Can ignore robot.txt rules!

Is it OK to download competitor websites?Using your normal URL?Using your normal URL?Hiding behind cable provider (e.g. Comcast)

MINING SOCIAL MEDIA

Is it OK to sign up for competitor groups?g p p g pSign up as yourself?Sign up using alias?

SEO INFORMATION AND ADS

www SpyFu comwww.SpyFu.com

Tells you:- Spend for PPC- Best paid keyword rankings

- Top Ad Competitors- Paid keywordsPaid keywords- etc…

Is it OK to use competitor names in Pay-Per-Click Ads?p yAs a keyword search term?In the ad text?

CALLING INTO COMPETITORS

“Greetings, I’m calling to conduct a survey about the use of your types of solutions when used for B2Bof solutions when used for B2B blah, blah, blah…I’d like to know if you’ve seen blah, blah, blah…”

Is it OK to:Pay an outside consultant to call into competitors to obtain information (e.g. “survey”)?Have an employee to call into competitors to obtainHave an employee to call into competitors to obtain information (e.g. “survey”)

What other ways and th ht th thi ?thoughts on the ethics?

Obtaining Competitive Info: Tools and Ethics/Morals

Is it to ask a customer for competitive information?Copy of the RFP answers / presentations?View / copy of the competitive product?

Is it OK to inquire about a position to obtain competitive info?Is it OK to interview about a position to obtain competitive info?

Is it OK to download competitor websites?Is it OK to download competitor websites?Using your normal URL?Hiding behind cable provider (e.g. Comcast)

Is it OK to sign up for competitor groups?Sign up as yourself?Sign up using alias?

I it OK t tit i P P Cli k Ad ?Is it OK to use competitor names in Pay-Per-Click Ads?As a keyword search term?In the ad text?

I it OK tIs it OK to:Pay an outside consultant to call into competitors to obtain information (e.g. “survey”)?Have an employee to call into competitors to obtain information (e.g. “survey”)