2.6 Competitive Intelligence

Maps competitor behaviour and positioning to inform winning strategy. Launch on platform.

What is it?

Dragonfly's Competitive Intelligence Lens provides systematic analysis of competitive landscapes, competitor behaviours, and strategic positioning to inform strategic decision-making. It moves beyond basic competitor profiling to reveal competitive dynamics, strategic intentions, and market positioning opportunities through rigorous intelligence collection and analysis.

Why is it useful?

• Map competitive ecosystems systematically by identifying direct, indirect, and potential competitors across relevant market segments

• Analyse competitor strategic intentions through investment patterns, market behaviours, and strategic communications rather than surface-level observations

• Identify competitive threats and opportunities by understanding competitor capabilities, strategic gaps, and market positioning vulnerabilities

• Anticipate competitive moves through pattern recognition and strategic intent analysis rather than reactive responses to competitor actions

• Develop informed competitive strategies based on comprehensive intelligence rather than assumptions about competitor behaviour

• Prioritize intelligence collection efforts by identifying critical information gaps that impact strategic decision-making

How does it work?

The Competitive Intelligence Lens applies systematic intelligence methodology to map competitive landscapes and analyse competitor strategic intentions for informed strategic positioning.

Competitive Ecosystem Mapping and Categorisation

• Focus: Systematically identify and categorise competitors across direct, indirect, potential, and substitute categories with competitive intensity assessment

• Example: Mapping fintech ecosystem revealing traditional banks as direct competitors, payment platforms as indirect competitors, and emerging blockchain solutions as potential disruptors requiring different strategic responses

Strategic Intent Analysis and Pattern Recognition

• Focus: Analyse competitor strategies through investment patterns, market behaviours, hiring trends, and strategic communications to understand true strategic intentions

• Example: Technology competitor analysis revealing shift from software licensing to cloud services through R&D spending patterns, acquisition targets, and executive hiring, indicating platform strategy transition requiring defensive positioning

Competitive Positioning and Differentiation Assessment

• Focus: Evaluate competitor market positioning, value propositions, and differentiation strategies to identify positioning gaps and opportunities

• Example: Retail market analysis showing competitors focused on price competition while neglecting customer experience differentiation, creating opportunity for service-based competitive advantage

Threat and Opportunity Matrix Development

• Focus: Assess competitive threats across multiple dimensions while identifying strategic opportunities created by competitor weaknesses or market gaps

• Example: Healthcare technology competitive analysis revealing compliance expertise gap among competitors while identifying threat from well-funded startups with superior user experience design

Intelligence Collection Strategy and Gap Analysis

• Focus: Identify critical information needs and design systematic intelligence collection approaches to fill strategic knowledge gaps

• Example: Pharmaceutical competitor intelligence program targeting clinical trial data, regulatory filing patterns, and partnership announcements to anticipate competitive product launches and strategic moves

Competitive Response Strategy and Scenario Planning

• Focus: Develop strategic response options based on competitive intelligence insights and scenario planning for different competitive actions

• Example: Software company developing response scenarios for competitor pricing changes, feature releases, and market expansion moves, with pre-planned strategic responses and resource allocation options

Turning Competitive Intelligence into Action

• Implement systematic intelligence collection and analysis rather than ad hoc competitor monitoring or reactive intelligence gathering

• Design competitive strategies based on comprehensive landscape understanding rather than assumptions about competitor intentions or capabilities

• Create dynamic competitive response capabilities that anticipate competitor moves rather than reacting to competitive actions after they occur