Analytics and intelligence
Competitive intelligence
Also called: CI
Gathering and analysing information about competitors' products, prices, moves and positioning.
In practice
Public web data is its richest legitimate source.
Start with a business question
Competitive intelligence focuses on how other organisations position and operate their products or services. Useful questions might concern assortment changes, promotional behaviour or a new channel presence. Choose observable signals that help answer the question rather than collecting every available field without a decision in mind.
Example: a competitor promotion change
A new discount across several observed products may indicate a campaign, but it could also reflect clearance or a change in the displayed reference price. Compare the offer history, availability and affected range before describing the pattern. Preserve dated source evidence so colleagues can distinguish the observed change from your interpretation of its purpose.
Avoid unsupported conclusions
Separate direct observations from inferred intent. A public price change does not reveal the competitor’s margin, sales volume or internal strategy. Coverage may also differ by region or customer segment. Build repeatable observation sets, document collection limitations and use permitted sources. The strongest output connects a specific commercial question to evidence, alternative explanations and a clear next step for the team.
Import.io supplies the external web data behind market, competitive and alternative-data programs, delivered on the cadence decisions need.
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