{"id":3658,"date":"2022-09-30T11:17:21","date_gmt":"2022-09-30T11:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.watchmycompetitor.com\/resources\/?p=3658"},"modified":"2024-03-27T10:46:19","modified_gmt":"2024-03-27T10:46:19","slug":"using-battle-cards-to-aid-your-competitive-intelligence-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wmc-nonprod.com\/resources\/using-battle-cards-to-aid-your-competitive-intelligence-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Battle Cards To Support Your Competitive Intelligence Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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According to Intelligence Week,\u00a0a third of large organisations will adopt competitive intelligence by 2023<\/a>. And it should come as no surprise.\u00a0 After all the\u00a0McKinsey Global Institute<\/a>\u00a0reports that\u00a0data-driven organisations are 23 times more likely to acquire customers and 19 times more likely to be profitable.<\/a><\/p>

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In worsening economic conditions, competition for revenue in most industries will become even more fierce. In this business environment smaller organisations have to adapt quickly to survive and grow. If decision-making in your organisation relies too heavily on instinct or old information, you risk losing out to industry competitors harnessing real-time data. Whereas competitive intelligence can give you an advantage over those vying for the same customers and market share.<\/p>

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But competitive intelligence can take many forms, from dashboards that capture everything that\u2019s happening in your sector to alerts on specific areas, such as product changes, pricing or campaigns. One of the most exciting arrivals in the competitive intelligence space has been battle cards, which are\u00a0changing the way organisations build knowledge and insight across their organisation.\u00a0<\/strong>In this article, we\u2019ll give you a better understanding of what battle cards are, how you can use them and how to go about creating them.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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What Are Battle Cards Within The Context Of competitive intelligence?<\/span><\/h2>


Battle cards are a digital competitive intelligence asset. They provide a real-time snapshot of what your competitors are doing and how they\u2019re presenting themselves online. They often contain insights into your competitors\u2019 propositions, strengths and weaknesses; however, they can also be customised according to your overall company or department’s specific requirements.

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Battle cards are often used by sales teams<\/a> when competing head-to-head with other businesses for a new contract or commercial opportunity. The cards provide fast insights that can be used to refine their approach, identify weaknesses and gain an advantage<\/strong>.

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But that\u2019s not all. Increasingly, they\u2019re being used across entire organisations, giving people in different departments and teams a way of seeing and understanding the competitive landscape they operate in. <\/span>In many instances, organisations will create a battle card about their own business too, as a way of understanding how they compare to their competitors across set criteria.<\/span><\/p>

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How Do You Create Competitive Intelligence Battle Cards?

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Battle cards are typically created using a competitive intelligence or insights tool, such as WatchMyCompetitor<\/a> (WMC), Crayon or Klue. Broadly speaking, these solutions monitor competitor activity and mentions online across a wide range of channels and provide intelligence in the form of alerts and reports.<\/span><\/p>


For many organisations, these platforms have replaced manual processes for tracking competitors and understanding the competitive landscape. They\u2019ve become a valuable tool for making better decisions and optimising strategies \u2013 both as an organisation and within specific departments.<\/span><\/p>

The approach differs from tool to tool. But when creating your battle card from scratch, here are some of the things you\u2019ll need to consider:<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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1. What is your team trying to achieve?<\/span><\/h3>

The clearer your wider company’s or department\u2019s goals, the easier it is to create your battle cards. Maybe you\u2019re competing with a small number of competitors for a specific contract and want to give yourself an advantage.<\/span><\/p>

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Or perhaps you want to help people throughout your organisation to understand what\u2019s happening in the market, so they can make decisions that protect and improve your position. Or maybe you\u2019re narrowing in on one area, such as product development, and want to make sure your roadmap is fit for purpose. Defining what you want to want or need to achieve will inform your other key considerations. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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2. Which competitors do you want to track?<\/span><\/h3>

The competitors that you will need to track typically will fall into 2 categories:\u00a0<\/p>

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Primary or direct competitors<\/b> \u2013 these are the organisations you compete with for market share with similar propositions to yours. Depending on your sector, this could be a business you come up against in sales pitches or be the brand you\u2019re most likely to be compared with by consumers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>


Secondary or indirect competitors<\/b> \u2013 this can include the organisations you compete with for market share with different propositions to yours, new entrants who are growing but not yet at the same level as your organisation or organisations operating in different territories.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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Use your goals to inform who you want battle cards for. Once your battle cards are created, you can typically view them side-by-side in a battle grid for a snapshot of your market.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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3. What type of competitive intelligence do you want to track?<\/span><\/h3>

Your goals should also inform what you want in your battle card. Here are some examples of what you might want to include:<\/span><\/p>

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