Advanced technology and digital communication networks have changed the way we live as they have virtually put the world at our fingertips. Today, people are interconnected with millions of websites, message boards, chat rooms and e-mails. These wireless and broadband technologies have extended networks well beyond PCs to handled customer devices.
Use of internet is rising in the business sector as it is widely used by competitive intelligence professionals to learn about activities of the competitors. The common source for tactical information includes government filings, competitors’ site, job listings, resumes and news articles. Online commentary is also a part of this, as it can prove more useful in analyzing marketing and sales strategies.
Online commentary can be used as a weapon against your competitors. The customer commentary found online about the competitor and its unfiltered products directly from his clients. This feedback may attract the competitor’s sale or may fall his sales. This feedback easily available on the web, user communities, customer review sites, blogs and personal pages. In some cases, this valuable intelligence can be gathered from chat rooms and through feedbacks and then can be distributed in the broader internet audience.
This process is not beneficial only to gain more and more views of the consumers on the strengths and the weaknesses of the company or a particular brand. However, it is equally beneficial to identify the reaction of the customers, especially for the promotional activities.
Advantages of Online Commentary
It can also advantageous in many ways and some of them are as follows:
- Online commentary is useful in gaining the customers’ view on the strengths and weaknesses of competitors’ offerings. It can also help in identifying the reaction of the consumers on promotions and their strategies.
- This is advantageous in making effective strategies and plan for the near future.
- This kind of intelligence can provide a better understanding of the decision process of consumers and allow a clear vision of competitive product and service differentiation from the consumers’ point of view.
- Online commentary also can be beneficial in the long-term product planning, which will lead to the betterment of the business.
- This can be used as a powerful weapon against the strategies of the competitors and can be used as a measure that measures the loyalty of your customers regarding your product or a specific brand.
Summary
Online commentary is one of the best ways to get tactical information, which may prove useful in analyzing marketing and sales strategies.
