Competitive Intelligence: Turn Research into Strategy

Research competitors, assess sources and compare response options to inform practical market and business decisions.

Created byDr. Law Payne

Last updated 11/2026

English

What you'll learn

Frame a competitive intelligence question around a business decision.
Evaluate sources for reliability and document the limits of your evidence.
Distinguish actionable competitor signals from noise and assess your confidence.
Build a competitor brief that explains the evidence and recommends a response.

Course content

2 sections • 10 lectures • 1h 49m total length

The Decision and the First Useful Result10:44
Frame a competitive intelligence question around a decision Sales actually has to make. In the Stonebridge renewal case, compare a dated $40 public offer with a remembered $50 price. Use the worksheet to test whether the difference reflects a price change, a promotion, or differences in plan scope. Write a one-sentence recommendation with an owner, a deadline, and the evidence that would change your mind. Compare your attempt with the worked example.
Questions in Practice11:34
Turn a competitor signal into a research question that can guide a renewal decision. Compare three buyers facing different constraints: a strict budget, a required workflow, and limited authority to switch. Use the worksheet to choose a source and a decision-changing fact for each account, then identify which buyer warrants a commercial exception review.
Sources and the Evidence Behind It11:28
Build a source log that keeps the current offer, the recalled price, and the comparability claim separate. Trace repeated reports back to their original source and use the worksheet to calculate annual charges at 25 seats and at the 30-seat minimum. Decide which number the buyer can use and explain your confidence in it.
Signals Without Hidden Assumptions10:38
Separate what a competitor screenshot shows from what you infer about the offer. Test three explanations for the apparent price gap, including a $150 monthly add-on the buyer needs. Use the worksheet to recalculate under both scope assumptions and revise the sales-channel message in two sentences.
The Foundation Case and Your First Deliverable10:29
Draft a one-page renewal brief that gives Sales an approved next step before the buyer call. Calculate the monthly add-on that erases the headline gap, name two facts that would change your recommendation, and explain when to escalate a matching request. Try the worksheet before comparing your brief with the worked example.

Analysis Through a Worked Case10:52
Test whether a lower annual quote still saves the buyer money after transition work. Use the worksheet to model eight and twenty hours at $60 per hour and calculate both first-year price gaps. Compare the buyer’s cost with Stonebridge’s contribution after a price match and explain how the two figures inform different decisions.
Uncertainty and Practical Constraints10:34
Advise a buyer who must recommend a supplier by noon Friday, before an acceptance test can run. Compare four- and sixteen-hour transition scenarios, rank the evidence gaps, and use the worksheet to write a five-sentence handoff with an approved next step and an exception expiry.
Response and Progress Checks10:46
Evaluate a $14,400 renewal without assuming the concession caused the win. Calculate the price and contribution effects, distinguish the explanation supported by the buyer’s feedback from the one that needs checking, and use the worksheet to propose a process change and a review trigger.
A Second Case With a Different Constraint10:56
Transfer the method to a competitor feature announcement with a different constraint. In the Linden case, calculate the engineering capacity gap and estimate annual labor value under two savings scenarios. Use separate worksheet rows for Linden and Stonebridge to name the owner, evidence gap, and next action for each decision.
The Complete Application Workshop11:04
Build two decision briefs for two owners. In Stonebridge, calculate how many hours of buyer transition would erase the $600 price gap. In Linden, translate the engineering capacity calculation into an action for the product director. Use the workshop materials to prepare both written briefs and a spoken summary.

Requirements

Bring a market or competitor question, or work through the fictional case with the downloadable exercises.

Description

This course contains the use of artificial intelligence.

A competitor cuts its price. What evidence would make you respond?

Before you match a discount or change your positioning, find out what the announcement actually means for your customers. Dr. Law Payne guides you through a practical competitive intelligence process for decisions you can explain to a team.

What you’ll learn

Turn a broad market concern into a question worth investigating.
Evaluate the reliability and relevance of sources and show where the evidence is incomplete.
Separate observations from interpretations and test competing explanations.
Compare responses and write a brief that makes the next decision clear.

Put it to work

Use the lesson worksheets to organize a competitor brief around a real business decision. The course walks through a fictional pricing change, giving you a place to practice comparing offers, questioning assumptions about comparable terms, and deciding whether the evidence supports a response. Review the worked examples after drafting your own interpretation so you can see where your reasoning differs.

Who this course is for

This course is designed for founders, marketers, strategy teams, and business leaders who need to interpret competitor moves and explain what their teams should do next. Bring a competitor or market question from your own work. You can follow the examples with a document or spreadsheet and adapt the approach to the sources you already use.

Who this course is for:

Strategy, marketing, and business leaders who need to turn competitor research into decisions.

Competitive Intelligence: Turn Research into Strategy

What you'll learn

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Course content

Foundations and First Decisions5 lectures • 55min

Applied Practice and Case Workshop5 lectures • 54min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: