CI 2: a competitive intelligence analysis on competitive intelligence.

• Author: Hoover, Doug
• Position: Competitive intelligence

Six years ago, at the national meetings of LMA and the American Association of Law Librarians, competitive intelligence was not on the agenda. But in the halls we heard talk, early rumbling about an industry trend that had the potential to transform the way law firms approached strategic planning, decision making, business development and marketing. Two years later, CI sessions were standing-room only, and since then a fulltime effort would be required to keep up with the literature, conferences and workshops. The legal industry has its own CI gurus who speak frequently and write prolifically. The volume of information about evolving trends, best practices and transformative technologies has become, well, hard to manage.

What we need is a thorough, concise CI report on Law Firm CI: What is the current state of the industry? Where is it going? What are my competitors doing? What are the risks of falling behind? And what are the right actions my firm should take?

Market Segmentation

Competitive intelligence capability does not spring forth fully formed in a firm. It advances through stages that evolve from the convergence of a firm's library and market research capabilities with a firm's demand for information to focus firm strategy and business development activities [see "ROI for CI-One Firm's Perspective," p. 6]. Recent research identifies that each stage has a unique set of characteristics that grow along a spectrum of sophistication. Characteristics include:

* Type and frequency of intelligence projects;

* Depth and breadth of information sources;

* Use of appropriate analytic frameworks; and

* Staff experience and focus.

Every firm in the country operates somewhere along this spectrum. The question becomes, where on this spectrum should your firm be?

Info Gatherers--Most firms have some process in responding to attorney requests for information on the markets in which they operate - snippets on competitors, clients and industries. The CI purists are quick (and correct) to point out that this is not competitive intelligence. This is basic data gathering and dumping. The important characteristics are that the firm is reactive and providing no analysis to the information collected.

Aggregators--Something more closely resembling competitive intelligence shows up when firms move to a stage where the collected information is systematically packaged and summarized. Again, the CI purists will cringe. But with the addition of a few little steps...