What is the difference between a benchmark and a competitive intelligence?

Feb 06, 2023 Julien Gauthier Publications

Benchmarking and competitive intelligence are two essential elements of a competitive or market study. But these two components differ in the means used as well as the data used by each. So what is the difference between these two processes?

I - Competitive intelligence

When we carry out a competitive intelligence, we observe the competition, its practices and its results. As its name indicates, competitive intelligence is a long-term observation. Competitive intelligence is used to provide the client with information about direct, indirect or potential competitors: it is an inventory of the market and the competitors who are evolving in it. There are several indicators that allow you to carry out competitive intelligence:

The arrival of new products or services on the market
The implementation of competing commercial actions
Marketing or communication campaigns
The emergence of major innovations in the industry
Economic performance of competitors

When to use a competitive intelligence?

In general, companies use competitive intelligence to:

Developing effective business strategies
Launch a new product
Anticipating and planning for market opportunities and disruptions
Assess competitors' market positioning

An example of competitive intelligence carried out by HEC Junior Conseil:

HEC Junior Conseil conducted a competitive intelligence for a company in the construction sector. The client wished to broaden its field of expertise to find potential partners in the conquest of the smart city . In order to become a leader in this field, the company decided to analyze the positioning of its competitors on the market and their strategic visions.

HEC Junior Conseil therefore had to produce competitor files in order to identify the main trends that the client had to take into account in order to position itself on the market.

The study also includes a summary of trends in several technical fields. We note that the competitive intelligence is a report on the competitors, and does not include any recommendations for the client itself.

II - The benchmark

The benchmark is a specific study that consists in comparing the client's positioning to that of competing companies deemed to be efficient on strategic points such as customer relations, communication on social networks, customer satisfaction.

At the end of a benchmark, it is important to have a clear idea of the performance gaps and their causes, in order to be able to define and implement measures to achieve improvement.

The benchmark allows us to discover if there is a performance gap between the client's company and the competitors that can be closed.

The benchmark also includes, in its final version, elements about the company that HEC Junior Conseil has been asked to carry out, contrary to the competitive intelligence which only includes information about the competition. The final objective of the benchmark is to draw inspiration from the best practices of competitors in order to adapt and integrate them into the client's marketing strategy. Its results are generally presented in the form of a graph in order to visualize the performance gaps between the company and its competitors.

When to use a benchmark?

A benchmark can be used when launching a product on the market. The benchmark can also be used as a tool to evaluate the future costs for the customer, in order to optimize his expenses.

Difference between a benchmark and a competitive intelligence: summary

	Benchmark	Competitive intelligence
Duration of the study	Punctual, less than a month	Long-term study with variable duration
Format	Often designed in Powerpoint in Pdf version, it includes mostly tables, graphs and timelines, as well as strategic recommendations	Often designed in Powerpoint in Pdf version, it includes mostly tables, graphs concerning the activity of competitors
Methodology	Data collection and analysis, identification of performance gaps, definition of measures to be implemented to remedy them	Observation of the competition: new products, commercial strategies, innovations, marketing campaigns.
Use	For the launch of a new product, to evaluate future costs, to optimize expenses	Develop a business strategy, evaluate the competition and anticipate market opportunities.

Faced with these challenges, HEC Junior Conseil can help you. Contact us to start your project!