Market and Competitive Intelligence Masterclass Training Course

Participants can establish lawful, ethical and controlled intelligence practices.

• Intelligence charter defining remit, decision rights, escalation and service levels
• CI ethics distinguishing legitimate research from misrepresentation, inducement and surveillance
• Antitrust safeguards for competitor contacts, trade associations and pricing information
• Personal-data controls applying consent, minimisation, retention and access principles
• Source handling protocols protecting confidential information and commercially sensitive material
• Red-team review identifying legal, reputational and operational collection risks

Participants can create a source strategy matched to intelligence questions and evidence needs.

• Source maps matching intelligence questions with primary and secondary evidence
• Collection matrices scoring sources by access, reliability, cost and timeliness
• Public-record searches using corporate filings, tenders, registries and regulatory notices
• Trade press monitoring separating reported facts from repeated market assertions
• Expert-source selection based on proximity, incentives and direct knowledge
• Collection cadence aligned with decision deadlines, trigger events and review cycles

Participants can plan and conduct ethical primary research that produces usable commercial evidence.

• Interview guides built around decision hypotheses rather than broad discussion topics
• Customer conversations revealing switching triggers, supplier strengths and unmet needs
• Win-loss interviews separating procurement process signals from competitor performance evidence
• Channel partner interviews identifying availability, incentives and competitive share shifts
• Observation protocols capturing service experience, distribution and point-of-sale evidence
• Interview notes coded for claim, source, confidence and follow-up requirements

Participants can judge evidence quality and state the confidence behind analytical conclusions.

• Source reliability assessed through access, expertise, independence and track record
• Information validity tested against date, specificity, corroboration and collection method
• Confidence statements distinguishing confirmed facts, probable judgments and open questions
• Triangulation plans combining customer, financial, operational and market evidence
• Evidence logs recording provenance, limitations, contradictions and verification actions
• Assumption registers exposing untested beliefs behind strategic conclusions

Participants can define a relevant market and map the demand forces shaping it.

• Market boundaries defined by customer need, substitutability and buying context
• Demand chains mapping buyers, users, influencers, gatekeepers and funding sources
• Jobs to Be Done analysis identifying functional, emotional and social demand
• Segment attractiveness assessed through growth, margin, access and competitive intensity
• Customer journey evidence locating friction, defection points and moments of influence
• Market maps showing value pools, routes to market and dependency relationships

Participants can produce transparent market estimates and defend their assumptions.

• Top-down market sizing using published expenditure, population and adoption data
• Bottom-up estimates built from customer counts, volumes, frequency and price
• Driver-based forecasts linking demand assumptions to measurable market variables
• TAM, SAM and SOM calculations aligned with reachable customer segments
• Sensitivity tables testing price, penetration, conversion and retention assumptions
• Estimate ranges communicating uncertainty without disguising analytical judgment

Participants can identify relevant competitors and distinguish direct, indirect and emerging threats.

• Competitor universe built from customer alternatives, substitutes and adjacent entrants
• Strategic groups clustered by target segments, price position and business model
• Competitor prioritisation scoring threat, proximity, momentum and decision relevance
• Ecosystem maps identifying partners, distributors, suppliers and influential intermediaries
• Emerging entrant signals drawn from hiring, patents, funding and partnership activity
• White-space analysis distinguishing unmet demand from commercially unattractive gaps

Participants can build evidence-based competitor profiles for commercial and strategic use.

• Competitor profiles covering strategy, customers, offer, economics and capabilities
• Value proposition comparison using customer outcomes, proof points and trade-offs
• Battlecards distinguishing verified claims, sales messages and unsupported market rumours
• Pricing architecture analysis covering list price, discounting, bundles and terms
• Route-to-market profiles mapping direct sales, partners, digital and channel coverage
• Competitor timelines connecting past moves with current strategic intent

Participants can assess industry pressure and competitive position using recognised strategic frameworks.

• Porter's Five Forces applied to profit pressure and structural market change
• PESTLE analysis connecting external drivers to specific commercial consequences
• SWOT converted from descriptive lists into prioritised strategic choices
• Strategic positioning maps comparing customer value, price and differentiation
• Mobility barriers identifying why competitors struggle to change strategic groups
• Value chain analysis locating margin pools, bottlenecks and dependency risks

Participants can infer competitor priorities from operating, financial and organisational signals.

• Annual reports interpreted for growth priorities, capital allocation and risk statements
• Financial ratios comparing profitability, liquidity, efficiency and investment capacity
• Headcount patterns indicating capability build, geographic expansion and cost pressure
• Job advertisements revealing technology choices, sales priorities and organisational design
• Partnership announcements tested for commercial substance, exclusivity and execution capacity
• Capacity, supply and procurement signals indicating likely pricing or service changes

Participants can test alternative explanations and reduce bias in intelligence judgments.

• Analysis of Competing Hypotheses testing evidence against plausible explanations
• Key assumptions checks identifying fragile beliefs in strategic narratives
• Indicators and signposts distinguishing leading evidence from retrospective confirmation
• Causal maps linking competitor actions to market outcomes and customer responses
• Bias controls addressing anchoring, confirmation, recency and groupthink effects
• Contradiction analysis resolving evidence conflicts through targeted verification

Participants can develop plausible scenarios and monitor indicators that signal change.

• Critical uncertainties selected for impact, uncertainty and decision relevance
• Scenario axes creating distinct, plausible and decision-useful market futures
• Scenario narratives connecting drivers, actors, events and commercial consequences
• Early-warning systems assigning indicators, thresholds, owners and response actions
• Signpost dashboards separating normal variation from material strategic deviation
• Contingency options prepared for upside, downside and disruptive competitor scenarios

Participants can anticipate competitor reactions and prepare proportionate commercial responses.

• Competitor response models based on objectives, constraints, doctrine and capabilities
• War-game roles testing likely reactions to pricing, launches and market entry
• Decision trees mapping action, counteraction, probability and commercial consequence
• Second-order effects examining channel, customer, regulator and supplier responses
• Response thresholds defining when monitoring becomes intervention or escalation
• Pre-mortems identifying why a proposed competitive move might fail

Participants can convert analysis into decision options with clear commercial consequences.

• Implication statements connecting evidence directly to revenue, risk and strategic position
• Option appraisal comparing expected value, feasibility, timing and reversibility
• Recommendation logic separating evidence, judgment, action and residual uncertainty
• No-regrets actions identified across multiple plausible market scenarios
• Decision memos specifying choice required, owner, deadline and supporting evidence
• Implementation risks assessed through dependencies, resources, governance and market response

Participants can communicate intelligence findings clearly to executives and commercial teams.

• Executive briefings structured around decision, judgment, evidence and requested action
• Pyramid Principle applied to headlines, supporting arguments and evidence hierarchy
• Visual evidence displays using market maps, timelines, matrices and scenario charts
• Confidence labels preventing senior audiences from overstating uncertain conclusions
• Challenge sessions preparing responses to alternative interpretations and difficult questions
• Distribution plans matching intelligence products to audience sensitivity and timing

Participants can design an intelligence operating model that delivers measurable decision value.

• Intelligence operating models defining central, embedded and hybrid team structures
• Service portfolio separating alerts, briefs, dossiers, dashboards and advisory support
• Intake processes prioritising requests by value, urgency and resource demand
• Workflow controls managing collection, validation, review, approval and distribution
• Performance measures tracking adoption, decision influence, timeliness and stakeholder satisfaction
• Knowledge repositories preserving evidence, profiles, assumptions and lessons learned

Participants can build, review and present a complete intelligence dossier supporting a defined strategic decision.

• Decision brief defining sponsor, strategic choice, Key Intelligence Topics and deadline
• Evidence plan combining source priorities, collection actions and confidence criteria
• Market analysis presenting demand structure, size estimates and critical uncertainties
• Competitor assessment comparing strategy, capabilities, signals and likely responses
• Scenario and implication section identifying signposts, options and recommended action
• Executive presentation defending conclusions, limitations, priorities and implementation next steps