ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the applications of a marketing intelligence system as they relate to developing competitive strategies. Strategic marketing planning and the development of tactics require an effective and efficient information system. By using information in a variety of new ways, organizations find they can better support their basic products, offer new value-added services that distinguish them from their competitors, and create new products and businesses that extend their markets. No marketing intelligence system can replace competent and effective line management, but it can help one run their business more efficiently and measure performance on a day-to-day basis. There are numerous sources of published information, from small-town newspapers, in which a competitor’s presence makes front-page headlines, to large-city or national newspapers and magazines that provide financial and product information about competitors. Monitoring want ads in print and over the internet provides clues to the types of personnel and skills being sought.
