Method of distibution / circulation of a regular CI bulletin within a large enterprise

[Annabel Colley]

Hi I have a question about the method of distribution / circulation of a regular competitive intelligence bulletin within a global organisation. Does anyone have any evidence or views as to which of the following  approaches is better when distributing email competitive intelligence. 1. Wide email distribution to a large list of staff at all levels (ie bottom up or broad distribution )  OR 2. The "cascading" approach where CI bulletins are emailed to a select group of senior stakeholders and influencers who discuss then then cascade the information down to their teams. Which has the most benefit in terms of "actionable" intelligence? Does anyone feel there are confidentialtiy issues for internally gathered annecdotal intel. that would make method 1 or 2 better? Any case studies that look at the method of  CI distribution/circulation in  large enterprises?   Thanks so much

[Trip Krant]

How will the bulletin fit into the existing intelligence product mix?

[Annabel Colley]

Thanks for replying Trip

 

re the existing intelligence product mix - we are still working that one out! Of course  It is one part of a wider market intel function but the actual ci  bulletin is fairly new for now.

[Trip Krant]

Annabel,

Imagine a Matryoshka doll - the Russian nesting dolls that have a little doll stacked inside a bigger doll.  You want your product mix of push-reporting to be nested like that.  

Bulletins or newsletters are the first and biggest doll - or the base of a pyramid.   The purpose is to continually educate a general audience across the organization about the competitive environment.  This is a baseline of competitive knowledge that will enable decision-makers to digest future intelligence easier.

The second doll is event-driven reporting.  These are insights and analysis that are triggered by a competitive event, and are delivered to a targeted audience.  They can be delivered in several formats, and can contain sensitive information because they are delivered to specific people.

Strategic reports are the third doll, and are delivered to selected senior management.  These will include strategic findings and your KIT reports.   This is your top of the range intel product, but like the top part of a pyramid it is build upon the previous layers.

[Estefanía Aguilar Moreno]

Hi Annabel,

If you have so many profiles in your company I don't think is worthwhile to send the same bulletin to everybody, needs are different.

First we have to take into account different information needs by topics: technological data, economic figures... For instance, if you think about a Manager the way of presenting this information is completely different, certainly it should be more accurate and precise, and problably the bulletin should be reduced to a couple of figures. But a Technical department would probably need complete information to deep into.

 

The best option could be different bulletins for each profiles, and maybe a general one for everbody. Obviously this option uses more resources and time for CI department.

Regards!

[Annabel Colley]

Thank you for your helpful reply Estefania  - it is giving me some diirections to think about 

[Ellen Naylor]

I think it's better to post stuff that is general in a centralized spot within your company digitally and make people aware of that source. However, I think it's better to send bulletins and any type of CI only to those who need to know, unless your bulletin is general. 

 

My experience in corporate is that it's better to prepare targeted deliverables to your stakeholders first and then fan out to other interest groups, which is different for everyone since unfortunately corporate politics does creep in.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Ellen Naylor

[Annabel Colley]

Thank you Ellen

 

Yes targetted to stakeholders who carry influence seems to me the way to go but not everyone has the same view  Posting stuff centrally on Intranet is a possibility. Need to know Vs "general" content is one to ponder. How would you differentiate those two?  Need to know to me  - is actionable intel ie analysis of  important information about competitors strategy, aquisisions, staffing etc that have a direct impact on the market you are operating in  - but general ? - would you say it is just a pull together of publically availble current awareness / news sources on the market or competitors ?

[Raúl Baños]

Annabel,

As you say, we could differentiate two ways to distribute information:

1) Active distribution, targeted push systems (e-mail, rss): "need to know", with strategic information.
2) Passive distribution, pull systems (storing of information in your corporate intranet, for instance): "general content".

In the second option, if you don't know what kind of content could fit in, maybe one possibility is to build some library-style "subject guides" and pathfinders with specific information resources. These subject guides could be organized by topic or type of information in your corporate intranet.

I think there are so many good examples out there made by librarians that you could adapt to your company's needs:

- Library success: Subject guides (http://t.co/SE2cf3m). With good examples and some tips.
- SJCPL subject guides (http://t.co/IFuntJt), in a cool wiki-style.
- Building construction resources (http://www.netvibes.com/construccio). Made by me with Netvibes, an interesting tool to consider.

Hope it could be useful for you.

[Rob Garber]

Hi Annabel, I think the best approach in developing a regular CI bulletin is first to determine the target audience. Normally, CI info is most useful to Strategy, Marketing and Sales, and may also include product management and be more technical in nature. Once you have defined the audience, do some internal market research. Survey them and ask what will be most useful to them. Many are already overwhelmed with information and will not read your bulletins unless they see high value. So, find out what their perceived needs are, and how often they would like to receive the information. I suggest also a user friendly feedback mechanism so you can constantly improve future work, and save up positive comments for reviews with your boss. Also include a way for recipients to suggest new users and get on the dist list. Not sure if wide distribution to all levels of staff is great unless it is very targeted. The cascade approach may hinder the time sensitive nature of the intel. As to the confidentiality issue for internal anecdotal intel, that's a judgement call. Anecdotal info can be inaccurate, and it will need to pass the legal sniff test. In any case you will need to identify your source and determine if it passes the legal and ethical guidelines. As part of an overall piece of CI guidance, it could be valuable.

[Glen Brynteson]

My vote would be for an 'intranet-type' of distribution...

My firm recently created a cloud solution in which all of our clients log in to their secure portal and view all of their intelligence from all samples analyzed - and allows them to slice an dice the intelligence to see trends, see what they are doing strategically and tactically to impact their scores, track lost prospect re-engagement, etc...

This also allows their employees from all over the world to simply log in and view their intelligence based on executive, management, sales, delivery responsibilities...

So, I would put these up on your intranet and let people come to you - with maybe a reminder email for people to check for updates, etc...