“Competitive intelligence” is the legal and ethical activity of systematically gathering, analyzing, and managing information on industrial competitors. This can include activities such as compiling newspaper articles, corporate publications, monitoring websites, verifying patent filings, compiling specialized databases, harvesting information at trade shows, etc. Information is amassed in order to gain a full perspective (and thus an advantage) on a rival corporation. The compilation of these crucial elements is often termed CIS or CRS (Competitive Intelligence Solution or Competitive Response Solution).

The difference between “competitive intelligence” and “corporate espionage” is often not clear; one needs to understand the legal basics in order to recognize how to draw a line between the two. Typically, information may not be obtained through covert surveillance, disguised radio transmission, communication intercepts, or any other clandestine/covert or unethical methods.

Nonetheless, in today's Information Age, you need answers in order to survive. You need expertise and the full picture in order to prosper. But you also need to go about things legally and ethically in order to survive and prosper for the long haul and to create the right kind of legacy.

J. Koerner Investigations can help with strategies to initiate and compile legal/ethical methods intent on systematically gathering, analyzing, and managing viable, usable information on your competitors for the benefit of your company. Contact us to create a strategy that is right for you.