Cleveland Public Library

The People's University

Small Business Strategies

In these difficult economic times, any small business would like to make itself more successful and profitable. One such way is by using competitive intelligence. Competitive intelligence involves looking at your business in relation to its competitors, industry, and the general environment in order to make better informed decisions. While competitive intelligence is most commonly used by Fortune 500 companies, it is equally beneficial for small businesses.  Small business owners may think that they cannot afford competitive intelligence; however, this is not true. Any small business owner can perform some basic, beneficial research using freely available Cleveland Public Library (CPL) resources.

The first step in performing competitive intelligence is to analyze the industry in which you operate and the competitors within that industry. When analyzing the industry, it is important to identify current trends and predict future ones. In doing so, you can assure that your business will avoid being blindsided by changes in the marketplace. CPL has many trade journals and industry surveys that highlight trends in specific industries.
 
Next, it is important to find out how many similar businesses are in your target market. Once you determine the number of competitors in your market, you should narrow it down to relevant, specific competitors. A CPL resource that is effective at locating and detailing competitors, public or private, is the database ReferenceUSA. With ReferenceUSA, you can find out how many competitors your business has and their number of employees, estimated annual sales, and key management personnel.

The last aspect of competitive intelligence is called the general environment. This includes social, technological, economical, ecological, and political (abbreviated STEEP) aspects which can affect a company. Social aspects of the general environment include demographics such as population, income, and crime rates.  For local information on the Cleveland economy, the City of Cleveland Department of Economic Development has many publications relating to the local economy. For ecological and political aspects, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has publications on environmental regulations for businesses.  Since the general environment is broad and always changing, one of the best research strategies is to look at current news resources.

In today's challenging economic climate, it is important to gain any competitive advantage you can. Developing and using competitive intelligence can help your business survive and thrive during difficult times. For help using any of these resources please call the Business, Economics, and Labor Department at 216.623.2927.

Related Resources:

Trade Journals arranged by subject.

Industry Surveys: 
  Standard & Poor Industry Surveys 
  2009 US Industry & Market Outlook 
  Handbook of Industry Profiles

Demographics:
  Demographics USA: Zip Code Edition
  Demographics USA: County Edition
  Household Spending: 12th Edition

General News Resources

For more books on Competitive Intelligence see the call number section HD38.7 located on the second floor of the Louis Stokes Wing in the Business, Economics, and Labor Department.