Competitive Intelligence Case Study
Using Competitor Org Charts to Benchmark a Sales Team
This case study was like a jigsaw puzzle, involving many intricate details and interconnections. We were tasked with looking into the roles, responsibilities, and reporting hierarchies that formed the organizational structure of key competitors.
Competitive intelligence services delivered
The research goals
The primary goal of this competitor research project was to create detailed organization charts for six key competitors within the financial services software industry. It was an ambitious project that involved a lot of data to be discovered, sorted, verified, and mapped out.
Data mining
Our first task was extensive data mining of public sources, including SEC filings, resume databases, employer review websites, social media and, most of all, LinkedIn.
We mined thousands of LinkedIn and resume profiles belonging to the employees of the target competitors – from the leadership teams to their three subordinate levels. Our objective was to piece together a rough organizational chart that outlined each firm’s hierarchy, including breakouts of each functional team.
Tapping into the vast pool of LinkedIn data, and supporting that with primary fact-checking, helped make this project successful.Tapping into the vast pool of LinkedIn data, and supporting that with primary fact-checking, helped make this project successful.
Primary fieldwork
After creating a blueprint of the competitors, we needed more detailed information, that had to be obtained through primary fieldwork. Aqute conducted a large number of interviews to verify reporting relationships, role descriptions, and team responsibilities.
This helped us add depth and validation to our org charts and enhance the information that we gathered in the public data mining phase. The primary data added a layer of first-hand information and resulted in detailed, reliable org charts.
Impact
These detailed organizational charts were put to practical use by several account directors working for our client. Our client used the org charts to redesign their own structure and understand how they could come out as a more flexible company, better aligned with market trends.
The organizational redesign made our client more resilient, for example shifting from a rigid, industry-focused model to a geography-focused model. By doing so, they became better able to execute their global expansion plans.
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