Introducing Into the Fray: The Competitive Intelligence Podcast

Competition is fiercer than ever before. According to our 2022 State of CI Report, 59% of CI practitioners say their markets have gotten much more competitive while 98% of stakeholders say CI is important to their success. 

Given the increasing need for more CI knowledge, we’re excited to announce that Crayon partnered with the Product Marketing Alliance to deliver a brand-new, competitive intelligence podcast series, “Into the Fray: The Competitive Intelligence Podcast.” 

Hosted by Crayon’s Vice President of Product Marketing, Erik Mansur, the podcast will dive into all things CI–providing tips, best practices, advice, and more for CI practitioners.

Today, we launched the first three episodes. Each episode features prominent leaders in the CI space, diving into a variety of topics that will help you–the CI enthusiast–do your job better. 

Now, without further ado, grab your popcorn, headphones, and have a listen for yourself! You’ll walk away with key takeaways to implement immediately into your CI program.

Episode One

The ROI of CI: How to effectively measure the success of your CI efforts through clear and concise KPIs

Guest: Fiona Finn – Director of Product Marketing at jane.app

Like any task, measuring the success of your efforts is critical–but with CI sitting at the intersection of so many different stakeholders, its proven to be a challenge for companies. While some still consider CI measurement a work in progress, many practitioners are circling in on best practices to measure and report on it, including the talented and seasoned Fiona.

In this episode, Fiona and Erik reveal the true, measurable value that CI programs provide to companies. They dive into measurable CI inputs and outcomes and discuss how to ascribe CI value to stakeholders.

More specifically, Erik and Fiona cover the following topics:

• Aligning your KPIs with your company’s OKRs
• Defining CI stakeholders’ KPIs and how they impact you
• The confidence that a product marketer (or CI pro) can have in their metrics
• How to have both tangible and intangible metrics and why they’re both important

And hey, if you’re looking for a comparison between the Spice Girls and c-suite (you don’t hear that one every day!), your ears might perk up at 32:45! 

Episode Two

CI planning for 2022: How to plot a set of competitive intelligence initiatives on a yearly or quarterly basis

Guest: August Jackson – Senior Director of Market and Competitive Intelligence at Deltek

Planning out your CI program can feel like a daunting task, but it is critical to have a plan in place for not only yourself–the CI leader–but for all stakeholders to ensure that your intel is leveraged effectively and that your CI program is rock-solid and top-notch. 

By establishing the foundation of a winning CI plan, you can better align your initiatives with your company’s key business objectives, be prepared for opportunities and threats in the coming year, know all the resources stakeholders need to succeed, and more.

In this episode, Erik and August hit on:

• Establishing the ‘why’ for CI stakeholders  
• The steps needed to get buy-in across the board for CI
• How to ensure your CI plan withstands scrutiny from stakeholders 
• Identifying and measuring quantitative and qualitative KPIs for your plan 

You’ll even hear about concepts such as administrative trivia and organizational calmness… and the beloved TV show Fixer Upper.

Episode Three

Creating a culture of CI: Using your competition as a catalyst for collaboration and professional camaraderie 

Guest: Patrick Wall – Head of Competitive Intelligence at Imperva

To compete and win in a volatile market, it takes a village and a whole lot of cross-collaboration. When it comes to CI, building a robust competitive culture at your company to centralize the intel, standardize the distribution methods, better-educate internal teams on the market, give visibility to those who leverage CI consistently, and more is a must.

Building a CI culture requires buy-in from stakeholders ranging from sales to leadership to product. To succeed, you must prove to stakeholders that they can make a significant and immediate impact–both individually and team-wide. 

In this episode, Patrick and Erik provide advice on how to get stakeholders on board with CI and the tools you should be leveraging to drive a cultural impact. Give it a listen to gain insight into topics such as:

• Which teams are pivotal to grow CI programs
• Where and how to distribute competitive intel to stakeholders 
• Utilizing win/loss info as data points for competitive conversations 
• The value of building partnerships with senior leaders in various departments

Enhance your CI skills with our cutting edge CI podcast

If you couldn’t tell already, it’s time to get off the sidelines and into the fray. 

Throughout 2022, Erik will interview CI pros from all around the world, asking experts the hard-pressing questions that will help you become an even stronger CI practitioner. 

If you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe and leave us a rating! You can find our podcast across the following platforms: 

• PMA Website
• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Google Podcasts

Stay tuned for more exciting episodes!

Interested in potentially becoming a guest on the podcast? Email crayon@crayon.co to suggest a future podcast guest.