• We have seen some recent pricing changes by one of our competitors – is this just a short-term incident or is this a long-term strategy?
• How do we know we are focusing on the right market segments – which markets are our competitors focusing on?
• How are our competitors able to sell products at or below our cost?
• Are any of our competitors potential acquisition candidates?

The Allegheny Marketing Group (AMG) specializes in obtaining competitor profiles and specific competitor intelligence information to support clients’ important business decisions. Effective competitor research is not merely a fact-finding session, but instead requires obtaining key information that, when interpreted into real-life situations, is invaluable in supporting business decisions.

AMG uses both secondary and primary research techniques to obtain information that is difficult or impossible for clients to obtain by themselves. Secondary research uncovers everything available in the public domain. Primary research uncovers intelligence not available to the trade. This requires skillful interviewing techniques and the ability to ask the right questions, at the right time, and of the right persons.

AMG provides custom-designed, proprietary competitor intelligence that is specific for each client. We do not provide standardized reports or vague industry-wide reports to our clients. Whenever possible, all information is verified by at least two separate sources.

All information is gathered in an ethical manner.

Examples of the types of competitor information we provide include:

Product Portfolio Sales Future Products	Research & Development Size - People and Dollars Joint Ventures License Agreements	Manufacturing Scheduling & Control Capacity & Capabilities Locations
Marketing Product Planning System Market Plans & Segmentation Market Channels Used	Sales Distribution Channels Training Compensation Systems	Suppliers Requirements/Performance Deliveries Materials Used and Cost

The following are examples of projects conducted by the Allegheny Marketing Group:

Case Study 1, Acquisition Case

A major electrical equipment manufacturer wanted to assess the feasibility of making a potential acquisition of a competitor. As part of their feasibility research, they wanted recent information on their competitor's existing marketing channels, sales volume by product line and market channel, and any recent changes in their competitor's facilities.

The Allegheny Marketing Group obtained the above information, as well as a profile of the other competitors' sales organizations and distributor channels. Complex sales flow diagrams and estimated product margins were developed through the various market channels to end-user customers. On the basis of the analysis, it was recommended that none of the competitors should be acquisition candidates. There was not a candidate that provided our client a competitive advantage and any purchase price would likely not provide an adequate return on investment.

Case Study 2, Market Channel Case

A national sales organization heard rumors that a major competitor had made significant changes in its marketing channels. Although our client had accumulated bits and pieces about the changes from their sales force, they could not determine the scope and the significance of what the competitor was trying to accomplish. They asked the Allegheny Marketing Group for help.

By interviewing more than 30 employees in the competitor's organization, the Allegheny Marketing Group determined the new organizational structure, including number of sales people, support people, distributors used, compensation packages, and sales objectives. By overlaying their own sales organization with the competitor's, the strategies became evident to our client.