Competitive Intelligence & Law Firms : Primer

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

What is a SWOT?

I'm sure all those bus admin majors out there will think this post is elementary; but a lot of information and research professionals may not. Again,several definitions have emerged.

SWOT #1 definition- a strategic planning tool and method. (http://www.analysisexample.com/)

SWOT #2 definition- an evaluation of available information concerning the business environment in order to identify internal strengthens and weaknesses and external threats and opportunities. (SCIP website)

SWOT #3 definition- aka "situational analysis" or competitor profiling or intelligence analysis (when applied to competitors) (SCIP website)

Try to interpret your firm's SWOT. Could be fun, could be a challenge. This information is useful when responding to new business, for example. CI and SWOTs can help firms see how to best position their strengths while playing up to weaknesses of competing firms.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Definitions

1.Competitive Intelligence-" the systemic process for gathering and analyzing information about competitor activities."

2. Business Intelligence- " the process of gathering, storing, analyzing and providing access to data to help users make business decisions."

3. Market Intelligence-" the analysis of 'open-source' information gathered from global markets."

4. SWOT- " a strategic methodologies of a company or organization --Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats."

5. Technical Intelligence- " analytical information about external, scientific and technological threats, opportunities and developments affecting a company's competitive situation."

6. Blue Ocean-" unknown market space/potential i.e. untapped areas for development" ( aka 'into the wide blue yonder')

7. Red Ocean- "known market space with little room for growth; emphasis on grabbing any geater share of existing demand and getting bloody in the process."

From an ABA (American Bar Association) publication in 2005 & Reflections

A list of what law firms are doing with competitive intelligence 1. Bidding for new business 2. Luring laterals 3. Opening new offices 4. Setting billing rates 5. Expanding specific existing practices 6. Assessing leadership styles of competing firms

CI & law firms? Is there a connection?

Several years ago, I was not certain about an answer to this question. Before returning to the legal field in 2002; I had been a CI analyst for a local company. Part of my responsibilities there was to assist in the development of a CI initiative within our business unit. After several years, the company underwent major restructuring in preparation for an eventual merger and all CI functions were eliminated. As I began to reacquaint myself with lawyers and legal information services, I noticed the changing roles. Law firms are a lot about marketing these days. Legal information centers are providing more than basic legal research assistance. There is an increasing need for business research and analysis and competitive intelligence.