2020 State of Competitive Intelligence - The Latest Best Practices, Trends, & Results in the Market & Competitive Intelligence Field

Sep 13, 2026

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State of Competitive Intelligence 2020 distills findings from a global survey of more than 1,000 competitive intelligence (CI) professionals. The report benchmarks CI team growth, investment patterns, and CI process practices, highlighting shifts toward automation, measurement, and improved reporting. It examines CI budgets, outputs, results, and key performance indicators (KPIs), connecting CI activities to revenue impact. It also details common challenges and best practices, concluding with survey methodology and actionable takeaways for CI leaders.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatPDF

Pages65

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

From the Executive Director of SCIP

What is Competitive Intelligence?

State of Competitive Intelligence Survey

Executive Summary

Investment

Industry Competition

CI Process

CI Research

CI Outputs

Results from CI

Key Performance Indicators Revenue Impact

Challenges

Best Practices

Conclusion

Survey Methodology

2020 State of Competitive Intelligence The Latest Best Practices, Trends, & Results in the Market & Competitive Intelligence Field Table of Contents Introduction 3 Investment 8 CI Teams CI Budgets Industry Competition 17 CI Process 23 CI Research CI Outputs Results from CI 34 Key Performance Indicators Revenue Impact Challenges 48 Best Practices 50 Conclusion 61 Survey Methodology 63 2 0 2 0 STATE OF COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE 2 1 Introduction From the Executive Director of SCIP As the saying goes, standing still is the fastest way of moving backwards in a rapidly changing world. With product and technology lifecycles getting shorter, the need for strategic agility has never been greater. To navigate these disrupted times, organizations must take a 360-degree view of their ecosystem: markets, customers, competitors, suppliers, megatrends, etc. Simply monitoring and reacting to competitors won’t cut it. As the world’s largest non-profit serving the competitive & marketing intelligence community, SCIP (Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals) is pleased to partner with Crayon on this important study, surveying the state of our profession. Whatever words are on their business cards, our members are Intelligence Strategists, dedicated to using insights and tools to drive growth and capitalize on disruption. As you’ll read in the following pages, growth isn’t getting any easier: nearly all businesses report that their industry has become more competitive in the last three years. Without strong processes and discipline around intelligence-driven strategy, organizations may miss warning signs and be blindsided. While we’re encouraged to see growth in the size of MI/CI teams, the fact that less than half have defined KPIs should serve as a wake-up call. In this age of measuring everything from greenhouse gas emissions from a single motor to our sleep quality, tracking and reporting on KPIs a re table stakes. When disruption is the new normal, “stay the course” is no longer an option. By providing a benchmark against current practices and insight into best practices, this report is an important resource to help improve the value that we bring to our organizations every day. Cam Mackey Executive Director, SCIP 2 0 2 0 STATE OF COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE 4 Introduction The competitive landscape has changed. It is easier than ever for a new competitor to go to market, easier than ever to adjust marketing messaging, release new product features, or expand into new markets. The need for competitive intelligence has never been greater. The competitive intelligence landscape has changed as well. Automation, data proliferation, measurement tools, and so much more have transformed the way businesses can capture and analyze their competitors’ movements and take action to get ahead. The annual State of Competitive Intelligence Report aims to uncover the trends, best practices, and benchmarks in the field of market and competitive intelligence from practitioners doing this work every day. Once again, this report brings together responses from more than 1,000 CI professionals, who shared their processes, challenges, and results in an effort to move this field forward. By sharing their responses, we hope experienced peers and new colleagues of competitive intelligence alike can grow in their roles and better enable their teams to succeed. 2 0 2 0 STATE OF COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE 5 What is Competitive Intelligence? Competitive intelligence (CI) is the field dedicated to capturing, analyzing, and driving action related to a company’s competitive landscape. Competitive intelligence data includes anything and everything about a company’s competitors-their businesses, their movements, and their strategies. This field can go by many names-from competitive intelligence to market research to business strategy. Atthe end of the day, when we discuss competitive intelligence, w

FAQs

What does the 2020 State of Competitive Intelligence report focus on?

It focuses on trends in CI investment, the CI process, associated metrics, and the impact experienced from CI practices.

How were the survey responses collected?

The State of Competitive Intelligence Survey was open November–December 2019 and produced more than 1,000 responses from CI professionals and stakeholders who consume CI deliverables.

Which CI activity is reported as the most time-consuming?

Competitive research is reported as the most time-consuming CI activity, with 36% of CI time dedicated to this step.

Sep 13, 2026

Upload by Graffin