You’re Watching the Wrong Competitors. Here’s How to Win.

A competitor analysis earns its place only when it changes what leadership decides to do. Tracking who cut prices or launched a product last quarter is useful context, yet it rarely reveals where the next source of profitable growth lies.

This film sets out Onnova's seven-stage approach to competitive intelligence, connecting market dynamics, customer behaviour, competitive economics, strategic foresight and financial decision-making. Illustrative cases from industrial manufacturing and business banking show how a different reading of competition can lead to very different investment choices.

Key takeaways

• Define the competitive set the way customers do; substitutes, adjacent business models and new entrants often matter as much as listed rivals.

• Understand why customers choose, switch or stay by combining transaction evidence with win-loss reviews and buying-group interviews.

• Recognise that not all market share creates the same value; map profit pools and realised prices, not only headline volumes.

• Test strategic options against likely competitor responses before committing capital, with clear conditions to scale or stop.

The objective is not another competitor report; it is an advantage the organisation can deliver consistently and competitors will struggle to match.