Smart services : competitive information strategies, solutions, and success stories for service businesses / Deborah C. Sawyer.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 205-209) and index.

Print version record.

Cover; Copyright; Table of Contents; First Words; Introduction; PART 1; Introduction; Defining the Service Business; Foundations for Analysis; How Services Competition Differs; The Broad Spectrum of Competitive Forces; Why Undertake CI in Services?; A Word About Words; References; Chapter 2: Customer-Origin Competition; The True Arena of Competition; The Role of Prior Relationships; Competition from Alternates and Substitutes; Competing Against a Lack of Action; Reluctance to Change as Competition; The Do-It-Yourself Phenomenon; Too Much Competition; Bad Experiences; The Need for Education.

Location as Perceptual CompetitionMarket Cooperation; Tackling Customer-Origin Competition; References; Competition Checklist; Key Points to Remember; Chapter 3: A Matter of Influence; Spotting Centers of Influence; Decision by Committee; Delegation as a Competitive Barrier; Recognizing the Role of Gatekeepers; Managing Multiple Influencers; Tackling Influencer Competition; Competition Checklist; Key Points to Remember; Chapter 4: When Uncle Sam Is a Competitor; Undercutting the Private Sector; Siphoning Off Opportunities; More Than the Federal Government; Hidden Competition.

A Question of Favoritism?Crossing Borders; Indirect Competition; Tackling Uncle Sam as a Competitor; References; Competition Checklist; Key Points to Remember; Chapter 5: Traditional Competitors; Providers Versus Competitors; Full or Partial Competitors; Issues of Visibility; Imitators Versus Competitors; Absentees and Exclusivities; New Market Entrants; When Foes Are Friends, Too; Elements of Traditional Competition; Tackling Traditional Competitors; Competition Checklist; Key Points to Remember; Chapter 6: An Inside Job; Location as a Competitive Disadvantage.

Organizational Structure as Competitive BarrierA Matter of Culture; The Impact of Client Interaction; The Threat of Adamancy; Competing Against Staff Departures; Creating Competition with Too Much Change; Competition from Internal Saboteurs; Clashes of Ego; Tackling Inside Competition; References; Competition Checklist; Key Points to Remember; Chapter 7: Left-Field Competition; Sudden Changes in Demand; Financial Fluctuations; Wanting It All, Wanting It Now; The Tentacles of Technology; Labor and Labor Costs; Per-Capita Competition; Rationalization as Competition; Hidden Competition.

CommoditizationReferences; Competition Checklist; Key Points to Remember; PART 2; Chapter 8: Where Are They?; Just What Is Your Industry Sector?; Finding High-Profile Competitors; Finding Low-Profile Competition; Finding Hidden Competition; Public Faces, Private Lives; Customer and Influencer Competition; Government Source Competition; About Where Competitors Are; How to Use the CI You Gather; Finding Your Competition; Chapter 9: What's Their Strategy?; Positioning Tactics; Mission and Vision Statements Can Be Revealing; The Branding Impetus; The Business of Differentiation.

Focusing specifically on the competitive information needs of service-oriented firms, this book illuminates the many forms of competition in service businesses, identifies the most effective information resources for competitive intelligence, and provides a practical framework for identifying and studying competitors in order to gain competitive advantage. Explained are unique challenges and techniques for tackling traditional competitors, uncovering hidden and left-field competition, discovering and tracking competitor strategies, looking for financial intelligence, and looking for intel.

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