What is Competipedia?

Businesses have long sought to learn about the competition in hopes of differentiating themselves in the eyes of the client. Competipedia became the platform for collecting competitive insights around the globe, combined with the ability to share instantly. Since it is wiki-based, it allows users to create and edit competitive knowledge at the click of a button. This has been particularly useful during the most recent economic downturn as users can discuss current conditions they are facing and how to overcome them. Senior management can leverage the site to give insight into the competitive landscape, as it is ever changing.

To supplement the information found in analyst reports, Xerox relies on the sales force’s knowledge from their daily client interactions and competitive engagements to learn how competitors are positioning themselves, and ultimately how well they deliver against their positioning. The difficulty is finding the most efficient way to get the information from the field to share with – and benefit from – the collective whole. Competipedia gives the Xerox Global Services (XGS) sales force several advantages with which to overcome this challenge:

 Scout the Competition

Competipedia ultimately seeks to change the process of gathering information and analyzing the competition, using tools such as:

• Competitor Overview – a point-by-point grid comparison against XGS
• SWOT Analysis – details on competitor’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and actionable information on how to compete against them
• Differentiators – a section dedicated to how XGS differentiates ourselves from the competition and how we can best position XGS when in front of the client
• Winning Techniques – includes strategies and tactics on past wins and losses, and how to leverage them in future deals.

  

 My Deals

Users answer a series of questions about each individual deal they are working on – and then receive a customized competitive action plan highlighting strategies and tips on how they should compete to win. For each competitor in a given deal, a dynamically generated document is created including both wiki-content from the site and focused direction on how to face-off against competitors based on feedback from numerous subject matter experts. 

Wins & Losses

When a deal has closed, users fill out a quick questionnaire on the deal to automatically store it in the win/loss repository. Questions on why the deal was won or lost, tactics and positioning of the competitor, and general deal overview are then captured for all users to view.

Huddle

It’s an online forum with a competitive slant. Like a bulletin board for the thousands of employees throughout XGS, this is where users go beyond posting their insights and really start to engage with each other in a meaningful way. Discussions not only further expose the fundamental strengths and weaknesses of our competitors, but also help evolve innovative strategies and tactics to help win the business.

My Rewards

Competipedia is a rewards-based program. We realized that the sales force is busy so we created an incentive for users to contribute information. Users earn a range of points for adding content, editing content and posting documents related to the competition. Once a user has earned a certain point value, rewards such as iPhones, gift cards or other items can be redeemed.

Why create a website?

Signings growth and account retention were being negatively impacted by the lack of a coordinated, proactive competitive attack strategy and supporting tactics. Often faced with the same key competitors, Xerox Global Services needed a new way to share information and differentiate ourselves from the competition. To increase both signings and revenue, we needed new strategies and tactics to beat our competitors. 

But how do you gather information from thousands of individuals and disseminate it to the entire sales force? There was a clear need to create a way to communicate with each other globally and share personal insights and experiences.

Prior to Competipedia, desks and PC hard drives were often cluttered with folders filled with articles, e-mails and links on the competition.  There was no real process for the sales force to share knowledge with one another – and even if they did share their insights it often left the question, What do I do with this information?  Competipedia allowed for the creation of one clear source for information on the services competition and answered the question of what to do with the information. We were able to replace multiple internal content repositories with a comprehensive website that can be updated and edited - at anytime, by anyone – thereby creating an ongoing knowledge exchange portal for both the sales force and headquarters. 



What makes Competipedia an effective use of social applications? 

It became clear that a tool to share competitive insights was needed. Cluttered desktop folders were not getting the job done. There was not an easy way to share all of the knowledge that was out there. New insights from client interactions in the field were not being captured and often the same people were being called in to help. Subject matter experts’ time was being taken up with the same questions and issues over and over again. Clearly this was not an efficient way for SMEs to be spending their days. 

After considering other options, an interactive wiki-site made the most sense. Users in the field could visit the site to learn about the competition and easily share their experiences either by updating existing content or adding new content. Since the site is live and is always being reviewed and updated, the information is actionable. It was a new way to look at and analyze the insight that we already had.  

Another benefit of Competipedia is that it includes XGS perspectives with actionable strategies. Often the field looked at competitive information and didn’t know how to use it. Competipedia clearly outlines the how with tactics that can be used to increase our win/loss ratio.    

Many Competipedia users have a virtual office and are often on the go. Integrating the latest technology was key in the development of the site.  A secure BlackBerry application was created, enabling the sales force to add competitive insights directly from their BlackBerry. Anywhere. Anytime. Whether they are at an airport or returning from a meeting, top-of-mind insights can be shared with the click of their BlackBerry.

Users can also sign up for RSS feeds that are competitor based. When new information is added, users are automatically informed creating instant alerts and advice to be pushed outward. Or they can sign up for e-mails to be sent to their inbox when information is posted about a specified competitor. In addition, users have the ability to rate content – so that the more useful highly rated information is able to be viewed first. 

Results?

Competipedia initially launched in late 2008. We recognize that adoption and usage are often a challenge for new programs so we have been steadily promoting Competipedia to increase awareness of the website. Since its introduction, over half of the intended Xerox Global Services population has visited the site.  In addition, over 800 new articles have been created and 600 edits made with more than 20,000 page visits by users. We expect usage to increase as the sales force benefits from the strategic competitive insights and resulting tactics to win more deals.

With average sales cycles of over 18 months it is too early to provide impact on financial results. We plan to monitor site usage to see how deals are impacted based on the competitive insight provided.

Initial feedback has been very positive as users find the site to be very informative and helpful. Here are some testimonials:

•    “It really is a great tool! Because of the RFP cycle my need for it was limited to set points of time, but overall it is the best tool (literally) that I have seen ... for as long as I can remember.”
•    “It is a great site to help better understand some of our wins and loses. All of which are important to know from a field perspective as to what is and what is not working. Not to mention that the process [of accessing and using the site] was really quick and easy!”

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