2. Set up competitor information gathering

On the offensive, to continuously gather information on competitors, you can involve your staff in your monitoring strategy to multiply the results of competitive information searches.

But defensively, you may have to put up with various commercial intelligence practices from competitors who don't forget you either:

• dubious telephone calls. For example, a service company X claims to be updating its files and asks you for various specific, often confidential, information (project, innovation, current investment loans); some energy suppliers ask you for your consumption data in order to better offer you their services;

• simulated emergencies. For example, an M maintenance company pretends to be a partner of your service provider and feigns a technical emergency to obtain access conditions...