CMA CMA Competitive Intelligence & Analysis 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is 'benchmarking' in a competitive intelligence context?
- Comparing a company's performance metrics against industry leaders or competitors (Correct answer)
- Setting minimum performance standards for employees
- Testing product quality against regulatory standards
- Measuring the speed of website performance
Correct answer: Comparing a company's performance metrics against industry leaders or competitors
Benchmarking involves systematically measuring a company's processes, products, or performance against best-in-class competitors to identify improvement opportunities.
Question 2: Which analytical approach segments competitors into 'strategic groups' based on similar strategies and resources?
- Strategic Group Analysis (Correct answer)
- SWOT Analysis
- Competitor Profiling
- Value Chain Analysis
Correct answer: Strategic Group Analysis
Strategic Group Analysis clusters competitors that follow similar strategies within an industry, helping analysts identify the most direct competitive threats.
Question 3: A market analyst tracking a competitor's 'share of voice' is measuring:
- The competitor's advertising spend as a percentage of total category advertising (Correct answer)
- The number of customer reviews mentioning the competitor
- The competitor's social media follower count
- The competitor's share of total industry revenue
Correct answer: The competitor's advertising spend as a percentage of total category advertising
Share of voice (SOV) measures how much of total category advertising or media presence belongs to a specific brand, often used as a proxy for brand strength.
Question 4: The 'competitive response matrix' helps analysts predict how competitors will react to strategic moves by assessing their:
- Awareness, motivation, and capability to respond (Correct answer)
- Budget, workforce, and distribution network
- Brand loyalty, pricing strategy, and product mix
- Market share, growth rate, and customer satisfaction
Correct answer: Awareness, motivation, and capability to respond
A competitive response matrix evaluates whether a competitor is aware of the strategic move, is motivated to respond, and has the capability to react effectively.
Question 5: What does the term 'competitive moat' refer to in market analysis?
- A sustainable competitive advantage that protects a company from rivals (Correct answer)
- A barrier a company builds to prevent new product launches
- A geographic region where a company dominates without competition
- A legal agreement preventing employees from joining competitors
Correct answer: A sustainable competitive advantage that protects a company from rivals
A competitive moat, popularized by Warren Buffett, is a durable competitive advantage—such as brand, network effects, or cost advantages—that protects a company's market position.
Question 6: Secondary research in competitive intelligence typically includes:
- Published reports, company filings, trade publications, and news articles (Correct answer)
- One-on-one interviews with competitor employees
- Mystery shopping at competitor locations
- Focus groups with competitor customers
Correct answer: Published reports, company filings, trade publications, and news articles
Secondary research uses existing published sources like annual reports, industry studies, government databases, and news to gather competitive information without direct interaction.
CMA CMA Competitive Intelligence & Analysis 2
What is 'benchmarking' in a competitive intelligence context?