ebizQ Competitive Analysis Methodology

The ebizQ competitive evaluation process is a complete and objective competitive analysis methodology. It begins with a comprehensive product evaluation, and concludes with a competitive positioning summary, appropriate for use by the sales force. The ebizQ competitive evaluation process has three phases:

1. Product (or platform) evaluation
2. Product (or platform) scoring
3. Competitive evaluation

 Phase One: Product/Platform Evaluation.

Each product is evaluated individually, using the ebizQ evaluation methodology and template. The evaluation starts with company information including revenues, customers, and market share and positioning. A full product/platform description follows based on architecture and function.

ebizQ conducts a detailed features and functions evaluation. Each evaluation covers hundreds of criteria that are grouped into categories and subcategories. The B2B category, for example, contains over 100 evaluation criteria. The BPM and workflow category contains 80. Some of the subcategories include usability, scalability, manageability, support of standards, etc. This taxonomy enables multiple layers of drilldown when looking at product capabilities. The benefit of these layers is their ability to provide competitive positioning to your sales force by rolling them up into different areas of functionality.

 Phase Two: Product/Platform Scoring

Each evaluation criterion from Phase One is given a standardized score based on our proprietary scoring scale. The methodology for this scale is the result of many years of product evaluation experience and the in-depth product knowledge of the ebizQ team of analysts. The scoring scale for each feature is based on best practices in the market. For example, the scoring for Process Monitoring is:

The ebizQ scoring methodology provides a unique and objective way to compare and contrast many different products in a consistent manner without being obscured by product marketing literature that makes all products seem the same. By scoring each feature and function on a best of class scale the differences in the products are more easily identifiable.

 Phase Three: Competitive Evaluation

The results of the feature/function analysis and scoring are compared. A summary sheet is created to provide a numerical competitive comparison. The purpose of the numeric summary is to quickly highlight areas of competitive advantage and weakness. The feature function reports provide the detail of what the actual advantage or weakness is. These are detailed in the final report under the competitive analysis section, and summarized for competitive positioning on the 2-page fact cards created for the salespeople. The objective methodology for the competitive evaluation goes several steps further than just evaluating the product. Not even a hands-on evaluation will provide the competitive positioning in a way that can be easily utilized by the sales force.

 Deliverables:

1. Competitive Analysis Report. Includes general company information, competitive analysis summary and detailed feature/function evaluation.
   
   
2. Competitive Scorecard. The summary scorecard provides a fast index to the competitive strengths and weaknesses of each of the products evaluated. The details are in the report. The detailed scorecards are provided for substantiating material.
   
   
3. 2-Page Summary Fact Cards. This summary is a quick competitive positioning to be used by the sales force.