Compare attributes, not brands
A benchmark that concludes "competitor A is stronger in digital" doesn't let anyone decide anything. One that compares coverage, deductibles, terms, channel conditions, and effective price attribute by attribute produces a concrete list of what to change and how much it would cost.
Public sources, better used
In regulated sectors there's much more available information than most assume.
- Filings and general terms and conditions submitted to the regulator
- Financial reports and notes from local subsidiaries
- Public rate cards, online quoting tools, and channel materials
- Job postings, which reveal priorities and future investments
- Press releases, won bids, and trademark registrations
Homogeneous criteria or no comparison at all
The most frequent technical mistake is comparing figures built with different criteria. Before collecting data, definitions must be fixed: what counts as effective price, what period, what channel, what customer profile. Without that, the study generates arguments about methodology instead of decisions.
From the comparison chart to the move
Every finding must close with an implication: keep, adjust, match, or abandon. A benchmark without an explicit recommendation is information; with one, it's strategy.
Key takeaways
- Compare actionable attributes, not brand perceptions.
- Set homogeneous definitions before collecting data.
- Every finding must close with a decision: keep, adjust, match, or exit.
NS frameworks and reference sources
- Proprietary NS framework · MR·NS — methodological notes from the Competitive Intelligence practice
- NS project base: anonymized cases by sector and geography
- Open market evidence and academic literature, recalibrated with client data
- Porter (1980) — Competitive Strategy (five forces)
- Gartner — Competitive & Market Intelligence research
- Kim & Mauborgne — Blue Ocean Strategy
This article develops proprietary NS Business Strategy frameworks, drawing on our project base and on public industry literature and studies cited above. Figures are reference ranges; each project is measured against the client's actual data.