An increase in competition from domestic and international companies, combined with a maturing of many markets, is making the battle for market share now more intense than ever. Even in growing industries, a proliferation of new entrants is making the fight for market share no less severe. Winners should begin to understand competitors' capabilities, plans and strategies, use this knowledge to counter the threat they present and develop approaches to gain market share at their expense. This book demonstrates every stage in the process of beating the competition, from knowing what to find out about the competition, to gathering appropriate information, creating a system to manage it, analysing the competition and finally developing the strategies to provide a lasting competitive edge. It details a huge range of methods for obtaining hard information - ethically and legally - on competitors to allow you to literally see inside their operation, understand their strengths and weaknesses and predict their moves. The practical approach used by the author is based on his long experience and pioneering work with firms of varying sizes, including some of the largest corporations in the world. His methods have been used to help over half the companies in the Fortune 500 to gain market share and make it more difficult for competitors to raid their positions, win competitive bids, analyse acquisitions and implement effective competitive intelligence systems. Business executives (ie managers, corporate strategists, marketing managers, product managers). Business schools - academics, students, business consultants.