Competitive Analysis & Price To Win (PTW) Studies

To arrive at a "price-to-win," one must understand the delicate balance of perceived value versus the price of the transaction from the perspective of the buyer and how your perception of that balance compares to that of the competition. Organizations that practice disciplined PTW analysis are said to have achieved a 60% win rate improvement, even against entrenched incumbents.

CAI/SISCo employs a time-tested 3 Phase, 10-Step framework and supporting modeling tools that underpin our peerless 'Price To Win' (PTW) analyses. Our processes, approaches and tools were developed, and are continually being reviewed and improved, to allow us to conduct rapid and accurate studies that synthesize each targeted competitor's 'should price' and our customer's 'should cost' for government opportunities of any size, scope or complexity.

A PTW engagement starts with a client "kick off" meeting that conveys what situational awareness the client has already developed, and, as a consequence, the information that needs to be collected by means of Competitive Intelligence (CI) to both verify and augment what is already known by means of the ethical collection and analysis of information that enables a client company to compete better. Our primary means of research-oriented data collection consists of canvassing the universe of interested parties to elicit qualitative intelligence rather than merely mining data or scanning published sources. Interviewees include industry insiders, analysts, customers, subject matter practitioners, subject matter experts (SMEs); CAI/SISCo's infocentric approach to data management assures that most all of the "right" people will have already been pre-identified and can be rapidly contacted and engaged to find out what they know and think.

Secondary research takes place within CAI/SISCo's vast trove of pre-positioned information snowflakes gleaned from ongoing or previous PTW-based CI collection engagements. Tertiary research, or research of publicly available sources such as news reports, social media, and corporate publicity, is important in PTW-supportive CI for establishing more baseline knowledge and adding to the list of potential contacts to interview.

Quantitative research collects data through sources such as surveys or financial modeling and can be very useful for developing a broad context for primary research and detecting trends over time. However, real-world considerations require that our framework be flexible and adaptable enough to support widely varying client time and budget constraints.

The ideal three PTW stages, that follow a step-wise refinement strategy, are:

pre-bid decision where a 'design-to' or "early" PTW is most appropriate;
pre-proposal submission where a "late" PTW is recommended; and
gamed pre-BAFO, "reality model-based" PTW is desirable.

In addition to performing independent PTW studies for clients, we can also educate and mentor internal PTW practitioners to enable them to perform their own PTW studies in house. Beyond training, for which we offer highly acclaimed seminars and a detailed "how to" book on PTW, our firm has a 3-step process to assist clients achieve PTW independence.

The first step involves customer staffers in a CAI/SISCo-led PTW project in support of one of a major capture effort. The second step is where client staffers and CAI/SISCo work together to develop a PTW study supporting another major capture activity. The third, and last, step is where the client leads its own PTW activity with CAI/SISCo being in the background in a critical review and/or consultative capacity.

Download CAI/SISCo's Corporate Capabilites (362kB, PDF Format)

To request a proposal or more information about any of our services or
products, please e-mail Tony Constable or call him at (301) 807 8171.