????富爾德說：“很多時候，當制藥企業(yè)的一款新藥即將獲批投入市場時，他們很想知道競爭對手會如何反應，這時他們就會聘請我們?！绷硗猓R床試驗的結果、醫(yī)學期刊的文章，以及制藥企業(yè)用來營銷藥品的文宣材料統(tǒng)統(tǒng)都是商業(yè)情報機構感興趣的內(nèi)容。同時富爾德也在密切關注業(yè)內(nèi)的兼并收購信息、政府監(jiān)管信息，以及其它任何能影響客戶前景的信息。

????另一個搜集情況的策略就是監(jiān)控網(wǎng)絡上的聲音，尤其是博客和社交媒體。富爾德稱，Twitter是一個收集信息的好地方，可以從這里知道顧客對一款產(chǎn)品的看法以及競爭對手的回應。他說：“患者會談論他們的經(jīng)驗、病情和需要，他們就是將把藥物帶到市場上的人。”另外，制藥企業(yè)也會通過社交媒體渠道發(fā)布活動信息，比如邀請志愿者參加臨床試驗的通知等。

????不過，現(xiàn)在競爭情報行業(yè)仍然在學習如何使用社交媒體數(shù)據(jù)。競爭情報從業(yè)者協(xié)會（Society of Competitive Intelligence Practitioners）臨時CEO米歇爾?伯奈切表示，社交網(wǎng)絡上的信息量可謂浩如煙海，很難處理。他說：“信息量可能非常巨大，而數(shù)據(jù)分析方法也不是能輕易復制的。如果我們能找到成功利用社交網(wǎng)絡數(shù)據(jù)進行情報收集的方法，它甚至將改變游戲規(guī)則。但我認為，我們離實現(xiàn)這個目標還有幾年的時間?！?/p>

????“我們確確實實不是間諜！”

????伯奈切和富爾德都強調(diào)，收集競爭情報并不是商業(yè)間諜活動，因此也不違返法律和道德。富爾達表示，他不會揭露交易秘密，搜集內(nèi)幕情報，也不會在與人交談的時候編造自己的身份，因此他收集的任何信息都是合法的。他還表示，如果他同時為一個客戶和他的競爭對手工作，他會避免出現(xiàn)任何類型的利益沖突。

????幾年前，企業(yè)調(diào)查及安保公司Kroll Inc曾因為“走了邪路”而受到激烈的批評。當時這家公司為德州金融家艾倫?斯坦福提供了服務。斯坦福因策劃了美國歷史上規(guī)模最大、時間最長的龐氏騙局之一而聞名。當時，美國國務院的一名官員正在對斯坦福展開調(diào)查，而斯坦福則雇傭Kroll公司調(diào)查這位官員的隱私秘聞。后來Kroll公司稱這位官員的妻子是一名同性戀者，她為了另一個女人而離開了他，擔這個消息顯然不屬實。

????伯奈切承認，競爭情報也包括收集某些企業(yè)高管的背景信息以及進行盡職調(diào)查，但不會揭露他人的隱私。伯奈切說：“我們之所以這樣做，是為了找出他們做出決策的動機是什么，有可能的話預測他們的下一步行為。我們會分析他們的教育背景，平常喜歡和誰在一起，最近研究了什么，之前的決策是什么，從中經(jīng)常可以看到一種共同的模式?！?/p>

????"A lot of times, companies will hire us when one of their drugs is about to be approved for the market and they want to know how the competition will respond," says Fuld. Other points of interest include results from clinical trials, articles in medical journals, and "messaging," the words and rationale companies use to market a drug. Fuld will keep a close watch for news about mergers and acquisitions, government regulations, and anything else that could affect his clients' prospects.

????Another strategy is to monitor online voices, especially on blogs and social media. Fuld says Twitter is a great place to glean information about customers' thoughts on a product and how the competition responds to them. "Patients will talk about their experiences, their illnesses, and their needs," says Fuld. "They'll be the ones who bring the drug to market." Companies also use social media channels to send out alerts for their activities, such as notices for participation in clinical trials.

????However, the CI industry is still figuring out how to use data from social media. Michel Bernaiche, CI practitioner and interim CEO of the Society of Competitive Intelligence Practitioners, says the amount of information available on social media networks can be overwhelming and thus hard to process. "The amount of information can be cumbersome, and the data analysis is not easily repeatable," says Bernaiche. "It's going to be a huge game-changer if we can figure out how to harness it, but I think we're still a couple of years away from that."

????'We're not really spies, promise!'

????Both Bernaiche and Fuld assert emphatically that gathering intelligence on the competition is not spying, nor is it unethical or illegal. Fuld says he does not uncover trade secrets, gather dirt, or mislead anyone about his identity when talking to people, so any information gleaned is fair game. He says he also makes sure to avoid the kinds of conflicts of interest that could arise from working for a client's competitor.

????A few years ago, corporate investigation and security firm Kroll Inc. came under fire for its work for Texas financier Allen Stanford. Stanford, best known as the mastermind of one of the largest and longest-running Ponzi schemes in U.S. history, hired Kroll to unearth embarrassing information on a senior State department official who was investigating him. Kroll obliged by reporting that the official's wife was a lesbian who had left him for another woman, information that was patently untrue.

????Bernaiche admits CI can involve gathering information and doing due diligence on some executives' backgrounds, but not to uncover dirt. "We do it to find out what motivates their decision making and to possibly anticipate their actions," says Bernaiche. "We look into their college background, who they hung out with, what they studied, and their previous decisions, you can often see a pattern."