What Is a Competitive Intelligence Analyst and How to Become One

By ZipRecruiter Marketplace Research Team

A competitive intelligence analyst performs market research to provide information to executives or management who use it to craft a new sales project or business strategy. Your duties are to research customer choices, market trends, and competitor’s strategies, interview leaders in the field, and compile reports about your findings. Qualifications for this career include at least a bachelor’s degree in business administration or marketing, but a master’s degree could give you more of an advantage. Most employers prefer candidates with some industry experience. Competitive intelligence analysts possess strong research and verbal and written communication skills.

The primary qualifications for becoming a competitive intelligence analyst are a bachelor's degree in a relevant field and some experience using data to inform the direction of products and marketing strategy for a business. Competitive intelligence analysts usually have education in sales or marketing, with a minor focus in statistics or computer science. Any experience helping analyze customer and market data and using that to give presentations to the administration of a business can help you stand out from other analysts. Fulfilling the responsibilities and duties of a competitive intelligence analyst requires research skills, analysis skills, and familiarity with the regulations that limit the type of information you can gather from competitors.