[← All articles](https://clarveni.com/blog) The Clarveni blog What is competitive decision intelligence? ========================================== How to turn a market update into a useful question, a recommendation and a next step. By Clarveni Published 6 July 2026 3 min read In this article 1. [Four questions to answer](#content-four-questions-to-answer) 2. [Start with what matters to your business](#content-start-with-what-matters-to-your-business) 3. [The difference between a feed and a brief](#content-the-difference-between-a-feed-and-a-brief) 4. [Look at what changed since last time](#content-look-at-what-changed-since-last-time) 5. [Check what the source tells you](#content-check-what-the-source-tells-you) [Back to the top ↑](#article-h) In this article 5 sections 1. [Four questions to answer](#content-four-questions-to-answer) 2. [Start with what matters to your business](#content-start-with-what-matters-to-your-business) 3. [The difference between a feed and a brief](#content-the-difference-between-a-feed-and-a-brief) 4. [Look at what changed since last time](#content-look-at-what-changed-since-last-time) 5. [Check what the source tells you](#content-check-what-the-source-tells-you) ![Company updates feed a brief, which leads to a choice between acting and holding.](/prezet/img/blog/blog-05-decision-intelligence-hero-v1.webp)Company updates feed a brief, which leads to a choice between acting and holding.You hear that a competitor has launched a product or a partner is expanding. What does that mean for your business, and should you do anything about it? Competitive decision intelligence is the work of answering those questions. It brings the change together with your priorities, the evidence and a suggested response. [\#](#content-four-questions-to-answer "Permalink")Four questions to answer --------------------------------------------------------------------------- A useful brief should make four things clear: 1. what changed; 2. why it matters to your business now; 3. what someone should do next; and 4. what evidence supports the recommendation. The organisations you follow can include customers, prospects, partners and suppliers as well as competitors. A partner’s regional expansion may give you a new way to reach customers. A competitor doing the same thing may need a different response. [\#](#content-start-with-what-matters-to-your-business "Permalink")Start with what matters to your business ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whether a change matters depends on your customers, your offer and what you’re working towards. A large funding announcement may have little effect on the market you serve. A small change to a competitor’s published offer may matter more if you’re reviewing your own packages that week. Clarveni uses that context in its analysis. Your positioning, ideal customers, priorities and relationship to each company help determine which developments deserve attention and what response to recommend. That explains why the same announcement can lead to different recommendations for different businesses. [\#](#content-the-difference-between-a-feed-and-a-brief "Permalink")The difference between a feed and a brief ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A feed brings you updates as they arrive. It can be useful when someone has the time and experience to work through them. A decision brief brings the important developments together, explains what they mean for your business and suggests a next step for each main development. When little has changed, it stays short and says how many of your selected sources were checked. If the evidence doesn’t call for action, the brief should say so. [\#](#content-look-at-what-changed-since-last-time "Permalink")Look at what changed since last time --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A development can matter because it adds to a question already under review. A new service announcement may strengthen an earlier reading of a competitor’s direction, or leave the important commercial question unanswered. Clarveni draws on relevant earlier briefs and questions still under review when preparing the next edition. New evidence can change an earlier conclusion. Hearing the same announcement again doesn’t make it stronger. [\#](#content-check-what-the-source-tells-you "Permalink")Check what the source tells you ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If a competitor publishes no pricing, the answer is *not published*. If a page shows only a calculator’s starting values, those values can’t describe the whole offer. The brief should say what was visible and what still needs checking. You can then judge the recommendation against what the source actually shows. See the [weekly decision brief](/product/weekly-decision-brief), or follow the path from business context to evidence in [how Clarveni works](/product/how-it-works). You’ve reached the end. [Back to the top ↑](#article-h) Read next --------- [### Before a key-account meeting: a company intelligence checklist Turn company developments into useful account-meeting questions. Recheck the dates and scope, separate assumptions and prepare a relevant follow-up. → ](https://clarveni.com/blog/company-intelligence-account-meetings) [### Google Alerts or an intelligence briefing? How to choose the right workflow Compare who discovers, checks and interprets company updates. See when an alert-led routine is enough and when a finished briefing deserves consideration. → ](https://clarveni.com/blog/google-alerts-vs-intelligence-briefing)