Methodology
Evidence, gathered lawfully and reported honestly.
Rivalis research is built on sources you could defend in a boardroom. Every stage of the method exists to make findings verifiable, comparable and safe to act on.
Method
Six stages, applied to every engagement
- 01
Define
Your brief is converted into a defined research question set: which competitors, which markets, and which commercial decisions the findings must support.
- 02
Collect
Evidence is gathered from public and properly licensed sources only — company materials, published pricing, public registers, review platforms, search data and licensed research tools.
- 03
Verify
Each material claim is checked against a second independent source where one exists. Claims that cannot be corroborated are marked, not quietly promoted.
- 04
Structure
Findings are organised into a single comparable frame so competitors are assessed on the same dimensions rather than described one at a time.
- 05
Interpret
Analysis identifies what the evidence means commercially: where rivals are strong, where they are exposed, and which gaps are genuinely addressable.
- 06
Report
The dossier is written, typeset and reviewed. Executive engagements receive an additional manual quality review before release.
Confidence
Evidence classification
Not all evidence carries equal weight. Every material finding in a dossier is labelled so you know how far to trust it.
Corroborated by two or more independent sources, or observed directly in a competitor's own published material.
Established from one credible source with no independent corroboration available. Treated as indicative, not settled.
A reasoned conclusion drawn from evidence rather than stated anywhere. The reasoning is shown so you can weigh it yourself.
Not established from legitimate sources. Recorded as unknown rather than estimated, guessed or filled in.
Inputs
Sources we use
- Competitor websites, published pricing and marketing material
- Public company registers and publicly filed information
- Public customer review platforms and public commentary
- Search visibility and keyword data from licensed research tools
- Publicly accessible job listings, media coverage and directories
- Publicly observable website and technology signals
Limits
What we will not do
- No confidential, internal or unlawfully obtained information
- No misrepresentation, pretexting or posing as a customer or supplier
- No contact with competitor staff to extract non-public information
- No circumvention of access controls, paywalls or terms of use
- No fabricated figures, invented sources or unattributed claims
If part of a brief cannot be answered responsibly from legitimate sources, we say so before proceeding rather than substituting speculation. See how findings are presented.
Commission your competitor intelligence report.
Fixed fee. Defined scope. Delivered as a formatted PDF dossier prepared for decision-makers.