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These 10 free CIP questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Competitive Intelligence Professional Level 1 Certification blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
"I know what they're offering. I still don't know whether we should match it." The commercial director says this after receiving verified rival subscription terms, customer interviews about switching barriers, and Finance's comparison of response costs. The CI team's most important remaining contribution is to:
Correct answer: B - Assess the response options against customer priorities and business consequences, with explicit assumptions and uncertainties.
A contract generates $800,000 in revenue and $240,000 in incremental contribution before CI costs. Finance attributes one-quarter of that contribution to the CI work. External research cost $20,000, and internal analyst time cost another $20,000. What is the net return on investment attributable to CI?
Correct answer: D - 50%
A newsletter reporter observes equipment being serviced at a rival's new depot and publishes an account. A distributor repeats the claim, citing the newsletter; a market brief also cites it. Separately, a customer provides an authentic service receipt, authorized for sharing, for work completed at that depot last week. How much corroboration does the analyst actually have?
Correct answer: D - Two evidence origins; the receipt independently supports at least one completed service job.
Twenty minutes before a bid review, a supplier mistakenly emails the CI manager a competitor's unreleased bid prices. The file is marked confidential and was intended for another recipient. The commercial director wants the figures for the meeting. Which response appropriately handles this incident?
Correct answer: D - Exclude the material from the bid analysis and promptly refer the incident to the designated legal or management contact.
A sales director points to a listed group's rising revenue and capital spending: "That confirms its privately held subsidiary is gaining market share." The report combines six businesses and gives no subsidiary breakdown. What would an analyst need to establish before endorsing the share claim?
Correct answer: B - Whether subsidiary sales outgrew a consistently defined market over comparable periods.
Vela rewards its service director for contract renewals, not new accounts. Technician capacity is fully committed and cannot increase for six months. Sales managers can discount expiring contracts, while published price changes need board approval. A cheaper entrant begins bidding for Vela's renewals. The best-supported prediction of Vela's initial response is:
Correct answer: A - Selective renewal concessions to protect contracts approaching a decision.
Customers pay a furniture maker a premium for custom dimensions and delivery within two weeks. A nearby workshop enables both promises. Moving production overseas would lower unit costs but require standard sizes and a six-week lead time. In assessing the proposal's competitive effect, which issue deserves priority?
Correct answer: A - Loss of the customization and speed supporting the price premium.
A strategic-group map plots product breadth against advertised relative price. After raising prices, Ardent moves beside the premium suppliers without changing its range. Buyers in that group require nationwide repair coverage, which Ardent lacks and cannot build for 18 months. What has Ardent's movement on this map established?
Correct answer: C - Its price position has changed; the required service capability remains a barrier.
A replacement-parts manufacturer cuts prices. The competing explanations are clearance of discontinued stock and a permanent reduction across the product range. Reports quoting management's growth ambitions fit either explanation. Which new finding would do the most to distinguish them?
Correct answer: C - Prices for current-model parts are unchanged; discounted parts cannot be replenished after stocks sell.
An assessment calls a rival's entry next year "unlikely" and assigns "high confidence" to that judgment. It rests on verified capacity constraints, tested assumptions, and examination of alternative supply routes. A director objects that the two labels contradict each other. Which reply resolves the misunderstanding?
Correct answer: A - High confidence describes the strength of support for the judgment that entry is unlikely.
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