When Tracking Competitors Meets Fast Approvals
Let’s cut to the chase: you’re using competitors.app to watch your rivals like a hawk. That’s smart. But here’s the problem – knowing what they’re doing is only half the battle. The real win? Getting your team to actually do something about it before the moment passes. That’s where most companies faceplant. Endless Slack threads, forgotten email chains, and approval bottlenecks turn “urgent responses” into late-to-the-party embarrassments.
ApproveThis isn’t another app that’ll clutter your stack. It’s the missing link between seeing a competitor move and getting your team aligned to counter it. Connect it to competitors.app via Zapier, and suddenly those critical decisions – like matching a pricing promo or responding to a feature launch – don’t get stuck in approval purgatory.
What Happens When You Stop Playing Approval Whack-A-Mole
Most teams treat competitor responses like a fire drill. Someone spots an activity in competitors.app, then starts chasing down managers for sign-offs. By the time everyone’s rubber-stamped the plan, the moment’s gone. With ApproveThis plugged in, you’re not just tracking competitors – you’re building a system to act on intel before your window closes.
Here’s the kicker: ApproveThis approvers don’t need a license for competitors.app. Your CFO only cares about budget impacts? They can approve/deny expense requests triggered by competitor activities without logging into yet another tool. External partners? Add them to the workflow – no extra seats required.
Real-World Plays for Teams Who Hate Wasting Time
This isn’t about vague “efficiency gains.” Let’s talk about how actual teams use this combo:
Retail & E-commerce: Price Wars, Done Right
Imagine competitors.app detects a flash sale from Brand X. Normally, your merchandising team would panic-email the VP of Sales, CC Finance, then wait. With the integration:
- Zapier auto-creates an ApproveThis request with sale details
- Pre-set thresholds auto-approve price matches under $10K
- Anything higher gets routed to decision-makers via email
Result? You counter their sale same-day, not three days later when their promo’s already trending.
SaaS Companies: Feature Arms Race, Managed
competitors.app flags a rival’s new AI integration. Your product team wants to fast-track a response. Instead of Jira chaos:
- New competitor activity triggers an ApproveThis workflow
- CTO, CMO, and CFO get parallel approvals via email
- Once greenlit, the request auto-updates your project tool
No all-hands meetings. Just a clear audit trail showing who approved what.
Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind
If you’ve used Zapier before, this’ll take 15 minutes. If not? Maybe 30. Here’s the play-by-play:
Step 1: Connect the Dots
In Zapier, set competitors.app’s “New Activity” as the trigger. Choose ApproveThis’s “Create Request” action. Map critical fields:
Pro Tip: Use ApproveThis’s calculated fields to auto-flag high-impact activities. Example: If a competitor’s ad spend jumps 200%, tag it for executive review.
Step 2: Who Approves What?
In ApproveThis, build a workflow template. Assign approvers by role (e.g., CMO for marketing responses, CFO for budget impacts). Set escalation rules – if no response in 4hrs, notify their backup.
Step 3: Let It Run
Test with a real competitor alert. ApproveThis will handle nagging approvers, tracking progress, and logging decisions. You handle the coffee.
Why This Isn’t Just Another Integration
Most Zapier combos just shuffle data. This one changes how teams operate:
For Marketing Teams: Speed Without Chaos
Your social team spots a competitor’s viral campaign. Instead of drafting a response then begging for approvals, the request is already in motion. Conditional thresholds mean small tweaks (like a counter-Tweet) get auto-approved. Big swings (a full campaign pivot) route to the right people.
For Finance Teams: Guardrails, Not Gatekeeping
Auto-escalate any activity impacting budgets over $X. CFOs approve via email without digging into competitors.app. Plus, vacation delegation means approvals never stall because someone’s OOO.
For Operations: Audit Trails That Don’t Suck
Every approved/denied request lives in ApproveThis’s dashboard. No more digging through email or Slack to find who signed off on that risky counter-promo. Compliance teams will actually high-five you.
But Wait – There’s Actual Logic Here
ApproveThis isn’t just a digital permission slip. When connected to competitors.app, you can:
Auto-approve routine stuff: Competitor posted a blog? Maybe that’s a team lead’s decision. Launched a new product feature? That goes straight to execs.
Calculate urgency on the fly: Use ApproveThis’s calculated fields to prioritize requests. Example: If competitors.app detects a stock price drop + increased ad spend, flag as high-priority.
Keep external partners in the loop: Agencies and consultants can be approvers without accessing your competitors.app account. They get email requests, you get their sign-off – no added licenses.
The Bottom Line: This Isn’t About Tools
It’s about removing the crap that makes smart teams move slow. You’ve already invested in competitor intelligence. Now add an approval system that matches the speed of your data.
ApproveThis + competitors.app via Zapier means:
- No more “I thought you approved that?!” meltdowns
- Fewer meetings about whether to have a meeting
- Actual visibility into decision timelines
It’s not sexy. It’s not “disruptive.” It’s just the way work should’ve always been – focused on action, not admin.
Cool, But Does This Actually Work For…?
Enterprise teams? Yes. Approval chains get stupid-long in big companies. ApproveThis handles multi-tiered sign-offs with role-based rules.
Startups? Especially. When you’re outgunned, speed is your advantage. Bake approval rules into your process now before chaos scales.
Industries with compliance needs? Healthcare, finance, etc. – the audit trail alone is worth it. Plus, version control on approved responses.
How To Not Screw This Up
A few pro tips from teams who’ve nailed it:
Do: Start with one high-impact workflow (e.g., pricing changes). Nail that, then expand.
Don’t: Try to automate every single competitor alert. Some things need human eyes first.
Do: Use ApproveThis’s analytics to find approval bottlenecks. Maybe Legal is slowing things down? Now you have data to fix it.
Alright, How Do I Start?
If you’re using competitors.app, you’re already halfway there. Here’s your move:
- Grab an ApproveThis trial (no CC required)
- Connect to competitors.app via Zapier using the triggers we covered
- Build your first approval workflow in <20 mins
Or, if you’re the “talk to a human” type, book a 15-minute demo. We’ll show how other teams in your industry use this combo to actually use their competitor intel instead of just collecting it.
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