Market intelligence (MI) is gathering and analyzing information relevant to a company’s market – trends, competitor and customer (existing, lost and targeted) monitoring. With MI, companies can identify changes in their market environment, make strategic decisions, and adjust their marketing and operations accordingly. It helps you make better decisions about where to allocate your marketing resources and how to optimize your campaigns.
In a world where data is becoming increasingly available, marketing intelligence is more important than ever. With the right tools and processes in place, you can use marketing intelligence to gain a competitive edge and drive better business results.
Market intelligence can be gathered through a variety of methods, including surveys, interviews, focus groups, observation, and market research. Once the data has been collected, it must be analyzed to identify trends and insights that can help inform marketing decisions.
The use of market intelligence allows companies to make more informed decisions about their marketing strategies and helps them to better understand their customers’ needs. It also helps companies keep up with changes in the marketplace and adapt their strategies accordingly.
Benefits of market intelligence
There are many benefits of market intelligence:
1. Make informed decisions about where to allocate marketing resources
2. Develop targeted marketing campaigns
3. Evaluate the effectiveness of marketing campaigns
4. Gain insights into customer needs and preferences
5. Identify new market opportunities
Marketing intelligence can help businesses of all sizes to compete more effectively in today’s increasingly competitive marketplace. By making use of available data and tools, businesses can gain a deep understanding of their customers and develop strategies that will allow them to better meet their needs.
Types of market intelligence data
There are three types of market intelligence data:
- Primary data
- Secondary Data
- Tertiary data
Primary Data Collection
There are a number of ways to collect primary data, which is information that is collected firsthand from sources. This type of data is usually more accurate and reliable than secondary data, which is information that has already been collected and published by someone else. Primary data can be collectecd through:-
1. Survey
One way to collect primary data is through surveys. This involves designing a questionnaire and distributing it to a sample of people, who then answer the questions and return the survey. Surveys can be conducted in person, by mail, or online.
2. Interviews
Another way to collect primary data is through interviews. This involves asking people questions in person or over the phone. Interviews can be structured, with a set list of questions that everyone is asked, or unstructured, where the interviewer asks follow-up questions based on the respondent’s answers.
3. Observation
Observation is another method of collecting primary data. This involves observing people’s behavior in naturalistic settings, such as shopping malls or parks. Observations can be open-ended, where the observer simply records what they see, or structure, where the observer focuses on specific behaviors that are being measured.
4. Experiments
Finally, experiments can also be used to collect primary data. This involves changing one variable while holding all other variables constant and observing the results. Experiments are often used in marketing research to test different advertising strategies or compare different products.
Secondary Data Collection
Secondary data collection is the process of gathering data that has already been created or published, such as public records, articles, reports, etc. This type of data can be extremely helpful in understanding a market, customer behavior, or trends. However, it’s important to note that secondary data may not be accurate or up-to-date, so it’s always best to corroborate this information with primary data whenever possible.
Tertiary Data Collection
Tertiary data is information that has been collected and organized by a third party, such as a market research firm or an industry association. This data is usually more accurate and up-to-date than primary or secondary data, making it an essential part of any marketing intelligence plan.
There are a number of different sources of tertiary data, including surveys, polls, and government statistics. Market research firms often have access to extensive databases of this type of information, which they can use to help their clients make better-informed marketing decisions.
While tertiary data collection can be expensive, it is often worth the investment for businesses that need accurate and up-to-date information about their markets.
Market Research
In order to make informed marketing decisions, businesses need to understand the needs and requirements of their target market. Market research helps in accoplishing this in a very effective way.
How to create a marketing intelligence system
If you want to create a marketing intelligence system, there are a few things you need to do. First, you need to develop a data collection plan. This plan should identify the specific data you need to collect, how you will collect it, and who will be responsible for collecting it. Once you have your data collection plan in place, you need to develop a process for analyzing the data. This process should include both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Finally, you need to develop a system for sharing the results of your analysis with the appropriate decision-makers within your organization.
Five key components of marketing intelligence
1. Marketing intelligence is the process of gathering and analyzing data about your customers, competitors, and market.
2. It helps you understand your customers’ needs and how to best reach them.
3. It also allows you to track your competition and understand what they are doing to win market share.
4. Marketing intelligence requires both qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative data comes from sources like customer surveys and interviews, while quantitative data comes from things like sales numbers and web traffic data.
5. To be effective, marketing intelligence must be timely and relevant. That means collecting data regularly and using it to inform your marketing decisions.
Where to use marketing intelligence
1. To know your position in the market
By understanding your position, you’ll be able to identify opportunities and weaknesses, and you’ll be able to anticipate trends. A well-built market intelligence process will give you insights that will help you understand the market in-depth. You’ll aggregate information on your audience, what competitors are doing, how customers are reacting to changes in the marketplace, and what new technologies are available. This information will help you make informed decisions about where to allocate your resources, and it will help you stay ahead of the competition.
2. Evaluating your product or service
Evaluating your product or service is important if you want to improve your marketing strategy. The first step is to understand the products available in market. You can also concentrate on the product trends as well as the features and specifications. These will help you to know whether you can meet customer expectations.
3. Targeting the right audience
When developing your marketing strategy, it’s important to understand who your audience is in respect of gender, age, race, demography, attitudes and interests. This will help you target your marketing efforts in the most right direction.
4. Conducting competitor analysis
Competitor analysis is an innevitable part of the market intelligence process nowadays. You need to conduct a competitor analysis using marketing intelligence. And thereby you will have to understand your competitors strengths and weaknesses. This in turn will help you to frame strategies to outperform them.
Conclusion
Marketing intelligence is a process that helps you collect and interpret data about your customers, competitors, and market. By understanding your customers’ needs and wants, you can create marketing campaigns that are more targeted and effective. Additionally, by monitoring your competitors’ strategies, you can stay one step ahead of them. And finally, by tracking trends in your industry, you can identify opportunities or threats to your business. Implementing a marketing intelligence system can help give your business the insights it needs to succeed.