The business world is a universe of risks that leads to success or failure. The reason behind this is not only the threat of economic inflation, but also because there is absolute uncertainty in sales. There are many competitors in the market and one or two strategies may not be enough. Using market intelligence measurement tools gives managers a sigh of relief, at least in terms of making good decisions. No, it is not a way to spy on the competition, but rather a business approach. Many large companies have been using the time-tested market intelligence scorecard since 1958.
The term market intelligence is almost the same as business intelligence. While the latter topic covers a broader spectrum, market intelligence focuses on three specific areas. Therefore, there are three approaches or types of market intelligence metric systems. All three systems focus on competitor analysis, market research, and benchmarking. These three areas are actually all about analytics, as market intelligence is really about analytics.
The Competitor Analysis Dashboard is one of the most important aspects of market intelligence measurement and analysis. Most of the time, the best way to define a business or even a brand is not through your products and services, but through your competitors in the market. This type of scorecard involves three groups of respondents: the company, the customers, and the competitors. In order for the company to position itself properly in the market, it must have a good understanding of what customers know about the company’s brand and the competitor’s brand. In the same way, the company must also consider the marketing methods and strategies of the competitor.
The second aspect of measuring market intelligence is market research. The focus in this aspect is the customer. This is where surveys, product testing, brand recall, product positioning, and even product packaging come into play. One of the most effective ways to make a product successful is not to capture an established market, but to create one. Through careful research, the company can even create a new market from an existing one. Market research can take time and resources, but the results are worth it.
The third aspect in measuring market intelligence is benchmarking. Benchmarking is to the business what market research is to customers. It involves four types of benchmarking strategies: internal, competitive, functional, and generic. Benchmarking within the organization’s business units is an internal strategy. Benchmarking becomes competitive when there is a verification of process performance or efficiency with competitors. Functional benchmarking, on the other hand, involves operations within a similar industry. And generic benchmarking involves comparing processes between different industries.
Many companies are behind in technology facilities. But as long as they keep a close eye on the market analysis, these companies are still in the game. Using the market intelligence scorecard can produce nothing less than numbers. But once these numbers are processed, business leaders could make decisions that are synonymous with success.
