Market insight and intelligence: 3 key design factors and 8 top tips January 2013 Danny Dicks 1
Innovation Observatory advises and supports companies on many aspects of MI Innovation Observatory Ltd 2013 Platform and process design consultancy and training Workshops with, or surveys of, users, and creation of recommendations Platform development and hosting Web-based MI portal, databasedriven online service advice Bespoke data and analysis Market forecasting, market share analysis, value chain analysis, scenario planning Outsourced management (of data entry and information dissemination) Populating databases (including continuous desk research, profiling), email briefings, webinars, presentations, workshops Off-the-shelf analysis Reports on aspects of the telecoms, IT and smart grids markets; reusable market models and databases 2
A market intelligence function serves multiple users, and has two-way interactions with them Different users want different types of intelligence, delivered in different formats: News + analysis Insight into market trends, customer needs, perceptions Market numerical data (size, share) Competitor intelligence (strategy, capability, pricing) Online / PowerPoint / Excel etc They want it in different ways, e.g., Regular (briefings, newsletters etc) Rapid on-demand (by phone, email, meeting / workshop) People Processes Platforms Market intelligence function Board Strategy Sales Marketing / marcoms Operations Users Medium-term on-demand (project-based) Some intelligence is pushed to users; users also pull intelligence from the MI team 3 3
Intelligence is obtained from multiple providers, and there is two-way interaction here too Staff (sales, marketing, strategists) Analyst houses, agencies, consultancies Customers / potential customers Internal systems (CRM, ad hoc, etc) Providers People Processes Platforms Market intelligence function Meetings, workshops Briefings (face-to-face or remote) Subscriptions (reports, data sets / databases, company and market profiles) Ad hoc reports / data sets Projects (market and customer research, consultancy, marketing-oriented white papers) Multi-client studies, benchmarking etc Conferences and exhibitions (internal and external) Not all interaction is commercial : e.g., there is some overlap with the analyst relations function 4
The best MI teams complement expertise elsewhere (internally and externally) Innovation Observatory Ltd 2013 People Processes Platforms As a minimum they must Design and continuously evolve processes for MI gathering, delivery, request handling and platform provision including mapping needs to deliverables Match resources to purpose: is MI a library of data, or is it intended to challenge and critique strategy? Select and manage providers of core news, analysis and data, and facilitate delivery (but can be light touch only) Provide a point of contact for providers, users and other teams Be aware of what intelligence is out there They may also fulfil or support additional functions : News gathering / analysis, market / competitor analysis, market forecasting, market research (including customer research) Procurement (of reports, services, projects etc) IT platform build / management Support analyst relations 5
MI process design requires appreciation of existing processes in other areas People Processes Platforms Handling requests / commissioning Cycles for buying reports / subscriptions and commissioning projects should link to budget cycles: all buyers must be aware of these; a separate budget to meet urgent, small-scale or strategically important requests for intelligence will be needed Rosters of approved suppliers may reduce complexity in very large organisations but rarely deliver optimum value (niche specialist suppliers may have greater expertise and focus, and be cheaper) Processes for delivery Continuous services and subscriptions must meet diverse needs: utilitarianism (the greatest good for the greatest number of people) needs coupling with tactical purchasing of reports and data sets Rapid response can involve in-house MI staff and internal resources, or access to analysts on call (through informal or formal services) The MI role in projects may be limited to advice and procurement but should include dissemination and storage of deliverables 6
There are difficult decisions to be taken on design/choice, control and use of platforms Innovation Observatory Ltd 2013 People Processes Platforms Control over relevant platforms can be a fraught area Customer data is often jealously guarded by sales teams and stored in a haphazard way Company intranets may be controlled by marketing, marcoms, internal comms, IT, or HR departments or worse, may be anarchic and unstructured, with data on usage hard to pin down Individual divisions and teams may build their own portals / platforms tailored to their own needs, leading to duplication of effort and fragmentation of insight / intelligence It is dangerously easy to build / buy too many platforms... but a mistake to persevere with those that are no longer fit for purpose IT projects, and new bespoke or off-the-shelf knowledge management systems can be expensive, may not be used and may not replace current ways of working New ways of indexing, storing and presenting knowledge are often more flexible and powerful than old ways use the technology! 7
Eight top tips for designing and running an MI function [1] Share and re-use data and knowledge A single knowledge management system for market reports, data, project deliverables and other forms of qualitative and quantitative insight, with a powerful search function, will quickly be used across a company This may require knowledge to be moved from existing systems or meta-systems to be developed Indexing and search applications can help Rules on use of the system and the data structure must be simple to grasp, and be enforced Analyse news events properly Collation, filtering and analysis of news stories is essential News sources, even when pushed (e.g., through email, RSS feed etc) generally lack relevant analysis and can overwhelm busy users In-house or external providers with a good grasp of user priorities can deliver much more relevant intelligence in flexible delivery formats Generally, the more frequent, detailed and tailored the analysis of events, the more time-consuming and expensive it is to deliver: finding the right balance is important 8
Eight top tips for designing and running an MI function [1] Use links with analyst relations Companies that build long-term relationships with specific expert market analysts get a lot from them Regular (annual) analyst conferences can be used both to promote a company to opinion formers, but also to gather a critique on strategy, view on market direction, etc Analysts are generally more willing to provide informal advice and opinion to companies that subscribe to their services or commission work from them: it s a natural commercial instinct Be aware of what research can deliver Controlling project scope can ensure useful synergy Commissioning primary market and customer research can be justified more easily if budgets and objectives are pooled Take agency advice on the appropriate place to stop: research can become less effective as questions are added to quantitative or qualitative surveys Don t push the data too hard: subsamples may be too small to deliver robust results take care with research design 9
Eight top tips for designing and running an MI function [1] Mine existing data and knowledge Many projects benefit from the use of existing knowledge Kick off projects with a workshop to collate knowledge from all relevant parties Allow providers access to internal data; protect with confidentiality agreements as necessary. Don t pay analysts to recreate data you already have and the thinking you have done, but rather to critique it. Be clear you expect justified conclusions so you don t get your own analysis presented back Don t rely on single sources and beware of incompatible datasets Choose and use providers wisely A single analyst house view of a market may not be robust; if budgets allow, source multiple comparable data sets Be careful to make like-for-like comparisons, particularly with value chains and market forecast data. Analyst houses and consultancies can normalise / harmonise / synthesise multiple data sets as a project to suit your specific requirements Don t reinvent the wheel, but recognise when fresh work is needed 10
Eight top tips for designing and running an MI function [1] There are multiple approaches to competitor and pricing research Competitor intelligence in nonregulated business service markets is hard to find A mystery shopper approach is high risk, and some research and analyst companies will not provide it Market surveys can deliver much useful intelligence, but careful research design is essential Establishing a likely market price for a new service needs special techniques: ask providers for examples of successful projects Focus hard on who the audience is and how to reach them Deliver the right thing at the right time, to the right place using the right medium Consider the frequency and detail required, and make sure intelligence is up-to-date and refreshed Use existing behaviour to your advantage if users always visit specific intranet pages, put links to your information on them Understand whether your role is to deliver data only, or to challenge and support strategy development, and match platforms and people to purpose 11
Contact us to find out more about what we can offer corporate market intelligence managers Innovation Observatory Ltd Silvaco Technology Centre Compass Point Business Park St Ives, Cambridgeshire PE27 5JL UK Tel: +44 1480 309341 www.innovationobservatory.com enquiries@innovationobservatory.com 12