The Value of Market Intelligence for Business Success

market intelligence

Market Intelligence / by Inna Hüessmanns

11. November, 2020

Moving to a market intelligence driven organization will give companies a better chance of outperforming competition.

Despite large investments in acquiring customer and market intelligence, many companies underutilize what they know. In some cases, information is held within some departments, often because of a lack of trust and the silo mentality.

Despite companies’ investments in digitalization and CRM technology, many of them still face declining customer satisfaction and sales revenues. Many organizations are now going through downsizing, restructuring, and cost cutting. Customers’ expectations and buying processes have changed dramatically in the last few years and they change faster than many companies can successfully respond to those changes. As a result, organizations need to cope with more information, rising customers’ expectations with regard to salesforce knowledge, and the faster speed of response.

Companies must continually maintain and update their market intelligence, that is customer intelligence, competitor analysis and industry insights.

However, too few industrial B2B organizations have market intelligence departments. Too often market research information does not find its way down to the sales departments or is not maintained. Surprisingly many companies do not have the full knowledge about their competitors, their customers, and even about their industries.

For organizations, to cope with the rapidly changing business environments and to be successful in the markets, they must know more and utilize real-time market data.

The more detailed knowledge of customers and markets the companies will have, the better they will be able to perform. Market intelligence involves not only an understanding of the customer but also identifying new and long-term business growth opportunities.

Many organizations believe that business growth is a matter of continued product research and improvement. The value of market intelligence for companies’ success is often not understood. The view that a business is a customer-satisfying organization, not a goods-producing organization, is vital for all businesses to understand.

A business success begins with a customer and his or her needs. Despite all the discussions about customer value, few industrial companies have actually done customer value research, which requires time, analytical and strategic thinking skills.

Today, companies face their toughest competition and a rapidly changing business environment ever.

Moving from a product focused organization to a market intelligence driven organization, however, will give companies a better chance of outperforming competition.

Sales declines for a number of reasons. One of those reasons is that companies’ sales and growth strategies are not based on a thorough analysis of their customers, competitors and their industries.

 
 

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