Five Market Intelligence Mistakes You Don’t Need to Make
In this article, we suggest the Five Market Intelligence mistakes you don’t need to make. Market Intelligence is one of the most important activities you can do. After all, your customers are bombarded every day with alternative options for you. This article takes a unique angle on market intelligence by outlining common mistakes organisations often make, from the providers of market intelligence to the pitfalls of market intelligence strategy.
By highlighting these pitfalls and providing guidance on avoiding them, we aim to help businesses leverage market intelligence more effectively and avoid missteps that could compromise their competitive position. Understanding these mistakes is crucial for any organisation looking to make the most of its market intelligence efforts, and a few good providers are out there to assist you. But you don’t have a choice but to keep them very happy. Here are 5 Market Intelligence mistakes you don’t need to make:
1. Too small to make a difference
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is dismissing competitors as too small to make a difference. Massive brands have made and will continue to make this mistake now and in the future. Think Blockbuster, Kodak (debatable), Woolworths, Staples, Office World, etc.
Many learn the hard way by ignoring small up-and-coming brands as irrelevant or a fad. Uber, Apple, Airbnb, and Amazon are just a few. The others are still being planned in a bedsit off Old Street, London, Singapore, or Abuja. It doesn’t matter how big you are, how cool your brand is, or how niche you will be in the future. Without Market Intelligence, you will be caught by the right hook and then followed up with a left elbow to the throat.
The right hook is a lean, mean-fighting machine competitor who will disrupt your sector.
The left elbow will be the follow-up where you could have struck back by moving forward with the new idea yourself but didn’t. Still stunned, someone else did it, and you are now floundering, gasping for air.
You could be open to an attack because of the big blindfold of assumption.
If you feel content and everything goes smoothly, you are not looking hard enough. Always be on the lookout. They will likely be looking at you. If there aren’t? Then why aren’t they? Could this tell you something?
If you are not on your toes looking and monitoring your market sector, you will not see the attack coming. Ideally, by using Market Intelligence, you will be nowhere near the fights—or even better, ambushing them on the way to sector success—but on your terms.
2. It’s the right picture, not the big picture
Having run out of fighting analogies, we move on. Market Intelligence is about looking for the right picture. Not just looking at the big picture.
It’s not reacting to everything you find about a competitor. Or change direction to every customer’s opinion. It’s crucial that you have defined what really matters to your success. Market Intelligence does this by creating Key Intelligence Topics. Which, in turn, builds your Key Intelligence Questions. Topics and questions to reduce the chances of acting on something that doesn’t matter.
The key areas you must look out for are the future trends and movements in your market. These tend to be driven by new technology and what your customers are demanding. The demands they really care about. Where their pain is. What they are talking about to your competitors, academics and social media.
Market Intelligence must create action. Otherwise, it is a complete waste of time and a box-ticking exercise. Use competitive intelligence to create a compelling competitive strategy based on the following:
- What do your current customers really want?
- What do your competitor’s customers really want?
- Is what they wish to be achievable?
- Is what they want really what they want?
- Are there any solutions out there already?
- What about answers in other industries?
Use Market Intelligence to answer the question. Should you change your products/services to meet the emerging market?
3. Gentlemen don’t read each other’s mail – Henry Stimson
The biggest and fatal mistake to make is not doing market intelligence at all. Claiming it’s just spying or a pointless waste of time is wrong. If you are worried about being discovered, there are a few competitive intelligence and market intelligence providers. Octopus Intelligence, for a start. Knowing how your customers will respond to things is essential to understanding your customers. This includes how they will react to your competitors’ special offers or new services. Market Intelligence shows you if competitors are having success somewhere. And, just as important, struggling on another front.
4. Getting your message out
Market Intelligence is so much more than stealing excellent ideas. Or finding examples of poor customer service by a competitor.
You may present an excellent message to your customers, and your brand is doing well. However, your message is undermined if customers aren’t reading or reacting to them.
Market Intelligence monitoring ensures you view the entire competitive environment so the message gets everywhere. Early isolation of new routes maximizes previously unknown fertile categories.
5. Learn from their mistakes
Market Intelligence saves time and money by not creating something that’s already failed. Ensuring you are on the lookout for competitive failure will save you much trouble. It’s almost like your competitors becoming your R&D department—a testing ground for new products, services, features, messages, and uses of technology. And that’s a mistake that they make: their damaged reputation, poor sales techniques, and poor customer service. And then you come along with an improved version of their idea. Or you leave well alone.
Navigating Common Market Intelligence Strategy Pitfalls
Even the most seasoned market intelligence providers can encounter pitfalls that hinder the effectiveness of their intelligence strategies. Understanding these pitfalls is crucial for developing robust market intelligence capabilities.
Key Market Intelligence Strategy Pitfalls and Solutions:
- Overlooking Comprehensive Data Analysis: One common pitfall is the lack of thorough data analysis, leading to incomplete market understanding. Solution: Implement comprehensive data analysis techniques, ensuring all relevant market data is meticulously examined for actionable insights.
- Failure to Adapt to Market Changes: Market intelligence must be dynamic, but often, providers stick to outdated methods or data. Solution: Regularly update intelligence strategies to reflect current market conditions, ensuring your approach remains relevant and effective.
- Neglecting Competitor Movements: A significant oversight in market intelligence is underestimating competitor strategies. Solution: Monitor competitor activities constantly and adjust your market strategy to stay ahead.
Integrating a proactive approach to these pitfalls can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your market intelligence, leading to more informed decision-making and strategic advantages.
At the very least, you must understand why a competitor’s idea failed. The first people to ask are your customers. But you will miss out if you don’t look in the first place.
Market Intelligence Mistakes You Don’t Need to Make
We introduced the five market intelligence mistakes you don’t need to make. Put simply, don’t put limits on yourself by not looking at your external environment. Better ways to beat your competitors than being blindfolded with your chin up. Invest in competitive intelligence to isolate actionable insights. So your and your competitors’ customers (your future customers) will benefit.
Photo by Arisa Chattasa by shuttergolf.com
We are Octopus. The Global People-Powered Competitive Intelligence Agency.
Outsmart your competition. Make the unknown known. Octopus helps you gain clarity in complex markets. With clients and tentacles around the world, we deliver sharp, actionable competitive intelligence through a blend of deep primary (HUMINT) and secondary research. If you’re looking to make smarter decisions, beat the competition, and reduce uncertainty, we’re the partner you want on your side.
