How do you use Market Intelligence? Similar companies. Same markets. Very different approaches.

I am always amazed by the diverse ways organizations use what we broadly call Market Intelligence.

Two seemingly similar clients, with seemingly similar (if not the very same) markets, can use MI in vastly different ways. Supporting strategic decision making, naturally, is a primary object of most organizations who invest, even a little, in market intelligence.  But companies are leveraging that investment in strategic information to support many other initiatives and objectives:

• Business Development: Raising the organization’s understanding of competitors and client business, and the markets they operate in.
• Outreach Opportunities: Identifying activity that clients would value or be impacted by and use to demonstrate to the client that they are top of mind, and the company is in tune with their markets and business.
• Lead Generation: Deliberate market tracking to generate leads for business development.
• Marketing and Public Relations: Repurpose the market intelligence for external purposes to demonstrate the organizations’ thought leadership in target areas.
• Client and Stakeholder Engagement: Leveraging the information as basis for newsletters, blogs, Tweets and other social media to engage clients and stakeholders.
• Training and Development: Getting everyone on the same page by increasing awareness of markets, as well as clients’, prospects’ and competitors’ activity.  Market Intelligence programs, with organized historical data, are great tools for bringing new hires up to speed.
• Recruitment: Using the knowledge of markets to identify and attract potential recruits.

MI programs are directly tied to organizations’ strategic priorities.  Even with similar targets, each client’s approach is always different, and thus each client’s needs for MI differ greatly.  One organization may require a very tight lens looking at specific segments of a market to support tactical action.  The other may require a broader scope, examining mega trends in the same markets that support broader strategies and objectives. That’s where aggregators and software alone fall short, and where the work of an agency begins.

This article was originally published on ShiftCentral, now part of LAC Group.

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Mario Thériault

Mario Thériault is Chief Business Development Officer and oversees all aspects of LAC Group’s growth strategy, partnership and alliance programs. Prior to LAC’s acquisition of ShiftCentral, Mario served as CEO and continuously evolved the company to emphasize the importance of strategic, curated intelligence to solve clients validated business needs.

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