The power of marketing intelligence

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Onesimus Smith | 31 May, 2011
Marketing intelligence (MI), according to Cornish, is defined as "the process of acquiring and analyzing information in order to understand the market (both existing and potential customers); to determine the current and future needs and preferences, attitudes and behavior of the market; and to assess changes in the business environment that may affect the size and nature of the market in the future."

In other words, marketing intelligence is the process of gathering information in the field of business that allows you to make business decisions easier, quicker and more precise. It is about providing a company with a view of a market using existing sources of information to understand what is happening in a marketplace, what the issues are and what the likely market potential is. This shows how the interaction between variables from producers, communication channels, and consumers vary the effectiveness ofmarketing intelligence which affects the performance of the sales of a new product. The product is central in a circle because it helps to direct what information is gathered and how.

Marketing intelligence can be divided into two categories: marketing intelligence based on external data and marketing intelligence based on internal data.

Marketing Intelligence from External Data

Market intelligence from external data is normally gathered through what is known as desk research. This means sourcing and analyzing published information to build a picture of a market and to try and answer some specific commercial questions such as what is the market potential.

Central to successful desk research is the ability to track down sources of information and to provide the right level of analysis. An example is identifying who your competitors are and analyzing their market position against yours to find strengths and weaknesses and indications of new developments.

Marketing Intelligence from Internal Data

Much marketing intelligence information can come from making better use of existing information. For instance, by carrying out database analysis in orders taken, it may be possible to understand where you have cross-sale and up-sale opportunities, or understand what type of customers are your most profitable.

Database information is not the only source of market data. Your website may also include a high degree of valuable information about who is looking for your products and services. Website traffic analysis can help you understand what customers are looking for and why.

Finally, do not disregard knowledge about customers, markets and competitors that come from your staff. This is often a poorly tapped source of information. Collecting and dissipating such information falls into the realms of customer knowledge management and making better use of this customer knowledge can help businesses focus far more on what the customer wants and says.

(Source: Articlesbase)

* Onesimus Smith is a freelance writer.
* The views expressed by the author in this feature are entirely his/her own and do not necessarily reflect the views of SME Times.