To establish a level of success for a particular market intelligence strategy, market leaders need to look at the market insights that those strategies provide. Lack of usable insights is the marketing version of spinning the back wheels a truck in the mud and praying that there might be traction somewhere if only they just keep spinning long enough.
The key take-away from marketing strategy is attaining insight that provide a host of details, not the least of which is where the company currently stands in the marketplace.
Here are the four key data points that should be easily derived:
Pricing Information
Pricing information is perhaps the most important piece of data that strategists can hope to derive. It includes:
- What is the industry standard price?
- Stepping outside the industry standard can greatly affect the success of the product in the marketplace, either by pricing it out of contention, or by grossly underpricing and thereby affecting the perception of brand excellence.
- Where are competitors coming in on pricing?
- Keeping an eye on the industry is important, but equally as important is looking at the pricing of key competitors.
- What kind of packages are being offered in the market?
- Here, companies can rethink their pricing and packaging strategies to come out ahead of the competition.
Innovators and Disruptors
There will always be the companies that form the competition, squarely in the sights of the company strategists, but these are key elements to add to the list:
- Who are the small players that are up and coming?
- It’s not always the Goliath that poses the greatest competition; sometimes, it’s the David.
- What companies are innovators and which companies are disruptors?
- The company decision-makers must stay aware of the strides that competitors are making in the marketplace.
- How are these companies disrupting the market? What innovations are these companies pursuing?
- Again, complacency means repeating yesterday’s news. Companies need to stay informed to be relevant.
Brand Presence
Sitting inside the conference rooms of the company always proves to be over-insulating. The decision-makers need to stay up to date on how the brand is perceived by consumers in the marketplace. The marketing strategies should be able to answer these key questions:
- How well-known is our brand?
- How does it compare to competitors?
- What are we known for vs. where might we have a weak reputation?
- What areas bring in business for us vs. competitors?
- Where can we enter new markets and expose our brand more?
Audience Needs vs. Wants
The answer to these two questions will help to guide corporate strategies in the short-, mid-, and long-term:
- What needs do our consumers have?
- What wants to do our consumers have?
Armed with these four data points, company leadership can plot a course to further success in the marketplace. If the information in any or all these points is lacking, then it is imperative that the market intelligence strategists re-evaluate their information gathering.
