Who Uses Market Intelligence Software?
Marketing professionals: Market intelligence was collected using focus groups from various demographics in the past. Now market intelligence data is at the fingertips of marketing professionals to better hone their marketing campaigns to penetrate new markets or focus on retention.
Sales teams: Account executives or business development reps often use market intelligence to gain a better market understanding of potential customers. It can also come in handy when forecasting future opportunities.
Challenges with Market Intelligence Software
Software solutions can come with their own set of challenges.
It can often be confused with competitive intelligence: It’s crucial to distinguish that market insights come from specific market segmentation of a customer and their behavior. Competitive intelligence is strictly for data regarding company landscapes and not trends, markets, or segments.
Distributing in-depth insights: While collecting market intelligence, a lot of information is gathered. Finding the information through market analysis and messaging can be challenging. Use relevant datasets that will work best in your existing market.
How to Buy Market Intelligence Software
Requirements Gathering (RFI/RFP) for Market Intelligence Software
For market intelligence products, the requirement should be that the software gathers publicly available and client-focused market information to understand the customer and their behavior better.
Compare Market Intelligence Software Products
Create a long list
Buyers must start by understanding which products won’t be a good fit. The next step is to compile the market intelligence features that would be essential, such as having a focus on client focus data or segments of customer behavior and customer feedback. If there’s one specific thing from a product that others don’t have but isn’t critical to the business goals, buyers can consider leaving that product behind to find one that checks all the boxes.
Create a short list
Once a primary selection of features is made of needs and wants, buyers must start identifying products that fit into this mold and ensure that these products meet all requirements essential to the key business objectives. Once the options have been narrowed down, businesses should consider reviews and objective third-party analysis.
Conduct demos
There may be an option to take part in a free trial, usually ranging from a week to a month of use, to help make the decision. Often after the trial period, most market intelligence vendors will include a tiered pricing plan that best suits the needs and size of a business. It’s essential during the demo period to make a list of questions that are crucial to the buyer's purchase decisions so that one can review them with the sales contact.
Selection of Market Intelligence Software
Choose a selection team
Unless the decision is made to use the free product version, internal stakeholders, such as immediate managers or department heads, must be included in this purchase. They will direct the strategy, and to collaborate effectively, they will need visibility over cost and implementation. Buyers should also consider the cost of a market intelligence tool and the implementation time.
Negotiation
Most of these products won’t require negotiation, but that doesn’t mean buyers should compromise on features, add-ons, or services. If a specific feature might cost extra but garner better results, buyers should consider it and try to include it in a package for the basic cost.
Final decision
The buyer should make the purchase decision with business goals and budget top of mind. It is important to align all internal parties on how this purchase or addition will benefit the business.
