Market and Competitive Intelligence Solution Poised to Redefine CI/MI Paradigms

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Market and Competitive Intelligence Solution
Poised to Redefine CI/MI Paradigms
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OVERVIEW
The immediate challenge for the survival of many
organisations during the current time is how to
recognise, prioritise, and adapt to the range of
real external threats that now impact competitive
advantage. Markets are dynamic and subject to
constant change by external forces. An insight
analyst cannot hope to enjoy 20/20
foresight.  Historically, employees responsible
for setting up CI units were trained to consider
the 3 Ps of people, process, and platform.
However, we still witness many strategic errors
that would have been easy to predict if random
signals had been identified. Until leadership
teams see an early warning radar as an investment
rather than a cost these mistakes will
continue. It is often after a huge, strategic,
and costly error of judgement that an early
warning system is created. The analyst becomes a
truth-teller.
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THE RIGHT TO CHALLENGE ASSUMPTIONS (A)
An internal market analyst should be expected to
challenge internal assumptions that are not
robust. The analyst should be drawing on a
variety of both primary and secondary
intelligence. The analyst needs to be sceptical
by nature. They need the technology-driven market
intelligence system, easy access to relevant
data, and an appropriate budget to report facts
that support quality decision making. Being
overly optimistic is easy, but delusional. How
many organisations predicted the global
pandemic? Here in the UK, the All England Club
(who runs the Wimbledon Tennis Championships)
invested 1.5m per annum in a virus-related
insurance clause. Wimbledon Tennis now benefit
from this clause that is set to be worth over
100m. In hindsight, the early signals of the
pandemic did exist. How easy would it have been
for a manager of the All England Club to cancel
their 1.5m insurance premium citing cost as an
excuse?
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IDENTIFICATION OF BLIND-SPOTS (B)
It is rightly said, We do not know what we do
not know.With the aid of increasingly
sophisticated technology embracing AI /machine
learning and human intelligence, organisations
can now use technology to gain actionable
insights and minimise the chance of surprise. We
know the majority of surprises bring negative
news. An empowered analyst needs to minimise the
frequency and nature of a surprise. In parallel,
organisations need to invest in their processes
and market intelligence and early warning system,
where appropriate information can be captured and
shared throughout their enterprise. Internal
experts within a large company could be
encouraged to feedback on rumour as well as share
their tacit knowledge. Employees should be
encouraged to challenge and raise red flags when
further investigation is required.
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CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE (C)
From SWOT to TOWS. We are taught SWOT but a
better model is to identify the external risks
first. TOWS, therefore, is a more powerful way of
thinking. The global pandemic has created an
unprecedented external threat which has made many
internal strengths irrelevant. Analysts can live
purely in the world of numbers running detailed
quarterly forecasts. However, how do these
time-pressured insight teams examine their
ever-changing environment to assess the level of
change? Do they truly understand the DNA of their
direct rivals business culture? How often are
they invited to play sceptic? How are new facts
reported to their senior leaders without
deference to hierarchy? How are salespeople
managed if they reject the findings of sales
intelligence? How often is win-loss analysis
deployed? How are mistakes identified and
corrected?
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TIMELINE ANALYSIS (T)
Several leading pharmaceutical companies working
with flawed assumptions were operating with
serious blind-spots. How often are we caught out
by a competitor launching a new product earlier
than we had pre-supposed? How often are we
blind-sided by a direct rival achieving the
necessary licences and/or reimbursement to go to
market quicker than we had possibly imagined? How
often do we wish we had created a natural
alliance, or entered a new market, faster than
our nearest rival? How often are we surprised by
a non-direct competitor launching a radical
innovation? A bio-similar entering a key market
that we simply did not foresee? It is these
events that cause leading organizations across
industries such as pharma, healthcare, etc. to
connect with a reputed market and competitive
intelligence solution provider and leverage their
technology and robust processes to minimise or
eliminate these risks.
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CONCLUSION(1)
A market and competitive intelligence company is
often contacted when a senior management team has
experienced a substantial error of judgement that
has cost them dear. Multi-million dollar mistakes
can often happen as a result of choosing not to
make a modest investment in a bespoke secondary
monitoring capability. This capability should be
considered a productivity tool to optimise the
efficiencies of the organisation and support
internal decision making.A manager who has
witnessed one serious mistake will be determined
never to allow it to be repeated. They
experience a light-bulb moment. Like an
investigative journalist, they will aspire to a
level of intelligence in advance of news becoming
in the public domain. Their goal will be to
achieve not only better insight but also
strategic foresight. They will encourage
assumptions to be challenged when appropriate.
The immediate challenge for the survival of many
organisations during the current time is how to
recognise, prioritise, and adapt to the range of
real external threats that now impact competitive
advantage. Markets are dynamic and subject to
constant change by external forces. An insight
analyst cannot hope to enjoy 20/20
foresight.  Historically, employees responsible
for setting up CI units were trained to consider
the 3 Ps of people, process, and platform.
However, we still witness many strategic errors
that would have been easy to predict if random
signals had been identified. Until leadership
teams see an early warning radar as an investment
rather than a cost these mistakes will
continue. It is often after a huge, strategic,
and costly error of judgement that an early
warning system is created. The analyst becomes a
truth-teller.
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CONCLUSION(2)
The immediate challenge for the survival of many
organisations during the current time is how to
recognise, prioritise, and adapt to the range of
real external threats that now impact competitive
advantage. Markets are dynamic and subject to
constant change by external forces. An insight
analyst cannot hope to enjoy 20/20
foresight.  Historically, employees responsible
for setting up CI units were trained to consider
the 3 Ps of people, process, and platform.
However, we still witness many strategic errors
that would have been easy to predict if random
signals had been identified. Until leadership
teams see an early warning radar as an investment
rather than a cost these mistakes will
continue. It is often after a huge, strategic,
and costly error of judgement that an early
warning system is created. The analyst becomes a
truth-teller.
These leaders see these 4 rules (ABCT) as a form
of criterion. Like the All England Club,
organisations should monitor the external market
environment, not only as a source of risk but
also as a way to identify new markets.  A source
of current intelligence to find new alliances,
new partnerships, innovations, and new
opportunities.
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