If you are a business owner or even remotely interested in the market, you might have heard the terms market research and market intelligence. And, often, people mistake the two as the same thing. However, they are far from being similar. For starters, marketing research is a sub-category of marketing intelligence.
While marketing research is a primary focus for larger, established firms, market intelligence is equally important for start-ups, small businesses, and organizations servicing specific industries.
And, marketing intelligence is highly useful in increasing your business revenue. In this blog, you will find out how marketing intelligence, when clubbed with market research, helps you stand out.
Marketing intelligence vs Marketing Research
Before we deep dive into the interdependent nature of the two, let’s understand the basic difference between marketing intelligence and marketing research.
Market intelligence provides a detailed report on the changing market as a whole. On the other hand, market research derives company-specific knowledge pertaining to the company’s target audience, consumer behavior, and the success or failure of a company-specific strategy.
Market intelligence is market-specific. Its goal lies in analyzing changing market trends around the world, competitors’ strategies, customer behavior, and future prospects in the industry. It is a constant process because the market is ever-changing; it wouldn’t stop functioning if your business decides to take a vacation. Hence, constantly gathering market info is necessary.
On the contrary, market research is consumer-centric; it analyses the company-specific strategies, a customer’s response to the said strategy, consumer behavior, their response, etc. Market research is beneficial in determining whether a new product or service will be profitable in the long run or not. It relies on the consumer’s response to identify pitfalls and rectify them.
How are marketing intelligence and marketing research interrelated?
Marketing research and intelligence work together to optimize your product or service for the marketplace.
Let’s say you’ve got a new product idea, and want to make sure it will be successful on the market. You could start by conducting market research to gather information about who your target audience is, what they need from your product and how much they are willing to pay.
Once you have this kind of information in hand, you can use marketing intelligence tools like predictive analytics software to analyze all that data. For example, by using a statistical model that tells us “85% of my target audience will buy this if I price it at 4500 INR” or “The best way to get more traffic is by improving my SEO ranking on Google Search results page.”
Competitive intelligence and its impact on market research
As the name suggests, competitive intelligence involves collecting and analyzing a company’s competitor’s data over various parameters.
Out of all the types of marketing intelligence, this has been known to generate the most traction. By gathering numerous data from credited and uncredited sources, you can keep track of your competitor’s next move and also plan ahead to build effective strategies to mitigate risks before they get out of hand. This also helps you dive deeper into consumer behavior.
How does Marketing Intelligence help in Marketing Research?
So far, you would’ve probably understood that both need to work in synergy to outshine your competitors. Now let’s focus on how market intelligence is helpful in market research.
It Aids in competitor analysis which encourages you to make informed decisions for your product or service.
It Helps you understand the company’s potential to grow in the face of fluctuating market trends.
It Helps you strategize better.
It Helps your company makes decisions by guiding it through the market’s noise.
It Offers a consistent flow of data on the target market, the competitive landscape, consumer trends, and particular buyer profiles.
It Enhances the position of your business by assisting with the correct project investments and loss prevention.
Because of this infallible marketing tool, even traditional marketers are switching to new strategies. Additionally, the rise of AI-enabled marketing analytics tools has ensured faster growth in less time. Thus, in order to grow your business, it is only relevant that you employ ideal marketing tactics.
Conclusion
Both marketing intelligence & marketing research is invaluable to a business and its optimization strategies. It can help you understand your customers better, discover new opportunities and make more informed decisions. Market intelligence data gives you a better understanding of the marketplace as well as how your company stacks up against competitors.
