Marketing information includes the procedures and data sources used to obtain information from the business environment for decision-making, as this information can be external or internal, and this data usually relates to various political, economic, technological and sociocultural elements, and can also include information about the demographics of customers and competitors. Small business managers typically collect marketing intelligence data either themselves or through various research or government agencies.
Examples of marketing intelligence:
Market Reports:
Small companies often want to determine their level of performance in certain markets, and therefore they can request secondary research reports from companies, as one of the important components of market data is market share, which tells the company the percentage of the market it controls in both units and dollars, and owners can Small businesses also use data to determine if there is room for growth in certain markets.
Competitive information:
Another type of marketing intelligence is competitive information. Business owners typically use industry reports, articles, newsletters, and personal notes to study their competitors. They can also collect competitive brochures or study their websites. Small businesses use competitive information to learn more about competitors' investments, organizational changes, and strategies. They may also purchase competitive products to study different features and technology, and marketers may also study competitive information to determine the types of customers they serve.
Internal databases:
Uses marketing managers also market information that they receive from customers, where this information exceeds much about the name, address and e - mail messages typical for customers, for example , may have a marketing manager detailed information about key customers, including average age, income, education and They typically spend it on each visit, and this allows companies to create profiles of typical customers, and the properties they use to target non-customers.
Use of competitive intelligence:
Small companies often use competitive intelligence to conduct analyzes of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, which is known as SWOT analysis , where the company usually uses SWOT analysis to compare its strengths and weaknesses with major competitors, and then uses these advantages to identify different opportunities in the market.
For example a plumbing company may have stronger distribution channels, which may then use these distribution channels , including showrooms and retail stores , to get more product exposure, and similarly a small strong customer service company may include this fact on their websites brochures and other printed materials.