Topic 1 Knowledge questions

1.1 What is market intelligence and how can information gathered and recorded as a result
of networking activities or participation/ attendance at trade fairs, expos, industry
conferences or seminars contribute to forecasts?
1.2 What other sources of information can contribute to the development of market
intelligence?
1.3a What are the criteria against commercial market intelligence services can be
evaluated?
1.3b Why would an organisation choose to use the services of a commercial provider?
1.4 How does relevant market intelligence plus evaluation of an organisation’s market
performance help determine future directions?

1.1 (pages 2-6)

Market intelligence will enable decision-makers to estimate whether:
 They intended actions are appropriate
 They might perhaps need to alter their overall strategy
 They need to make changes to sales strategies or to product/service design and development
 They are aiming their products/services at the correct market
 They might make inroads into new markets
 It would be profitable to expand into overseas markets
 It would be advantageous to introduce new products or services
 There are any particular conditions or events that will have a high impact on target markets

Market intelligence will help companies:

 Identify changing market conditions- growth or decline
 Understand the impact of changing conditions and of trends on the market
 Develop a strategic market focus
 Select key target markets
 Identify growth opportunities
 Identify ways to make use of their competitive advantage
 Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the company
 Make related assumptions and estimates
 Focus on the market that best matches the company profile
 Prioritize investments
 Evaluate, formulate and validate business and marketing plans

Gathering and documenting data and information

Data and information to support the development of useful market intelligence can be gathered as a
result of networking activities and by attending expos, trade fairs, seminars and conferences.

These activities involve both formal and informal interaction and conversation with a number of
different people, from a range of backgrounds. People attending these functions can provide valuable
and interesting insights and information about international markets.

They might provide information about:

 Culture/cultural factors and social connections
 Customs and procedures
 Communication
 Pitfalls
 Opportunities
 Legislation
 Shifting market conditions
 Country-specific economic and market trends
 A country’s GDP
 Consumer psychographics and demographics
 Demand
 Feasibility
Gather and document market intelligence
When gathering data and information it will be necessary to take into consideration the following:
 Procedures for recording/documenting any data collected
 The type and amount of data needed in order to generate actionable intelligence that will
support real-time decision making
 How the data will be analyzed
 How the information once developed can be used
 Technological advancements in data collection, storage, analytics, and visualization
 How much the company can afford to invest in data analysis and visualization capabilities
 The adoption of cloud technology by and its implication for analytics implementation
 The range of different tools and analytics systems that will help identify the direction in which
trends are heading
 The cost of data storage
 Whether the company should analyse its own data or contract other companies to collect and
analyse data for them

Business needs
Market research and market intelligence align with business intelligence

Business intelligence (BI) is a term that is frequently used interchangeably with the term market
intelligence, incorrectly.

Business intelligence refers to all of the information used by a company for the purposes of decision-
making, but tends to refer to data relating to the company itself, rather than its market environment.
BI therefore includes sales data, production data and financial data, and tends to be collected
internally rather than by outside agencies. BI is usually closely related to businesses’ KPIs (key
performance indicators)

Market intelligence is used to a add value to the business and to help meet business needs - goals and
objectives. It can assist with many or even most of the business decisions to be made, but its main
purpose is to assist with company growth.

1.2 (pages 5-9)

Further sources of market intelligence
Market intelligence uses multiple sources of information to create a broad picture of the company’s
existing market, customers, problems, competition, and its growth potential for new products and
services or new markets. It focuses on demographic and geographic information relating to
customers, in order to provide forecasts related to international market and busienss needs.

Data and information that will contribute to the development of useful market intelligence will come
from internal and external, local and international sources that include:

 Market research and market intelligence service organizations

 Customers/consumers and prospects
 Joint venture partners
 Universities that can provide up-to-date research data and analyses
 Industry influencers
 Industry publications and industry associations/peak industry bodies
 Social media-twitter,LinkedIn, facebook, instagram etc.
 Digital tools and analytics that help assess industry behaviour
 Competitors/competitor analyses
 Online directories
 World industry reports
 Newspapers,magazines, television and other media
 Austrade
 International government, manufacturing, infrastructure and planning agencies
 Government’s-government statistics
 -
 Web analytics
 The organization’s sales force
 A range of international bodies
 Chambers of commerce and business institutes
 Foreign embassies and trade missions
 The companies register or equivalent in different countries

1.3a (page 17)

Criteria that a company might consider:
 Costs attributed to the contracted analyst
 The risks of using external service providers
 The benefits of using external providers
 The reputation of the analyst (company)
 How to measure value for money
 How to make comparisons between the offers from different companies

They need to know what each analyst will do and provide.

1.3b (page 17)

Each organization will have their own particular vision and their own particular needs. There is no one
method to follow when making a selection.

The analyst selected must understand the objectives of the company and be in tune with its needs.
The company will need to develop criteria against which they can evaluate any commercial services,
in order to make a selection regarding the service they wish to use, As with any other service it is
better to get quotes or to enter into initial negotiations with more than one service provider, in order
to make comparisons.

1.4 (pages 15-20)

Market intelligence is used to answer concrete questions about current and potential customers and
about competitors. It helps a company determine strategic and marketing goals. It is largely
synonymous with market research-same process of gathering, recording, analyzing and interpreting
market data.

‘In practice market intelligence trends to refer to the branch of market research called market
assessment research, which is designed to help a company established a foothold in a market, or
increase its presence in a market. As such, typical areas covered would be routes to market analysis,
market size calculations, competitor analysis, substitute products (or services) analysis, and market
growth predictions - in summary, information about the external market environment’.

It will be use to:

 Help an organization enter a new market, or expand its presence in a market
 Minimize the risk of making wrong or inappropriate investment decisions
 Help develop and maintain a competitive advantage
 Obtain first mover advantage
 Give customers/consumers what they want
 Expand the organization’s market share
 Establish and maintain a distinct corporate identity
 Tailor products and marketing efforts to meet market and customer/consumer needs
 Compliment the organization’s vision for the future
 Identify and manoeuvre their positioning

Commercial services
For organizations not prepared to collect their own data, and use or hire an in-house analyst, a third-
party specialist could help with the development of appropriate and useful market intelligence.
Although a lot of information can be found on line, much valuable information cannot be found on
line. General information is often freely available but the collection of competitor information that is
specific, reliable and validated can require the skills of a specialist market intelligence provider who
can, for example, ‘ glean information that the competitor or another source. Similarly technical
information, particularly in rapidly evolving (and therefore confidential) areas such as product
development, is often poorly documented and therefore requires one-on-one discussions with a
technologist’

A specialist analyst can develop a nuanced picture of the market by communicating with
manufacturers, distributors, clients/customers/consumers, and other involved in the creation and
distribution of the company’s product/services. The type of dialogue, along with hard data and
market research, makes up the majority of a company’s market intelligence.

Businesses can use this information to make important decisions, including those related to market
opportunities and market development.

There are many specialized services available and all can be identified on the internet.

Choosing the right company or contractor is important.

Each organization will have their own particular vision and their own particular needs. There is no one
method to follow when making a selection.

The analyst selected must understand the objectives of the company and be in tune with its needs.
The company will need to develop criteria against which they can evaluate any commercial services,
in order to make a selection regarding the service they wish to use, As with any other service it is
better to get quotes or to enter into initial negotiations with more than one service provider, in order
to make comparisons.

Criteria that a company might consider:

 Costs attributed to the contracted analyst
 The risks of using external service providers
 The benefits of using external providers
 The reputation of the analyst (company)
 How to measure value for money
 How to make comparisons between the offers from different companies

They need to know what each analyst will do and provide.

For example, will the analyst provide:

 Pricing research results that calculate what prices the market would bear for different types of
offering
 Detailed competitor profiles covering topics such as company characteristics
 Views on marketing strategies and expansion intentions
 The results of competitor pricing research
 Data gathered as result of interviews with customers, competitors, suppliers and other industry
players and experts
 Results of internet, website, ecommerce and press searches
 International market data from countries such as China, India, Russia, South Africa and Brazil
which are seeing repeated double-digit growth rates year-on-year
 Information about:
Where the company should devote more resources
Which markets it could try to infiltrate next
Any patterns associated with the company’s best customers and their purchasing behaviours
What products could be cross-marketed to existing customers
 The demographic segments into which the company can push new and existing products
Results within the organization’s time frames and deadlines?
Will they access:
Potential buyers - to ascertain how much demand there is for the product/service
Distributors, agents and other itermediaries - to find out how to best get products and services to
market, and again to ascertain how much demand there is for the product/service
Competitors - to find out how other companies have successfully entered and stayed in the market,
and judge the market’s likely response to a new entrant
Industry experts such as journalists and industry associations - these organizations can frequently
provide a quick and concise overview of the market, as well as numerous leads in the form of contact
details of market players
Published information such as annual reports and industry reports?

The organization purchasing the research and analysis services will need to establish a good
relationship with the commercial service and agree on the type, quality and qunatity of research
required. Both organizations must agree on the purpose of the research and the use to which it will
be put.

Market intelligence is the result of the collection, collation and analysis of data.

It must be presented in a format that makes it easy to read, understand and use.

Relevance and applicability

The research results - the market intelligence - must be measured against the pre-determined criteria
to make a decision about its relevance, usefulness and applicability to the organization’s international
business activity.

Keep in mind that the organization might have more than one target market, depending on the
diversity of its products/service offerings.

If the gathered and reported intelligence meets the organization’s expectations and offers
information that is both accurate and relevant then it will be useful in terms of developing forecasts
that will impact on the organization’s strategic planning on its future business needs, plans and
intentions.

The organization mist be able to use market intelligence to drive better, more informed decision
making around markets, market penetration, competitive strategies and product/service
development.

Market intelligence can be applied in order to connect with the market, streamline market spend and
get more out of the marketing dollar.

Monitoring and evaluation

It is critical to constantly monitor and evaluate the outcomes of marketing plans and the actual
marketing and sales performance related to specific product/services and target markets. This applies
to single or joint ventures.

Market intelligence will offer information that enables an organization to measure its own
performance in the market and to identify changes, opportunities or innovations that will help with
penetration and positioning. It will measure absent outcomes and help identify the viability of
particular target markets. If something costs more than it is returning (ROI) it is not a sustainable
business strategy.

Evaluation of market performance will require, along with market intelligence, the collection,
collation and analysis of data from internal sources and relating to:
 Sales/sales number
 Revenue
 Customer satisfaction
 Customer complaints

This will assist with:

 Increasing competitive intelligence and anticipating competitor reactions to new marketing
strategies
 More accurately assessing company marketing assets such as brand equity and its level of
effectiveness among target audiences
 Building a knowledge base of current and historic data that help drive marketing mix decisions
and steer the company through rapidly changing market conditions
Topic 2 Knowledge questions

2.1 What is the importance of confirming the organisation’s customer base, business
values and current business direction?
2.2.a Explain market positioning.
2.2.b What things can be considered when identifying and analysing current international
marketing performance and the effectiveness of past international marketing or
positioning?
2.3.a What tools are available to review performance data and identify strengths,
weaknesses and critical success factors relevant to international business activity?
2.3.b What opportunities might be identified as a result of reviewing performance data from
all areas of the business and identifying strengths, weaknesses and critical success factors
relevant to international business activity?
2.4 Explain the purpose of a capability assessment.
2.5 Why is it necessary to identify products or services that are not performing well in the
market?
2.6.a How is it possible to confirm the strength and current competitive position of the
business within international markets?
2.6.b Why is this necessary?

2.1 (pages 2 and 4)

Companies need to confirm their core activities - the activities’ functions, processes and capabilities -
that drive and support the business - their current business performance and capability. Their
understanding will contribute to the forecasts that are made. Market intelligence and forecasts
relating to relevant markets will contribute to the ways in which organizations plan, develop and
implement the core structures of the organization now and into the future. This will impact on the
organization’s business values - the values and vision that structure and drive performance
requirements.

By confirming what the organization currently does well the organization can be flexible and will be
more able to develop strategies for moving in new directions while still supporting its valuable
customer base and core activities. If organizations wishing to move into new areas or new markets,
ignore their current customer base they risk alienating customers and losing their main income
stream.

The values, vision and mission of the business are important for determining how the business should
be run and the direction in which it should go. Values, vision and mission impact on core business,
customer bases and prospective expansions - into new markets or into the development of new
products and services for current (and possibly new) markets.

2.2a (page 5)
Marketing positioning refers to the methods by which a business organization presents, to
customers/consumers, its product/service offering. It is the process of establishing, in relation to
competing brands of products, the image or identity of a brand or product so that consumers perceive
it in a certain way.

Positioning relates to product/service characteristics: eg luxury, long lasting, best quality, premium,
cheap/low prices, innovation etc etc. It can be based on costs/cost leadership (providing what
consumers want at a lower price than competing products/services), or on differentiation (being
unique because comparable products cannot be found). It is the process of developing, within a target
market, competitive advantage.

‘The positioning of a brand or product is a strategic process that involves marketing the brand or
product in a certain way to create and establish an image or identity within the minds of the
consumers in the target market. Market positioning of a brand or product must be maintained over
the life of the brand or product. Doing the requires ongoing marketing initiatives intended to
reinforce the target market’s perceptions of the product or brand
2.2b (page 10)
Considerations when identifying current international marketing performance and the effectiveness
of past international marketing or positioning:
 Whether the planned and predicted sales volume (revenue/inputs) was achieved
 Whether there are differences between past and current performance
 How effective different positioning, pricing and marketing strategies have been
 How any changes in sales volume compare with changes to the sales of competitors
By identifying current international marketing performance and the effectiveness of past international
marketing or positioning in international markets the organization might decide that it is necessary to:
 Reduce the price of products to at least match competitors
 Sacrifice some of the high quality features, if consumers are not prepared to pay them
 Target a different, maybe higher income, market sector and either leave prices the same or even
increase them
 Update or make changes to the business plan
 Business plans need to be updated
 Adapt to specific market changes
 Change marketing process to accommodate the advantages and disadvantages of current
locations
 Implement new marketing strategies and procedures for communicating with
customers/consumers
 Move to another level or in a new direction
 Address efficiencies - improve cost cutting and waste management procedures
 Change resource acquisition procedures
 Develop and implement new methods of measuring success (new KPIs, KRAs)

2.3a (page 11)

SWOT, PEST or STEEP (or similar) analyses can be initiated, to explore marketing and performance
strengths and weaknesses and to consider brand/product/service function and viability. Strategy
maps, shareholder value analyses and event planning maps might also be useful tools.

Other tools or processes could include:

 Comparative analysis
 Competitive analysis
 Life cycle models
 Product portfolio analysis
 Value chain analysis

The results of these analyses will contribute to the forecasting process.

2.3b (page 13)

Strengths, weaknesses and critical success factors
The SWOT analysis might point to opportunities including the potential for:
 Greater penetration of existing markets with existing products or services
 New products or services for existing markets
 Marketing new products or services in new markets
 Extending, expanding or otherwise changing an existing business
 Viable repositioning
 Joint and co-operative ventures
 Strategic alliances
 Franchising and exports to new countries/expanding the international market

2.4 (page 18)

Business organizations must be able to achieve their specific, agreed and articulated objectives and
goals with regard to international marketing. If they do not have the capacity or capability to do so
they set themselves up for failure.
Every organization has a set of capabilities or core capabilities that when properly leveraged support
business success.

Capabilities might defined as the ability - skills, knowledge, resources (including human resources),
infrastructure, technology, capital/financial basis, leadership and management processes - to perform
successfully, satisfy stakeholder expectations and achieve goals.

A capability and resources assessment might involve evaluating:

 Situational factors
 Operating hours
 The age and life of business equipment, production machinery and technology
 The capacity of equipment relative to current output
 Staff numbers - the capacity of staff relative to current output
 Staff skills and knowledge
 Compliance with industrial relations requirements in the different countries
 The location/position of the organization’s operations and any factors related to import/export
activities
 Transport and distribution channels
 Communication channels and efficiencies
 Social factors - social responsibility; social acceptability
 Service provided to customers and consumers
 Organizational image and brand acceptance
 Supply and demand
 Compliance with legislation - Australian and that of the country in which the organization is
conducting business
 Capabilities in terms of cultural fit and cultural acceptance
 Factors relating to IJVs, strategic alliances etc

2.5 (page 22)

The organization must identify under performing products or services.

These must be assessed in terms of:

 Market suitability
 Viability/ongoing viability
 Possible viability in other contexts
 Fit with customer needs
 Cultural fit
 The need for adaptations or adjustments
 The need for withdrawal from the market

Any products or services that are not providing a suitable ROI need to be closely examined in order to
determine what action to take. Persevering with products and services that are not performing
adequately means that the organization will lose money and possibly credibility and the marketplace.

2.6a (pages 24-25)

An organizational capability assessment can identify what organization has, what it needs and what it
needs to do in order to operate successfully in a future context in local or international markets.

Successful organizations know their own market position and that of all competitors. They will have
processes in place for monitoring competitor activity and for confirming their own strengths and
competitive position within their international markets.

2.6b (pages 26)

Organizations that are not aware of competitor performance and the ability of competitors to
penetrate international markets could be taken by surprise when competitors launch a new product
or open up a new market. They must regularly scan and analyze the market so they can spot the gaps
they can enter - preferably before a competitor does. Understanding what their competitors are
doing helps organizations understand their own position in the market.