Global Market Intelligence Survey 2008

The Global Intelligence Alliance (GIA) has renewed a Global Market Intelligence Study and extended the sample significantly; the first study was conducted in 2005 and it is now truly the most comprehensive, global Market & Competitive Intelligence study based on primary research.



For this report, 439 companies were interviewed in order to identify the present status, organization, IT tools and future outlook of Market Intelligence activities.

The GIA White Paper “Global Market Intelligence Survey 2008” uncovers linkages between organizational decision-making and Market Intelligence operations. Differences by industries and regions were measured along with key success factors of MI. Responses were collected from 439 participants on five continents, making the survey the most comprehensive study that has been conducted in area of Market Intelligence to date.



Many companies already have lengthy traditions in MI (reflected in the age, resourcing and output of the operation), and the results can be seen from greater confidence in decision-making than in companies with little or no investment in MI.

However, there is still room for improvement in virtually all companies that participated in this survey on the “impact of MI” front. One of the keys to improving this is to develop an intelligence culture – perceived by the respondents as the most challenging dimension in developing world class Market Intelligence operations.

Section Overview:

  • Different levels of MI maturity across industries and regions
  • Market Intelligence operations currently at “Intermediate” level
  • Culture is the most difficult KSF of Market Intelligence to master
  • Outsourcing of Market Intelligence growing rapidly
  • Increasing need for Market Intelligence during weakening global economy

 

Executive Overview

“MI infrastructure” in place, investments expected to increase
In the researched organizations, the average age of the MI operation was 7 years, and an average MI team consisted of 10 people. As many as 60 percent of the respondents expected the investment in MI in their organizations to increase over the next 2 years. The MI budget of an average organization amounts to 0,1
percent of annual revenue.

Investing in MI increases the quality of decision-making
Companies without an MI system in place are significantly more often concerned about making wrong decisions than those with organized MI activities: 45 percent of the respondents without MI operations doubted the quality of decision-making in their organizations, whereas only 30 percent felt the same in
companies with systematic MI activities. This clearly indicates that investing in MI facilitates confident decision-making that is justified by analyzed facts.

The ultimate challenge for MI : Filling in the information gaps in decision-making processes
There is still work to be done in many organizations on fitting the right intelligence output to the right information gaps in decisionmaking processes. The survey results suggest that many companies may have a relatively sophisticated MI “infrastructure”.

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The Global Intelligence Alliance (GIA) is a global network of business research and Competitive Intelligence (CI) consulting companies. The series of GIA White Papers is a means for the GIA and its clients and partner companies to share knowledge on key topics within the field of Competitive Intelligence. Please feel free to give us feedback on the White Papers by sending email to info@globalintelligence.com.