Market intelligence: the smart way to develop a winning game plan to grow your business

I love American football. I’ve been watching it since I was 17. Although I’m currently recovering from a dislocated shoulder, I play linebacker for the Bristol Aztecs, the South West’s only Premiership American football team. That's me above. We’ve just retained our Britbowl title, after beating Manchester Titans 49-10.

I started playing American football for UWE Bristol while studying there in 2010. I’m also a big Dallas Cowboys fan, and like all other NFL teams and elite sports teams around the world, they use data extensively to analyse their players’ performance and better understand their opponents in granular detail. Analysts provide coaches with vital data from which they try to develop a winning game plan.

I also love data and research, which are integral to my role as a market intelligence specialist at Business West. My love of facts goes back to my childhood, when my dad impressed upon me the importance of being armed with facts to support your words and actions. Before I went to university, I worked for Ipsos Mori as a market researcher, and later at UWE I studied economics, business data and marketing.

My job involves deep research and report writing for clients in many sectors – defence, aerospace, AI, manufacturing, agriculture, climate tech, the list goes on. I’ve produced many detailed market intelligence reports to date. Clients pay for these, but it’s an investment rather than a cost. Having robust, up-to-date market intelligence, conveniently summarised in a report, can save your business much more than it costs.

Market intelligence is the systematic process of gathering, analysing and applying insights about markets, customers, competitors, suppliers and the broader business environment. It enables organisations to make better business decisions by understanding how markets are and how they’re evolving, empowering them to identify emerging opportunities and risks, and anticipate the external factors that help to determine long-term success.

Making any major business decision without having the necessary knowledge or data is very risky. It can waste a huge amount of your money and time. It’s far better to gather the information you need to make well-informed decisions. And if you’re planning to expand into new markets, robust market intelligence is a must. Investing the time and money to find out key data, facts and information now can pay great dividends later.

The market intelligence reports I produce don’t just contain a long list of facts, figures and statistics. Various courses of action are also included, so clients can consider their main options. Ultimately, obviously, they must make the decisions.

Sometimes I’m asked to research specific overseas markets, in other cases I’m asked to produce a market intelligence report on, I don’t know, carbon fibre was one recent project. It’s a granular process – the devil really is in the detail. That’s what really helps a business to have confidence it’s making the right decisions, guided by well-researched, robust, current market intelligence. Following trends or acting on gut instinct can backfire. Sometimes businesses find that they’ve entered a highly saturated market, which can make things far tougher. Alternatively, market intelligence can tell you that a market is smaller than you thought, providing a smaller opportunity.

Market intelligence can also reveal more regulations than you anticipated, particularly in overseas markets. I had a client recently who wanted to import accessibility scooters into the UK. The scooters were slick and stylish, but regulations meant the design was not suitable for the UK market. Market intelligence research saved the client from a mistake that could have cost them hundreds of thousands of pounds. Full compliance with regulations is vital.

Some businesses choose to gather their own market intelligence, but I always warn of the dangers of bias, which is something we eliminate. We look at things independently and we’re meticulous when it comes to data, which doesn’t lie. We’re very thorough, drawing from a range of highly reliable sources, to ensure the accuracy and value of the market intelligence we gather. There's no room for error.

Business founders are intelligent people, but being always guided by gut instinct isn’t advised. You need to verify your gut instincts, because they can be wrong. And things can change quickly and significantly in markets, so making sure your market intelligence is fully up to date is essential.

Businesses should also be cautious when using AI to gather their own “market intelligence”. AI often provides incorrect information, so, all AI output should be thoroughly fact-checked against reliable sources. AI has its uses, but it can throw up some pretty sketchy stuff.

Whether it’s American football, another sport or business, the numbers don’t lie – which is why you must listen to what they’re telling you. Failing to act on what your market intelligence is clearly telling you is quite literally a counter-intelligent response. Robust, up-to-date market intelligence can give your business the ability to develop a winning gameplan, so you can play with added confidence and outperform your competitors – much like a top NFL team.

Business West Consulting is a recently launched service that provides tailored, strategic consultancy to ambitious businesses looking to accelerate their growth. Our consultants work directly with leadership teams to overcome barriers, identify opportunities and create a practical growth strategy. Our expertise covers business development, innovation and commercialisation, scale-up and international growth, funding and investment readiness, market intelligence, leadership and capability development. Visit the Business West website to find out more and book an initial call >>