88% of Executives in Europe Say They Save Time, Thanks to Market Intelligence 

A majority of European company executives (88%) save time through systematic market intelligence, with 39% saying they save up to one hour and 49% saving over one hour a week, according to a survey by Global Intelligence Alliance (GIA), a global strategic market intelligence and advisory group. In late 2011, GIA conducted an online survey amongst over 2,300 end users of systematic market intelligence functions in companies in Western Europe.

As a program, market intelligence collects information about market players and strategically relevant topics, and processes it into insights that support decision-making. Organizationally, market intelligence is typically placed under strategic planning, business development or marketing.

Overall, European market intelligence teams score 7.8 out of 10 when it comes to competence and 7.3 in terms of being trusted advisors to top management. The scores indicate that inhouse market intelligence teams in European companies are quite capable of delivering the intelligence needed to support decision making, but there are also some aspects that need to be improved.  Business executives say that their market intelligence teams are proficient in bringing regular market updates and insights to decision makers but could fare better when involving the participation of and gathering insights from internal and external experts.

“The results of the GIA survey show that market intelligence teams in Europe are relatively developed but would need to improve in working with external experts and consultants. They could also make greater use of workshops to generate insights or innovative solutions from the intelligence gathered. As we look into 2012, such skills will become even more necessary due to increased the uncertainties that companies are facing in the current business environment,” said Ville Vanhala, Senior Vice President, Research & Monitoring Services.

"Accurate forecasts about how each region and market segment will develop are not easily available, and this means that companies have to become better in interpreting weak signals and collecting insights from experts on the ground in different regions. Overall, we expect companies in Europe to focus most of their corporate planning energies on markets such as those Asia, Latin America and America, due to the economic uncertainties and limited growth prospects in the EU,” continued Vanhala.

Tables: How European inhouse market intelligence teams perform in terms of:

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About Global Intelligence Alliance

Global Intelligence Alliance (GIA) is a strategic market intelligence and advisory group. GIA was formed in 1995 when a team of market intelligence specialists, management consultants, industry analysts and technology experts came together to build a powerful suite of customized solutions ranging from outsourced market monitoring services and software, to strategic analysis and advisory.

Today, we are the preferred partner for organizations seeking to understand, compete and grow in international markets. Our industry expertise and coverage of over 100 countries enables our customers to make better informed decisions worldwide.