Northern European Companies Use Market Intelligence most Widely, but Lag behind Other Regions in Sophistication
The global economic downturn hit Northern Europe hard. Companies have had to focus and prioritize, and while doing so, to think about what Market Intelligence is absolutely vital, why, when, and to whom. This crisis however, may help rise the level of sophistication to match other developed regions, according to the Global Market Intelligence survey.
According to the 2009 Global Market
Intelligence* Survey by Global Intelligence Alliance, in which 79 respondents
from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden answered wide-ranging
questions on the topic, the region will continue to be a tough marketplace to
navigate without more targeted MI activities. (The total number of responses globally
reached 724.)
Most companies in Northern Europe use Market Intelligence
systematically but MI processes still need to be improved
In Northern Europe, 85% of the
companies surveyed had systematic Market Intelligence operations in place. This
beats all other developed regions, including Western Europe (68%) and North
America (59%) for example.
However, only 30% of these companies consider their Market Intelligence operations to be “advanced”, compared to Western Europe (35%) and North America (35%). None of the respondents considered their market intelligence operations “world-class”.
The survey results also suggest that almost every company in the region sometimes makes key business decisions without the support of proper Market Intelligence. Therefore, the need for further integration of MI operations within organizational processes is clear. Less than 6% of the survey respondents were ‘extremely satisfied’ with the linkage between MI and processes such as strategic planning, sales & marketing, innovation or supply chain management.
Companies lack confidence in managing Market Intelligence
operations at advanced levels
One recurring comment was
that respondents were apparently not too confident with regards to the size and
competencies of their centralized Market Intelligence organization.
This comment may indicate
that companies in the region struggle to allocate sufficient resources to their
MI operations, which have to cater to such a wide array of needs. Only 18% of
respondents from Northern Europe rated their company as advanced in that
dimension. Interestingly, in Western Europe and North America respondents were
more positive in this matter, since as much as 40% thought their company was
advanced in this particular dimension.
Most companies set their annual Market Intelligence budgets at USD
140,000
Approximately 75% of the
North European respondents said that their company was spending more than USD
140,000 on MI every year. This is slightly more than the global average, which
stands at 69%, but is quite consistent with responses from other advanced
markets like Western Europe or North America.
However, only 12% of respondents from Northern Europe said that their company spent more than USD 1.4 million a year on such activities, significantly less than in other advanced markets. This can probably be explained by the fact that companies in Northern Europe are relatively smaller, leading to lower levels of MI spending monetary wise.
Despite difficult economic conditions, MI budgets are preserved
All together, 92% of survey respondents from Northern Europe anticipate
MI investment to either increase or to be kept the same. Over half of the
respondents in the region said that their company had already increased its
focus on MI despite the current economic downturn.
This quite clearly shows that
under the current challenging circumstances, MI operations are getting even
more important in Northern Europe.
Heavy industries will be increasing their focus and spending on MI
in 2010-2011
At the industry level, MI investment
is expected to receive special focus in heavy
industries - a sector that has been hit particularly hard by the economic
downturn and the subsequent fall in capital expenditure.
More than half of the respondents from the Manufacturing and Industrial sectors said that they expected their MI budget to increase within the next two years. Other respondents with the same sentiment include those from the Energy and Environment, Chemicals and Automotive sectors.
* Market Intelligence or MI is the discipline where organizations systematically gather, process and analyze information from their operating environment to facilitate decision-making
More about GIA Northern
Europe.
Download 2009 Global Market Intelligence Survey report.
For
media inquiries, send an email to media(at)globalintelligence.com.
Download any of our Best Practice White Papers.
More About GIA Industry Practices Automotive | Chemicals | Construction & Property Development | Consumer & Retail | Energy, Resources & Environment | Financial services | Private Equity | Logistics & Transportation | Manufacturing & Industrial | Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare | Telecommunication, Technology & Media
More About GIA Functional Practices World
Class Market Intelligence
| MI
for Strategic Planning
| MI
for Marketing & Sales
| MI
for Product & Innovation Management | MI
for Supply Chain Management
| M&A
and Partnering
More About GIA Services Monitoring Services | Strategic Analysis | Rapid Research | Intelligence Software | Intelligence Best Practices
More About GIA How we work | Expertise | Clients | Case Studies | Global Locations | FAQ
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.
