Market intelligence guides businesses to success

Market intelligence guides businesses to success

Thanks to global positioning systems (GPS) we can now drive to our destinations without taking unnecessary detours. As entrepreneurs we also seek guides, but to help us run our businesses. Is there a tool that serves as a GPS for the business world—one that can help entrepreneurs navigate the shorter or better route to success?

The answer is “Yes,” and that tool is market intelligence.

During last Wednesday’s Entrepreneurship 101 lecture, Usha Srinivasan, the program director of MaRS’ Business Acceleration Program, demonstrated how market intelligence guides entrepreneurs.

“People make hundreds of decisions on a daily basis about the things we use and the things we do. The biggest nightmare for corporations is that, for all the decisions you have been making, they have to find out why you like certain things and what decisions you have made. Then they can make decisions about their products,” explained Usha. “Why do they do this? Because seven out of 10 products fail because they don’t understand the consumers they deal with.”

After discussing market intelligence, Usha went deeper, explaining how to conduct market research and offering resources and methods for conducting both primary and secondary market research.

If you’re wondering how to find the data you need to make business decisions, Usha mapped out the questions that every business owner needs to answer:

  • Who am I competing with?
  • What is the size of my market?
  • Who are my customers?
  • What is my business model?
  • What is my value proposition?

Regardless of how powerful your GPS is, it won’t work unless you install it in your car. Similarly, market intelligence can only guide your decision-making process when you apply the intelligence to your company. Start right now by following Usha’s instructions as described in the video below.

Other resources that might be helpful:

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