COLLECTING INFORMATION 85
When you write about it in the plan, you need to prove that you understand your
industry and market in which you operate, demonstrate where you have competitive
advantages and show that you have identified a market niche for your products and
services. Your readers may or may not know your market as well as you, but they almost
certainly will understand the way that markets work. Moreover, you might think that
there is room to replicate one of your competitor’s approaches to the market. But you will
find that capital providers are resistant to this and will want to see that you have identi-
fied a new angle, a fresh approach, a unique niche – competitive advantage alone (‘we
will do it better’) is usually not enough.
Assessing the big bad world requires information, so it makes sense to continue this
discussion with a quick digression to review methods of collecting data. Then we will take
a look at the big picture, the overall environment in which you operate. I’ll do most of
the work at this stage – you just have to read and ponder. However, after this we really
get down to work. I want to touch on your business partners who help you achieve your
objectives, before running through your market and your industry.
You have a great deal of thinking to do, and a little research, analysis and documenting.
You probably will read this chapter through completely before you start writing. Your target
is to write about two pages for the actual plan. But they are important pages and you will
want to get them right. You might also end up with an extensive collection of notes for your
SWOT and risk analyses. I find this very interesting; I hope that you have fun also.
Collecting information
I have always been amazed that many people seem unable to collect market information
and market intelligence. This must be due to mental blocks rather than any real difficulty.
The job is actually surprisingly easy. Be aware though that fears and stumbling blocks can
exist and give suitable guidance when you delegate the collection of information.
Market intelligence gathering is wider than market research. Given the difficulties
that it can cause and its importance, it is worth running through some sources. The task
begins at home.
LOOK IN YOUR OWN FILES
Start by taking a look at your own customer files and you will see that you already have
a great deal of information about your customers – and therefore about your existing
market. You should be doing everything possible to enhance this database and make
information retrieval as easy as possible. This is a valuable marketing tool.
86 CHAPTER 5 KNOW THE WORLD
LISTEN
Information gathering from customers does not stop with the files about them. You can
gather market intelligence about your competitors just by asking your customers. What
do you think about your competitors? What are your competitors good at? Why do they
succeed or fail? What are their pricing and discounting policies?
Make sure that your marketing and sales people always follow up properly. Find out
why you made the sales that you did and – maybe more important – why you failed to
close those sales opportunities that were lost.
Questions to ask your customers
About you and your products
Why did your customer buy this product or service from you?
How do they regard your products, service, responsiveness, follow-up, etc.?
Why did they not buy that product from you? Did they buy elsewhere? Why?
How much value do they put on specific features, quality, price, installation,
after-sales service, warranty, etc.?
What need do they have for products or product features that are not available
(not available at suitable price/quality) now?
How will their business plans open up new sales opportunities for you in the
future?
About your competitors
Who do your customers regard as your competitors?
Why is it that your customers buy (do not buy) from your competitors?
Where do your competitors excel? Why?
In what areas are your competitors weak? Why?
What are your competitors’ pricing and discounting policies?
About your customers
How do your customers make their purchasing decisions?
Do they have strict purchasing policies?
Do you have to be on an approved list of suppliers?
Will you be invited automatically to bid in the future?
Who in the organisation makes the decisions? What are their preferences and
prejudices, etc.?
COLLECTING INFORMATION 87
Create a list of basic facts that you want to know (see Questions to ask your customers) and
make sure that everyone in contact with customers (engineers and support staff – not
just account managers) tries to solicit some new information about the customer’s profile,
decision-making processes, purchasing habits and needs.
Market intelligence also comes from people who are not your customers. You will find
that some industries are fairly closed and some of your employees may well have worked
for your competitors before falling off the jobs merry-go-round at your door. They will
give you insight, but make sure that you do not infringe any confidentiality agreements or
laws. Check with your legal adviser if necessary.
Talk to anyone who buys from competitors to find out why, even if you think they will
never buy from you. In addition, your competitors’ employees will usually help you – at
seminars, conferences, trade shows, job interviews. People love to talk and there is no
need to do anything underhand, unethical or illegal – just listen. Remember, though, that
the same works both ways and this is how your competitors find out about you.
LOOK
Published information is helpful. You can also read your competitors’ brochures and
reports, which are often very informative. Better still, you can visit competitors’ websites
and check out networking sites (see overleaf), which often contain amazing details about
products, sales successes, major customers, company strategy and financial performance.
You can also check prices at wholesale and retail outlets and trade shows. You can buy
your competitors’ products and examine them, fly on their airlines, stay in their hotels, use
their services and see how their customer-related processes work.
There is a wealth of other public information, including newspaper reports, magazines,
trade journals, investment bankers and stockbrokers’ research reports, government statis-
tics and other published material. You can also buy information from specialist providers
of company information and independent market surveys. Take care, though, not to pay
excessive amounts for out-of-date and inadequate data. Again, look out for the websites
of these organisations.
Who influences decision-making? What are their preferences and prejudices, etc.?
Who chooses product features? What are their preferences and prejudices, etc.?
Who approves the spending – and what are their spending limits? What are their
preferences and prejudices, etc.?
What names, contact details, anniversaries and events should you have in your
database?
88 CHAPTER 5 KNOW THE WORLD
‘Gentlemen: I have not had your advantages. What poor education I have received has
been gained in the University of Life.’
HORATIO BOTTOMLEY, SPEECH AT OXFORD UNION, 1920
Use the web
Think of websites as virtual offices or showcases on the Internet – a global network
linking millions of computers. The web is wonderful. It did not exist when I started
a business in 1990. When I started another business for another product in 1997, I
was able to sit at home and collect volumes of information from websites all over
the world.
I gathered names, addresses and contact details, product information, details
of sales contracts – a vast wealth of information – for several hundred potential
business partners and competitors as well as for specialised press contacts and
trade fair organisers. This all stacked up very neatly and gave me an excellent
insight to the market.
A decade or two later the amount of useful competition information on the web
has increased exponentially.
The key to successful research on the web is understanding how search engines
and directories work. It is worth spending 20 minutes looking at the advanced
options on your favourite search site – click on advanced search, search tips, etc.
to see how quotation marks or a plus sign might enhance your query. Then do a
bit of lateral thinking while you are punching in key words, and look particularly for
results which take you to specialist sites where an enthusiast has generously listed
further links to the topic of interest.
Do not forget to scan blogs and networking sites. These can also give fascinating
insight to your markets and competitors. You might find details about, say, product
development or working practices in blogs or on Twitter. Take a look at Facebook or
Google+ to see what people are saying. You can find out about the people working
for your competitors if they have thoughtfully posted their career history on
LinkedIn or a job search website. And, of course, watch what your own employees
are saying (you may want to establish policies about what your own people can and
cannot state online).
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