Marketing is one of the most crucial parts of any business, which helps it to grow and expand steadily. Goal-setting and decision-making are the two components that allow a company to create an efficient marketing strategy. These two components can be implemented with the assistance of extensive data research.
In modern times, a huge amount of data and insights are required for creating an effective marketing plan. This can be easily collected with the help of modern technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). The data used for marketing by a company is also known as marketing intelligence.
Marketing professionals can upscale their career trajectories by learning more about marketing intelligence from any online digital marketing course. This article will guide you through the various marketing intelligence and strategies.
Let’s dive in to learn in detail!
What is Marketing Intelligence?
Marketing intelligence is the data that a company uses to create an efficient marketing strategy. This data consists of the company’s previous information and statistics on their marketing section. After collecting this data, a company can easily create market opportunities, market trends, competitors' intentions, and consumer behaviour.
The data collected for marketing purposes by the company may consist of various information like:
- Market trends, as well as economic indicators, include both global and national markets.
- Information about competitors is also included in this data. This information comprises the competitor’s activities, investments, funds, positive aspects, flaws, etc.
- Apart from these, information on existing customers and targeted consumers is also included in the marketing data.
Various Models of Marketing Intelligence
Various companies use varied models of marketing intelligence specific to their goals. These models have their specific focus points. A few of those models have been discussed below:
Customer Intelligence
One of the most widely used marketing intelligence models is customer intelligence. Customers are the main component of marketing. They are targeted to sell products and earn more revenue.
Therefore, companies scrutinise consumers' habits, preferences, purchases, and behaviour while creating an impactful marketing strategy. Hence, customer intelligence allows a company to generate more revenue by simply targeting the correct group of customers.
Competitor Intelligence
To win and beat the high competition in the business sector, companies often opt for competitor intelligence. This is another mode of marketing intelligence that companies use to ace the strong market contention. In this kind of marketing intelligence, AI tools research and collect data about the various competitor products and their prices in the market.
There are instances when a company publicly shares their market shares and plans through online or offline platforms like an interview or magazine. This helps to add more data and enhance the quality of the marketing plan.
Market Research Intelligence
The next model is market research intelligence. In this case, the companies focus on their market and consumers. Therefore, it collects data about its customers' previous purchases and activities.
Apart from these, a company also extract other information about its consumers like their earnings, age, location, preferences, etc. All this data assists a company in making a successful marketing plan to directly reach its targeted audiences.
Product Intelligence
The last model of marketing intelligence is product intelligence. In this model, various data related to the products are collected. This data consists of the prices, types, characteristics, etc.
Product intelligence mainly works through public polls and surveys. This allows a company to comprehend better the requirements of their current as well as targeted consumers.
Advantages of Marketing Intelligence
Marketing intelligence is famous among various companies from different sectors because of its advantages. Here are a few advantages of marketing intelligence:
- Marketing intelligence collects all the previous data and insights of a business, which automatically boosts future marketing strategies.
- It also guides a company so that they do not repeat any past mistakes. This allows a company to improve itself and set a high competition.
- Unlike the old traditional methods, the marketing intelligence method allows the company to create a market strategy with real-time data.
- Companies that use marketing intelligence have better knowledge about the market and possess more advantages over the non-users. Companies using it are also aware of their competitor's weaknesses and strengths.
- Marketing intelligence also protects companies from various marketing threats, which secures their market position. Therefore, these companies can prevent heavy losses.
How to Analyse Customer’s Behaviour While Creating a Marketing Strategy?
Analysing customers’ behaviour is extremely important while building an efficient marketing strategy. This allows a company to understand what their consumers are looking for and what they exactly want.
Every customer leaves behind a unique pattern from their previous shopping histories. If a company can trace this pattern, then it can accurately predict the future and can design campaigns as well as strategies accordingly.
Hence, a company needs to analyse its existing customer’s behaviour so that they can have maximum profit. This not only allows a company to grow by increasing its reach among new customers but also allows it to hold on to its loyal customers for a longer period.
There is certain detailed information that a company needs to collect so that it can extract the analysis of its customer’s behaviour. Given below is the data companies must collect:
Collecting the Personal Details of the Customers
The personal details of every customer are essential for marketing purposes. This allows a company to reach its target audience for a particular product type. These details help enhance customer satisfaction and retain customers for a longer period.
Here are certain details that a company would require to make an efficient marketing strategy:
- Personal Details: This includes everything from sex, age, income, education, and family background to geographic location, hobbies, interests, etc.
- Professional Details: This information includes where a customer is working and the size of the company. It also includes the sector in which the company is categorised.
- Beliefs: This includes personal as well as professional aims, goals, values, etc.
- Challenges: This point includes all the personal problems, pain points, and needs of a customer.
- Past Purchase Details: A company should have the past purchase details of every customer so that they can create a customised product list for them in future.
- Barriers: This includes the barriers that can influence the choices of a customer.
Collecting the Customer’s Qualitative and Quantitative Data
A company needs to collect all the qualitative and qualitative details of their customers so that their behaviour patterns can be identified and products can be suggested accordingly. Quantitative data of a customer comprises social media interaction, history of previous purchases, frequently visited websites, etc.
On the other hand, qualitative data of a customer will include various customer surveys, feedback, customer executive conversations, etc.
Deciphering Customer Behaviours and Approaches
Apart from these details, there are several customer behaviours as well as behavioural approaches which help a company identify its customer’s needs. These behaviour approaches have been discussed below:
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Humanistic Approach
In this theory, the consumers are treated as one single individual, and they have their reason for making any kind of decision. These decisions will generally be self-centric and, hence, will be reflected in their purchases.
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Cognitive Approach
In the cognitive approach, it is believed that a customer acts according to a particular mental process that will eventually reflect on their purchases. Therefore, a company has to recognise its customers' needs by tracing their searches and suggesting products that can fulfil those needs. The company also has to make sure that its customer is satisfied with the purchase.
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Economic Man Approach
This theory states customers always choose the lowest-priced products to meet their needs. Therefore, a company needs to set the price of its products reasonably so that customers can easily buy them.
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Behaviourist Approach
The behaviourist approach states that a customer always shops according to their experience so that they do not repeat their past mistakes. Therefore, creating a positive experience is extremely important for a company to boost its current as well as future products.
After learning about the various behaviour approaches, it is time to delve into the various behaviours a customer can portray while purchasing a product. This will help a company learn more about their consumers, which it can then incorporate into the marketing strategy. Here are some behaviours which a customer can display:
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Extended Decision-Making Behaviour
In this behaviour, a customer does extensive research by asking their friends and family, comparing the product's price on other sites, reading online reviews, etc.
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Variety-Seeking Behaviour
There are various products of similar kinds that are available in the market. Many customers prefer to compare those products with each other before buying. This comparison may be made based on product quality and price.
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Limited Decision-Making Behaviour
In this behaviour, a customer buys the product because of its availability. This means no other site has the same kind of product that the customer needs. Therefore, it indicates the product is not widely available, making it more alluring.
How to Study Markets While Making an Efficient Marketing Plan
An efficient marketing strategy requires extensive market study. Researching or studying a market involves the customers, competitors, industries and industrial trends. To build a profitable business, a company should consult mark study. It allows a company to understand the economic influence and whether it can grow in a particular market or not.
Market research or study assists a company in inventing new ideas for their upcoming products. The result of a market study also helps a company commence a new business armed with an effective marketing plan. Here are the steps following which a company can easily conduct market research or study:
Step 1: Stick to One Definite Research Objective
Finding a particular objective from market study or research should be the main objective of a company. Therefore, a company needs to figure out the elements it is trying to obtain and can finally focus on them. The market study also allows a company to know more about the market as well as the customers.
Suppose a company is planning to launch a new product in the market. Then, the main objective of a market study would be to identify the demand for the product, the rate of success or acceptance from the customers, and how much the customers are willing to pay for that product.
Step 2: Identify a Few Research Questions
After identifying the main research objective, the company must figure out a few research questions. These questions should be related to the market, consumers, and competitors.
Step 3: Gathering Data
After conducting market research, a company usually collects two types of data. One is the quantitative data, and the other is the qualitative data. Quantitative data involves a huge mass response through various questionnaires and polls that help determine the conclusion.
Qualitative information is more about research and gathering in-depth information. It has very little customer interaction.
Step 4: Construe the Research
In this step, a company has to find the end answer by deeply interpreting all the information it has collected from the market study. Then, the company needs to organise this information in tabular, statistical or bullet format. This is one of the most important steps because it allows a company to finally comprehend its strengths, weaknesses, threats, as well as opportunities.
Step 5: Final Decision
The final decision is the last step after selecting a main objective and collecting data. All the findings from the market study are reviewed and aligned in this step so that the management can arrive at a suitable decision regarding the product, whether it is ready to be launched or needs further improvement.
Various Marketing Strategies
A company can use a combination of different marketing strategies after gathering all the data with the assistance of marketing intelligence. Some marketing strategies have been discussed below:
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is one of the most sought-after marketing strategies in recent times. This strategy is economical and has a high reach among consumers. Companies seeking to expand their reach to a larger customer base can opt for this rapidly growing marketing strategy.
According to this strategy, marketers generally use websites, email newsletters, SEO content, paid advertisements, paid partnerships, etc, to promote and market their products and services.
Print Marketing
Print marketing is one of the traditional marketing strategies. In this strategy, a company promotes itself by advertising in newspapers, magazines, journals, pamphlets, etc. In print marketing, the evidence about the products is directly shared with consumers through physical shreds of evidence.
Even in the digital age, print marketing has held a strong position in the marketing sector. This is because it connects to those customers who are not accustomed to using modern-age devices and technologies like smartphones, online shopping, etc. Therefore, we can still witness people distributing pamphlets about exclusive deals, discounts and newly launched products of a brand as a part of print marketing.
Affiliate Marketing
One of the modern-day marketing strategies is the affiliate marketing strategy. In this method, a company collaborates with an individual with a vast audience base, such as celebrities, content creators, sports personalities, etc. These brands then ask these famous personalities to advertise their products in exchange for a commission from every single purchase.
This marketing strategy is very popular, especially among the young generations. As they can earn money via various social media platforms. The affiliated partner creates and posts promotional content online on their social media pages so that their audience can be influenced and purchase the brand's product.
Influencer Marketing
The most new-age marketing strategy, this has turned out to be very profitable for various companies. In this method, a company approaches influencers on various social media platforms who have a huge following so that they can promote their products and services.
Social media influencers include public figures, politicians, movie celebrities, sports personalities, content creators, and bloggers. People tend to follow these people and their lifestyles. Hence, companies can easily use their huge following base to promote their newly launched product or any service in exchange for a sum of money.
Conclusion
In today’s competitive world, knowledge about marketing intelligence is a prerequisite to establishing a successful career in the marketing world. Aspiring marketers can easily acquire this knowledge and upgrade their position by enrolling themselves in courses for marketing professionals.
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