1. Steve Thomson, Principal Thomson & Associates www.thomsonconsulting.ca www.thomsonconsulting.ca 778-371-8963 Introduction to Affordable Tricks and Tools for Learning New Markets and Increasing Insight Market Intelligence

2. What is Market Intelligence? Business Intelligence Market Research Feeds: Strategy Tactics Operations Competitor Analysis Market Analysis

3. Benefits of Increased Transparency Markets Position company and products Competitors React faster Outflank competitors Key Accounts Deliver appropriate products Triage for better resource management

4. Share Intelligence Don’t Horde, Share! Information needs to be actioned to be valuable

5. Scope It! Focus your data collection Define ‘Actionable’ Requirements Avoid Analysis Paralysis Need to Have vs. Nice to Have

6. SWAG: Scientific Wild-Ass Guess Don’t Try to Get Too Accurate “If I’m 10%, 20% or 50% out, does it change my recommendation?” Triangulate Your Results Try to get to the same estimate from 2 or 3 directions.

7. The Five W’s and the 5 Why’s Why

8. Know Thyself First Information Sources Where is your company? directories, associations, conferences, partner sites Internal Resources Where have your people come from? competitors, clients, suppliers, academia Performance What metrics do you use? business model, delivery channels, key ratios

9. You’re Not the Only Company in Your Market Search Out Industry Resources Industry associations Conferences Standards bodies Market analysts and consultants

10. Industry Value Chain / Ecosystem TelcosRetailersConsumers You Technology Partners Distributors Integration Partners Standards Bodies/ Regulators Legacy System Suppliers Standards Bodies Device Manufacturer Operating Systems Enterprise Software Handset Software System Integrators Value ChainEcosystem

11. Key Account Profiles Easy to Share/Update Corporate Description Profile Contact info “Pain” Technology Profile Legacy systems Integration partners Competitive Profile Who What Why How

12. Organization Charts Who do you need to talk to? o Decision Maker o IT Influencer o ROI Influencer o Recommender What are their motivations? Alice Bob Charlie Doug Ernie Frank

13. Love Your Local Libraries Free Access to Premium Information Sources Hoover’s, Factiva, online trade journals Fee-for-Service Research Services Vancouver Public Library InfoAction

14. Talk to People 80% of the Information Sought Is Often at Hand Company Management Sales Team Investors Customers Partners Suppliers

15. Share with Others in the Same Boat Talk to Others Working with the Same Clients (Avoid direct competitors) How long do sales take? What is the process? Who are the gatekeepers and decision makers?

16. Google Is Your Friend… But Not Your Only Friend Learn Advanced Search Techniques Use at least 3 words Go beyond the first results page Try phone numbers, email addresses and given names Try Other Search Engines and Tools Bing, Zoominfo, LinkedIn, Jigsaw, Facebook

17. Favourite Tools www.zoominfo.com www.zoominfo.com Aggregates information on people and companies (on Internet) Export contact and profile information

18. Favourite Tools www.linkedin.com www.linkedin.com Leverage your network Ask questions of “experts” Find “hidden” resources Better understand your prospects The bigger your network, the more effective this tool becomes

19. Favourite Tools www.jigsaw.com www.jigsaw.com Business card exchange Find direct contacts and avoid the gatekeepers Use to update your CRM files

20. Favourite Tools www.pipl.com www.pipl.com Aggregates information on people Focuses on ‘Deep Web’

21. Favourite Tools www.monster.com www.monster.com Set up alert emails to monitor job postings in your industry

22. Think Big Fish, Small Pond Look Where Your Target Is a Big Fish Local newspapers Trade journals Associations

23. Follow the Money Where $$$ Changes Hands, So Does Information M&A and Financing Events Hirings and Layoffs Large Purchase s Customer purchase orders Real estate Patent Assignments

24. Enjoy Public Filings Rich source of information Management discussion and analysis Key announcements Key metrics View over time Sense of direction

25. Change Is Good People New management team or board members New partners and clients Positioning New language New products and product directions Structure M&A events, new plants and offices Corporate realignments Financials Gross margins, EBITDA, key ratios Funding Always look for changes; they suggest something is in play

26. Favourite Tools www.archive.org www.archive.org Understand where your client/competitor has come from Compare historical snapshots to establish trending Watch market positioning, language, products, staff turnover

27. Favourite Tools www.watchthatpage.com www.watchthatpage.com Track Changes on Target Pages Watch changes in company news,market positioning, language, products, staff turnover

28. Watch Trademarks and Patents Great Source for Early Warning Often outline intent long before it becomes reality

29. Favourite Tools www.freepatentsonline.com www.freepatentsonline.com Search your industry for recent patent filings Understand the people behind the technologies for strategic recruiting

30. Learn Porter’s Five Forces Threat of New Entrants Bargaining Power of Customers Substitute Products or Services Bargaining Power of Suppliers Jockeying For Position Among Competitors

31. When in Doubt, Hire a Professional Don’t Be Shy Manage your resources wisely Some work is better done by external experts

32. For More Information Steve Thomson Thomson & Associates www.thomsonconsulting.ca 778-371-8963