Automation and big data are set to have major impacts within organizations in 2018. How so, you may be wondering. Two words: market intelligence.

The term “Market Intelligence,” refers to data collected on the consumer market. This data encapsulates how, why, and when people spend their money.

Naturally, this big data is an invaluable asset to major corporations. Similarly, the harvesting of this data also helps to ensure that consumers are catered to in a way that is most in line with their own habits and wishes.

Today we will be taking a close look at the benefits of market intelligence in terms of concentrated marketing, market penetration, and strategy. We will also examine how automation and big data will work to improve market intelligence in 2018.

Expand Market Intelligence

Automation is set to simplify and expand the capacity to which market intelligence is harvested. While data collection can require a lot of work when you do it in house, and a lot of money when you do it with the help of a professional, automation programs and sites go a long way towards connecting you quickly and efficiently with important information that you would not have otherwise gotten.

This data can be relatively simple, such as a tracking site like Google Analytics that gives you a quick look at the important components of your web presence. Through this site you can learn what content you put out gets looked at, who is looking at it, and even how much time they spend engaged with it.

This sort of data is invaluable when it comes to learning about the efficiency of your efforts and expanding value. Fore example, studies have shown that within the healthcare industry alone, effective use of big data would result in an increased value of $300 billion. Big data and automation also provides the benefit of delivering real time feedback at a relatively affordable rate.

These automated software programs and websites give companies the opportunity to receive a more expansive look at the Market Intelligence that they are interested in.

For more information on how automation is poised to expand market intelligence, click here.

Competitor Research

Market intelligence can also help you understand the business structure of your competitors. This can range from anything from information on the effectiveness of their advertising, to their appeal with a variety of different demographics.

No matter how you plan to use competitor research, your efforts in obtaining it are inevitably going to be improved by big data.

Of course, this information must be obtained in a legal manner, but even without shady practices, a lot can be learned about a competitor by studying big data.

In the case of competitor research, you will most likely use the big data primarily to focus on two things 1.) The customers of your competitors. Through online research and other methods of data collection, you can find out who (meaning age, gender, economic class etc.) shops with your competitor, and why. You can also find out how they feel about their experiences shopping with your competitor.

2.) You can also use this data to learn about your competitor’s products. Learning how their products differ from yours is a keen insight on why some people choose to shop elsewhere.

Surveys, social media, and online forums are all great ways of ethically collecting competitor data.

Understanding Patients and Customers:

One of the most obvious benefits of market intelligence is that it helps you to understand your patients and customers. This is good from a business standpoint, as it keeps you aware of who you are catering to, but it is also beneficial to the consumer, or, in the case of the healthcare industry, the patient.

In the case of hospitals, big data collection systems such as electronic health records (EHRs) have gone a long way towards ensuring that patients are better taken care of, especially in emergency situations. These records contain information about patient’s health history and have served to reduce the risk of errors in blood transfusions and other standard procedures.

These technologies and practices are currently on the rise and should continue to improve patient care.

Improves Market Forecasts:

Big data, particularly the easy collection of big data, also has a big impact on the state of market forecasts. Market forecasts are, of course, a prediction of numbers that are to come.

Since automation and big data supply businesses with more information than ever before, it also helps to ensure that their market forecasts are more accurate.

Improved Product Intelligence

Finally, big data and automation also help to improve product intelligence. It’s a pretty simple equation really: given how quick and comprehensive information is now in the age of automation and big data, companies are now given the opportunity to learn more than ever before about what people do and do not like about their products.

The result is greatly improved product intelligence that should have a significant impact on how companies are able to improve their product marketing and development.

For more information on how big data improves market intelligence click here.