Strategic & Market Intelligence
How we run a market intelligence assignment
A method that is deliberately explicit: you should know, before starting, what will be observed, where the information comes from, what will be delivered and what the exercise cannot establish.
Market intelligence fails for predictable reasons: a scope that was never written down, sources chosen out of habit, findings delivered without qualification, and a set-up nobody revises once the first enthusiasm passes. Our method is organised to close each of those gaps.
The seven steps below apply to every assignment, from a single mapping to a continuous watch on a sector. Their depth varies with the subject, but the sequence does not: understanding, framing, selecting, collecting, analysing, delivering, adjusting. Skipping a step is what produces a deliverable nobody can use.
Seven steps
The first two steps carry most of the value. A badly framed subject produces a large deliverable that nobody uses; a well framed one produces a short deliverable that changes a decision.
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Understanding the need
We begin with the decision behind the request: an entry into a territory, a channel arbitration, a partner choice, a response to a competitor, an allocation of commercial effort.
- We identify who will read the deliverable and what they are expected to decide with it.
- We distinguish what is genuinely useful from what would only be interesting to know.
- We check whether the question can be answered with observable information, and say so if it cannot.
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Defining the scope
The subject is written down: segments, territories, company profiles, thresholds, time horizon, and everything that is deliberately excluded from the assignment.
- Inclusion and exclusion criteria are formulated precisely enough to be applied consistently.
- The perimeter states which languages and which territories are covered, and which are not.
- Nothing starts before this written scope has been validated by you.
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Selecting sources
Sources are chosen for the subject: corporate registries, procurement portals, sector publications, financial and institutional publications, professional bodies and specialised press.
- Each source family is assessed for coverage, update frequency and reliability on this particular subject.
- Sources that add volume without adding evidence are deliberately left out.
- The selection is reviewed during the assignment, because a source that was rich can become silent.
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Collecting and qualifying
Collection is continuous or campaign based depending on the assignment. Every finding is then filtered against the criteria agreed in the scope.
- Duplicates, dormant entities and entries outside the perimeter are removed before analysis.
- Key facts are cross-checked against a second source whenever a second source exists.
- What could not be verified is kept apart and labelled as such rather than silently dropped.
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Human analysis supported by digital tools
Tools accelerate collection, deduplication and monitoring. The reading of what the findings mean for your decision is done by an analyst.
- Weak signals are weighted in context: an isolated filing means little, a filing plus a recruitment pattern means more.
- Automated processing is used where it is reliable and checked where it is not.
- Interpretation is separated from fact, so you can see where analysis begins.
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Producing alerts, syntheses or reports
The deliverable is shaped for its readers: an alert for an urgent movement, a bulletin for a routine review, a report for a committee.
- Each element is dated and attributed to the source it came from.
- What calls for a decision is placed before what is merely context.
- Uncertainty is stated in the deliverable, not discovered later by the reader.
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Adjusting the set-up
After the first deliveries we review together what was useful and what was noise, then tighten the criteria, the sources or the rhythm.
- Criteria that produced irrelevant volume are narrowed or removed.
- Subjects that emerged during the assignment can be added to the perimeter.
- The rhythm is realigned on your decision calendar whenever that calendar changes.
Ten delivery formats
The format is a choice, not a default. A committee, a sales team and a founder do not read the same document, and the same findings can be delivered in several of these forms.
Immediate alert
Sent as soon as a movement is detected that cannot wait: a notice with a short deadline, an acquisition, a new entrant in your territory, a regulatory decision.
Daily summary
A short daily digest for fast-moving subjects, listing what appeared in the last twenty-four hours and what, if anything, deserves attention today.
Weekly bulletin
The most common rhythm for a sector watch: findings grouped by theme, with movements first, context second, and a short reading of what the week suggests.
Monthly report
A consolidated view over a month, suited to steering committees: trends confirmed, signals that faded, new players, and the points to keep under observation.
One-off study
A dated answer to a delimited question, with the method, the sources and the reasoning set out so the conclusion can be discussed rather than merely accepted.
Benchmark
A structured comparison of players, offers, channels or positioning, built on criteria agreed in advance so that every subject is read on the same grid.
Mapping
A representation of a market: who is present, in which segments, with what apparent weight, and how the players relate to each other commercially or capitalistically.
Tracking table
A structured file of accounts, partners, notices or operations, with the fields your teams use daily, updated at the rhythm agreed in the scope.
Custom research
A targeted search on a specific point: a company structure, a distribution chain, an eligibility rule, a procurement history, a single unresolved question.
Strategic support
Regular working sessions in which findings are discussed with your teams, hypotheses are tested and the next phase of the watch is defined together.
What we define together
Five parameters determine what an assignment costs in effort and what it can realistically produce. They are set at the start and revisited whenever the subject moves.
- Frequency
- One-off, daily, weekly, monthly or continuous. The right frequency is the one that matches how often you actually take decisions on the subject.
- Languages
- Working languages are English and French. Sources in other languages can be monitored and summarised when the territories concerned require it.
- Sources
- Which registries, portals, publications and professional sources are in scope, which are excluded, and how each one is weighted when findings conflict.
- Geographical areas
- The territories under observation, stated explicitly, including those where coverage is known to be thinner so that no reader assumes the picture is complete.
- Delivery channel
- How deliverables reach you and who receives them: a named recipient list, a secure transmission mode and a retention rule for working material.
Quality principles
- Every fact reported is dated and attributed to the source it came from.
- Analysis is presented separately from fact, so the reader can weigh it.
- What could not be verified is labelled as unverified rather than smoothed over.
- Gaps in coverage are named in the deliverable, including when they are inconvenient.
- No conclusion is stretched beyond what the collected material actually supports.
Questions about our method
How long does it take before the first deliverable?
It depends on the perimeter and the depth of verification agreed. A focused mapping or a target list on one territory is quick to produce; a multi-country study with partner verification takes longer. We give a realistic timeframe when we propose the scope, and we tell you if a deadline is not compatible with serious work.
Do you use artificial intelligence in your assignments?
We use digital tools, including automated processing, for collection, deduplication, translation and monitoring at volume. Interpretation stays human. An automated pipeline cannot judge whether a filing matters for your particular decision, and it will confidently reproduce an error that a reader would have caught.
Can we change the scope once the assignment has started?
Yes, and most continuous assignments do. Markets move, priorities shift and the first deliveries usually reveal that one criterion was too broad and another too narrow. Changes are written down like the original scope, so that everyone knows what is being observed at any point.
What happens if the findings do not support our hypothesis?
You are told plainly. A study that concludes a territory is saturated, a channel is uneconomic or a partner profile does not exist in a given market is a useful result. We do not shape findings to confirm an expected answer, and a negative conclusion often saves more than a positive one.
Tell us what you need to monitor
Describe your subject, your markets and your decision timeline. We study every request individually before proposing a monitoring set-up.
Every request is reviewed confidentially. No commitment is required to discuss a scope of work.