Market Intelligence
Build a repeatable research loop for customer, competitor, category, and channel signals.
Key takeaways
- Market intelligence is the input system that stops the team from confusing internal opinion with market reality.
- The signal map covers customer language, competitor moves, category narratives, channel behavior, and sales feedback, each with a marketing use.
- The research loop starts from the decision it must support, collects dated sources with confidence levels, extracts repeated language, and converts findings into testable hypotheses.
- The intelligence board records signal, source, confidence, implication, and the test that will validate it.
- Quality checks warn against treating one loud customer as the market, confusing stated preference with buying behavior, or letting old signals look current.
Market intelligence is the input system for brand decisions. It prevents the team from confusing internal opinion with market reality.
Signal Map
| Signal | Source examples | Marketing use |
|---|---|---|
| Customer language | Calls, tickets, reviews, surveys | Copy, objections, persona pain |
| Competitor moves | Websites, pricing, ads, content, launches | Differentiation and positioning |
| Category narratives | Analyst notes, communities, search demand | Category entry point |
| Channel behavior | Search terms, social conversations, referral paths | Distribution planning |
| Sales feedback | Lost reasons, objections, champion comments | Proof and enablement |
Research Loop
- Define the decision that research must support.
- Collect sources with date, owner, and confidence level.
- Extract repeated language, tensions, and unmet needs.
- Convert findings into hypotheses for message, channel, or offer.
- Test the hypothesis in content, sales, search, or ads.
- Archive what changed in the brand context pack.
Intelligence Board
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Signal | Raw observation or quote summary |
| Source | Where it came from |
| Confidence | Strong, medium, or weak |
| Implication | What should change |
| Test | Campaign, page, post, or sales script to validate it |
Quality Checks
- Do not treat one loud customer as a whole market.
- Separate stated preference from actual buying behavior.
- Keep competitor analysis focused on customer choice, not feature copying.
- Attach source dates so old signals do not look current forever.