An example of market intelligence is not a report. It is a decision that changed because someone read the market first.
Can you give me an example of market intelligence?
Yes. A category team sees orientation for a need growing, checks it against research, and changes its launch plan. The signal alone is not the example. The changed decision is.
Orientation moments are moments when people look into products, needs and brands, explore alternatives and prepare choices. They are aggregated signals, not purchases. Market Intelligence is an application of Demand Intelligence, the wider understanding of how demand develops.
Every scenario by team below is illustrative. Each describes a type of decision, not the result of any company. We leave out outcomes on purpose, because they depend on the case. The one real example has its own section and source.
Each scenario follows the same four parts: a signal, a check, a decision and an owner. If one part is missing, you have information rather than intelligence.
Kohli and Jaworski set out three elements of market orientation in 1990. Organisations generate intelligence, spread it across departments, and respond to it.
Their point fits these examples. Unless an organisation responds to market needs, they write, "very little is accomplished".
How do strategy teams use market intelligence?
Strategy teams use it to choose where to compete. The decisions are usually large, slow to reverse and made a few times a year.
- Market entry. Signal: orientation for a category grows in two neighbouring countries. Check: distribution, regulation and local rivals. Decision: which country to enter first.
- Portfolio. Signal: one segment carries the category's growth while the others stall. Check: margin and capability in that segment. Decision: where to shift investment.
- Acquisition. Signal: demand for a small brand grows faster than its category. Check: repeat purchase and reviews. Decision: whether to approach it, or build an alternative.
In each case the question is direction, not a precise number. A plan can survive an imprecise size. It struggles when the market is heading the other way.
A market size says how big a category was. Direction says which part is still moving. A large market in decline calls for a different plan.
The TAM guide shows how to build the number and test it against observed demand.
How do marketing teams use market intelligence?
Marketing teams use it to decide where budget and message should go next. These decisions recur often, so the signal needs a regular rhythm.
- Budget timing. Signal: orientation in a seasonal category starts earlier than last year. Check: the same pattern in prior seasons. Decision: when to start spending.
- Message. Signal: people describe a need in words your campaign does not use. Check: a quick qualitative test. Decision: which language to brief.
- Brand position. Signal: a rival's share of search rises for several months. Check: price and distribution changes. Decision: whether to respond, and where.
Share of search is a common entry point, because it is public and cheap to read. It gives a marketing team one rival comparison before any paid tool is involved.
Les Binet found that share of search correlated with market share in cars, energy and mobile handsets. It tended to lead market share, by up to a year for cars.
The IPA adds that it is not a perfect predictor, because price and other factors affect conversion. Test the lead in your own category first.
How do product and category teams use market intelligence?
Product and category teams use it to decide what to develop, list or drop. Their questions move down through five levels: Market, Category, Type, Specification and Attribute.
| Level | Illustrative example | Question for the team |
|---|---|---|
| Market | Small kitchen appliances, Netherlands | Is this market growing in orientation? |
| Category | Air fryers | Which category carries that movement? |
| Type | Double air fryer | Which type gains ground within it? |
| Specification | 8 litre capacity | Which size should the range cover? |
| Attribute | Dishwasher safe | Which feature belongs in the brief? |
This table is illustrative, and it is not a market finding. It shows how one question narrows into a product decision.
Orientation. Orientation moments for the double type rise over several months. That is measured interest, not a sale.
Forecast. A demand forecast suggests how this type may develop over the next 12 months. Such forecasts apply at category, type and specification level.
Realised sales. Your own sell-through shows what actually sold. The forecast does not predict it per SKU, so compare the two later.
- New product development. Signal: an attribute gains orientation across a category. Check: consumer research on why. Decision: whether to add it to the roadmap.
- Range review. Signal: one type fades while its neighbour grows. Check: your own sell-through. Decision: which lines to keep for the next range.
- Retail conversations. Signal: a segment grows faster than the retailer's shelf share suggests. Check: retailer data. Decision: which case to make in category management talks.
Demand shows that something moves. It rarely says why. Consumer insights work fills that gap, which is why every scenario here has a check.
How do operations teams use market intelligence?
Operations teams use it as an early check on plans built from sales history. A demand forecast based on history assumes the future resembles the past, and an outside signal tests that assumption.
- Seasonal capacity. Signal: orientation builds earlier than usual. Check: order patterns from early markets. Decision: when to bring capacity forward.
- Supplier commitments. Signal: orientation for a material or format slows. Check: forecast versus actuals. Decision: how long a contract to sign.
- Forecast review. Signal: the market turns while your history still points up. Check: the error of recent forecasts. Decision: whether to override the baseline.
Treat the signal as a test first. Add it to your forecast process, compare it with your current benchmark, and keep it only if it helps.
Choi and Varian showed that search data can improve estimates of car sales, home sales, retail sales and travel.
They framed this as predicting the present. They do not claim that search predicts the future. Any longer lead needs its own evidence.
Trendata offers demand forecasts up to 12 months ahead, at category, type and specification level. They describe expected demand, not exact sales or stock per SKU.
Is there a real company example of market intelligence?
Yes: Digiday reported in 2019 how Unilever came to Ben & Jerry's cereal flavours. Unilever found around 50 songs with lyrics about ice cream and breakfast. Category research showed that businesses like Dunkin' Donuts already served ice cream for breakfast.
An AI algorithm combined those data sets and pointed to an opening for sweet treats in the morning. Ben & Jerry's launched cereal flavours including Fruit Loot and Frozen Flakes in 2017.
Read it with care. Digiday gives no sales figures. Unilever's head of insights says rivals have since done the same, and the article offers no further evidence for that.
Research Live reported in 2020 that Unilever's People Data Centres ran in 30 locations and 27 languages, with 250 people. These figures come from a Unilever talk.
A practitioner article carries an author's account of a Fortune 500 technology company. Three staff had spent 80% of their time on a quarterly market share report.
Later, one staff member and two interns produced 42 segmented reports a year. This is the author's own account, and the company is unnamed.
What do these examples have in common?
Each one ties an outside signal to a decision someone owns. The table sums up one illustrative scenario per team.
| Team | Signal | Check | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strategy | Orientation grows in a new country | Regulation and local rivals | Where to enter first |
| Marketing | Season starts earlier | Prior seasons | When to spend |
| Product and category | An attribute gains orientation | Consumer research | What to develop |
| Operations | Market turns before sales do | Recent forecast error | Whether to override the baseline |
If nobody would decide differently after reading it, it is not intelligence yet.
To start, pick one decision due this quarter and write down what would change your mind. Then find the signal. The market intelligence guide covers the setup, and this comparison separates it from neighbouring disciplines.
Frequently asked questions
Is a sales dashboard an example of market intelligence?
No. A sales dashboard shows your own results, which makes it business intelligence. It becomes part of market intelligence only when read against the wider market.
Is tracking a competitor's prices market intelligence?
It is competitive intelligence, which is the narrower part of market intelligence. It helps most alongside a view of demand and customers.
How do you gather market intelligence?
Combine published documents, orientation signals, customer research and your own results. Start from a decision, then choose the source that could change it.
Can a small company use market intelligence?
Yes. Public tools, reviews, retailer pages and rivals' sites already give useful signals. The discipline of linking a signal to a decision costs little.
Sources
- How artificial intelligence is influencing Unilever's marketing (Seb Joseph, Digiday, 8 Apr 2019)
- Unilever reveals the secret sauce driving innovation and growth (Catherine Turner, Research Live, 10 Mar 2020)
- Market Intelligence: Definition, Types, and Uses (Pragmatic Institute)
- Binet presents fast, cheap, predictive Share of Search metric (IPA, 2020)
- Predicting the Present with Google Trends (Choi and Varian, Google Research)
- Market Orientation: The Construct, Research Propositions, and Managerial Implications (Kohli and Jaworski, Journal of Marketing, 1990)