What do you do if your business is losing repeat customers but you can’t figure out why? Maybe you’re facing low customer satisfaction numbers but your in-house data can’t find a valid reason for it. Or maybe you want to introduce a new technology into an already crowded marketplace but you’re afraid of separating yourself from the competition.
Whatever your specific business concern, making hasty business decisions based on assumptions about the actual risks involved could lead to devastating consequences for your company.
So too could entering an entirely new market in a brand new country or region without the proper roadmap to help you navigate and prioritize any unforeseen market, political or economic risks that need to be managed.
Starbucks found this out the hard way in 2001 when they opened 6 stores in Israel. Just two years later, none of the stores remained. Starbucks mistakenly assumed its brand of coffee would fit into the existing coffee culture in the region, failing to conduct the proper business intelligence beforehand.
Thankfully, there is a better way for you to make informed decisions ahead of time that not only empowers you to control your business risks, but also provides opportunities to take advantage of new strategic opportunities.
But how do you gain accurate visibility to reveal any potential hazards for your business such as financial risks, supply chain issues, or customer dissatisfaction…
Without having intelligence sources in your country of business, or having the ability to synthesize hundreds of business intelligence reports into one coherent strategy?
Infortal’s business intelligence analysis uses Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) and “boots on the ground” sources to give you cutting-edge timely information that helps you avoid risks and costly mistakes when entering new markets and offering new products.
Mistakes like inadvertently using counterfeit products in your supply chain that can permanently damage your brand or reputation.
Or discovering too late that a board member of the new company you just acquired holds majority shares in the company of one of your competitors, creating a serious conflict of interest.
Infortal will examine and compile market research, organizational assessments, operational risks, country risks, and regulatory risk to provide up-close information from within the country you’re doing business in that also reveals hidden opportunities for increasing your market share and profitability.
How do you know for certain if a new product, ad campaign or market is going to be viable?
Fashion brand Balenciaga thought for certain their new edgy ad campaign featuring children holding teddy bears in bondage costumes would be a huge success.
What transpired instead was a massive public backlash against the offensive advertising imagery that may have permanently destroyed the brand forever.
Balenciaga’s failure was a failure of market intelligence. They failed to account for the real market risk, including public perception, such a campaign would generate.
Simple market research such as surveys, focus groups and demand research can prevent even much smaller mistakes when it comes to assessing consumer sentiment and whether a product will be in demand and well received.
Relying simply on demographic data is a common mistake that can sink even the best new products. That’s because it can never tell you anything about how people will actually think about your company.
The best brand research from Infortal consists of real-time data that changes based on customer sentiment, so you always know what risks to avoid as well as what areas you can thrive in by becoming first to market.
If you’re going to beat your competition, you must be able to collect business intelligence on your competitors effectively.
How are they handling market pressures and crises? Where are they focusing their budgets and marketing? Are they looking at entering a new market?
Having the right competitor intelligence allows your company to properly adapt, reduce your strategic risk and increase your revenue to ultimately win your marketplace.
The problem? Gathering intelligence on your competitors — and market intelligence for that matter — is incredibly time-consuming.
Not only that, but knowing the right data and demand research to track your competitors as well as how to turn that into strategies that actually move your business forward is a huge challenge. So too is thoroughly understanding how competition pressures work in a foreign market with different players and regulations.
Infortal can provide you with accurate due diligence investigations on your competition, including competitor SWOT analysis and organizational biographies to help you determine how your competitors are trying to grow in the future. That way you can better chart your path forward to better adapt and compete.
If your business deals in raw materials, chemical products, machinery or fuel and energy products, you have most likely faced serious business disruptions if your supply chain runs through Ukraine or Russia.
You could have mitigated a lot of that damage after the Russian invasion, however, if you had the right strategies in place that anticipated such a major event.
That’s just one example of many as to why ongoing business intelligence is necessary to stay on top of anything that could affect your ability to create your product or service and get it to your customers.
Everything that goes into making your product or service can potentially grind to a halt due to major supply-chain operational disruptions. And with supply-chains fractured due to the pandemic, you are at an even greater risk of falling victim to fraud or corruption.
By simply doing business with the wrong businesses within your supply chain, you could also find yourself on the wrong end of violations or sanctions.
So how can you possibly keep on top of it all?
How will you react if there’s a major energy policy shift in your country of business to renewable energy that dramatically increases your production and delivery costs? How can you prevent such an impact to your bottom line in the first place?
Or what happens if you accidentally violate economic sanctions because you failed to understand the logistics risks in your current import/export chain ahead of time?
Similarly, you need consistent due diligence investigations and regional intelligence information if you’re going to keep any labor issues separated from your operations in other countries and regions.
Infortal will conduct an initial review of your supply chain as well as monitor your supply chain on a regular basis to make sure you’re not exposed to any supply chain breakdowns. We’ll also assess any potential regulatory or reputational risks that arise so you can prepare well in advance.
A detailed report is provided with Executive Summary, conclusions, recommendations and complete attachments. Updates are provided: Two levels of Executive Due Diligence are available, depending on the number of components searched.
Multiple Key Executive checks may be priced at a discounted rate depending on the number of executives included, and whether international components are involved.
How do you know for certain if a new product, ad campaign or market is going to be viable?
If you’re going to beat your competition, you must be able to collect business intelligence on your competitors effectively.
If your business deals in raw materials, chemical products, machinery or fuel and energy products, you have most likely faced serious business disruptions if your supply chain runs through Ukraine or Russia.
