It all starts with Strategy. It may seem obvious to point this out, but for customers that are successfully using QL2 to provide competitive intelligence data, how they use QL2 is a direct implementation of their business strategy. They have successfully taken their business strategy and have created a search and analysis methodology that allows them to utilize the information we provide to execute their business strategy.
As I work with customers, I’m regularly asking questions like “What are you trying to do?”, “What keeps you up at night?”, “What is crucial to your business’s profitability?”, and “What is causing you problems?”. Everything that our customers share with us is considered highly confidential and is only used for the benefit of that customer. Customers can be hesitant to share that information, but the more open you can be, the better we are able to help you.
The next key to success is making sure that there is a plan on how your company is going to evaluate the information from QL2 and act on it. It may seem obvious, but if you don’t have a plan on what you are going to do with the information once you receive it, then you are just wasting money. Questions our customers have answered in advance of deploying QL2 are – “Where is the data going?”, “What needs to be included in the data and how should it be formatted?”, “Who is going to be using the data and how often?”, “What systems and tools do we need to have in place for the data?” “How is senior leadership going to have visibility to the data?” and “What decisions are going to be made with the competitive data collected?”
Next, customers decide what to search for, where to search for it, and on what frequency. I encourage customers to follow the money when answering these questions. By either focusing on the markets that are the biggest contributors to their bottom line, or the markets where they feel as though they are not being as competitive as they should be, QL2 helps customers maximize their ROI by driving value in the right places. Often these are the markets that frequently come up in senior leadership discussions. Information from QL2 can supply you with the information you need to make changes to be more competitive.
Finally, once all the questions above have been answered and a plan is In place, it is essential that you be open to change. Ultra-competitive environments like travel and retail require the ability to adapt and to change what type and how competitive data is used in the face of changing market conditions. QL2 customers who are most successful in getting the most out of our data anticipate making changes and re-assessing.
The QL2 team has extensive experience working with our customers to help guide you through these questions and implement a solution for you.
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For the best competitive data software products to maximize your ROI, contact QL2. View our case studies to see real-world examples of our services. Book a demo today.
Written by: Ben Greenwald, Sales Executive