What are the most common mistakes when creating a market intelligence report for your executive team?

In my last job, building dashboards for market intelligence was very confusing because the area managers didn't clearly know what they wanted to observe. I often tried to interview them to understand the scope of being able to build a dashboard that generated value for the business and when this dashboard was almost complete they told me that it wasn't quite that, that they would need to review the concept and that they were also unsure of the source. One point that I consider fundamental for building any dashboard is spending the time necessary to ensure that all indicators are clear and that all sources have been validated. This way, time is saved on rework.

Think of it like planning a road trip. Where are you headed? What's the destination? Similarly, before crunching numbers, figure out your report's purpose Establish the key questions to be addressed, identify the target audience, and find their needs and expectations. This clarity prevents the report from becoming overly broad or irrelevant.

Not defining your scope and purpose. Prior to delving into data collection, outline your market intelligence report's objectives. Identify the key questions to address, pinpoint your target audience, and align with their needs. Establish clear metrics for measuring impact. A well-defined scope ensures your report is precise, relevant, and directly addresses the concerns of your executive team.

Relying on outdated or unreliable sources poses a significant risk to the integrity of your market intelligence report. Opt for credible, relevant, and timely sources to ensure the accuracy of information. Steer clear of unverified or biased data that could compromise your conclusions. Employ a diverse range of sources, including industry reports, surveys, interviews, and social media analytics, to cross-verify and validate your findings for robust executive decision-making.

When sharing data reports with the senior leadership team, I expect every graph or chart clearly summarize what it shows. It's never a graph on a slide, for example. It's always a graph, a source and a summary of what it tell us. And make sure what you share is relevant, otherwise the discussion will never go where you hoped it'll go.

It's vital to make sure that you don't get too "in the weeds" when creating a report for your executive team. Understand and relay the objective of the report at the outset then keep the information high level, ensuring you cover what they want to know. Focus on sharing insights that are directly relevant to the objective of the report and the decision-making that may follow.

One common pitfall is overloading your report with excessive data and jargon, potentially overwhelming your executive team. Prioritize relevant information aligned with your objectives. Visualize complex data using charts and graphs for clarity. Eliminate technical jargon and acronyms to ensure accessibility. Communicate insights in clear, concise language to foster understanding and engagement.

Beyond raw data, ensuring your market intelligence report resonates with the executive team involves delivering insightful context and analysis. Clarify the significance of data, its relevance to business goals, and its alignment with challenges. Compare data against industry benchmarks, historical trends, and competitors. Illuminate key opportunities, threats, and gaps for a comprehensive understanding and actionable insights.

Avoid the common pitfall of creating a market intelligence report in isolation. Ensure seamless alignment with your overarching B2B marketing strategy. Connect the dots between the report and marketing objectives, KPIs, and ongoing initiatives. Provide actionable recommendations that directly address the executive team's challenges and goals. Demonstrate how the insights gleaned will contribute to enhanced performance and business growth.

Whoa, slow down...you're losing me!! One of the biggest mistakes of any market intelligence report is a lack of clarity on objectives and overwhelming information. Without a clear understanding of what you want to achieve, it becomes difficult to gather relevant data and provide actionable insights. Take the time to clearly define your goals and align them with your executive team's needs. Also, presenting too much information in a market intelligence report can be overwhelming for your executive team. It is crucial to focus on providing concise and meaningful insights that are directly relevant to their decision-making process.

Remember, your audience does not know what you know. If you worked on the report - you spent a lot of time analysing, reviewing, clarifying. Your audience did not - make sure you don't lose them or confuse them!