(Moving in the Big Data Direction for Vendors, Finally!)
“Vendors need an enriched level of market data granularity to move from strategic purchases of market/competitive data to tactical plays.”
But why do market intelligence problems remain for vendors, despite the plethora of technologies, data availability, and data science industry full of capable people with great solution mindsets?
In my opinion, fundamentally, there’s nothing wrong. The data is there, the resource is there, the need is there, it’s only the focus that’s been wrong.
Vendors are complex and their needs are complex. Is this any different from other players in the channel?
Probably not, but when it comes to market intelligence, and certainly competitive intelligence, the complex is the right word.
Their needs are manifest in the needs of distributors and resellers but it’s the competitive benchmarking needs that set them apart from the rest of the channel.
And therein lies the complexity.
Find market data providers to give you consumer spend expectations in the US, broken down by industries and sectors, and categories?
They exist.
Find market data providers to give you an online product pricing analysis and even link it to your data?
They exist too.
But ask market data providers to benchmark data and provide analysis vs your competitors?
Suddenly the conversation turns.
The simple fact is this – to benchmark any kind of performance or pricing between vendors means you step into a world of specialized complexity that requires product or industry knowledge, and almost always both.
The one-size-fits-all approach to market data provisioning worked in the past because expectations had not been raised. Vendors need global scale, without ad-hoc market gaps.
They now need data relayed to them fast. And they need it packaged in direct comparison to their competitors – at a product level if everyone wants to link ROI.
Oh, and you need a sufficient tool to deliver this intelligence through.
Market Intelligence Providers Should Be Big Data Companies
If you’re trying to provide intelligence designed for resellers or distributors, and sell this to vendors, good luck – we’re in 2020 and you’re a Big Data company, whether you’d describe yourself like that or not – the industry has defined the term for you.
What do I mean by this?
Well, up until recently, pricing intelligence providers counted most of their clients like resellers, not vendors, and this defined the extent of the intelligence provided.
Resellers don’t really need vendor-focused products or pricing intelligence because their competitors are other resellers NOT other vendors or brands.
The needs between channel layers differ, and when you look for data and intelligence at scale, those needs expose intelligence gaps.
What are those differences (vendors vs resellers)?
✓ Multi-country and Multi-region vs In-country
✓ Vendor benchmarking vs (re)seller benchmarking
✓ Sector/Category/Product hierarchies included vs provided
✓ Proactive data-wrangling vs passive provisioning
✓ High-end data-visualization vs API integration
What I’ve experienced in the development process with PriceMark is a move in expectations, especially in this last year. Previous to that, vendors felt the responsibility to purchase multiple datasets and tools from 3-5 providers and work on meshing them together themselves.
But with internal CI/MI teams developing their knowledge, they’ve become wiser, and their needs have intensified AND diversified – and if you’re going one-size-fits-all, diversification is a scary word.
But, although I could start to pitch PriceMark and say we solve problems beyond those of others for all the above reasons I’d be silly to do so, the vendor needs have become so great and diverse, it’s specialist support that’s required.
TPC Global & PriceMark
As for PriceMark and TPC Global? We work with global technology vendors providing channel analytics solutions and consulting support. Everything we do is data-led and in direct support of channel leaders and decision-makers.
Our PriceMark tool is designed for vendors and has a number of USPs including cross-competitor product matching and an extensive database collating 1.7 million pricing and performance details each day.
If you’d like to chat, you know where to find me.
Best wishes,
David Porter, CEO & Founder, TPC Global, May 19th, 2021