<p>Stronger the marketing intelligence, more effective will be the business strategy and efficacy of a marketing strategy is proportional to success of the product in the market. Accuracy and amount of information determines the effect of decision making, which in return determines market prospects of the product. To roll out a product in the market, an enterprise has to ensure its success and evaluate the best possible RoIe. The idea is followed by careful development of business strategies comprising of methodologies to acquire the market through innovative marketing ideas. To devise such strategic marketing ideas, the enterprise would have to rely on accurate market information and data. Herein emerges the prospects of Marketing Intelligence as one of the most important facets of business.<br><br>Marketing intelligence has moved beyond the paradigms of physical market surveys and analysis. Internet being the mainstream has become the prime source of new market data and information. This transition from the spheres of physical surveys to internet-based researches has materialized the Cloud Makeover of marketing Intelligence. The underlining idea is, market research is now internet based and online platforms are the dependable source of market intelligence.<br><br>Market information can be obtained from various sources. Big Data plays a major role in the current landscape of business analytics. Big Data is complicated and an exclusive branch has protruded to deal with it. However, data can be obtained from simpler sources such as Social Media. Social Media Monitoring involves collecting data from post on popular social media platform such as Facebook and ‘tweets’ on Twitter. It can offer the company an insight of customer’s review and their viewpoints on any product or service.<br><br>Cloud Based CRMs offers a new perspective to this renovated model of research. New CRM technologies are enabled to offer comprehensive sets of information about customers. For instance, the breakthrough technology introduced by CRM developer such as SaleShark , not only offer information about a single customer, but also comprehensive data on related customers and potential business leads forming an integrated network of information. Such technologies are synonymous with the ‘Cloud’ that is inclusive for marketing and sales management.<br><br>Customer database or the CRM is among the primary sources of market information. Analyzing data from customer databases assist in understanding cross sales and up sale opportunities. This helps to understand the behavior of consumers over long durations. Integrated CRMs offer complete profile view or a 360-degree view of any customer providing comprehensive insights on their purchasing and expense behavior. Additionally, purchasing frequency, recent purchases and value of purchases can be traced out from CRM databases. Therefore, purchasing pattern of the consumers can be extracted from CRM.<br><br>Cloud-backed technologies are necessary to substantiate the one stop solution to businesses. The Cloud Makeover of CRMs has substantiated them as single windows to gather market intelligence. Augmenting the capabilities of traditional CRMs, these new Relationship Management Applications are offering amicable avenues to obtain market intelligence. Hence, new possibilities of business analysis and market data are unlocked. Enterprises can now leverage CRMs as an inclusive tool for business intelligence achieving more than just mining customer purchase information. These applications can be imperatives in cost cutting by reducing extra investments to obtain market intelligence. CRM being used as a market intelligence tool is not a new idea. However, a new range of CRMs is offering better edges to this particular aspect of business, that is, market intelligence. The cloud makeover of market information is backed up by new this next gen CRM Technology.<br><br>There is a growing need to understand people first; before making any initiatives to build seemingly promising relationships. In other words, humanizing technology is the real focus for salespeople to authentically connect and engage with their prospects. Not just customer intelligence, but even sales intelligence is the essence to formulate effective new business strategies. However, obtaining real-time and relevant customer information has been a challenge for any enterprise.<br><br>The market dynamics has grown such that, brands and enterprises will have to catch up with customers to gain advantage over their businesses. Against this backdrop, Market Intelligence materialized to be more sophisticated as well as have grown more crucial for businesses. MI is the set of everyday information related to the business arena of an enterprise. Mushrooming businesses, startups and enterprises have incurred fuzziness in the present market scenario with piled up products and services.<br><br>The arena of market information is complicated and vast. Moreover, aspects such as Big Data make the domain more convoluted. It is certain that there are no limits to data utilization or to the extents of market intelligence. Technology is meant to develop and new solutions will overlap the old ones. The transformation of CRM technology has been offering better advantages to business. The technology will keep on evolving and offering new avenues for business adding up the profits.<br><br><em>The author, Ajay Chauhan, is co-founder of SalezShark</em></p>
