Few stories generate as much addiction among their followers as those of espionage. Heroes, loves, passions, betrayals, secrets and adventures intersect in them as in few other genres, although those who know this world inside out know that there are few "James Bond's" on duty and a lot of field work analyzing data to make the right decisions. One of the common mistakes made by the uninitiated in the "competitive intelligence" binomial is to consider that it is about companies comparable to intrepid counterintelligence and espionage agents, detectives, sleuths, dangers and strong emotions. And no: it is about gathering and processing information to help in decision making.
Competitive intelligence is a booming discipline largely due to the strong component of new opportunities generated by the Internet, as a platform that has made it possible as never before to obtain information quickly, discreetly and systematically, in many cases taken directly from consumers. Among these opportunities, one of the most popular in recent years has been related to a new discipline: social intelligence, or in other words, the collection of information from social network users, who are supposed to interact more or less spontaneously, free of conditioning factors and therefore closer to a real market experience.
In this regard, it is well worth taking a look at the recent report published by the Social Intelligence Lab, the leading global community for information and documentation related to this subject. Despite the hundreds of companies specialized in collecting and studying data from social networks, it is such a new discipline that the authors of the report do not hesitate to present it as a "subconscious art" since social intelligence "has a lot to do" with art: "In a world where customer orientation is everyone's goal, social intelligence can offer a view of society from a new perspective. A new perspective that can give you invaluable information on how to connect with their hearts and minds," they state at the beginning of the study.
Based on interviews with 200 international social intelligence professionals, the report seeks to provide the tools to expand the capabilities of those who are dedicated to it, and explore new goals in what they call "the power of quantifying digital behavior and discovering the hidden meaning in massive onlineconversations". That is, to find out trends and help in decision making beyond the punctual impact that for the uninitiated may be significant, but that must be understood in a global flow of uninterrupted conversations.
Something many managers may feel lost about? Perhaps, because more than half (52%) of respondents say that their senior leaders do not clearly understand the objectives they are working towards or the products they are generating. A fact to be taken into account given that the professionals contacted for the study come mostly from four sectors that are supposed to be at the forefront of this discipline: marketing (30%), public relations (8%), research (21%) and specialists (11%). They are overwhelmingly convinced (80%) that social data provides unique information that cannot be obtained from other research sources.
Survey participants are slightly (57%) in favor of meeting or even exceeding their own expectations. Of these, those in the marketing sector are the most enthusiastic, with an overwhelming 94% supporting this perception. The most skeptical are professionals who deal directly with the customer, as well as those involved in research, with only 44% of these subgroups supporting this view. In any case, 13 out of 20 (65%) rated the creation of actionable information and the tracking of the right metrics as very important elements in meeting these expectations.
What do successful organizations have in common, ask the authors of the report. And they themselves answer: they are those for which "listening is not enough", as they know "that, in order to act, social intelligence requires a combination of data, business and social sciences". In other words, those immersed in "a journey of transformation", where "a team and organizational commitment are needed". Hence the four key elements that the authors identify for transforming social data into measurable business results:
1. People: the human minds that power social intelligence, giving context, meaning and action to data.
2. Structure: the tension between how knowledge is generated in practice and how it is implemented through the process.
3. Process: the iterative questioning of the data in different ways to answer the objectives and purpose, and to give value to the data.
4. Technology: the selection and adoption of the right combination of technology according to specific needs and applications.
But how long does it take for these actions to be fully implemented? It is surprising that, despite being a relatively new discipline, 7 out of 20 professionals (35%) have been involved in it for 9 years or more, almost the same number (36%) of those who have been working on it for 4 years or less. What does seem clear, however, is that it is a full-time dedication: two-thirds of those surveyed (66%) say that social intelligence is their main job responsibility. This is logical, considering the number of variables that arise in this work: from defining a project to finding the most effective method or metric, to analyzing data or generating "actionable ideas" once they have been understood.
And just that, understanding, is something that companies that want to gain some advantage from social intelligence must engage in. "It can be used in multiple areas of business decision making," note the report's authors, for whom "a big part of the transformation journey" for every company "is finding the most valuable use cases for your organization." Yes, in case there was any doubt, it's a matter of putting in the hours. Many hours: "this is an iterative process that requires time, patience and a willingness to learn".
Did we say competitive intelligence above? Well, this is precisely the fourth most important use case for social intelligence professionals, who consider it applicable in 69% of cases. It does not reach the first place, although it is close, that 81% capitalized by the media; that is, the increasingly frequent appearance of news in which the impact on social networks of a political or business leader, an event, a happening or the viralization of a brand or a public figure is reported.
A complete report whose reading is more than recommended for those who want to keep up to date with the techniques, trends, tools and options offered by something as simple as bringing to social networks the watchword of so much modern business literature: placing the customer at the center of the experience. Especially because it doesn't have to be expensive: 16% of professionals report an annual investment of less than 12,000 euros, and only 1 in 10 estimates an amount exceeding 120,000. These do not seem like large figures if the result is to be able to make better decisions based on listening, taking notes, processing data and analyzing them properly.
All of the above is probably light years away from what a neophyte would expect to find in a "corporate espionage movie". But of course, real life is rarely as we see it in the movies. In the face of the spotlight and glamour, competitive intelligence is an arduous, constant task and, above all, an effective and accurate bet.
Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash
