Companies can rise and fall in a day. A Tiktok goes viral, or a damning video of unsavory conduct can change the trajectory of an entire brand. Consumers are becoming choosy about which products they choose to support, so companies must adapt.
That’s where the fine art of product intelligence comes in. Brands can’t rest on their laurels because they are the only option. Previously, in many situations, customers would buy from a brand because they were the only option.
With the increased popularity of mobile shopping and two-day shipping, that’s no longer the case. Products have to hit the spot with customers, which puts a lot of pressure on companies.
That’s why gathering product intelligence—tools that gather, analyze, and process data about how consumers interact with products–is so important.
What Is Product Intelligence?
Product intelligence is a process that takes data points from all stages of the customer interaction process and compiles them into a feedback loop that your team can learn and grow from.
For instance, you might be selling bikinis. Your target audience is young women who mostly shop online and prioritize finding eco-friendly brands with a focus on inclusivity with hiring models.
They buy a swimsuit from you. They love it, but one of the straps broke on their first day in the pool. The review they leave on your site is a data point.
That data point is a chance for your team to iterate on the product quickly. Is it a design or quality flaw that caused the strap to break? This is an instance of your product generating improvement feedback as customers interact with it in the real world.
Of course, there’s a lot more to product intelligence than simply customer feedback. There’s also marketing, customer support, and more. The feedback that you get from product intelligence informs every step of your brand’s future.
It informs your marketing because you know what is important to customers. Your high-quality straps might not be the best selling point to highlight, but your commitment to environmentally-friendly packaging could be.
It also informs how you choose to interact with your competitors. With the right data points, you can adapt to users in a more agile, flexible fashion than others in the industry. Whether you’re selling bikinis or utilizing chemical analytics, it makes a big difference.
Leveraging Your Product Intelligence Platform
With our example of product intelligence involving a customer buying a bikini, a review is where the intelligence came from. But product intelligence software, such as marketing tools and data gathering platforms, can be a huge help.
Product data can feel unwieldy, particularly if you’re dealing with lots of customers across multiple channels. However, it’s important to remember that you’re really not gathering product intelligence. You’re gathering customer intelligence.
All of these data points are tools for your brand to figure out how to serve your customers better. It’s a way for you to increase agility, productivity, and responsiveness.
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