The Handbook of Market Intelligence: Understand, Compete and Grow in Global Markets

“This book provides a very useful and practical framework to guide the development of a Market Intelligence function that serves as a tool for competitive advantage. The use of multiple and diverse business cases helps readers to understand the implementation of key concepts and provides a set of practical lessons to facilitate this important journey for any organization.” —Carlos Jose Fonseca, SVP/Group Head Global Marketing Strategy, Planning and Analytics, MasterCard “Forward looking market understanding is what any CEO needs for securing successful business today and into the future. But how does one manage that in a global organization with thousands of employees? This book neatly lays out the steps to turn systematic Market Intelligence from an ideal to everyday reality.” — Harri Kerminen, former President and CEO, Kemira “We’ve used GIA’s Key Success Factors (KSFs) framework as we’ve analyzed our own Intelligence function. It is a very easy way to allow your function to become self–aware, identify your gaps and then build your capabilities in an on–purpose fashion.” — Phil Britton, Market Intelligence Lead, Competitive Strategies Group, Best Buy “The authors have presented a diverse look at Market Intelligence based on their experiences garnered from consulting projects with many firms around the globe. The book combines theoretical issues underlying Market Intelligence with proven real–life case examples. The book’s projected trends in Market Intelligence towards 2015 give lots of food for thought. This professional book would be a good addition to the library of any Market Intelligence practitioner and those who are involved in strategic planning.” — Dr David Blenkhorn, Ph.D., Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada “In my experience, there’s no shortage of books that advise the reader on analysis techniques and the correct phases of a solid intelligence process. What I’ve been missing so far is an umbrella view that addresses all elements of Market Intelligence development in a structured and approachable fashion. This book provides that.” — Henning Heinrich, Vice President Market Intelligence, T–Systems International “Comprehensive, practical, to the point; a must read for any strategy, marketing and intelligence director!” — Anders Marvik, Vice President, Corporate Strategy, Statoil

Hans Hedin has a strong track record in the area of Market/Competitive Intelligence consulting. He spends most of his time advising companies on setting up and further developing their corporate intelligence programs, while being a recognized speaker and workshop leader in the field of strategic Market Intelligence. He runs Market Intelligence (MI) Programs, Scenario Analysis workshops and Intelligence Analysis training & coaching at GIA. Mr Hedin joined Global Intelligence Alliance in 2003, having previously worked in the consulting and banking industries and in the public sector. Irmeli Hirvensalo worked for GIA during the years 2001–2012 in a variety of positions ranging from process consulting and analysis to sales and strategic marketing. She is a regular presenter and lecturer about Market Intelligence topics in both commercial seminars and academic institutions. Since 2012, Hirvensalo has been developing MI processes as Market Insights Manager at Ahlstrom Corporation, a global high performance materials company. Markko Vaarnas is the CEO and co–founder of GIA Group, founded in 1995, and has been responsible for the general management and international business development of the group since the beginning. He has steered the development of the company from the ground up to an organization with offices around the world. Vaarnas is a frequent presenter at international seminars and training events, while also leading consulting projects in Europe, USA and Asia.