Description
Informed decision-making relies on the capacity and skills of teams to understand and develop a clear picture of the market environment, trends, company performance, and competitive strategies.
This goes beyond the use of tools such as PESTLE and Porter’s Five Forces, which typically help consolidate learning points. It requires constant efforts to assess and learn from the market, capturing both small and large “market signals,” understanding their meaning and importance, and gathering this information so that informed teams can take appropriate actions.
Various approaches can be used, ranging from informal weekly calls where sales teams discuss recent market insights and consolidate key learning points, to more structured meetings focused on evaluating future opportunities and refining strategies.
The PDF guide proposed here is a simple checklist aimed at addressing the various steps of a regular “market pulse” forum where teams can discuss information gathering, impact, and opportunities. It is not the only possible approach; the best approaches are often informal, where teams contribute regularly, such as in weekly calls. These discussions aim to gather new market insights, structure and consolidate learning, and escalate findings to other teams.
These activities can be described in three steps that are intricately linked:
- Gathering Information: Collecting pieces of information that may seem unrelated.
- Shaping Insights: Giving form to these pieces of information, whether they are confirmed facts or hypotheses.
- Assessing Impact: Evaluating the impact of this information to make faster and better-informed business decisions, gaining an advantage over the competition by targeting new opportunities or adjusting go-to-market strategies.
Key Features of the Market Review Checklist
Structured Market Pulse Meetings
The Market Review Checklist is designed to facilitate a structured discussion among team members. By addressing one topic at a time, the discussion can focus on the strengths and weaknesses of different solutions.
Competitive Strategy Assessment
This tool is essential for summarizing events and delivering a concise, clear message about the market environment. It creates a strong foundation for addressing events identified through market analysis tools such as Porter’s Five Forces or PESTLE.
Team Meeting Framework
The most effective approach is to establish a recurring forum where teams exchange market insights on market trends and company performance—typically on a monthly basis.
The proposed tool is a team meeting checklist designed to support these discussions. It outlines three key stages for a “Market Pulse” meeting:
- Before the Meeting
- During the Meeting
- After the Meeting
Though simple, this checklist helps create a structured yet dynamic environment where teams can discuss market trends, assess their impact, and take appropriate actions.
How to Use the Checklist
Trust and Engagement
Building trust and encouraging teams to share market insights about market conditions in a format that prioritizes openness and simplicity for discussing market challenges and opportunities must be developed over time. The objective is for teams to swiftly identify emerging competitive threats and promptly communicate them, enabling the company to take timely actions.
Informal calls are essential, as small and unverified signals are often not visible or discussed in more formal “market pulse” forums. When teams are trained to report on market challenges, a brief roundtable discussion can help identify strong or weak signals indicating shifts in the competitive landscape. The goal is to establish an organization where information is regularly reviewed, validated, and addressed promptly.
Handling Effective Market Pulse Meetings – Key Risks
There are several risks to be mindful of when conducting Market Pulse meetings:
- Turning Market Pulse into a Business Review: One common risk is that senior management, eager to take immediate action, may redirect these calls to business review meetings, focusing on performance reporting rather than market learning. If such meetings prevail, ensure to rename them as business review calls and reinstall a separate market pulse event.
- Lack of Constructive Questioning: Another risk is when senior management does not fully embrace the questioning and discussion necessary for meaningful market analysis. If leadership dominates the conversation or expects teams to come “better prepared” rather than allowing for open discussion, the meeting’s core purpose is undermined. Instead, management should take a step back, listen actively, and encourage open dialogue. A good practice is to have senior leadership join only for the final segment of the meeting to review synthesized market insights and discuss conclusions.
- Ineffective Facilitation: Ensuring a respectful exchange of ideas is critical. Every viewpoint should have the opportunity to be shared, and facilitation skills are essential to keep discussions productive. A strong facilitator must maintain the agenda, guide discussions efficiently, and ensure that key takeaways and recommended actions are captured for follow-up.
Ultimately, creating a culture where teams feel safe sharing competitive intelligence is essential. Market Pulse meetings should remain open-minded forums that encourage constructive dialogue and learning.
Make It Your Own
Feel free to adjust the “Market Pulse” meeting to your specific business environment and needs. Once established, ensure it is customized to your company practices and remains flexible enough to evolve over time.
Timing is key, and the content and topics can vary depending on the time of year, especially when budgets need allocation and decisions must be well-informed by market knowledge.
Ensure a stable process is in place and can benefit from multiple teams leveraging business calls, such as weekly meetings, to assess and learn from the market and customers. Keep your eyes and ears open to learn from competitors’ announcements and adapt sales tactics. Leverage information gathering as a dynamic effort to maximize competitiveness.
Finally, build a strong internal narrative around the benefits of Market Pulse meetings. Highlight past successes where timely market insights provided a competitive advantage, reinforcing the value of ongoing market awareness within the organization.
Links and References
Market pulse meetings rely on clarity about market structure. Refer to Market Mix for the baseline framework used in monitoring.
The Market Review Checklist supports the customer-centric marketing mix by helping teams detect customer signals and adjust decisions accordingly. Learn more in our Customer Mix chapter.
To ensure external market insights inform promotional decisions, visit our Promotion Strategy page.
Market visibility routines help teams adjust channels, territories, and coverage over time. For the strategic backdrop to these reviews, refer to the Place Mix Strategy.
Usage & Licensing
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