Reinventing Intelligence: Growth and Adding Value
This project highlights the transformation of an unstructured news-based intelligence service to a data driven, standardised and actionable intelligence product enhancing not only quality but increasing its market value.
By conducting a comprehensive assessment of the intelligence content, website usability, and customer feedback, a plan of action was presented to the senior leadership team. This plan included redesigning the website, standardising intelligence reports, focusing on key sectors and countries, training journalists in research and analysis, and optimising content for actionable business insights. During this time readership grew by 5x, renewal revenues reached 101%, and overall revenues were projected to increase the following year.
Subscription based intelligence product
Industry Intelligence reports
Audience of C-suite and Analysts in health and social care
UK based with large European clientele
SME with no internal technical capability
Situation
The company aimed to improve the quality of its intelligence product to command higher prices and ultimately enhance its potential for a successful sale.
- To achieve this, an overall assessment of the intelligence content, website usability, and customer perception was necessary.
- The objective was to identify areas for improvement and develop and implement a plan of action to revamp the product, meet customer expectations and grow the business over an 18-month period.
Approach
To address the problem effectively, a multi-step approach was undertaken. Firstly, the intelligence product was assessed thoroughly, evaluating content depth, breadth, consistency, and accuracy. Simultaneously, an analysis of the website’s usability was performed, identifying glitches and outdated features.
In collaboration with the sales team, customer interviews were arranged during the renewal process to gather feedback on the service and identify areas for improvement. Insights from these interviews were integrated into the overall assessment and formed a crucial part of the action plan.
The findings were then presented to the senior leadership team, along with a detailed plan to enhance the intelligence product.
The plan included website changes, such as navigation and search improvements, as well as a redesigned intelligence layout featuring tab layouts and standardised reports. The focus was on providing actionable information and incorporating customer priorities. As a longer-term project, we also included the ability to develop more bespoke reports from the new layouts, with this likely to be a particular selling point once introduced.
To address content issues, key sectors and countries were identified as being more popular among readers. Based on tracking data, the decision was made to focus on the larger, better-read reports, while creating regional reports for smaller sectors. Four journalists that had no previous experience in business analysis or intelligence were trained in research and analysis to write these reports, and their output was closely edited for quality assurance.
Impact
The implementation of the plan of action coincided with a significant upturn in the company’s results and people. Readership grew by 5x, indicating an increased demand for the improved intelligence product. Renewal revenues reached 101%, reflecting higher customer satisfaction and retention rates. Furthermore, overall revenues were projected to increase substantially the following year, underscoring the successful transformation of the business.
The website changes, including improved navigation and search functionality, contributed to a better user experience, making it easier for customers to access relevant information. The intelligence redesign with standardised reports and actionable insights, provided enhanced value to readers, meeting their needs and expectations more effectively.
Unfortunately, some of the more long-term design changes are still taking place so value can not be quantified as yet, but ease of use will be further improved.
The decision to focus on key sectors and countries based on reader preferences allowed for optimised content delivery. By creating consolidated regional reports for less well-read sectors, the company catered to a broader audience, further expanding its readership and revenue potential while freeing up time to focus on the most-read geographies.
Examples of these reports can be provided on request.
- Training and mentoring 90%
- Research 95%
- Stakeholder Engagement 70%
- Strategy 85%
- Analysis 70%