Look at the Order in Which You Do Things: A Market Analysis Perspective
When analysing competitors or assessing market trends, the order of operations matters more than you realise. Many jump straight into gathering data. And lots of it. Without pausing to consider sequence, often where strategic insights are born. Look at the order in which you do things. And don’t leave the most important thing out.
Here’s the usual approach:
You identify competitors. You know, the usual ones or the ones that have been a pain in the ass that week.
You ask the opinions of those who have been with the company for a while. They give you many opinions, hearsay and facts that used to be true.
People sit around the table, offering suggestions. More senior team members get heard. Anecdotes quickly become facts. But they want you to find out everything on X and, of course, Y.
You start collecting every piece of data you can find. Web traffic, pricing, customer reviews, and product features. You may spend $140,000 on a Gartner report or $40,000 on CI Software, but you need something else. But bugger, your budget is blown. You also have a lovely old report that your competitors have. And you have monitoring software with no direction. Certainly zero intelligence.
Then, you try to understand everything in one big soup of information.
This is what I call the Reactive Analyst’s Spiral. It’s messy, directionless, and exhausting. Worse, it often leads to shallow or obvious conclusions: “Competitor X has better pricing,” or “Competitor Y is gaining market share.” “But we are better than both of them boss”.
The problem? You skipped the questions.
A Better Sequence for Market Analysis
Flip the script. Start with questions, not data. This forces you to clarify your goals before you get buried under information. Here’s the right order:
Define Your Objective
What decision are you trying to influence? Are you planning to enter a new market, defend your position, or exploit a competitor’s weakness? Without clarity, you’re just playing detective with no case to solve.Structured Intelligence Questions
Well-written questions eliminate the frustration of knowing what you want but not how to go about it. The foundation of effective analysis lies in asking good intelligence questions. These are not vague or general queries like “What is Competitor X doing?” They are laser-focused questions. They guide your research and data collection to actionable insights.
Great intelligence questions are:
Decision-driven: “What pricing strategy will allow us to counter Competitor Y’s growth?”
Specific and measurable: “What percentage of Competitor X’s customers are switching due to poor customer support?”
Prioritised: They focus on the most critical areas impacting your strategy.
Strong intelligence questions filter out noise. They ensure your analysis aligns with business goals. Think of these questions as your compass—without them, you’re wandering through the forest of data aimlessly.
Without well-defined questions, don’t even bother starting the exercise.
Understand the Context
What’s happening in the market? What assumptions about competitors or customers need testing? This is where frameworks like Porter’s Five Forces or Jobs-to-be-Done come into play.Formulate Hypotheses
Based on context, what do you suspect is true? What do you think is untrue? What do you know is wrong? And why. For example: “Competitor X’s growth is coming from underpriced services” or “Customer churn in this market is due to lack of onboarding support.”Targeted Data Collection
Now, collect only the data that proves or disproves your hypotheses. Use tools, interviews, and research to validate or reject, rather than just observe. Talk to you competitors and those who will know them. Or get us to do it.Synthesise the Insights
Connect the dots, ask the So what? What actions can you take based on what you’ve learned?
The Strategic Edge in Sequence
When you approach market or competitor analysis in the right order, your insights become more powerful. Instead of drowning in irrelevant data, you uncover actionable intelligence.
Competitor X isn’t just “growing”—you know why and how to counter it.
Market Y isn’t just “shifting”—you know where and how to fill the gaps.
In strategy, the how and when of doing something is often more important than the what. Sequence creates clarity, which drives winning moves.
Why Sequence Gets Overlooked
Most overlook the importance of sequence because it feels faster to start collecting data right away. There’s a sense of urgency to “do something,” and diving into research feels like action. But action without intention isn’t strategy—it’s busywork.
By jumping straight to data collection, you risk creating a confirmation bias loop. You collect data without knowing its true significance, which leads to conclusions that support your beliefs, not challenge them. This isn’t analysis; it’s rationalisation.
Slowing down to establish a sequence is not just about being organised—it’s about rigour. A deliberate process forces you to challenge your assumptions and focus on solving the right problem. The result? Insights that move the needle rather than reinforce the status quo. Read more: Common Mistakes in Competitive Intelligence Gathering.
Conclusion to Look at the Order in Which You Do Things
Next time you dive into market analysis, ask yourself: Am I doing this in the right order? Pause and think about whether your actions are aligned with your ultimate goal. Efficiency is tempting, but effectiveness beats speed every time in market strategy. By looking at the order in which you do things can set yourself apart from competitors stuck in reactive mode. Strategic sequencing is where good analysts become great, and businesses gain the competitive edge they need to lead.
In strategy, the how and when you do something is often more important than the what. Sequence creates clarity. And clarity drives winning moves.
Let’s talk…