Select Page

Technology investments in businesses must be routed in commercial insight. Insight is the key input to strategy.  The challenge for SMEs lies in generating these insights without a dedicated team and ensuring they are effectively communicated and utilised in decision-making processes.

The Challenge of Insight Generation in SMEs

Limited Resources: SMEs often operate with constrained budgets, making it difficult to allocate funds for a dedicated insights team. This limitation means that employees with primary responsibilities must contribute to the insights-gathering process, which can detract from their core duties.

Information Overload: With numerous sources of information available, it can be overwhelming to sift through data to identify relevant insights. This task requires a structured approach to ensure that only valuable and actionable information is considered. A key step here is being clear about the problem space and focused about the questions that need answering. 

Communication and Utilisation: Even when relevant insights are gathered, ensuring they are effectively communicated to decision-makers and incorporated into strategic planning is challenging. Without a formal process, insights can be lost or overlooked, reducing their potential impact.

Best Practices for Insight Generation and Utilisation

Establishing a Cross-Functional Insights Team

Rather than a dedicated team, SMEs can create a cross-functional insights team comprising representatives from various departments. This team should include members from sales, marketing, customer support, product development, and any other relevant areas. The diverse perspectives ensure a comprehensive understanding of customer needs and market trends. The team can meet or operate asynchronously as long as there is a documented agreement about gathering, synthesising, analysing, and using the insights.

Leveraging Technology and Tools

SMEs can utilize affordable technology and tools to gather, analyse, and share insights efficiently. The team needs to determine the most relevant to their problem space. Tools might include CRMs, customer support software, product analytics tools, survey and feedback tools, market research platforms, research from websites, certain news or industry sites.

Creating a Knowledge Repository

Establish a centralised knowledge repository to store and organize all insights. This repository can be a shared drive, an intranet site, or a t tool like Confluence or Notion.

Implementing a Continuous Feedback Loop

Incorporate a continuous feedback loop to ensure insights are regularly updated and utilized in strategic planning.

  • Quarterly Reviews: Conduct quarterly reviews of the collected insights to assess their impact on the current strategy and make necessary adjustments.
  • Actionable Recommendations: Ensure that insights are translated into actionable recommendations. Each insight should come with a suggested action or decision point.
  • Executive Involvement: Involve senior management in the review process to ensure that insights are aligned with the company’s vision and strategy.

5. Encouraging a Culture of Insight Sharing

Foster a company culture that values and encourages the sharing of insights. This cultural shift can be achieved through:

  • Incentives: Provide incentives for employees who contribute valuable insights. This can include recognition in company meetings, bonuses, or other rewards.
  • Training: Offer training sessions to help employees understand the importance of insights and how to gather and share them effectively.