INOVIS  INSIGHTS

How Deep do You Dive?

NB : INOVIS Inc. is the boutique branch of the global INOVIS group that specializes in creative, tailored, proactive CI services for a select number of InfoTech & MedTech clients. By comparison, INOVIS AG, which focusses on Pharma & Biotech, is a mid-sized agency offering both bespoke CI solutions and proprietary in-house CI tools to a broader client base in the Life Sciences field. Both the Pharma and Tech sides' strict specialty and focus create synergies from each entity's talent pool and experience.

READ MORE INSIGHTS FROM INOVIS

There's something irreplaceable about direct observation and engagement – something no amount of secondhand reports or data summaries can fully capture on their own. In fact, a competitive intelligence investigation could be pretty shallow without it! 

When you interact with humans firsthand, you pick up on nuances; the hesitation in their voice when discussing a product, a feature they mention offhand that they really wish existed, or the workaround they've created that signals an unmet need. And, because they’re nuanced, these essential insights often don't make it into CRM notes or annual reports – the usual source for Strategic Planning. [ Read our article on Active Listening ]

Of course, deeper isn't better if you're stuck in a trench, so it's important to gather a wide sampling — clients, customers, competitors, employees, former employees, supply chain partners, and key opinion leaders.

Meaningful Primary Intelligence can involve...

• Speaking to customers — Interviewing people who use or used to use the product. What made them buy? What frustrated them? Why did some leave? This is incredibly valuable and something your competitor can't control.
• Talking to employees or former employees — People who've worked there can reveal insights about culture, strategy, weaknesses, and upcoming plans. LinkedIn is useful for finding these people.
• Attending conferences or demos — seeing how the competition pitches, what questions prospects ask, and how their sales team handles objections. [ Read our article on Event Coverage ]
• Supply chain or partner conversations — Talking to their vendors, distributors, or integration partners who might share observations.

Being present in the field—whether that’s maintaining an ongoing connection with industry experts, attending industry events, or monitoring online communities— and listening actively gives you a feel for momentum, sentiment, and emerging patterns before they show up in quarterly data.

This doesn't mean AI data and analysis aren't valuable— absolutely, they are! But they're most powerful when combined with that visceral, firsthand, human understanding.

For over three decades, INOVIS’ competitive intelligence techniques have been massively successful at sufacing a firsthand, in-depth understanding of markets, competitors, and customers.

Interested in our process? Let’s Chat!

Since 1992, INOVIS has supported decision-making, implementation and execution across the LIFE SCIENCES and TECHNOLOGIES sectors, leveraging world-class CI and marketing expertise through a network of experienced senior industry leaders who advance strategic thinking and nurture company and brand strategies.

If you think our specialized services might be a great match for your competitive strategy development,

OR, if you are interested in working with a tight-knit, dynamic team [ more info ] ,

Marc Limacher
INOVIS Founder & CEO INOVIS Inc.
CI for Technologies [infotech, fintech,  medtech]
Board Member for INOVIS AG
      

A 30+year veteran in the CI and counter-intelligence industry, Marc Limacher has grown INOVIS into a global leader in primary intelligence and strategic consulting services, serving a select group of global Fortune 100 companies as loyal clients. He is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the firm and manages the operation of the Technologies practice.

Prior to INOVIS, Marc was Director of Market Intelligence at a leading U.S. institutional investment firm for five years, providing primary intelligence on small-/medium-/large-cap life science equities via a global employee network of 125 investigative journalists. He also delivers private CI seminars and is a frequent lecturer on CI and counter-intelligence topics at companies and to academia.