Spotlight: HelloHow

PESTEL Analysis for strategic planning

PESTEL Analysis for strategic planning

How should we plan for the future? In which country should we invest? Which country poses the highest risk to our business? These are only some of the questions that a PESTEL analysis framework can answer. Related closely to a PEST analysis or a STEEP analysis, the...

Deploying a Counter-CI strategy

Deploying a Counter-CI strategy

Competitive Intelligence (CI) is a company’s tool to gain insight into a competitor’s strategy, product, priorities, strengths, and weaknesses. However, CI can also be used by competitors on your own company to allow them to compete more effectively. Defending against...

Stay on top of market developments with Analytical Newsletters

Stay on top of market developments with Analytical Newsletters

While much of what we do at HelloInfo is focused on supporting clients’ questions to help inform strategic decisions at a point in time, there are also ways we can support teams to keep apprised of ongoing competitor and market developments. HelloInfo's Analytical...

Using radar charts effectively

Using radar charts effectively

Have you ever been asked to compare multiple competitors, across multiple criteria? Perhaps you have needed to compare multiple products across varying functionalities. Radar charts, otherwise known as spider charts, can be useful tools for visualizing this type of...

What is a bubble chart and how do I use one?

What is a bubble chart and how do I use one?

When asked to list examples of traditional charts and graphs, most people will name bar, line or pie charts. Rarely do people list radar charts, histograms, or bubble charts, but these types of charts can be exceptionally useful when needing to visualize data with...

The love / hate relationship with pie charts

The love / hate relationship with pie charts

Introduced in 1801 by Scottish engineer, William Playfair, pie charts are a very common, but controversial way to visualize data. While pie charts are often depicted as simple and easy to create statistical tools the pie chart has become a divisive tool that many...

War Gaming as a tool to predict competitor actions

War Gaming as a tool to predict competitor actions

In a competitive marketplace, knowing your competition’s next move can give your organization an advantage. War gaming is an effective means to establish how your competitors will react to changes in the market. When conducted properly war gaming can deliver insights...

Using customer journey maps for qualitative data visualization

Using customer journey maps for qualitative data visualization

Have you ever wished that you could walk a mile in your customer’s shoes? Imagine how much insight you could gain if you had a step-by-step overview of a customer’s use of your product. While you might not literally be able to walk a mile in their shoes, you can do...

Using heat maps for qualitative data visualization

Using heat maps for qualitative data visualization

Many professionals, including engineers, doctors, marketers, and researchers, utilize heat maps to visualize data sets and turn them into comprehensive, actionable takeaways. As part of our series on qualitative data visualization, dive in with us as we explore this...

Using infographics for qualitative data visualization

Using infographics for qualitative data visualization

At some point in our professional or academic lives we have all sat through a presentation where the speaker shows a PowerPoint deck with nothing but block text on every slide. By the time the speaker reaches the third slide, most of the audiences’ attention spans...

Using Venn diagrams for qualitative data visualization

Using Venn diagrams for qualitative data visualization

Presenting data in a comprehensive and compelling way to your audience is a key skill for intelligence professionals. While many clear rules exist for quantitative data analysis, data visualization for qualitative data sets takes more effort and thought to execute...

Use competitor data points to understand company strategy

Use competitor data points to understand company strategy

When researching your competition, the number of competitor data points available is almost never-ending. Website updates, job postings, new marketing material – the list goes on and can be updated daily. While a single data point, such as a change to your...

Sources for competitive intelligence research

Sources for competitive intelligence research

In the Information Age, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the vast quantity of data at your fingertips. The proliferation of open-source information has further contributed to this issue. For anyone conducting research for competitive intelligence this can cause both...

Structured Analytical Techniques (SATs)

Structured Analytical Techniques (SATs)

Structured Analytical Techniques (SATs) are necessary methods for analysts to create better insights that combat inherent biases. The RAND Corporation describes SATs as “methods of organizing and stimulating thinking about intelligence. ” The added rigor and structure...

Compete more effectively in a crowded market

Compete more effectively in a crowded market

“How can I stand out from competitors with a similar product?” is a recurring question for businesses of all sizes as they look to compete more effectively. A new company will want to have a strong impression on its potential buyers, and not blend in with existing...