The right information does not automatically come to the person who needs it, so it is useful to look at how knowledge is managed. In the military world, sources of data are classified as ‘HUMINT’, ‘TECHINT’ and ‘SIGINT’. These respectively refer to intelligence derived from humans, intelligence derived from technical sources and that derived from intercepting signals. Collecting these involves questioning, using devices, and observing communications between people. Market researchers use exactly the same techniques.

A term that is commonly used in this field is ‘market intelligence’. The big difference between military procedures and marketing intelligence procedures is that of transparency: the former thrives in secrecy; the latter is expected to show transparency.

While the military definitions are subdivided even further, we shall distinguish just three different types of intelligence. Montgomery and Weinberg (1979) make a valuable distinction using the terms ‘defensive’, ‘passive’ and ‘offensive’. Defensive intelligence monitors the environment to avoid surprises. Passive intelligence provides benchmark data to compare with the company’s own performance. Offensive intelligence identifies opportunities that would not otherwise be discovered.

This is summarized in the following table:

(Adapted from Montgomery and Weinberg 1979)