Pre-Procurement intelligence gives you visibility of local government forward planning, strategies, and procurement pipelines, but how do companies use this to their advantage and where does it make the biggest difference. (Hint…it’s not just for sales teams…)
Based on client feedback, we share the Top 10 ways local government pre-procurement intelligence and spend data boosts business growth.
Early Engagement
1. Finding More Opportunities
Automatically receiving personalised alerts highlighting new opportunities allows businesses to widen their current network and engage early, ensuring they don’t miss out. You will be alerted to intelligence from Cabinet and Board Papers, Committee Reports, Decision Notices, Prior Information Notices (PINs), Press Reports and Forward Plans – for many growing businesses they simply don’t have the resource to dedicate to this activity and risk not fulfilling their potential. By building a holistic view of the market, teams can proactively seek new avenues for growth.
2. Time Saving
Access to accurate data and alerts removes the burden of extensive research and enables teams to focus on key tasks. This efficiency not only frees up valuable resource it puts you in front of the buyer much earlier. In addition, by focussing on the opportunities where you’ll stand the best chance of success, you can channel your resources more effectively.
“It can take a long time to build a market, and, during that time, things can pass you by. Having access to Insights accelerates that market knowledge and opportunity awareness from the start. In a short space of time, we were able to identify lots of opportunities at different stages and value bands.”
Matt Jolly, Operations Director, RTN Mental Health Solutions
Increased Chance of Success
3. Educating Buyers
Early engagement enables you to educate buyers to the advantages of your offering and introduce new approaches, making the most of market engagement events. Greater knowledge of the requirements and the competitive landscape leads to more effective engagement and better-informed conversations that build trust.
4. Understanding Stakeholders
Identifying key influencers through data enhances the ability to tailor approaches and engage with decision-makers effectively. This strategic targeting can lead to stronger partnerships, improved understanding of other factors, and reduces risk.
5. Competitive Landscape
Having prior knowledge of competitors and market trends means you can position your offering more effectively and differentiate your business when you’re bidding. You can view details of previous awards, and how different requirements are impacting responses from others.
“Insights has increased our market knowledge and understanding of competitors, so that when we do engage, we’re in a much stronger position. Our team also use that market awareness to improve our overall offering, and to have more informed and proactive conversations with our clients.”
Jeremy Wastie, Public Sector Sales Manager, MLL Telecom
Marketing & Sales Collaboration
6. Proactive Marketing Campaigns
Understanding the competitive landscape, prospects requirements, and when contracts are coming up for renewal, helps craft targeted and timely marketing efforts that resonate with potential clients. Clients often use pre-procurement and competitor information to support their Account Based Marketing and Tiered approaches to campaigns.
“Oxygen Insights neatly dovetails into our sales and marketing activities. It helps us identify new opportunities, streamline our analysis around spend, buyer and supplier data with ease. We obtain deep insights that drive, support and feed into our prospecting and nurturing activities.”
Katherine Beswick, Marketing Manager, IEG4
Better Business Management
7. Driving Product Development
Access to pre-procurement data informs product innovation, helping to align offerings with emerging client needs and trends. Product owners can gain greater market understanding and directly address market demands. This is particularly beneficial for team members who haven’t previously been exposed to public sector work and want to increase their sector specific knowledge.
8. Strengthening the Team
Consistent access to market knowledge and insights is vital, especially for new hires, helping them to quickly acclimate and contribute to the team’s success. By providing all the team with pre-procurement intelligence and spend data, you provide an advantage to everyone within the team – no more siloed data and a reduced need for mentoring. This approach also mitigates the challenges of remote work by ensuring everyone has the same foundational knowledge.
9. Certainty of Forecasting & Reducing Risk
Ownership of market intelligence allows for more accurate forecasting, which is crucial for planning and resource allocation. You’ll be able to accurately assess opportunities and have early notice of factors that may impact future business, such as if there are likely to be contract extensions. With clearer visibility of upcoming opportunities, businesses can make informed decisions about growth strategies and investments, and there is less vulnerability in the event of individual salespeople leaving the team.
“We use the data from Insights to formulate our strategic development plans, which is also essential in establishing go/no-go decisions, providing significant savings in bidding activity. Our business development is more laser-sighted and data-oriented, transforming our pipeline from potential to predictable revenue.”
James Heysmond, Business Development Director, Bellrock Group
Account Management
10 Better informed conversations
Having a holistic view of the client and future requirements leads to proactive conversations to maintain and expand current work. Are there other services that can be provided? Are there factors that could impact the relationship in future? Wallet share helps identify areas of opportunity and risk in client relationships, so businesses can create better retention strategies.
If you want to use pre-procurement intelligence to put your organisation ahead, contact us to find out more.
