Getting the right information at the right time can mean the difference between an organization’s success and failure.
Whether probing a competitor’s operational advantages, assessing the attitudes of a regulator or local politician to a proposed merger or new factory, or evaluating the quality of a company’s relationships, clients turn to Thought Metrix for reliable, actionable intelligence. As companies search and compete for growth opportunities, they face new challenges such as operating in unfamiliar economic, political, business and legal environments, complying with local regulations and coping with unstable markets. We view market research as encompassing all of these factors.
Thought Metrix provides strategic insight into operational risk issues by combining investigative capabilities and primary source research with unsurpassed analytical skills to allow clients to understand the risks and rewards of new opportunities.
Our insights are based on facts we gather in the field and are drawn from deep reviews of publicly available information and an elite international network of independent contacts. Multi-disciplined client teams include experts in the fields of investigative journalism, management consulting, intelligence, law and other professions. With unmatched access to investigative expertise and resources, Thought Metrix is uniquely positioned to help organizations understand, assess and respond to risk and take advantage of promising opportunities.
Market Entry
Entry into new and unfamiliar markets can stretch resources and expose a company to unexpected risks, which might not only thwart a successful market entry, but could also damage a company’s global reputation. Our market entry consulting services harness our insight, analysis, security and operational consulting experience to help our clients enter emerging and frontier markets with confidence.
Thought Metrix can help navigate the unchartered territories by anticipating risks and providing guidance. We go further than providing broad analysis of market entry risk based simply on desk-based assessments. We produce actionable advice that is focused on our clients’ individual needs using our extensive network of well-placed sources on the ground in frontier markets. We have an unmatched understanding of the information that is accessible in country, its relative accuracy and reliability and the frequently delicate balance between politics and business.
We focus on mapping the competitive landscape, identifying and reviewing potential partners, and assessing political, societal, economic and operational risks. In some markets, the influence of criminal elements or unethical practices can significantly hinder a company’s ambitions, causing long-term financial and reputational damage. Our local experts have the knowledge and insight to identify potential links between a planned investment and illegal elements.
Once the risks are identified, we will work with the client to develop operational procedures to manage them. As a result, we help put our clients ahead of the competition.
Competitor Intelligence
When entering an emerging market with unknown local players, a company’s success often depends on understanding the strengths and vulnerabilities of the competition. Just knowing what the competition and market is doing is not enough, it is equally important to understand how all of the pieces fit together. The ability to see the big picture is essential to developing an effective business strategy. Thought Metrix’s competitive intelligence services combine in-depth primary research findings with traditional and innovative analytical tools, providing a holistic view of the market and the competition.
Thought Metrix gathers strategic intelligence that helps our clients obtain an edge in competitive markets. We combine experience across a multitude of industries with international investigative reach to accurately assess the competitive environment in which our clients operate.
We can identify a competitor’s key levers for success, some of which may constitute unfair advantages, such as political relationships, government subsidies, market restricting practices or even fraud. We can also identify legitimate best practices in a competitor’s supply chain that may result in higher profitability or cheaper products.
When clients want to identify acquisition targets or joint venture partners, they come to Thought Metrix to map the competitive landscape. Often and especially in Asia and Latin America, our clients want to understand the source of their competitors’ influence within government and regulatory bodies. We maintain the highest ethical and legal standards while conducting our research. The result is actionable intelligence on which to base strategic and tactical decisions.
Commercial Due Diligence
Commercial due diligence alone may not be sufficient for making investment decisions in some opaque business sectors or in emerging or frontier markets where reliable information may be scarce. Thought Metrix combines commercial due diligence with political risk assessment and reputational risk assessment to offer clients a unique integrated approach to investment due diligence.
Thought Metrix’s integrated approach merges commercial due diligence with our unmatched ability to reveal undisclosed liabilities, the reputation of the company and its principals, and the relationship and influence of political ties, providing investors with an accurate and true assessment of projected future income streams.
By combining sophisticated analytical commercial due diligence techniques with high-level information-gathering, Thought Metrix’s reports provide context to forecasts for growth, incorporating a variety of potential scenarios which are based on an understanding of political or integrity issues in addition to purely commercial ones.
Investment Research
The investment community is intensively competitive. This rivalry comes to a head when industry players compete for large investments by institutional investors. Institutional investors spend months analyzing the investment processes and information/research advantages and resources that investment managers have at their fingertips to give them an advantage in the markets.
Investment managers turn to Thought Metrix to help them evaluate opportunities and make profitable decisions. Whether it is the potential impact of pending litigation on a company’s bottom line, the effect of new regulation on a company’s sales projections or the potential fallout from a change in management, Thought Metrix’s sophisticated intelligence gathering, coupled with an understanding of the salient business issues, provide fund managers with the needed intelligence to make informed investment decisions.
Thought Metrix’s research discloses unknown or poorly understood aspects of a given opportunity. Our insights are based on facts we gather in the field and are drawn from deep reviews of publicly available information, as well as an elite international network of independent contacts. Even in jurisdictions in which public information is scarce or untrustworthy, Thought Metrix has extensive networks of well-placed sources to develop the requisite information.
Now more than ever, investment managers must focus on compliance issues as they gather information to make decisions. Thought Metrix’s assignments are conducted with complete discretion and confidentiality to meet our clients’ needs for reliable and compliant independent research.
