Recent research from PeoplePerHour shows that 67% of
small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are now using freelancers to fill
skills gaps in their companies, with a 4:1 ratio of freelancers to employees in
those that do – a real demonstration of the flexibility in our SME market; and great
for Challenger MI, specialising in
market and competitive intelligence for industry Challengers and SMEs, given
that they comprise 99% of our economy: around 3.5m potential customers!
The main reason
for using freelance talent, cited by 55% of respondents, is to fill roles that
companies currently lack the skills for; followed by gaining increased capacity
and flexibility, cited by 37% of respondents.
These are
strong arguments in favour of acquiring freelance talent, and they are as
applicable to my profession – the market and competitive intelligence
discipline – as to any other niche or specialist discipline, for a number of
reasons. This is particularly so as most SMEs, unlike their larger competitors,
do not have the capacity to employ analysts full-time.
Firstly, market analysis is a specialist skill-set, and especially so when it comes to analysing large datasets – both quantitative and qualitative – particularly in the form of survey responses or large amounts of sales data, for example. Not only is the analysis itself technical, but there is also a skill to initially asking the right questions, and then disseminating the findings in such a way as to ensure that action is taken upon them.
Research from LinkedIn, reported by the World Economic Forum, showed that, for
2017, the second most in-demand skill of all is statistical analysis and data
mining; and the eighth most in-demand skill is data presentation and visualisation.
Challenger MI does both on a
freelance basis with, for example, the image below showing the visualisation of
tens of thousands of data points relating to export markets for a
micro-business that we looked at recently.
Secondly, freelancers add greater capacity and flexibility to an SMEs workforce; and, once more, analytical work is a prime example of where this is needed, as I all-too-often see it tacked on to another person’s job. For example, I recently looked at a job description for a ‘Marketing Manager’ at a local medium-sized company. In the job description, the employer outlined 28 responsibilities, and 11 desired skills; and, in total, six of these related to market intelligence. Five of the 28 responsibilities (18%) did so, suggesting that the Marketing Manager should spend roughly one day a week on them.
Given that this
person’s role also includes the full spectrum of marketing – from web design
and management, to branding, e-commerce, advertising, social media, packaging,
PR – it is simply not possible for them to cover all of that and have the
requisite expertise for market analysis, nor the time to do the work justice.
It is an excellent opportunity to bring in a freelance analyst, for that one
day a week, to get that work done to the utmost standard, while also freeing up
the Marketing Manager’s time for the other 23 responsibilities on that list.
Furthermore, I
make the point above that it is a specialist skillset; but, further, it is more
than that: a specialist mind-set, too. Nowhere is this more perilous, in my
opinion, than in the marketing field, given that analytical work requires left
brain dominance, while marketing work – the advertising, the PR, outlined above
– requires right brain dominance. There are often fundamental differences in
personality and mind-set between these two types of people.
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| From another blog, here. |
Thirdly, the use of freelancers brings in a
fresh pair of, objective, eyes. This is particularly important in market and
competitive intelligence, given the absolute necessity for objectivity,
impartiality and the requirement to overcome bias – perhaps particularly where
competitors are concerned – in your analysis.
Think about a
customer survey, or a win/loss analysis programme: your customers are far more
likely to give honest responses, from which a company can learn the most, if
they know that they are talking to someone independent of the company – perhaps
Market Research Society qualified, as in my case (!) – and who guarantees their
anonymity.
Where
competitor products are concerned, a company will, inherently, think that its
products are superior – but are you seeing this from the same perspective as
your customers? Bringing in an outside analyst helps to overcomes these biases;
and others, too, such as confirmation bias, which is a particular pitfall for
those inexperienced in analytical techniques.
Conclusion
Two-thirds of
SMEs enlist the help of freelancers, but what I would really like to see,
perhaps next from PeoplePerHour’s
research, is the subsequent differences in performance between those companies
that do and those that don’t – there are huge benefits to be gained from the
flexibility and access to skills, and I would hypothesise that it is reflected
in company performance.
Freelance
analysts – the second most in-demand skill – should be at the forefront of this.
SMEs’ larger competitors are recruiting stattos, and can accommodate employing
full-time analysts. SMEs risk falling behind if they don't keep up with the big
data evolution.
But more so
than anything, I wholeheartedly believe that SMEs stand to gain greater competitive advantage from
market intelligence due, among other things, to the reduced lead time between
the production of intelligence and the action that can be taken upon it.
Hiring a
freelance market analyst enables SMEs to exploit this competitive advantage and
– as with all of the freelancing above – access these skills on the basis, and
cost, upon which they need them. I work with SME clients highly flexibly on an
ongoing, temporary, or project basis.
Indeed, I
believe so passionately in these principles that I offer one day of work a week
at minimum wage to local micro-businesses and start-ups, so that they can
access a skill-set and mind-set that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to.
MBA-level
analysis for minimum wage – I call it putting my money where my mouth is.
If your company is
interested in adding market analysis expertise and capacity on a freelance
basis, then contact me here.
