AEC firms historically struggle when it comes to market research. A lot of firms just give up after failing to conduct meaningful, efficient research. Many don’t even try.

If you're serious about staying ahead, or at least keeping up with the competition, it's time to craft a solid market research strategy and build a centralized market research data repository. Done correctly, this can help inform decision-making, drive growth and secure your competitive edge.

STEP 1: SET UP REAL-TIME MARKET MONITORING WITH GOOGLE ALERTS

If you’re not using Google Alerts, you’re missing an effortless way to stay informed. Set up alerts around keywords related to major markets and industry terms. Google Alerts will keep you ahead by notifying you the moment something significant appears online, including new hires, bylined articles in key publications, project news and so on. If you don’t have time to do it, delegate it and get a daily or weekly report.

• Use Alerts to Track Competitor Moves in Real-Time. Google Alerts help ensure that major developments by your competitors don’t slip by without notice. Create alerts for each major competitor to stay on top of their new projects, partnerships, and major announcements. This immediate intelligence is crucial to evaluate your competitors’ market focus and tactics. Be as informed as they are, if not more.

• Monitor Market Developments with Targeted Alerts. You can use Google Alerts to track geographic regions, market segments or sectors critical to your firm. Whether it’s news on government infrastructure, educational facilities, or sustainability initiatives, alerts ensure you stay current on funding changes or regulatory shifts. These insights allow you to pivot quickly, adapt and plan strategically.

STEP 2: DEPLOY GENERATIVE A.I. FOR DEEP-DIVE MARKET ANALYSIS

Use generative artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Pilot to expand, and then streamline your data-gathering process. These tools don’t just save time; they synthesize data from countless sources into information of value, including data found through sources such as the afore-mentioned Google Alerts. A.I.-powered tools can track competitor strategies, summarize market trends and highlight emerging opportunities. Here are two things to do.

• Benchmark competitors. Set up A.I.-driven analysis to benchmark competitors in your space. Have A.I. scan articles, press releases and social media posts, and then condense them into a digestible, informative and strategy-focused report. With a clear view of your competitors' moves, you can assess your firm’s positioning and identify gaps or strengths in your services and actions. This is doable for anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of A.I. technology. A note of caution: Verify results because GenAI programs can make mistakes.

• Use A.I. for Trend Analysis and Forecasting. Use A.I. to analyze historical data, pick out patterns and project future developments. Feed A.I. tools with past data from your markets to forecast where demand will go. Whether it’s a potential spike in healthcare facilities or a surge in government infrastructure projects, let A.I. paint a picture of the next year or even the next five years to guide your strategy. Performing this type of analysis is a bit more complex, but if you or someone on your team can build a “myGPT” you should be able to pull it off.

STEP 3: MAKE CRM SOFTWARE YOUR FOUNDATION FOR MARKET INTELLIGENCE.

Using CRM software as a market research tool goes beyond simply tracking individual client interactions. When approached strategically, CRM data can become a powerful source of market intelligence that illuminates broader trends and client behaviors. Here’s how:

• Analyze Client Demand Patterns. By examining which services, projects or solutions clients request most frequently, your CRM can show you where demand is rising. For example, if you see a trend in requests for sustainable building projects, you can anticipate this demand and allocate resources or adjust your firm’s focus accordingly. This insight helps you identify market segments that may be growing or shrinking, allowing you to stay ahead of the curve rather than being reactive.

• Identify Geographic Preferences and Shifts. CRM data often includes geographic information tied to projects and clients. By analyzing which regions are generating the most business, you gain insights into geographic trends. For instance, if an influx of projects is coming from a particular city or state, this may suggest a strong market there. Conversely, if demand is declining in other areas, it could signal a need to shift focus, accelerate marketing efforts or expand into new territory. Tracking geographic patterns allows you to identify hotspots or underserved regions to focus on for growth.

• Spot Sector-Specific Trends. By analyzing CRM data across your target market sectors, you can detect which are growing or declining. For example, if more healthcare clients are requesting designs for outpatient clinics, this might indicate a shift toward community-based healthcare facilities in your focus areas. Sector-specific insights allow you to tailor your services and marketing efforts to areas with the highest potential.

• Track Long-Term Trends in Client Behavior. Tracking client behaviors over time, like repeat business, average project size and service demands, reveals trends and identifies changes in client preferences and spending. For instance, more mixed-use development projects could indicate a market preference for versatile spaces. Drilling deeper, the composition of the mixture could also be revealing. Is it weighted toward retail, residential, labs or something else entirely? Recognizing long-term characteristics of client behavior helps you refine your long-term strategic approach and service offerings.

• Build a Long-Term Outlook. By systematically gathering and analyzing data in your CRM, you can create forecasting models to project future trends. The historical data helps identify growth patterns, peak seasons and recurring demands. For example, if healthcare projects consistently peak at a certain time each year, you can prepare resources in advance. Forecasting allows you to proactively position your firm to meet future demand, ensuring readiness for upcoming market shifts.

STEP 4: CREATE A UNIFIED, CENTRALIZED DATA REPOSITORY

The final, and most critical step, is to integrate all these tools—AI, Google Alerts, and CRM software—into a single, centralized data repository. While many firms are adept at collecting information, they often struggle to build a structure that allows for solid organization of their critical data and an efficient process for retrieving what they need when they need it. Once established, the data repository should be as automated as possible to reduce the need for manual labor (e.g., using A.I. and asset management software to collect and categorize data).

In the not-too-distant future, centralized data repositories for market intelligence will be the norm. The technology exists to do it; you just need to commit the time and resources necessary to create it.

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