Key takeaways
- Public budgets, plans and bid data show what agencies intend to do; conversations reveal why, when and with whom.
- KSG combines AI-assisted desk research with primary research by phone, at scale.
- Deliverables are structured and segmented so they drop into your CRM and campaigns.
- Kamstrup used it to learn the North American water market from 1,000+ agencies; Siemens gathered 5,000+ data points from 2,500+ utilities.
What public-sector market intelligence covers
Market intelligence is structured knowledge about your target agencies — what they use, what they plan to buy, when, and who decides — gathered so your teams can prioritize and act.
Depending on your goals, a program can capture:
- current solutions, vendors and satisfaction;
- contract terms and renewal windows;
- decision-makers, influencers and the buying process;
- budget cycles, funding sources and grant activity;
- priorities, pain points and planned projects;
- technical environments, such as software platforms or equipment models; and
- interest in near-term evaluations, demos or pilots.
How it works
- Define the questions. We design the research with your team so the answers are actionable — the approach we took with Kamstrup.
- Build the universe. The agencies, utilities and roles that matter, prioritized for your market.
- Desk research. AI-assisted review of bid boards, RFPs, budgets, capital plans and other public records.
- Primary research by phone. Experienced reps hold first-hand conversations with directors, engineers, officers and administrators.
- Structure and analyze. Results are segmented for easy filtering in your CRM and campaigns, with trends and near-term opportunities flagged.
Desk research vs. primary research
| Desk research | Primary research by phone | |
|---|---|---|
| Sources | Budgets, capital plans, minutes, bids, contract records | Conversations with the people who run the program |
| Best for | What's planned and funded, and when it was approved | Why, how satisfied they are, who decides and what happens next |
| Limits | Only what's published — often months behind | Requires skilled callers and a well-designed question set |
The two work best together: public records tell you where to call, and calls fill in what records leave out.
Use cases
- Market entry and validation — understand buying cycles and needs before committing to a new country, segment or product.
- Product and roadmap input — learn what platforms agencies run and what they need next.
- Competitive and installed-base mapping — know which agencies use which vendor, and when contracts come up.
- Messaging and positioning — refine your story to current market realities.
- Territory and account planning — focus your sales team where demand and timing line up.
Intelligence from every sales call
Market intelligence isn't only a standalone service. In our lead generation programs, reps capture structured data on every call. For Brother Mobile Solutions, that meant sworn officer counts, in-car printing environments, current printer models and field pain points across thousands of law enforcement agencies — context that made each sales meeting sharper.
Case studies
- Kamstrup: first-hand conversations with 1,000+ water agencies across the U.S. and Canada to map buying cycles and near-term opportunities.
- Siemens: 2,500+ utilities contacted, 5,000+ structured data points and 70 qualified sales meetings.
- Hyperion Partners: a large-scale research campaign alongside outreach to 5,000+ public safety agencies.