Industry research firm Vertical IQ launched a mobile app which delivers condensed profiles of 300 industries which can be quickly viewed before meetings or while commuting. The app is available on iPhone and Android devices at no additional charge for current customers.
“Vertical IQ users are busy professionals, and the reality is that they often don’t have the time to research and read an entire industry-related paper to prepare for a client or prospect meeting,” blogged the firm. “In order to best help our busy customers, we have to design the most efficient, practical way possible to prepare for meetings—writing and organizing industry-specific information that is digestible, quick, and to-the-point.”
Industries are listed alphabetically and searchable by Vertical IQ industry, NAICS / SIC, and Favorites. Searching is by keyword, so “Pest” returns Pest Control, Agricultural Chemical Manufacturers, Landscape Services, and Pest Control Services. The results list may be viewed alphabetically or by sector. The app has a short “Time to Pie,” a term coined by Intuit which means how quickly do users get to useful information.
Content is broken into eleven chapters which are navigated by a three-bar icon across fromthe chapter title:
- Summary
- Big Picture Video – an industry overview which helps reps “quickly visualize the business, gain insight, and be ready to talk about points of [my client’s] industry.”
- Fast Facts – Average company size, geographic distribution, top firms, business structure, etc.
- Call Prep Questions – Capital Financing, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Risks to Watch Out for, Working Capital
- Working Capital – Sell and Invoice, Collect, Manage Cash, Pay, Report, Cash Management Challenges
- Trends
- Risks – Industry Risks, Company Risks
- Numbers – BizMiner industry ratios
- News
- Quarterly Insights
- Bank Product Usage – Industry adoption of standard bank products from Barlow Research
Vertical IQ was co-founded by Bobby Martin, who also started First Research. Both services provide an extensive set of industry snapshots for relationship managers looking to quickly learn about key industries.
“Vertical IQ helps you save time, increase the likelihood and effectiveness of pre-call planning, deepen relationships with clients, improve banker confidence during calls, and bridge the gap between a banker’s financial knowledge and business knowledge.”
Vertical IQ
Vertical IQ supports nearly 35,000 bankers, accountants and advisors who serve small to medium-sized businesses and professionals. Along with subscription services, users may purchase individual reports for $99.