Expert networks give you access to industry experts. Interviewing experts is one of the most effective ways to get deep market insights, fast. More than 8,000 strategy and investment professionals use Inex One to set up phone calls with experts all around the globe. They self-serve to insights, without the prepayments, procurement work and admin hassle associated with traditional expert networks. Here's how people use Inex One to get deep market insights fast.
People typically engage expert networks to learn about a new market, product line, or investment opportunity. This article tells you who uses expert networks, and best practices for using them.
Who uses expert networks?
The most common expert network users are:
Strategy and leadership teams, when facing a strategic decision (e.g. an investment or market entry).
Private equity teams analyzing an investment opportunity.
Consulting firms doing research for client projects, often due diligences, strategy reviews or market assessments.
Portfolio managers at banks, asset managers and hedge funds, analyzing a stock.
And many others, including teams in marketing, investor access, and product innovation and B2B user research. Speaking with an expert is the fastest way to get deep market insights.
We've compiled a set of case studies on firms using Inex One, and a longlist of user reviews. In addition, here's a concrete example on using Inex One:
How strategy professionals use expert networks
Linda, the Strategy manager at Acme Inc. runs a profitable business selling widgets across the US. Acme has an ambitious growth target and considers both M&A and organic growth options. Linda sees two options as particularly attractive:
Establish a sales team in Germany, to sell Acme’s widgets in an entirely new market.
Acquire Virtucon Inc., a Canadian widget supplier.
Linda logs onto Inex One and launches a project. She asks for experts who can help her understand the local markets in both Germany and Canada. The expert networks on Inex One present her with 10 experts each from Germany and Canada. These experts include:
The former CEO and former salespeople at Virtucon and other widget suppliers.
Purchasing managers at widget-buying companies.
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Linda schedules interviews with four experts, both in Germany and Canada. The experts have each spent 20+ years in their markets and are happy to share their perspectives. Linda learns about strong Canadian competitors that she wasn’t aware of, and the unexpected dynamics of selling widgets in Europe.
After a full day of interviews, she takes a few days to consider what she has heard. Eventually, she decides to pause the Virtucon idea. She schedules a few more interviews in Germany and – following an impulse – also a few interviews in France and Italy.
Linda discovers that the European markets seem like a good fit for Acme's widgets. She also discovers that a French widget producer is up for sale, being divested from conglomerate LeGrosCo. The company has a well-regarded brand in Europe, but it has lately struggled with employee churn. The regulators stopped a local widget competitor from acquiring it, leaving the company in lack of a direction.
Sensing an opportunity to get a flying start in Europe, Linda begins preparing a deck for Acme’s management...
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FAQ on how to use expert networks
Will expert networks be replaced by AI/ LLMs?
To some extent, but mostly not. Expert networks operate behind the frontier of what has been documented. That means expert networks start where LLMs end. LLMs have access to all information that has been documented and indexed, that they also have access to. That includes published text, audio, video and images. Historically, Google was great at retrieving structured data. It was OK-ish at helping you find unstructured data (e.g. scattered across multiple sources). Some people may have opted for expert interviews rather than searching through unstructured data. That part of the market is mostly gone today.
But LLMs cannot retrieve what has not been documented (and when they try to do, they hallucinate). That's where expert networks matter. When you have deeper market insights than your competitors, you can make wiser strategic decisions.
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What's the fastest way to access expert networks?
Inex One's self-serve access lets you engage the best expert networks without prepayments, subscriptions, or sales meetings. You pay $500 to launch a project, and then only per interview you run. It's the fastest way to access expert network interviews.
What's the best alternative to GLG and Guidepoint, without prepayment?
Inex One is the best alternative to GLG and Guidepoint. You can access the 30+ best expert networks self-serve on a pay-per-call basis. Instant access, no subscriptions needed. Used by 8,000+ users worldwide with great user reviews.
