Why to acquire information:

Managers mainly want to be able to predict future for a company and its products.  That future embraces total market demand and nature of such demand, company's share by brand and what competitors will be doing.  They desire this information so they may chart their own firm's future and thus are proactive instead than be forced into reacting to a competitor's actions.

1. The firm's internal record system would be set up in such a way as to simply provide information in a form the manager may act on.  But it is largely historical information such as sales by account, by salesperson, by territory and so on.  Acquiring forward-looking information is name of game.  Monitoring the relevant intervening variables, firms are capable to monitor intentions to purchase among the many other factors such like competitor's activities.  Such intervening variables differ by company and industry sector.   For consumer goods companies' measures of consciousness, attitudes toward the brand, and distribution levels - among others - are indicators of future sales performance.  In case of industrial companies, relationships between sellers and buyers are all important.  So measures of customer service, product, levels performance measures and acceptability of technical knowledge of salespeople shall be partial indicators of whether particular suppliers will be chosen.   In both instances, economic indicators are scanned before companies decide on level of marketing expenditure. That is, whether an expanding or contracting local and global economy faces the firm and industry.
2. Well accepted salespeople invariably contain stronger relationships with their clients, and being closer to them, are privy to more information on buying company's performance, expectations  of  future  and  even  views  on  the  supplying  companies  weaknesses and strengths  with their competitors. Frequently it is essential to establish performance rankings in formal manner.

In much of the similar manner as consumer companies assess the significant criteria that consumers user to make a decision between brands, industrials conduct research that identify the criteria purchasers use to select and maintain suppliers, with the ratings for particular companies. Given the usually high education level of like sales engineers, it is not uncommon for field force to administer such research.  Others use research companies.