Marketing Plan: Stage 2

Section 2: Analysis and Competition

Understanding and Beating the Competition 

This is the second part of the situational analysis which deals with the competition and appropriately called “Competitor Analysis”. I mentioned in Part 5 that the Situational Analysis is probably one of the hardest sections you will write and this section validates that statement. You believe your product/service is the best on the market but not just to validate yourself but to validate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats along with trends of those competitors. Here is how the Competitor Analysis sub-sections break down:

Competitive Landscape

First you need to identify major competitors: name, location, and market share. The best thing to do is create a table that allows clear comparisons of your product/service with that of your major competitors (brand name, quality, image, price, etc.). Then you need to perform a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis and compare your firm with that of your major competitors (High Street Opticians are a great place to start with this). Include factors such as company reputation, size, distribution channels, location, financial standing, target market perception and if relevant, research and development capabilities. After your SWOT analysis is complete, use that as sounding board to honestly evaluate your chances as the new competition and how successfully you would be able to enter this market. Include your thoughts and observations on what you have learned from watching the competition and you can learn from the good and bad parts of their business models to increase your chances of success.

Competitive Opportunities

While in the competitive landscape doing much of the SWOT analysis, you should include a section that really expands on the opportunities you uncover because those usually end up being the foundation for things like your marketing messaging and web site content. It is designed to really expose the differentiators that make you stand out in a competitive marketplace. Competitive Trends This section is where you should discuss the trends of your competitors. This includes whether your competitors’ sales are increasing, decreasing or steady. Answering those questions clue into the growth or decline of competitors from a shifting market, from a large scale perspective and also from a more macro market size perspective. This should also help you identify any future competitive threats that your team should be made aware of but not focused on, yet.

Describe direct competitors in terms of:

•  Target markets served
•  Product attributes
•  Pricing
•  Promotion
•  Distribution including the distributor network
•  Services offered

Discuss competitor’s strengths and weaknesses:

You may need to consider much more than just marketing issues such as

• Financial standing
• Target market perception
• R & D capabilities 

Technology, Economy and Sociopolitical Analysis

As we continue our Marketing Plan Series and keep working our way through the Situational Analysis we make a pit stop to talk about the macro-level environments that impact your marketing and your competition. This part of the Situational Analysis is usually called “Environmental Problems and Opportunities” and is about 1-2 pages in length. This could easily turn into a diatribe about politics and economics so what you need to focus on in this sub-section is how technology, the economy and the socio-political environment affect the marketing of your products/services.

The Technological Environment

When you discuss the technological environment think about how you create/leverage/affect creating new ways of satisfying needs (i.e. using technology to enhance the demand for existing products). Innovation can create or wipe out industries and businesses in less than a year. One example is the popularity and convenience of DVD players all but eliminated the sale of VCRs and seriously depressed the manufacture and sale of video tapes. This is especially important for you if your product is technology based.

The Economic Environment

Regardless of the current state of the economy, there will be good times and not so good times. You need to describe how your company will survive and grow in this most challenging of economies. Look at the bright side, if you can find the opportunities and sell successfully in this market you could position yourself as almost recession-proof in the long run. 

The Socio-Political Environment

These are governmental policies and regulations that affect the market. It is also the economic environment around your company; which is the:business cycle, inflation rate, interest rates, and other macroeconomic issues. For example, here in The UK there is a sweeping trend to dress more casually, with function and comfort driving new clothing and shoe trends. People are cooking less and are more concerned about nutrition and fat in their diets. And today, UK business people are less willing to sacrifice family life for business careers. These types of factors can impact the marketability of your product or service. 

 I hope you have enjoyed this article as much as I have enjoyed laying it down.

The next section (coming later this week) will be based on how to design a financial summary. This will include subjects such as,

• Sales Analysis
• Profitability Analysis

 The next section will also include my favorite:

• S.trengths
• W.eaknesses
• O.pportunities
• T.hreats

 Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

Good bye for now. 

GDW