How to Write a Marketing Plan
Analyzing the Competition (Part 2 of 5)

by Sherry Shafer, Drake University SBDC, Des Moines, IA Knowing who your competition is and what they're doing is an important key to the success of any business—big or small. There are really two kinds of competition in business: competition that exists and competition that doesn't exist ... at least it doesn't exist yet. Let me explain. If your business is entering an established field, like accounting for example, you'll be facing the first kind of competition mentioned above—you'll be competing against other accountants. However, if you're introducing a completely new product or service, then you won't have to worry about direct competitors. You will have to work harder to develop your markets, but you may have them all to yourself ... at least for a little while. Just because you don't have any direct competitors doesn't necessarily mean that you don't have to face other kinds of competition. It will take education first to convince buyers they will benefit from your new product or service before you can sell to them. Sometimes a market's reluctance to accept your new idea can be a form of competition, for example. So, once you've identified the competition, what do you need to know about them? As much as you can. The questions below are just a few suggestions of topics you might want to cover: Who are your competitors? How many of them are there? Where are they? How successful are they? Which ones are the main players and which ones are just barely hanging on? How long have they been around? What is the perception of them in the marketplace? How do they charge for their products or services? Which ones are seen as providing the best quality? Lowest cost? Fastest? Best value for the money? Which ones are the most successful? What niches do they each fill? What are their specialties? How much territory do they cover? Who do they use as suppliers? What are their strengths? Weaknesses? cheap hotels in ZakopaneWhat credentials do they have for doing what they're doing? What professional groups and organizations do they belong to or participate in? How do they market their products or services? Are they growing, shrinking, or remaining about the same size? Where can you beat them? Quality? Price? Speed? There's so much more that you'll probably want to find out about your competition—this list should just be the tip of the iceberg. Of course, the next question is where do you go to get the answers to all of these questions? The easiest place to start your research is the telephone book. Pick up the phone and call your competition and ask them some of the questions above. Or you can call the appropriate trade associations to see if they have any industry statistics available. Another excellent resource is your area Small Business Development Center. Continue to Part 3, Market Research click here for next
Sherry Shafer is Director of the Drake University SBDC in Des Moines, Iowa. For further assistance, contact a consultant at a Small Business DevelopmentCenter.

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