Market Size

Understanding the current market size, the market growth over the last 10 years and the projected growth over the next 10 years provides a business with the critical information needed to run and grow the business. This information impacts revenue expectations, production plans, distribution channels, resource needs, product expansion and development.

 

Target Market

“Targeting allows a business to focus its time, marketing dollars, and channel development on a group of customers who are most likely to buy from them. Determining exactly who those people are and ‘targeting” them is a much more affordable, efficient, and effective way for a business to reach its full sales potential and generate business.

Distribution Channels

Selecting and optimizing distribution channels is critical. Utilizing a good understanding of the target market, when and how they buy, provides an information foundation necessary for success. Customers select a product or service not simply based on the characteristics, features and price; it is also important that the product is easy to procure.

Competition

Identifying the competitive landscape and the products or services being considered by customers is the basic knowledge most companies need. A deeper understanding of the competitive environment allows your organization to best highlight the key features and benefits, unavailable in the competitive products, that the customer will receive when your product/service is selected.

Pricing Sensitivity

Researching the competition’s pricing helps inform a business of their product’s position in the range of competitors or alternative products. It is not necessarily appropriate to have the lowest or highest price product; a business’ overall pricing strategy will direct how products are priced. However, understanding the competition’s pricing strategy is imperative when a business develops its pricing strategy.

SWOT

Evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and potential threats of a business, product or service every 1-3 years allows adjustments to be made to business plans, strategies and goals. The information captured from a SWOT analysis will warn of new competitors entering the market or changing markets, such as expanding or shrinking product demand.