No matter how much you think you know about your competition, no matter how much experience you have in your chosen field, without a clear understanding of the market for your business you might as well be driving blind. Big companies spend thousands of dollars to conduct competitive market analysis , but fortunately for those of you on a tight budget, you can do quite a bit of this yourself, without spending much at all.
Competitive market analysis is important at every step of your business’s development. Whether you’re trying to choose a business , write a business plan , or grow your business , research is absolutely vital to making informed decisions. The key things you need to learn about your market and your competition include:
- Who are the major competitors in the market?
- What’s their current share of the market you’ve identified?
- Have there been any significant changes in the market share each competitor has had over the past five to ten years (i.e. who’s moving up and who’s moving down)?
- Which of your competitors address which segments and which of them are strongest in those segments?
- What are your competitors’ strategies for reaching your target market, as well as any segments on which they focus?
Now that you know the types of questions for which you’re seeking answers (and there are many more, but these should get you started), here are some pointers for how to get those answers without spending a fortune.
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