UNDERSTANDING:
Your Market Climate, Strengths and Weaknesses

The Process

1. Learning Background
2. Research Market
3. Identify Target Audience
4. Analyze Competition
5. Highlight Offering
6. Promote Messages
7. Explore Sales / Buying Process
8. Evaluate Pricing

Process Form

1. Learning Background - What business are you in? (What needs does your business meet in the marketplace?)

• What services and/or products do you provide?

2. Research Market

• What is the market opportunity?
• What is the market size?
• How can the market be segmented into logical customer groupings?

3. Identify Target Audience

• What market segments are you targeting?
• What are its members' demographics and psychographics?
• What is your customer’s primary reason for buying or wanting to use your product or service?

4. Analyze Competition

• What categories of competition threaten your success?
• Which companies pose the greatest threat?

5. Highlight Offering

• What need is your offering designed to fill?
• What improvements can you make to your offering to better meet customer needs?
• What new offerings would your customers most like you to develop?

6. Promote Messages

• What does each of your identified target audiences know and believe about you today?
• What is the single most important message that you must communicate to ALL of your target audiences?
• What kind of personality do you want to portray in your communications? What tone? What flavor?

7. Explore Sales / Buying Process

• What is the process for selling your services or products?
• What buying criteria does your target audience use to select an offering?

8. Evaluate Pricing

• What is your current pricing structure, including discounts, product options, rebates, and so on? Do your customers understand it?
• How does the pricing of your offerings compare to your competitors.