COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES (1 page)
Why is this product/service/company superior to its competitors? I have seen people list five or six things but many of the so-called advantages are items where the company is just as good as competitors or the advantage is not measurable. Many companies only have one or two competitive advantages. These need to be recognized as they are the cornerstone on which a marketing plan is built. You may find that the company also has some major handicaps over which it has no control. These competitive disadvantages should be identified. Clearly a plan may have to address these disadvantages as well.
(*note: Not every company will have competitive disadvantages.)
COMPANY RESOURCES AND EXPERIENCES (1 page)
Generally, strengths and weakness come from an analysis of the company. The previous sections have allowed you to identify the unique strengths which form a competitive advantage and the marketing audit has allowed you to identify marketing strengths and weaknesses. This section allows you to complete the analysis of strengths and weaknesses by looking at the other aspects of the business (i.e., technology, production, information management, management, human resources, finance, etc.). You can think of this as a place for “miscellaneous” company strengths and weaknesses – not mentioned elsewhere in the report.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS This section is the largest (4-7 pages)
You examine the key external environments. Please use secondary (either published or historical) data for this section. Focus on identifying trends and developing forecasts. And be sure to reference your data sources. *Note: there are sources of information other than the Internet. Do not make the mistake of limiting your research to this one source alone. Describe the current climate and situation that the company finds itself in as it attempts to compete. Describe what is occurring in the industry and provide a brief overview of the industry in which the company operates. What environmental and economic factors are affecting the company? Describe competitive pressures, changing demographics and buying preferences, consumer behavior issues, image issues, etc. that affect the company and its business? How has the industry changed as a result of ecommerce and technology? For example, Definition of Overall Market, Market Size and Growth, Economic Business Environment, Political/Regulatory Issues, Social Cultural Environment, Technology Environment, and so on.
