Michael Råberg
Uncertainy
1. Need (demand) uncertainty – not always that easy to estimate the demand (solution: ask customers?) 2. Market uncertainty – the market differs from geographically 3. Transaction uncertainty – making financial transactions efficient
Important questions
Where are we now? The starting point
Where do we want to be? The goal
How are we going to get there? The strategy
Fast track external analysis * Gather information from your customer files, your competitor, public sources, market research etc * Think about events in the world at large and how they have affected, do affect and could affect your business * Analyze your customer base, understand your market and think about how it could be expanded * Identify and analyze your existing and potential competitors * Write a short description about your existing market * Write a short description about your competition * Identify your competitive advantages – social responsibility issues, high-tech advantages, things you want to capitalize on
A need to predict the market, find solutions for possible problems
Estimating total demand * Volume by a specific target segment * Volume in a defined time period * Volume under defined marketing conditions
Ten influences on sales volumes 1. Fundamental trends 2. Economic cycles 3. Meddling governments 4. Seasonal variation 5. Demand for a product class 6. Demand for a product category 7. Demand for your product 8. Demand for competing products 9. Demand for substitute products 10. Demand for other unrelated products
Analyze your competitors 1. Define your business and identify the firms that compete against you 2. Segment your competitors into strategic groups 3. Assess their capabilities 4. Assess their market positioning 5. Assess their strategies 6. Form a view about how they will behave and react in the market place