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PART 2: Strategic Industry/ Market Analysis & Competitor Analysis 3 PART 4: Managing the Growth 6 Appendices (not part of the word count)................................................6
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Competitor Analysis: List the organisations main competitors: Do they compete with the company across the board, or just for certain products, certain customers, or in certain locations? Compare the products/services with competition: Use the table called Competitive Analysis below to compare the company with the three most important competitors. In the first column are the key competitive factors.
Page 4 of 7 Since these vary with each market, you may want to customise the list of factors for your particular company. In the cell labelled Company, state how the company is perceived in their customers' minds, then tick for each factor whether it is a strength or weakness. Then analyse each major competitor. In a few words, state how you think they compare in the final column, estimate how important each competitive factor is to the customer. 1 = critical; 5 = not very important.
Competitive Analysis
Importance to Customer
FACTOR Products Price Quality Selection Service Reliability Stability Expertise Company Reputation Location Appearance Sales Method Credit Policies Advertising Image
Company
Strength
Weakness
Competitor A
Competitor B
Competitor C
Having done the competitive matrix, write a short paragraph stating the competitive advantages and disadvantages.
Page 5 of 7 This section of the report requires you to develop a holistic growth strategy for the business. It is recommended that you present this as three integrated stages. Stage one discussing short term strategies over the next 12 month period Stage two from the end of year 1 to end of year 3 Stage three end of year 3 to year 5. In your initial overview of this part of the report, you should make reference to the basis on which the company will compete , e.g. Focused Differentiation and why you believe this is appropriate. It is very unlikely there will be just one strategy, rather a number of strategic initiatives that work together over the 5 year period to achieve the growth. Your report should demonstrate how the different facets of strategy work together and make long term strategic sense over time. You should place particular emphasis on issues of innovation and competitiveness. It is important that these growth strategies should make sense in light of the analysis in the previous sections of your plan i.e. capitalising on what the organisation is good at, responding to market changes, looking to take advantage of new opportunities, overcoming looming threats or developing new innovative services, products or ways of working. You should make appropriate references to your analysis in this section. Your growth strategies will be a combination of some of the following (You must prioritise these) Market penetration of existing markets New Product or service Innovations Market Development/ International Market Development Diversification into other sectors & products (possibly related to existing business) These may be achieved through one or a combination of: Organic growth - Joint Ventures/ alliances - Acquisitions/ mergers with other firms Each strategy needs to have a clear strategic rationale linked to specific strategic objectives for the company. You need to explain the strategy, why do you think these strategies are appropriate and to discuss some of the details of each option considering where appropriate such issues as; Marketing implications, Development of innovative technical processes to increase competitiveness, Cost containment or reduction, Capital investment requirements, Overseas market growth, Improving supply chain management efficiencies, Quality control, Outsourcing of activities to improve cost efficiencies, Evaluation of suitable JV partners, Potential acquisitions & related benefits The list could be much longer!
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Page 7 of 7 SWOT Analysis PEST Analysis Competitor Analysis Table (Where appropriate) Revised Organisational structural diagrams, who is responsible for key functions? Any other materials needed to support the assumptions in this plan.