APPENDIX A – Market AnalysisA clear understanding of the market is an essential prerequisite to writing the marketing plan. Without a clear sense of the market you can’t possibly have any indication of your ability to compete. Begin this analysis with a brief summary of the company and the market it is competing in. A summary of the market is often useful; particularly for those readers who have no knowledge of the market.Industry AnalysisIn this section, you should answer the following questions:•    What is the size of the market?•    What percent do you currently have and what percent do you want to capture?•    What is the growth prospect for this market? As the market increases, how will this affect your market share?•    Longer term, how can you expand your markets? If you are selling worldwide, how will you address international markets?Target MarketNo single business can be everything to everybody. Most businesses focus on target markets — subsets of the overall market. You will need to define your target markets, determining such factors as population, the overall level of business activity, and your geographic region. For this section you need to write a description of your target market or markets. This should be a brief summary of the markets either by summarizing demographics of consumers or attributes of business customers (business-to-business marketing).Customer ProfileWho is expected to use your product or service? What will they use it for? Why do they buy the product? If you are already selling your products or services, who is currently buying them and why?  One way to write the customer profile is to organize it by demographics or lifestyle descriptions.Major Competitors and ParticipantsThis section should also include a summary of the competitors and participants in the industry. Unless you have found a brand new market niche, chances are your market has already been penetrated by competitors. List all of your known competitors. Here are some questions to answers:•    Are you competing with companies comparable in size, or much larger?•    Are your competitors profitable?•    What competitive advantages do you have?•    What are your competitors’ relative strengths and weaknesses?•    Can you anticipate the emergence of new competitors?Discuss the current and expected competitive market. Is the market competitive? If not, why not? Be sure to rate your competitors’ market share, their financial strength and how their products compare with yours. What are the barriers of entry to the market that you wish to serve (i.e., how easy is it to get started in this business?)Your competitive evaluation will help you demonstrate your role in the market and identify areas of the market that are not being sufficiently addressed.Market SegmentationWhat are the demographics of your target customer? If you are selling to individual consumers, what is their age, sex, income level, education, race, occupation, lifestyle, and number of children at home? Are they married, single, or retired? Where does the target customer live? Where will the business be located and how does that affect your target segment?If you are selling to businesses, what kinds of businesses are purchasing your products (SIC codes, etc.), what is their sales volume, and how many employees do they have?Projected Market Growth and Market Share ObjectivesBriefly comment on the social, geographic, and demographic trends that support your conclusions for the market forecasts. Support your market forecasts with reports on your industry and other available public or private economic data.If you are projecting your sales forecasts using the market size and market share method, feel free to reference your projections with the data from the spreadsheet. You can insert this spreadsheet data in the narrative or in the appendix.Product and Service OfferingPrecisely describe the product or service. There shouldn’t be any doubts left in the reader's mind as to what you produce or the service you offer. The product description should be brief and succinct – many marketing consultants insist that you be able to describe a product and its benefits in 20 seconds or less. If you are having problems briefly describing your product and its benefits, you may need to work on this until you capture its essence. If you have more than one product, describe each individually.Product and Service UniquenessMost new businesses are established to sell products and/or services that are already available. Describe the unique features of your product or service. What makes your product different and why will customers purchase your product or service? Your product may be a commodity, but it can be differentiated by the way it is delivered, priced or packaged. In order to succeed, you must provide your prospective customers a clear reason to buy your product or service over that of your competitors. Being different from your competitor is important – but this difference must provide a tangible benefit to the buyer.If you have a proprietary advantage clearly state it. Is there a quantifiable benefit that can be associated with your product? How long does it take for the product to pay for itself?Product and Service DescriptionsBriefly describe the product features of benefits of each of your products or services. Answer the following questions:•    What is it that you are selling? Marketing consultants don’t sell advice - they are selling a way for companies to transform themselves into market and profit leaders.•    What are the product benefits?•    For example, as shown below, the various products are described briefly (pictures are good here)Product Name - Here you can briefly describe your product information. Use copy and paste if you have additional products.Product Name - Here you can briefly describe your product information. Use copy and paste if you have additional products.Product Name - Here you can briefly describe your product information. Use copy and paste if you have additional products.Product Name - Here you can briefly describe your product information. Use copy and paste if you have additional products.Competitive ComparisonsBriefly describe the primary competitive products for each of your product/service offerings. Include a competitive grid - like the one below:    Your Company    Competitor 1    Competitor 2Product Quality           Price           Image           Target user         Distribution           Warranty           Promotion           Product Comparison Table