How to Write a Marketing Plan

Part 2: Situational Analysis

4. Competitive Analysis
Examine the main competitors serving the same target market. For much more detail on analyzing competitors see the Preparing a Market Study Tutorial. This section may also benefit from the use of comparison tables. (Length: 3-4 pages).

• Describe direct competitors in terms of:
  • Target markets served
  • Product attributes
  • Pricing
  • Promotion
  • Distribution including the distributor network
  • Services offered
• Discuss competitor’s strengths and weaknesses:
  • May need to consider much more than just marketing issues such as:
    • financial standing
    • target market perception
    • R & D capabilities
• Discuss competitive trends:
  • May need to include discussion of future competitive threats