Identify Your Competition

Direct competition is competition from a business that makes most of its money selling the same or similar products or services as another business. Indirect competition is competition by a business that makes only a small amount of money selling the same or similar products or services as another business.

Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of your competition will help you figure out what you can do to get customers to buy from your business. Analyze your competition using the following criteria: Price, location, facility, strengths, weakness, and strategy (how will you attract customers?) and post one direct and one indirect competitor analysis and respond to two of your classmates postings.

Customer Profile

Now that you've identified your target market using demographic & psychographic data, post a sample customer profile for your business and respond to two of your classmates postings.

Target Markets

Target Markets

The target market is the individuals or companies that are interested in a particular product or service and are willing and able to pay for it. Identifying your target market helps you to reach the people you would most likely want to sell to.

To identify the target market for your product or service, you will need to answer the following questions:

• Who are my customers: individuals or companies?
• If my customers are individuals, how old are they? How much money do they earn? Where do they live? How do they spend their time and money?
• If my customers are companies, what industries are they in? Where are they located?
• What needs or wants will my product or service satisfy?
• How many potential customers live in the area in which I want to operate?
• Where do these potential customers currently buy the products or services I want to sell them?
• What prices are they willing to pay for my products or services?
• What can I do for my customers that other companies are not already doing for them?

Who is your target market? In your posting include business name, a brief description of your business, and identify your target market. Reply to two of your classmates postings regarding their target market.