(Add to Favorites | View All Articles | Resource Directory)
|
|
|
Analyzing Customers in Your Business Plan
The Customer Analysis section of the business plan assesses the customer segments that the company serves. In it, the company must 1) identify its target customers, 2) convey the needs of these customers, and 3) show how its products and services satisfy these needs. The first step of the Customer Analysis is to define exactly which customers the company is serving. This requires specificity. It is not adequate to say the company is targeting small businesses, for example, because there are several million of these types of customers. Rather, the plan must identify precisely the customers it is serving, such as small businesses with 10 to 50 employees based in large metropolitan cities on the West Coast. Once the plan has clearly identified and defined the company's target customers, it is necessary to explain the demographics of these customers. Questions to be answered include: 1) how many potential customers fit the given definition? is this customer base growing or decreasing? 2) what is the average revenues/income of these customers? and 3) where are these customers geographically based? After explaining customer demographics, the plan must detail the needs of these customers. Conveying customer needs could take the form of past actions (X% have purchased a similar product in the past), future projections (when interviewed, X% said that they would purchase product/service Y) and/or implications (because X% use a product/service which our product/service enhances/replaces, then X% need our product/service). The business plan must also detail the drivers of customer decision-making. Sample questions to answer include: 1) Do customers find price to be more important than the quality of the product or service? and 2) are customers looking for the highest level of reliability, or will they have their own support and just seek a basic level of service? There is one last critical step in the Customer Analysis -- showing an understanding of the actual decision-making process. Examples of questions to be answered here include: 1) will the customer consult others in their organization/family before making a decision?, 2) will the customer seek multiple bids? and 3) will the product/service require significant operational changes (e.g., will the customer have to invest time to learn new technologies? will the product/service cause other members within the organization to lose their jobs? etc.). It is essential to truly understand customers to develop a successful business and marketing strategy. As such, sophisticated investors require comprehensive profiles of a company's target customers. By spending the time to research and analyze your target customers, you will develop both enhance your business strategy and funding success. As President of Growthink Business Plans, Dave Lavinsky has helped the company become one of the premier business plan development firms. Since its inception, Growthink has developed over 200 business plans. Growthink clients have collectively raised over $750 million in financing, launched numerous new product and service lines and gained competitive advantage and market share.
MORE RESOURCES: News provided by Yahoo! News and Google News Head of U.S. Small Business Administration in Jacksonville to talk 'microlending' Bill Aims to Simplify 1099-Ks for Small Biz - Reuters Small business lending fund will profit taxpayers - Treasury Small biz loan demand up, Federal Reserve says - CNNMoney Stratford Small Biz Owner Hosts Workshop Series - Patch.com SBA 504 Loans Hit Record Low Interest Rate for February VSE Honors 2011 Small Business Suppliers of Choice Small-Business Owners More Optimistic About Growth -Survey Wilmington council considers small biz help along with ballpark - WWAY NewsChannel 3 Proposed Regulation Grants Agencies the Discretion to Waive Small Business Set-Asides, According to the American Small ... |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Mobile Truck Washing, Case Study Most folks in the pressure washing business are happier to do business cleaning concrete or flat work, because it appears to be easy. Some do both fleet truck washing and concrete, which makes sense. Making a Donation to Bring MORE Business How a donation is different from a sponsorship and what is the advantage to you?Donations are different from sponsorships, as a sponsorship is more likely to headline you for an event whereas a donation will let you be listed as one of the many donors. You do not need to headline every event to get business attention; you can simply donate an amount of funds and be listed. Why are Reverse Mergers Often the Victims of Short Sellers? There is a great deal of abuse going on in the OTC Bulletin Board Market and a lot of money is being made as result of it. Regulators are trying to deal with the problem but are unable to put a halt to it, unless they take drastic steps which will be detrimental to the small and micro-cap market. Is This The Way Its Always Been Done? Let's face it, we all tend to get stuck in doing things 'the way they've always been done', and creating products, or services, in a similarly conservative mode.But there is another way. Secrets of Cleaning Truck Trailers in Your Fleet from a Veteran Truck Washer Cleaning the trailers towed by big trucks is not easy, those big forty-foot to fifty-three foot boxes are quite intimidating up close when you are holding nothing more than a brush and pressure washer gun, looking at a soap bucket. The hardest thing to do is to clean the back doors of trailers because they get really greasy from all the debris and stuff the truck has driven through. S Corporation - What Is It? For many small businesses, the "S" corporation is the business entity of choice. The "S" in S corporation refers to a tax designation. Web Based CRM Systems: Get Mobile; Get Results Everyday more web based companies enter the business scene. The low initial investment, potentially high revenue, and convenience of owning and operating a business from your home PC or laptop is enticing an ever-increasing number of entrepreneurs to try their hand at e-business. Perfecting Your Pitch Why should you describe your business to others in 5 to 10 seconds?How long do you think you have to get anyone's attention? 5 minutes? 2 minutes? 30 seconds? It is actually 10 seconds. I know it does not seem like a long period of time but you will be amazed what you can say in 10 seconds. Improve your odds of getting that Small Business Loan To get approval for your small business loan application, you must be able to meet the lending criteria set down. Some organisations are more risk averse than others, and will therefore have more stringent criteria. The ABCs of Fundraising There are many little details that go into making sure your fundraising event is a successful event. The key is to have all your fundraising details laid out in front of you before you even start. Who Does Over Disclosure Really Hurt In Franchising? Costs of over regulation and over disclosure end up hurting the very consumer that the regulatory bodies are trying to protect. Over disclosure and over regulation is in itself the worst evil of civilization, as it stifles free enterprise, innovation and free markets. More Business Card Uses Why would you use an event pass?Event passes are often used as giveaways to entice people to attend some event. You will find that most time-share companies will have passes to be used to attend their spiel, plus they also give away other goodies. Tips For Successful Home Show Businesses Opportunities for home show businesses have never been more abundant. If you're thinking about joining the ranks of those in the many show businesses at home available, use these quick tips to get going. The Number of Pages in the UFOC in Franchising is Still Growing Today Today required franchise disclosure documents are over 200 pages generally. How many pages do you think the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular; UFOCs were 35 years ago for these ten-foot tall pillars of the franchising community like Kroc, Monhan and Rosenberg founded their companies? They were of course the founders of McDonalds, Domino's Pizza and Duncan Donuts. Business Valuation is Critical What is Business Valuation? The term business valuation is the method by which the business worth is determined. This usually happens when the business is for sale, when the business is looking for extra funding from the banks, when the business is considering taking on extra investors, or where the business is looking at merging with another organisation. Self Serve Car Washes in the United States In the 2003 Auto Laundry News Survey it was determined that only 10% of the Coin-op Car Washes had a web site. So if you are doing lots of individual research on car washes that are self serve, do not expect to find a lot of data on the Internet. 5 Tips for Hiring a GREAT Bookkeeper Bookkeeping?the "dreaded" word is something we all have to worry about. Business owners rarely go into business to deal with the financial aspects of running a business. Beginning an Internship Program CONSIDERATIONS FOR YOUR INTERN: Specify the number of hours the intern will be needed each week. Will specific hours be adhered to, or will the schedule be more flexible? Applicants want to know up front what they will be paid, if anything. How to Start an Office Support Service Office support services can range from basic data entry to a fully-staffed office handling all the details of a client's business.An office support service company can start very small, offering only a limited selection of services and expanding as you gain the capacity to do so. 11 Things Small Business Owners Can Learn From Rudy Giuliani 1. Leadership Is Learned - While many people appear to have an innate ability to lead, most learn from their life and business experiences, then put these lessons into practice.
|
| Home | Site Map | Privacy Statement | More Articles |
| © 2006 |