II. Market Research and Analysis
The purpose of this section is to present enough facts to determine if your product or service has a substantial market in a growing industry and can achieve sales despite a competitive market. This section is one of the most difficult to prepare and also one of the most important. Almost all subsequent sections of the business plan depend on sales estimates that are developed in this section. The sales levels you project, based on the market research and analysis, directly influence the size of the operation, the marketing plan, and the amount of debt and equity capital required.
Because of the importance of market analysis and the dependence of other parts of the plan on the sales projections, you may want to prepare this section of the business plan before you do any other. Allow enough time to do this section thoroughly and check alternate sources of market data.
- Discuss who your customers are for the product or service. Who and where are the major purchasers? What is the basis for their purchase decision: price, quality, service, personal contact, or some combination of these factors?
- Describe the primary market for your product, both geographically and in terms of total sales volume. Also, describe the seasonal fluctuations and the potential annual growth of the total market for your product or service, and discuss the major factors affecting that growth (industry trends, economic trends, government policy, population shifts).
- Make a realistic assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of competitive products and services and name the companies that supply them. Compare these competing products or services on the basis of price, performance, service, warranties, and other pertinent features. Present a short discussion of the current advantages and disadvantages of competing products and services and state why they are not meeting customer needs.
- Summarize what it is about your product or service that will make it saleable in the face of current and potential competition. Identify major customers who are willing to make purchase commitments and if possible attach their commitment letters to your plan. Discuss which customers would be major purchasers in the future and why. Based upon your assessment of the advantages of your product or service, market size and trends, customers, the competition and their product, and the sales trend in prior years, estimate your share of the market and your sales in units and dollars for the next two years. Be sure to state any assumptions upon which your projections are based.
