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What is in a Business Plan: Industry Analysis (Part 6 of 11)

Industry Analysis from the Startup Garage

Time For Completion:Approximately 30 HOURS

An Industry Analysis is the “analysis of conditions in an industry at a particular time, including the behavior of and relations between competitors, suppliers, and customers.

Understanding the different factors at work (market, political, economic) within a given industry is an important component of effective strategic planning for any company.

You should start out by defining type of industry you are and then determine what sector of the industry you will occupy. Once this is established, you can research what factors have a potential impact on your startup and the major organizations in the industry.

Whats in it?

The Industry Analysis should cover several different topics about the industry including industry size and growth trends, major organizations in the industry, and the important factors that affect the behavior of the industry. The industry size section should include revenue figures, the number of companies in the industry, and the number of employees.

The major organizations section should specify who your potential competitors are along with your suppliers, distributors, and trade organizations and include important specifics such as who owns the company, a brief description, who their target market is, when they were established, their contact information, and revenue.

Factors currently affecting the industry may include government regulations, environmental factors, as well as economic and market conditions, any of which can affect your chances of starting a successful business in the industry.

Why its important

Industry Analyses help business owners understand the big picture of their industry and identify the various threats and opportunities facing their business, ultimately helping them identify ways to create competitive advantages.

Knowing what political, economic, and market factors affect your industry will better prepare you for when you enter the market by understanding the major forces that effect how you do business.

Insider Tips:

  • Identify and contact trade organizations to find most of this information.
  • Build these relationships and bookmark great resources. As your business grows you will need to keep up with changes in the industry.

The next section will discuss how to analyze the competition in the Competitive Analysis. Remember, you can take a look at one of our sample business plans at any time.
 

Whether you have a question about your Industry Analysis or you’d like to discuss our business plan writing services, feel free to contact us for a free consultation!

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