Marketing Your Consulting Services.pdf - epiheirimatikotita.gr

The most difficult part will be to remain objective during this analysis. You may
ask a colleague to spend an afternoon challenging you to complete each section of
the SWOT analysis. The two of you may want to use a creativity technique to gain
another perspective. Try this: Imagine that your business is actually your own competitor.
How would you view your business from a competitor’s vantage point?
Whatever process you select, answer the following questions about your business:
1. What are your company’s major strengths?
2. What are your company’s major weaknesses?
3. What are your company’s major opportunities?
4. What are your company’s major threats?
Summarize these responses and prioritize the top two to four factors in each
area. Hold these to use as a part of the analysis you will conduct in Chapter Five.
OTHER DATA REQUIRED
You will want to gather other data as a resource as you design your marketing plans.
• Gather historical data that might include why you formed your business and
the philosophical perspective on which it was based. This will help to position
your business against your competition.
• List the income and expense data that defines the profitability of each of your
services and products for the last year or two. This will help you determine the
most profitable focus for your business.
• Break down your sales by geographic area and company.
• Outline your present marketing plans and the results. This will help you decide
what has worked best in the past.
• Gather cost of marketing projects you completed during the past year or two.
• Gather customer comment cards, training evaluations, letters of endorsement,
or other customer feedback. This will explain what your customers like most
about your services.
Internal Assessment: What’s Your Company’s Marketing Success? 29