Marketing Your Consulting Services.pdf - epiheirimatikotita.gr

38
ASSESSING YOUR COMPETITION
One of the most important, but also one of the most difficult, aspects of your marketing
research is to learn as much as you can about your competition—those organizations
that are competing for the same consulting dollars that you are.
Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of your competition will help to illuminate
the unique attributes of your company. It will also help you define your niche
later in this chapter.
Competitive Analysis
You should spend some time examining the competition you have now as well as
the competition you expect to face in the near future. Your competition consists
of more than just other consulting companies. Remember to include colleges and
universities, industry associations, non-profits, governmental agencies, and those
located outside your immediate geographical area.
You can compile your data in three different formats. You may wish to use the
questions here to tell a story and put it in a narrative format. A second option
would be to use the Competitor Comparison Form shown in Exhibit 3.1. I suggest
that you expand the form to at least two or three times the size in this book in
order for you to have enough space to list everything you will need. I like to do this
on a flip-chart page, using a small marker. A third option is to use the SWOT format
from the previous chapter and complete one on each of your competitors.
1. Who is your competition?
2. How do you describe your competition in the geographical area you service?
3. How do you describe your competitors’ ability to deliver in the specialty areas
you have targeted?
4. How do your consulting products and/or services differ from your competitors’?
Marketing Your Consulting Services