This is the third part of my articles on writing a business plan. You can view the previous parts here Part 1 Part 2.

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Recall that we said
The components of a good business plan includes

• executive summary
• mission statement
• SWOT analysis
• competitor analysis
• market analysis and plan
• operations plan
• management summary
• financial plan
• milestones Source

This components will be examined one after the other.
Source

Competitor analysis

The competitor analysis also known as competitive analysis is used to analyze your the business current and potential competitors.

It assesses the weakness and strengths of both your current and potential competitors. Competitor analysis is time-consuming but it is worth it. Below are some tips to follow.

In writing a competitor analysis, the first step is to

Identify your current competitors- This is the first thing. You should have a profile of your current competitors. This list should be based on businesses you will compete with directly i.e business in your area. Once you have a list of your competitors, answering the below questions will give you a cue about them.

• What are your competitors strength?
• What are your competitors weakness?
• What are their marketing strategies?
  These questions may seem hard to answer, but if you already know or in the industry before, you will be able to answer them with ease.

Otherwise, you can get the answers from your competitors websites, marketing campaigns, or by searching the internet for more information about them.

Identify your potential competitors

It is not easy to predict potential competitors when you are not a seer. However, there are ways you can predict if there will be a competition in an industry.

If the following conditions happens, there is high chance of having potential competitors

• There is high profit in the industry
• It is easy to enter the industry with little risk
• There is little current competition
• The market for the industry products/services if growing fast.
  If these questions return a YES answer, then you have to be prepared for new competitors in the industry.

You have to be prepared for new competitors so they won't catch you unawares. Preparation starts by answering this questions.

• How successful are your current competitors and what is their market share?
• What is your current competitors target market?
• What is unique about your business that tends to put you apart from the current competitors?
• What will be your reaction when new competitors enter the industry?

Answering this questions will enable you to compose a good Competitor analysis.

You can read further at Ref 1|Ref 2|Ref 3