It is no use having the greatest product in the world if you cannot sell it.
This section focuses on your potential customers and allows you to see whether your products can satisfy their needs.
The Product
- List three important features that make your product or service worth having. Example: design, functionality, reliability.
- List three features where you think your product or service could be improved.
- Can you list three major competitors that offer similar products or services to yours? Can you identify differences between your product and theirs?
- In what aspects can your product or service be described as innovative?
- What image do you want to project with your product or service?
- Do you have any plans to add more products or services to your current portfolio?
The Customer
- Will your business depend on one main customer or will you sell to a wide variety of customers?
- If you plan to sell to a wide variety of customers, list five types of customers that are likely to buy your product or service.
- Do you plan to have a uniform approach to all customer groups or will you vary your strategies accordingly?
- What measures will you employ to identify customer requirements with regard to your product or service?
- How do you plan to collect customer feedback in order to ensure that your product or service has a high degree of customer satisfaction?
The Place
- Where do you plan to sell your product or service?
- Directly from the factory
- From a showroom
- E-Commerce
- Other (give details)
- How easy will it be for your customers to gain access to your products or services? Give details.
- If you feel that customers will find it difficult to access your products, can you suggest ways of improving the situation?
- Mention three ways in which your competitors facilitate access to their products or services for their customers.
- How do you plan to get the product to the market?
- Distribute the product yourself?
- Employ full/part-time salesmen?
- Enter into a distribution agreement with third parties?
- Online sales
The Method
- What methods of advertising do you intend to use for your product or service?
- Newspapers and magazines
- Television
- Radio
- Sponsorships
- Internet (websites, e-newsletters, search engine optimization)
- Other (specify)
- If you intend to use any of the media mentioned above, which do you rate as the most effective and why?
- How do your competitors advertise their products? Do you think their methods are effective?
- How will you price your products? Explain the reasons behind your pricing strategies.
- How will your prices compare with those of your competitors?
- Do you intend to give your customers credit? Explain the reasons behind your decision