swot

• Entrepreneurship


  The process of designing, launching, and running a new business, which is often initially a small business
• SWOT Analysis


  A method to decide which the most suitable business idea is by focusing on possible problem areas and potential advantages of each idea
• Strengths


  • The specific positive aspects, which will give your proposed business an advantage over similar business ventures competitors
• Weaknesses


  • The specific aspects that your business will not be good at
• Opportunities


  • On-going potential developments around you that will be good for your business
• Threats


  • Probable events that may affect your business negatively
• Product Life Cycle Concept


  Describes a product's sales, profits, customers, competitors, and marketing emphasis from its beginning until it is removed from the market
• Product Development


  At this point your product or service is only an idea
• Idea Generation Methods


  • Brainstorming
  • Analyzing existing products
  • Visiting suppliers' facilities
  • Surveys
  • Reading trade publications
• Idea Screening


  1. Ideas which are unsuitable, unacceptable or poor must be junked

  2. Ideas with attributes are rated on the basis of a rating form, rated 1-10 in categories: general, marketing and production characteristics
• Concept Testing


  1. Ideas which passed screening stage will require feedback from consumer

  2. Measures consumer enthusiasm by asking reactions in pictures, and oral description of product
• Business Analysis


  A review of market factors, revenues, cost and trends
• Product Development


  Ideas are converted into visible form
• Test Marketing


  1. Involves selling a fully developed product in selected area and observing the actual or on the spot performance

  2. Depending on the result, decision as to go ahead, modify the product or services, modify marketing plan or cancel the product
• Commercialization


  Involves actual marketing of the product in the target market
• Introduction


  Launching of product or service in the marketplace and objective is to generate customer interest
• Introduction Stage


  • Sales growth depends on the desirability of the product
  • Competition is limited, or selected
  • High production and marketing costs
  • Customers are called innovators as they took risk of the new product
  • Promotions must be informative
  • Free samples and discounts may be desirable
• Growth


  Your product or service is establishing itself, sales are growing and profit margins are good
• Growth Stage


  • Product gains wider acceptance and objective to expand distribution and range of available product alternatives
  • More firms enter the profitable and tested market
  • Profits are high due to less competitors who offers the same
  • Distribution is expanded coupled with mass advertising to meet new goals
  • It's the time to work out reducing costs of delivering the new product
• Maturity


  Sales growth is slowing or has even stopped. You've been able to reduce production and marketing costs, but increased competition has driven down prices. Now is likely to be the best time to invest in a new product.
• Maturity Stage


  • Product's sales level tries to maintain lower price and better features for as long as possible
  • Market is fully penetrated
  • Competition is at its highest level
  • Profits decline because discounting becomes popular
  • High cost in advertising
  • Products are available at most outlets at varying prices
  • Promotion is very competitive
• Decline


  New and improved products or services are on the market and competition is high. Sales fall and profit margins decline.
• Decline Stage


  • Product's sales falls as substitutes and new competitors enter the market
  • Firms may lessen or reduce the items produced and outlets used
  • Increased marketing will have little impact on sales and won't be cost-effective unless new markets are identified
• Extension Strategy


  1. Increase your promotional spending

  2. Introduce minor innovations - perhaps by adding extra features or updating the design

  3. Seek new markets