Diaspora Matters

A friend of mine based in Durban inboxed me asking for advice. She said her prices for her business are below those of her competitors and she was considering increasing them during the month of January 20017.

My response- good intentions but bad timing! Most people expect prices to fall during the first months of the year. The hastag is Pricesmustfall! The best thing she should be doing is to find innovative ways to maintain her loyal customers and attract new ones.

January period is characterised with cash flow challenges for most people-we would have spend most if not all of our monies during the festive season. The spending power is definitely low and will peak up around March or even April.

So below are a few tips to help your business to break through the dry 2 to 3 months.

Communication: By now you already know who your key customers are. We expect you to have given them a few gifts or discounts during the festive season period. Continue to network and communicate during this period. Phone them, send texts and advise them of new products or your plans for the year.

Discounts-Discounts-Discounts: Now is the time to lower your prices, even a slight discount can do the trick. If you are in Zimbabwe then you may have seen adverts of discounts by leading Hotels Groups.

Research time: There is no better time to research and improve your business than now. Business is very low and with a few customers coming your way what should you spend your time doing? Spend it wisely-research on what is trending, review past year operations, review your communication channels, review your competitors, What made them excel last year? What can you learn from them? This is the research and planning period. This is the time to create your website or improve it. It is also time to review your Facebook Pages, Twitter and other Social Media options.

Networking & Strategic Alliances: Do not just enter 2017 without a Networking and Strategic Alliances Plan. You will achieve more in business if you work with others. Find out about business associations in your area, find out about national business associations and plan to join. Find out the advantages of joining them …is it information? Is it  going to be markets? Are you going to benefit in terms of funding? Look at strategic alliances as a better way to network and unlock business opportunities in 2017.

So wishing you the best of luck in 2017. We will tackle Pricing in detail next week.

Good Morning investors and followers of ZBIN. So last week I stumbled upon a Japanese Concept called the Mirasapo and decided to carry out more researches about it. Interesting stuff from the Japanese because this is what ZBIN has been doing for the past 3 years. We have been ‘Mirasapoing’ as a community.

The definition of a Mirasapo is as follows:

A comprehensive portal site where SMEs can obtain the latest information about support that meets their needs, seek advice readily from experts and more experienced managers, and exchange information with other companies, whenever and wherever it suits them  (Name derived from the Japanese for “site supporting the future of SMEs and  micro enterprises.” It began operating provisionally at the end of July 2013.)

Why Mirasapo?

The business challenges faced by SMEs and micro enterprises are becoming more complex, advanced, and specialized. → Need to build a support system that can provide a finely-tuned response to consultation needs.

Main Functions

The Mirasapo has 3 main functions namely:

• Support measures and provision of information

Providing easily comprehensible information about support measures by the government and  public institutions. Electronic application functions can be used for some subsidies.

• Formation of a community

Providing a forum (community) where users can exchange information with experts and more experienced managers about specific themes, e.g. starting a business or expanding overseas. Users can create new communities tailored to their own issues.

• Expert counselling

Developing a database of experts in each field, enabling users to choose an expert according to the particular issues they face and seek counselling online.

Are you are a young person who recently graduated? Congrats are in order we wish you well as a future leader in your respective fields. Now 99.9% of you should be looking forward to being employed and its not surprising because this is what the lecturers have been teaching you. You have been wired to look for a job and for some the dream to be employed started from primary school when teachers would ask you what your dream profession was. Popular answers included professions such as Medical doctors, Teachers, Drivers, Pilots etc

Now as a fresh graduate chances are high that a job might not come as soon as you need it. So what should you be doing whilst waiting for your dream job? ZBIN will try and assist you in terms of business idea options and we hope they will be beneficial.

Number 1: Become a Business Researcher– There a lot of unlimited opportunities in the SME sector, from Accountants, Marketers, Business Developers. Help this sector with your research skills by producing reports and surveys for sale. A lot of people and companies are willing to pay if you can provide them with latest and up to date research reports on their products or services.

Number 2: Website Development- There are a lot of bad websites out there- websites with no up to date material and what I would call dead websites. The good news about website development is that nowadays anyone can develop a website-a lot of material is available online on how to develop websites. Research and approach companies and organisations with your proposals to improve their websites by developing new and relevant websites or by managing their websites.

Number 3: Writing- Do you have a passion for writing? There are a lot of blogs that pay writers who write original articles. Research about them on the net and earn from as little as $50 per article.

Number 4: Online Forex Trading-Are you good in Mathematics? If the answer is Yes then consider investing your time learning about Online Forex Trading for the next 6 months. Do not pay anyone any money, simply join the ZBIN Online Forex Trading Group and get free materials. Online Forex Trading is not a get-rich-quick-scheme but with a lot of practice and patience one can actually earn a living from it.

Number 5: Start Ups – Start ups is the buzz word in town and research about start ups on the net. There is a lot of information from countries such as India, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and USA. Read a lot of start-up stories and get inspired to start your own. You may not need a lot of funds to start one for yourself.

So all the best in your job search but in the meantime you may try some of the options we have given you above. You may also join the ZBIN Whatspp Groups and participate in business discussions. Do send your number to Catherine Shava on +263776 196 313

1.    Japan has 4.2 million companies-Total number of SMES 4.19 million, total number of large corporations-12,000

2.    SMEs Account for 99.7% of all companies, 70% of all employees, and more than 50% of all added value (manufacturing industry) in Japan, SMEs form the very basis of the Japanese economy.

3.    Large corporations such as Toyota, Honda, and Sony started out as small backstreet factories

4.    The majority of the products of large corporations consist of components from SME subcontractors; thus, it is the hidden strength of SMEs that underpins trust in Japanese products.

5.    The economies of Japan’s provincial areas are supported by the activities of SMEs – mainly in the service industry, retail trade, and the construction industry – and SMEs play a part in revitalizing local economies and boosting employment opportunities.

6.    Japan has 2 Major SME Policies being the Support of SMEs  and Job  Creation

• Information valid as of 2013

Happy New Year to all the wonderful forum members. We hope that you had a wonderful time during the holidays and that you are ready for 2017.

The good news is that we will continue to share business ideas and network in 2017! We hope to build on the successes of 2016 and scale greater heights in 2017.

Kaizen Theory
The Japanese have a wonderful theory and its called the Kaizen Theory and in simple terms this theory is about continuous improvement. In business you need to continuously review operations and processes and find ways to improve. You cannot afford to rest on your laurels….you have to find ways to improve in terms of support services, ways to improve in terms of production-ways to improve in terms of thinking and approaches as well. So this is going to be our motto in 2017–Are we improving? Are you improving? Do not come up with excuses of ‘no funds’ because some of the improvement require nothing but imagination, creative thinking. So Kaizen its gonna be in 2017 and we hope to innovate together.

Forum Registration
Everything at an advanced stage, we have engaged lawyers who will be helping with the setting up of a trust for the forum. Our target date being first week of February 2017.

Member Registration
After the formal registration of the forum, the next big step is going to be the formal registration of all members on the forum. We would like you to freely register so that you can formally help in the strategic leadership of your favourite forum. No fees expected to be paid for this exercise-more details to come in February 2017.

Advantages of Registration
So why all the fuss about registration? Are there any advantages for doing this? Yebo Yes there are several advantages that will come from being formally registered. The biggest one is going to be access to credit for members. We are hoping to attract funding for member businesses, we do not believe in free grants but are hoping to attract funding that act as collateral for members with no collateral. Formal registration will also enable members to pool resources in any venture of their interest. Other advantages to include collective marketing and market linkages especially in the area of Poultry.

Diaspora Engagement
ZBIN continues to be the number 1 forum in Zimbabwe that actively promotes the engagement of the Diaspora in business.Wek believe that they are a key stakeholder in Zimbabwe where they remit close to a billion dollars on an annual basis. The Diaspora can actually remit more if a conducive environment is put in place for their investment. On ZBIN we already have a member based in Australia who is running a successful rabbit project in Chivhu. We also have Mai Shumba based in UK who has a successful poultry project in Greendale….she networks from UK to look for customers in Zimbabwe and is more knowledgeable about  poultry markets in Zimbabwe than some Harare residents-talk about the power of globalisation! We have more Diasporans on our forums looking for business partners, some like Mrs Shumba already directing business activities from foreign land. So we are hoping to promote and advocate for a ‘Diaspora Space’ in the local economy in 217.

Are you a Consultant?
ZBIN will be offering a number of professional services in 2017. The services will range from support services such as Accounting, Auditing, Marketing, Human Resources, Business Management and IT Management some of the services will be done at a fee. We are therefore hoping that business experts on the forum will benefit. If you are an Accountant then you can be hired for part of full time work on capacity building of SMEs, you can be paid for the development of accounting manuals or training of accounting staff. The same applies to Human Resources, Strategy Development, Marketing and IT. So get in touch if you would like to be added to our database of SME Consultants.

Improved Website & Newsletter
Our website www.zbinworld.com is under renovation, we are hoping to get a user friendly website that has various sections such as Agriculture, Online Forex Trading, Baking, Transport and Real Estate. We hope to have a resource centre where you can download up to date resources in Ms Word, Excel and Pdf format.
We are hoping to improve in terms of the quality of information shared. If we are talking about poultry then we must provide you with the cost of raising a bird, profit to be made and other resources. This should help you in terms of decision making.

Interns-Interns-Interns-Interns Wanted!
So we are creating ZBIN in a manner that allows sustainability of operations. Munemo’s absence should not stop operations. Who knows maybe I may join the great trek in the coming few months? So through the board, life should go on. The group should succeed in my absence should I decide to be a Diasporan like what millions of other Zimbos have done. The vision does not die though-we remain focused on unlocking business opportunities through networking and innovation. We do our work ethically and free of charge to Zimbabweans.

ZBIN is therefore inviting youngsters, recent college graduates with no experience to come and help manage the group and gain business experience in the process. Come and become experts on business writing, business researches, website development and a lot of other business activities.

Vote of Thanks
Lastly our vote of thanks go to the active forum participants. The people who keep the forum going-folks who freely give advice to others. May the Almighty bless you for the wonderful work that you do on the forum for the benefit of members and Zimbabwe as a whole.

Remember our key word: KAIZEN…KAIZEN…KAIZEN…Continuous Improvement…lets continue to improve in every area in 2017.

In February 2016,  I once wrote about my Passport Office Experience, I talked about my surprise at the exceptional customer service at the office. So last Friday I was back again at the offices to apply for passports for my family members. Is Customer Service still exceptional? What has changed in roughly a year?

Well I can confirm that Customer Service at the Passport Office in Harare is still High. What has changed is that the queues are longer-more Zimbos are applying for passports. Perhaps it could be due to the Festive Holidays? We may never know as we need official statistics from the Passport Office.

So on Friday I arrived at the Passport Office at 6:30am and was given number 220. I did not mind to be number 220 knowing that the Passport Office is efficient in processing passport applications. So how did it go?

1. My biggest frustration came from the receipting of funds using the swipe machine. There was only one swipe machine and this led to my 1 hour delay in getting application forms
2. Folks with cash to buy application forms did not endure any frustrating delays
3. Excellent rating for the ladies who work in Rooms 4 and 5. Very patient and helpful ladies. The lady in Room 5 is responsible for taking and processing photos. The lady in Room 4 is responsible for final checking of documents and authorisation.
4. How long did it take me? I left the offices at 11:30am. I had unnecessary delays because my young kids needed photos to be taken (The Office does not take photos of minors). My time could have been less had I brought cash to pay for the passport forms.
5. By the time I left at 11:30am, more folks were still flocking in. My own estimate is that close to a thousand people came to the offices.
6. The Bond note is accepted for passport forms applications
7. In February 2016 the offices were open during the weekend (Saturday)-this is no longer the case-they only open during the working week.

So my overall rating is still high for the office although a few areas need to be improved on such as:

1.Bring more swipe machines for use. Also advise members of public on use of bank cards because I witnessed folks who brought other people’s cards being turned away.

2.Enable payments through the Eco Cash platform

3.Put a Suggestions Box

4.Put  Anti-Fraud Posters

5.Have contingent plans for the rain season

6.Improve on ventilation

7.Your website is down

8. Establish a Help Desk

If you are visiting the Passport Office to apply for a passport then take note of the following issues:

a) If you are an adult, no need to bring photos, the office does this for you for free

b) Bring photo copies of your documents-Photocopying outside the Passport Office is pricey-$1 for two copies!

So have fun next time you visit the Passport Office, we encourage them to keep up the high standards of course they have a few areas that they need to improve on. I witnessed a good number of people submitting forms for Diaspora relatives –perhaps not necessary, how about decentralising the process to all Embassies or even online?

To other Government Departments-you surely need to visit the Passport Office and learn about efficiency. To the Private Sector-you too need to visit the Passport Office and learn about Customer Service because the Passport Office is our ZBIN 2016 Customer Service Award Winner.

So we already know of the current selling prices of Broiler chickens-they range from $5.5 to $7 in Zimbabwe. Now some have been asking us about the cost of raising each bird so that they can calculate the profitability of Broiler chickens. The good news is that we now have a rough guide which was submitted by one of the ZBIN members from the ZBIN Poultry Group Number 4. Please note that this is a general guide, feel free to edit it if you feel we missed certain key information or provided wrong information.

Thank you

At ZBIN we like to focus on success business stories from across Africa especially countries in East and Central Africa. Today we feature key business lessons from Uganda which is promoting its tourism brand. We look at what the Pearl of Africa has done to promote tourism in 2016 and their plans in 2017 and beyond.

Lesson Number 1: Refined marketing strategy in 2016

For the first time in Uganda’s history, they hired three firms to market the Pearl of Africa in United States, United Kingdom and Germany. Uganda is increasingly receiving continued coverage worth millions of dollars in leading media houses in these markets. To date Uganda has already received media publicity worth nearly $4 million. A lot more is expected by the end of 12 months for which the firms were hired. From this intervention,  tourists from US to increase from 49,414 in 2015 to at least 60,000 in the year 2017; tourists from United to increase from 40,851 in 2015 to 60,000 in 2017 and tourists from Germany to increase from 9,585 in 2015 to at least 15,000.

Lesson Number 2: Ugandans encouraged to prepare for increased tourist arrivals. Expected increase in Germany tourists means that there is need to learn the Germany language, quality of service to be improved by increased investment and monitoring by the Uganda Tourism Board.

Lesson Number 3: Working with Uganda Foreign Missions in key source markets to publicise the Pearl of Africa and to link  tour operators to tour operators from established markets where Uganda has have foreign missions.

Lesson Number 4: Uganda to continue promoting domestic tourism.

Below is a statement from the Uganda Tourism Board….

The Uganda Tourism Board appreciates the increased interest from all Ugandans in tourist sites all over Uganda. Ugandans are surely rediscovering the Pearl of Africa. During the Christmas period, we closely observed as Ugandans and expatriates filled tourism sites all over Uganda. We appreciate the lead role played by outstanding domestic tourists such as Rotaract and Rotary, rally fans, sports fans, culture enthusiasts, The Slayers, Mr Dibo and friends, Mr Kyamutetera and many others. Going forward, we shall continue supporting domestic campaigns including Tulambule and others. We strongly wish to encourage the private sector to design such initiatives that will encourage more Ugandans to explore Uganda.

Lesson Number 5: New Tourism Products

For the first time in Africa, Uganda hosted Africa’s first ever birding expo at the Botanical Gardens Entebbe. This exposed Uganda as the world’s premium birders’ destination, boasting of 50 per cent of Africa’s bird species and 10 per cent of the world’s species. This expo will continue to grow and be Africa’s and Uganda’s signature birding event.

Lesson Number 6: Uganda divided into 13 tourism destinations

Uganda has been organised into 13 tourism destinations namely Busoga, Far Eastern, Lango, Acholi, West Nile, Bunyoro, Toro, Rwenzori, Kigezi, Greater Ankole, Ssese Islands and Buganda; most of our domestic interventions will aim at promoting these unbelievably gifted destinations.

Lesson Number 7: Quality Review

Uganda continues to regulate the tourism industry to improve the quality of service .To date they have classified 61 hotels all over the country; five of which have received five star rating. This exercise is continuing and they encourage all tourist accommodations to have their facilities classified as it shall amplify their credibility. The service is currently done free of charge. Tour operators received training as well. The board will continue to provide training to staff employed by tourism facilities such as accommodation facilities, tour operators, tour guides, and many others, free of charge.

Lesson Number 8: Brand Promotion in 2017

The Uganda Tourism Board has the following statement

In 2017, our major effort will be placed on strengthening our brand promise – The Pearl of Africa. Building a strong national destination brand will require the involvement as well as the support of every Ugandan and Ugandan institution including Parliament, police, army, sports teams, media houses, Opposition, boda bodas, etc. We shall be at your door step to guide you on how best you too can participate and benefit from a stronger destination brand

Lesson Number 9: Identification of Undeveloped Sites in Rural Areas

The board encourage individuals that know about or possess undeveloped sites, as well as communities that own or live nearby sites associated with rich heritage to contact then  for assistance and guidance. Uganda has more than wildlife – it is blessed with centuries-old stories that have to be told and sold. Do not hesitate to seek guidance on how best to convert rich heritage/history into dollars. Together, we can tap into tourism to create jobs for our especially rural populations.

By Kuda Celestial, Editor at Celestial Publications

As technology continue to grow, the world continue to shrink. Communication that used to be very slow, now by just one click, instantly you can reach anyone from anywhere in the world. Still that same click can reach millions if not billions of people in a small space of time. The emergency of social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, WhatsApp and many others has made it possible for communication to be super-fast.

In a technological era entrepreneurs must not lag behind in exploiting these facilities for their own benefits. You know what? If you haven’t begun social media marketing you are not only lagging behind, slowly but surely you are getting out of business. In this article I will show you five top reasons why every entrepreneur must leverage social media marketing. Let’s straightway get into the minutiae thereof.

1.  Affordability
Social Media marketing is cost effective. Most of these platforms wont charge you anything to place an ad unless if you want to make it an sponsored ad. All you will pay for is internet connections or data bundles only. While the traditional marketing platforms such as newspapers will charge an average of $8 for an 11 words ad. Now you don’t need an accountant to come and tell you that this is very expensive compared to social media marketing. You don’t only save your pocket, you save time as well.
2.  Minimum restrictions To say they’re no restrictions in social media marketing that will be too louse. Restrictions can be there but very minimum. You can market almost anything, from anywhere, anytime on social media. Unlike on traditional platforms, each ad undergo a scrutiny process where it can either pass or fail.

3.  Social media is a growing industry
According to TechZim as of July 2013 they were about 1.1 million active Facebook users in Zimbabwe only. According to statista.com they were about 1.79 billion active Facebook users in the first quarter of 2016. From the above statistics it simply means placing an Ad on Facebook has a potential of reaching millions of people. Obviously we may talk of the target market but it is still possible to make sure your Ads reach the right people.
Let’s compare this with traditional platforms like radios.
Now a lot of people have retired from listening to the radio. A few who does follow specific programs. What does this Imply? Every business now need to have a strong presence on social media.
The history of Facebook shows that they were no sponsored ads on Facebook but now Facebook offer a service where you can boost your ads. We decide what to see. We can see the innovative side of Mark Zuckerberg but I decide to look at the business aspect on that move. It only means that Mark Zuckerberg and the Facebook Team noticed that now and in future business will be run more on social media platforms.

Did you know you can now start a very cheap online store that directly sell on Facebook? Ooh yeah! Yes you can. I will explore this on my future articles. For now let’s seal the fact that social media marketing is now and the future.

4.  User Friendly:  Facebook and LinkedIn offer auto posts and even auto messages. This reduces labour on your part as an entrepreneur. The system doesn’t need pro knowledge. Just basic knowledge on how to use a computer or a smartphone you are good to go.

5.  World coverage: A person in Madagascar, Uganda, New York or any other part of the world will not have access to read Zim Newspapers. Yes there are now online Newspapers but they just give top stories only with no classifieds. That limit Ads on Newspapers to local natives only, on the contrary social media knows no boundary. Just one post is enough to reach the entire world. With the major upside that it will last as long as you need it while Newspapers are valid for only 24hrs.

So if you are in business then chances are very high that you will have  competitors who will be competing with you for a piece of the market share. Competition is likely to be stronger if the industry is highly profitable. The more the profits, the stronger the competition! Good examples exist in industries such as the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and   the Telecommunication industry. Competition is everywhere even at growth points-at the tuck shop next door or the ladies cooking sadza and braaing meat at Mereki (Mai George). In the NGO world they are also competing against each other for funding and other resources. Governments compete for investment, churches compete for congregants-so competition is something we have to live with and learn how to manage.

One important area in business management is that of knowing who your competitors are. How strong are they? What are the risks that they pose to your business? What are they up to? Have they been taking your customers lately? Are they investing in advanced machinery?

We can add a thousand more questions about competitors but the bottom line is that you should be aware of your competitors-be clued up with every move that they take so that you are not caught unaware. We urge you to be cautious though-do not spend all of your time analysing and focusing on them. You should spend more time executing your own strategy!

Below we look at systematic ways of analyzing your Competitors and information has been taken from Wikipedia.

Competitor analysis in marketing and strategic management is an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and potential competitors. This analysis provides both an offensive and defensive strategic context to identify opportunities and threats. Profiling coalesces all of the relevant sources of competitor analysis into one framework in the support of efficient and effective strategy formulation, implementation, monitoring and adjustment.

Competitor analysis is an essential component of corporate strategy. It is argued that most firms do not conduct this type of analysis systematically enough. Instead, many enterprises operate on what is called “informal impressions, conjectures, and intuition gained through the tidbits of information about competitors every manager continually receives.” As a result, traditional environmental scanning places many firms at risk of dangerous competitive blindspots due to a lack of robust competitor analysis.

Competitor analysis

One common and useful technique is constructing a competitor array. The steps include:

• Define your industry – scope and nature of the industry.
• Determine who your competitors are.
• Determine who your customers are and what benefits they expect.
• Determine what the key strengths for example price, service, convenience, inventory, etc.
• Rank the key success factors by giving each one a weighting – The sum of all the weightings must add up to one.
• Rate each competitor on each of the key success factors.
• Multiply each cell in the matrix by the factor weighting.

Competitor profiling

The strategic rationale of competitor profiling is powerfully simple. Superior knowledge of rivals offers a legitimate source of competitive advantage. The raw material of competitive advantage consists of offering superior customer value in the firm’s chosen market. The definitive characteristic of customer value is the adjective, superior. Customer value is defined relative to rival offerings making competitor knowledge an intrinsic component of corporate strategy. Profiling facilitates this strategic objective in three important ways. First, profiling can reveal strategic weaknesses in rivals that the firm may exploit. Second, the proactive stance of competitor profiling will allow the firm to anticipate the strategic response of their rivals to the firm’s planned strategies, the strategies of other competing firms, and changes in the environment. Third, this proactive knowledge will give the firms strategic agility. Offensive strategy can be implemented more quickly in order to exploit opportunities and capitalize on strengths. Similarly, defensive strategy can be employed more deftly in order to counter the threat of rival firms from exploiting the firm’s own weaknesses.

Clearly, those firms practicing systematic and advanced competitor profiling have a significant advantage. As such, a comprehensive profiling capability is rapidly becoming a core competence required for successful competition. An appropriate analogy is to consider this advantage as akin to having a good idea of the next move that your opponent in a chess match will make. By staying one move ahead, checkmate is one step closer. Indeed, as in chess, a good offense is the best defense in the game of business as well.

A common technique is to create detailed profiles on each of your major competitors. These profiles give an in-depth description of the competitor’s background, finances, products, markets, facilities, personnel, and strategies. This involves:

• Background
  • location of offices, plants, and online presences
  • history – key personalities, dates, events, and trends
  • ownership, corporate governance, and organizational structure
• Financials
  • P-E ratios, dividend policy, and profitability
  • various financial ratios, liquidity, and cash flow
  • profit growth profile; method of growth (organic or acquisitive)
• Products
  • products offered, depth and breadth of product line, and product portfolio balance
  • new products developed, new product success rate, and R&D strengths
  • brands, strength of brand portfolio, brand loyalty and brand awareness
  • patents and licenses
  • quality control conformance
  • reverse engineering or deformulation
• Marketing
  • segments served, market shares, customer base, growth rate, and customer loyalty
  • promotional mix, promotional budgets, advertising themes, ad agency used, sales force success rate, online promotional strategy
  • distribution channels used (direct & indirect), exclusivity agreements, alliances, and geographical coverage
  • pricing, discounts, and allowances
• Facilities
  • plant capacity, capacity utilization rate, age of plant, plant efficiency, capital investment
  • location, shipping logistics, and product mix by plant
• Personnel
  • number of employees, key employees, and skill sets
  • strength of management, and management style
  • compensation, benefits, and employee morale & retention rates
• Corporate and marketing strategies
  • objectives, mission statement, growth plans, acquisitions, and divestitures
  • marketing strategies

Media scanning

Scanning competitor’s ads can reveal much about what that competitor believes about marketing and their target market. Changes in a competitor’s advertising message can reveal new product offerings, new production processes, a new branding strategy, a new positioning strategy, a new segmentation strategy, line extensions and contractions, problems with previous positions, insights from recent marketing or product research, a new strategic direction, a new source of sustainable competitive advantage, or value migrations within the industry. It might also indicate a new pricing strategy such as penetration, price discrimination, price skimming, product bundling, joint product pricing, discounts, or loss leaders. It may also indicate a new promotion strategy such as push, pull, balanced, short term sales generation, long term image creation, informational, comparative, affective, reminder, new creative objectives, new unique selling proposition, new creative concepts, appeals, tone, and themes, or a new advertising agency. It might also indicate a new distribution strategy, new distribution partners, more extensive distribution, more intensive distribution, a change in geographical focus, or exclusive distribution. Similar techniques can be used by observing a competitor’s search engine optimization targets and practices.^[7] For example, by conducting keyword research, one may be able to determine a competitor’s target market, keywords, or products. Other metrics allow for detection of a competitor’s success.^[8] Little of this intelligence is definitive: additional information is needed before conclusions should be drawn.

A competitor’s media strategy reveals budget allocation, segmentation and targeting strategy, and selectivity and focus. From a tactical perspective, it can also be used to help a manager implement his own media plan. By knowing the competitor’s media buy, media selection, frequency, reach, continuity, schedules, and flights, the manager can arrange his own media plan so that they do not coincide.

New competitors

In addition to analysing current competitors, it is necessary to estimate future competitive threats. The most common sources of new competitors are:

• Companies competing in a related product/market
• Companies using related technologies
• Companies already targeting your prime market segment but with unrelated products
• Companies from other geographical areas and with similar products
• New start-up companies organized by former employees and/or managers of existing companies

The entrance of new competitors is likely when:

• There are high profit margins in the industry
• There is unmet demand (insufficient supply) in the industry
• There are no major barriers to entry
• There is future growth potential
• Competitive rivalry is not intense
• Gaining a competitive advantage over existing firms is feasible