Competitive Research

1. Who are our primary competitors?
2. On what basis do we compete?
3. What are our competitive positions?
4. What are our respective market shares?
5. What are their strengths?
6. What are their weaknesses?
7. What are their primary opportunities?
8. How are they a threat to our venture?
9. How do you compare to our competitors?
10. Who are our future competitors?
11. What strategic opportunities exist in the market?
12. Can we collaborate rather than compete?
13. What are the barriers to future competition?
14. Who are the most likely future competitors?

Elements of a Marketing and Sales Plan

1. Market research and analysis ... customers, problem, solutions, competition, risk and reward, resources, feasibility ...
2. Opportunity
3. Mission
4. Business model
5. Marketing objectives
6. Sales goals
7. Competitive advantage strategies
8. Positioning strategies
9. Target market and customer segments
10. Product and service offerings
11. Value proposition
12. Pricing strategies
13. Sales strategies and tactics
14. Distribution strategies
15. Promotional strategies
16. Customer relationship management

Phases of Innovation

1. Preparation ... focus on the problem or opportunity, and who it affects
2. Exploration ... identify current solutions, alternatives, and substitutes
3. Stimulation ... use creativity techniques to trigger new ideas, concepts, and solutions
4. Incubation ... give the new ideas some time and thought
5. Illumination ... identify new ideas, concepts, and solutions
6. Selection ... establish and use clear criteria for selecting the "best" concept
7. Planning ... decide how to implement the concept
8. Implementation ... put the plan and concept to work
9. Evaluation ... determine if the new concept is working
10. Iteration ... apply incremental improvement to the concept, or start over

Elements of a Successful Innovation

Relative advantage ... the perceived superiority of an innovation over the current product or solution it would replace. This advantage can take the form of economic benefits to the adopter or better performance.

1. Compatibility ... the perceived fit of an innovation with a potential adopter’s exiting value, know-how, experiences, and practices.
2. Complexity ... the extent to which an innovation is perceived to be difficult to understand or use The higher the degree of perceived complexity, the slower the rate of adoption.
3. Trialability ... the extent to which a potential adopter can experience or experiment with the innovation before adopting it The greater the trialability, the higher the rate of adoption
4. Observability ... the extent to which the adoption and benefits of an innovation are visible to others within the population adopters. The greater the visibility, the higher the rate of adoption by those who follow.
5. Functional performance ... an evaluation of the performance of the basic function
6. Acquisition cost ... initial total cost
7. Ease of use ... use factors
8. Operating cost ... cost per unit of service provided
9. Reliability ... service needs and useful lifetime
10. Serviceability ... time and cost to restore a failed device to service
11. Compatibility ... fit with other devices within the system

Mission Statement

A mission statement is a description of how the team will achieve the vision for the venture. A mission statement should include a summary of ...

1. Core values
2. Target customers
3. Stakeholders
4. Products
5. Competitive advantage
6. Values provided to customer
7. Markets served
8. Industry

Mission statement seed: "We will earn a profit solving customer problems better than the competition."

SCAMPER

To create a new product, service, or process, try applying "SCAMPER" to an old one. SCAMPER is an acronym for ...

1. Substitute ... What can you substitute? What can be used instead? Who else instead? What other ingredients? Other material? Other process? Other power? Other place? Other approach? Other sounds? Other forces? ... "Instead of ... I can ..."
2. Combine ... What can you combine or bring together somehow? How about a blend, an alloy, an assortment, an ensemble? Combine units? Combine purposes? Combine appeals? Combine ideas? ... "I can bring together ... and ... to ..."
3. Adapt ... What can you adapt for use as a solution? What else is like this? What other idea does this suggest? Does past offer a parallel? What could I copy? Who could I emulate? ... "I can adapt ... in this way ... to ..."
4. Modify, minimize, magnify ... Can you change the item in some way? Change meaning, color, motion, sound, smell, form, shape? Other changes? ... Also: 'Minify': What can you remove? Smaller? Condensed? Miniature? Lower? Shorter? Lighter? Omit? Streamline? Split up? Understate? ... Also: Magnify: What can you add? More time? Greater frequency? Stronger? Higher? Longer? Thicker? Extra value? Plus ingredient? Duplicate? Multiply? Exaggerate? ... "I can modify/minimize/magnify.. in this way ... to ..
5. Put to another use, re-use ... How can you put the thing to different or other uses? New ways to use as is? Other uses if it is modified? ... "I can re-use ... in this way ... by ..."
6. Eliminate, elaborate ... What can you eliminate? Remove something? Eliminate waste? Reduce time? Reduce effort? Cut costs? ... "I can eliminate ... by ..."
7. Rearrange, reverse ... What can be rearranged in some way? Interchange components? Other pattern? Other layout? Other sequence? Transpose cause and effect? Change pace? Change schedule? ... "I can rearrange ... like this ... such that ..."

[Thank you, Robert Eberle and Alex Osborn]

Differentiation

Every successful business is differentiated from its competition ... it could be very unique and significant, or it may be seemingly small and minor. But customers choose one enterprise over another for a reason. Following are some potential sources of value and differentiation to use as a guide when creating a competitive advantage strategy ...

ambiance ... branding ... business model ... community service ... contrived deterrence ... convenience ... copyrights ... cost advantages ... cost advantages independent of scale ... customer relations ... customer responsiveness ... customer service ... delivery ... distinct unique competencies ... economies of scale ... effective sales methods ... efficiency ... experience of doing business ... features ... functionality ... government regulation ... high quality ... image ... innovation ... intellectual property ... limited resources ... location ... low-cost ... manufacturing innovation ... market positioning ... market segmentation ... operational methods ... patents ... performance ... price ... product design ... product differentiation ... product innovation ... product selection ... product-line breadth ... quality ... rarity ... relationships ... reliability ... reputation ... selection ... service ... shopping experience ... supply chain relations ... switching costs ... trademarks ... trade names ... unique capabilities ... value