UNDERSTANDING VALUE
THROUGH VISUAL QUADRANT ANALYSIS
BY ELIZABETH BOETTCHER, RED BRICK MARKETING, INC.
An Exercise For Small Business Owners
Baseline Definition of Marketing
Dr. Philip Kotler answered the question,
“What is Marketing?”
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Marketing is the science and art of exploring, creating, and
delivering value to satisfy the needs of a target market at a
profit.
Marketing identifies unfulfilled needs and desires. It defines,
measures and quantifies the size of the identified market and the
profit potential.
It pinpoints which segments the company is capable of serving best
and it designs and promotes the appropriate products and services.
Marketing Means Making Choices
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It is very difficult for small business owners, who have made amazing personal and financial
investments, to make choices about messages that they deliver to customers. We want
customers to know the whole story all at once.
Whether we like it or not, if we don’t make strategic choices about the messages we
communicate with our clients, they may never get an understanding of the true value of a small
business’s products and services.
Marketing and selling your products and services starts by examining the overall strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with what you are selling at the price point
you have chosen.
One tool I have used over and over again throughout my marketing experience is the
“Quadrant Value Analysis” power point slide. It forces you to put key information about your
value delivery right next to the things that help bring it into perspective.
This tool is simple and versatile. When you have organized the key information, it makes it
much easier to visually remember where the top priorities are.
It can be used as a company / product / service overview, and can make an excellent way to
investigate a new segment or think strategically about a specific customer.
By E. Boettcher © Red Brick Marketing, Inc. 2011
Simple Tool For Complex Understanding
Quadrant
Value
Analysis
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Make notes about the the value you deliver to customers by
summarizing your most important strengths and weaknesses in a
visual comparison.
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Challenge yourself to think strategically about not only your
entire business, but also each segment you serve and several key
customers or target customer profiles.

Just
Fill In
The
Blanks
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Getting your business knowledge organized and documented can
help prioritize the most important messages you need to
communicate with your customers.
Keeping the text within the slide’s text box establishes a physical
reminder that messages to customers can’t be too long. Make an
effort to prioritize your information enough to keep the text
within the template.
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Even if you don’t have a complete marketing plan, you can still get a
good idea of what your customers may be thinking when they
research their purchase decision.
You may need to complete the exercise in a complete document first,
and come back to summarize the most important points.
Now, delete these intro slides and get started filling your
information into the following templates…
By E. Boettcher © Red Brick Marketing, Inc. 2011
(Company Name)
Value Analysis
Company Profile for (Company Name)
Company
Definition
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(Describe the purpose of your company, where it operates and
who it serves.)
(Name the broad industry your company belongs to.)
(Describe the way that industry can be divided both by your
product and service offerings and the categories of customers
(SEGMENTS).)
(Further describe your target customer profile. Name some
characteristics about the specific types of customers that you serve.
List a few key current customers and a few key prospective
customers.)
Quadrant Value Analysis: Overview Template
Strengths
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Point One (The most important differentiator about your overall
company’s offerings)
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Subpoint A
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Subpoint B
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Point Two
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Point Three
Opportunities
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Point One (The greatest opportunity for you to increase revenue.
It may be a new segment, a new client or a new technology.)
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Subpoint A
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Subpoint B
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Point Two
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Point Three
Weaknesses
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Point One (The biggest reason why you lose business in general.)
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Subpoint A
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Subpoint B
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Point Two
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Point Three
Threats
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Point One (The most significant competitive dynamic you are
currently facing in the marketplace. Different from weaknesses,
because these are dynamics outside your own business)
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Subpoint A
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Subpoint B
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Point Two
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Point Three
Template Free for Public Use © Red Brick Marketing, Inc. 2011
Market Segments for: (Company Name)
Horizontal Segmentation*
Product / Service Category One
That Spans Your Entire Customer
Base
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Product / Service Category Two That
Spans Your Entire Customer Base
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*
Vertical Segmentation*
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Group One of customers that can be
identified by specific characteristics.
Group Two of customers that can be
identified by different specific
characteristics.
You may only need to segment your business in one way or another. You may not
need to segment your business at all. However, if you can focus your ideas on your
specific targets, and orient your ideas around your customers’ perspectives it is
worthwhile.
Segment Snapshot Template
Segment Specific Strengths
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Point One (Your most important strength in any segment of your
business. This includes any segment or industry specific problems
that can be solved by this strength.)
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Subpoint A
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Subpoint B
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Point Two
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Point Three
General Segment Opportunities
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Point One (Reasons why this segment is strategically important as
well as opportunities for business.)
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Subpoint A
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Subpoint B
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Point Two
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Point Three
(One Slide Per Segment)
Special Segment Concerns / Weaknesses
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Point One (Reasons why your product loses out to competition in
this segment.)
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Subpoint A
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Subpoint B
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Point Two
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Point Three
Current Segment Ownership
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Point One (Describe the competitor who has the largest presence in
the segment. Who currently owns the market?)
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Subpoint A
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Subpoint B
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Point Two
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Point Three
Template Free for Public Use © Red Brick Marketing, Inc. 2011
Customer Snapshot
Strengths: Acknowledged and Unknown
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Point One (Most Important Products, Services and
Differentiators for this customer. Reason why this
customer already buys from you.)
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Subpoint A
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Subpoint B
Point Two (Most important Strengths that the customer
has yet to discover about your business.)
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Weaknesses: Prioritized by Customer Relevance
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Point One (Only list weaknesses that are relevant to that
customer.)
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Subpoint A
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Subpoint B
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Point Two
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Point Three
Point Three
Current and Future Opportunities
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(One Slide Per Customer)
Point One (Current Opportunities for Business.)
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Subpoint A
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Subpoint B
Point Two (General Idea About Potential Opportunities in the Near
Future.)
Point Three
Customer Business Breakdown and Competition
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Point One (Overview of where competition is earning money from
this specific customer.)
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Subpoint A
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Subpoint B
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Point Two
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Point Three
Template Free for Public Use © Red Brick Marketing, Inc. 2011
Conclusions
Key Opportunities
General Strategy Moving Forward Based
on Opportunities
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Key Messages
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Segment Opportunity #1
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Key Customer Opportunity #1
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*
Corresponding Overview Message
Corresponding Segment Specific
Message
Corresponding Customer Message
Try to prioritize the information you organized in the previous slides and
consolidate it down to what is really the most important opportunity and message in
each category.