Today, you will be completing the business environment portion of your business plan. The following
forms are meant to help frame your thinking, not necessarily to be filled in completely for every question.
Please use them as a tool to help you write your business and company description portions of your business
plan.
1. Start with the Industry by answering the questionnaire below to your best ability:
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS QUESTIONNAIRE
1. How would you describe the general health of you industry?
 Very healthy
 Somewhat healthy  Ailing
2. Is your industry facing changes in the cost of materials or the price customers
are willing to pay?
 Great changes
 Some changes
 No changes
3. What are typical profit margins in your industry?
 Strong
 Average
 Weak
4. How much power do distributors wield in your industry?
 A lot
 Some
 None
5. How much influence do large suppliers have in setting terms?
 A lot
 Some
 None
6. What’s the current market demand in your industry? Are there a growing or
shrinking number of customers?
 High
 Stable
 Declining
7. Is your industry undergoing changes to address government or regulatory
issues or market shifts or opportunities?
 Great changes
 Some changes
 No changes
8. Is there an untapped market that your industry can take advantage of?
 Yes
 Maybe
 No
9. What do customers care about most in your industry and how do they rate
your business in comparison with your competitors on that quality?
10. How much bargaining power do big customers have in your industry?
 A lot
 Some
 None
11. How much is your industry affected by technological change?
 Greatly
 Somewhat
 Very little
12. How difficult is it for new competitors to enter your industry and market
area?
 Very difficult
 Difficult
 Easy
13. How many businesses compete directly with your business?
 Many
 Some
 Few
14. Have any competitors in your market area recently gone out of business?
 Yes
 No
15. Have new competitors recently entered your market?
 Yes
 No
2. Now consider your customer base. Who are your potential customers?
CUSTOMER PROFILE QUESTIONNAIRE
Geographics
Where do your customers and prospects live? Knowing this information helps you
target your marketing efforts.
List neighborhoods, zip codes, counties, states, or international
regions that include concentrations of customers. You can collect
information off checks or invoices, data from credit card transactions, or
zip code information at the time of purchase or using surveys.
List the areas where inquiries come from. Monitor the origin of
incoming phone calls, ad and direct-mail responses, and Web site
visitors.
Demographics
What are the facts about your customers? Knowing this information helps you
direct media and promotions directly at the people who match your customer profile.
Gender:
__ % Male
__ % Female
Age:
__% under 12
__% 13-19
__% 20-30
__% 30-40
__% 50-60
__% Senior citizens
Education level: __% High school graduates
__% Advanced degrees
__% College graduates
__% Current students
Household composition: Find out whether most of your customers are single,
married, divorced, widowed, parents with children at home, couples with no children at
home, heads of families, grandparents, recent empty-nesters, and so on.
Income level: Into which income levels do they fall?
Other facts:

Do most customers own or rent their homes?

What is their nationality? Ethnicity? Language?

What are their occupations?
Behavioral Patterns
What makes your customers tick? Knowing this information helps you create
marketing messages that interest prospects and move them to action.
Interests: What are their favorite hobbies or pastimes? What
magazines, TV shows, types of music, Web sites, social media networks ,
or other media do they use?
Beliefs: What opinions do they hold? Do they have strong social,
religious, or political affiliations? What do they value?
Purchasing patterns: Do they buy on impulse or after careful consideration? Are they
loyal customers or highly susceptible to competing offers? Are they cost-conscious or
are attributes, such as quality or prestige, of more importance? Do they prefer name
brands? Do they use the Internet to gather information? Do they make buying
decisions on their own or based on the advice of others?
CUSTOMER SNAPSHOT
OUR TARGET CUSTOMERS CAN BEST BE DESCRIBED AS_________________
____________________________________________________________________
THESE CUSTOMERS ARE LOOKING FOR________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
WE WILL REACH MANY OF OUR TARGET CUSTOMERS THROUGH__________
____________________________________________________________________
THESE CUSTOMERS WILL BUY FROM US RATHER THAN OUR COMPETITORS
BECAUSE THEY______________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
3. Finally, take a look at your key competitors and their strategies:
OUR BIGGEST COMPETITORS AND THEIR LIKELY MOVES
Competitor
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Key Capability
Likely Strategic Move
POTENTIAL STEALTH COMPETITORS QUESTIONNAIRE
1. What technologies could change your business overnight, and what
companies might make them happen?
2. What businesses can you think of that might consider expanding into your
markets in the future?
3. What companies might develop products and services to compete directly
with you in the future?
4. Which of your customers could potentially become your competitors?
5. Which of your suppliers or vendors could turn around and compete with you?
6. What businesses might convince your customers not to buy or to buy
radically different alternatives to your offerings, and how can you block their
appeals with new messages and products?