Analysis - A Crucial Step http://competitive-intelligence.mirum.net Fri, 29 Mar 2024 11:39:15 +0000 Joomla! - Open Source Content Management en-gb PEST Analysis http://competitive-intelligence.mirum.net/analysis-a-crucial-step/pest-analysis.html http://competitive-intelligence.mirum.net/analysis-a-crucial-step/pest-analysis.html PEST Analysis

PEST analysis is the acronym for "Political, Economic, Social, and Technological analysis" and illustrates a framework of macro-environmental aspects used in environmental sensing. Economic surroundings affect how easy or how difficult it is to be successful and profitable at a certain time because they influence both capital availability and cost, and demand.

Identifying PEST influences is a helpful method of summarizing the external environment in which a business operates. Nevertheless, it has to be followed up by consideration of how a business should act in response to these influences.

 PEST analysis is an element of the external analysis when performing market research and gives an overview of the different macro-environmental aspects that the company has to take into consideration. Political factors include parts such as employment laws, environmental regulations, tax policy, trade restrictions and tariffs and political constancy. The economic aspects are e.g. the economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates and inflation rate. Social aspects which might be considered could be the cultural aspects and include health consciousness, population growth rate, age distribution, career attitudes and emphasis on safety. The technological aspects also comprise ecological and environmental aspects and can give hints on the barriers to entry, minimum efficient production level and influence outsourcing decisions. It considers elements like Research and Development activity, automation, technology incentives and the rate of technological change.

Other acronyms used in this context are STEP, STEEP or PESTLE analysis (Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, Technological, Legal, Environmental). Lately it was even further extended to STEEPLED, including ethics and demographics.

 

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pastoors@mirum.com (Administrator) Analysis - A Crucial Step Sun, 15 Oct 2006 08:28:10 +0000
Ways To Analyze http://competitive-intelligence.mirum.net/analysis-a-crucial-step/ways-to-analyze.html http://competitive-intelligence.mirum.net/analysis-a-crucial-step/ways-to-analyze.html Ways To Analyze

There are different ways to analyze data. You can choose the processes that make the most sense to your company and objectives, or simply use a combination of methods.

Use these suggestions to analyze strengths and weaknesses, advantages, and any relevant patterns.

Competitive forces. This step is crucial to complete if you are planning on creating a marketing plan for your company. In general, there are five competitive forces that affect the market.

  1. Competitors and rivalries. Do you have an aggressive competitor? Is your industry declining? How are the prices within your industry? Basically, you will need to consider how competitive your business is with your competitor. If the competition is fierce, you will need a more aggressive advertising campaign.
     
  2. Any new competitors. A new business on the scene can present a serious threat to the other companies. They have an advantage because they are determined to win over a portion of the market. This could mean that they will engage in an aggressive marketing strategy and thus take away some of your customers.
     
  3. Substitute products. We see it at the supermarkets. Brand names are met with store brands that promise to be essentially the same product. When a company is dedicated to producing a product that is identical to yours yet charges cheaper prices, this can be a big threat.
     
  4. Consider the buyers. Do your buyers demand low prices? This can affect supply and demand as well as your profits. If you have a lot of competition, the constant price fluctuations can affect the market.
     
  5. The suppliers. If your suppliers also demand certain profits. This happens if your supplier has a sort of monopoly over the market or if they are large and important enough to demand certain prices. This can also affect your overall business practices.
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pastoors@mirum.com (Administrator) Analysis - A Crucial Step Sun, 20 Aug 2006 11:36:54 +0000
Analysis - A Crucial Step http://competitive-intelligence.mirum.net/analysis-a-crucial-step/analysis-a-crucial-step.html http://competitive-intelligence.mirum.net/analysis-a-crucial-step/analysis-a-crucial-step.html

Analyzing the date you gather is a crucial step. However, without the proper organization and a clear objective, you won’t gain much from the process. If you started collecting information without a clear objective, you may have a difficult time making sense of it. That is why with competitive intelligence, you need to master all the steps in order to be able to use the information to your advantage.

There are three basic steps that are part of this process. After you collect the data you will need to organize it. Then comes the analysis and reporting phase.


Remember that the goal is to use this information to minimize your risks and give you an edge over the competition.

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pastoors@mirum.com (Administrator) Analysis - A Crucial Step Sun, 20 Aug 2006 11:33:04 +0000