Introduction
This guide is designed to assist you in finding online resources for completing a marketing situation analysis.
It is useful for Busadmin 762, Market 713, Scient 702 in particular.
What is a situation analysis?
Provides background on a company's functions and performance from the micro-environment through to the macro-environment. Consider the following areas as a way to organize your analysis:
- Industry history and analysis
- Company history
- Product analysis
- Competitive analysis
- Environmental analysis
- Evaluation of consumers
What is an industry analysis?
"Industry analysis is a tool that facilitates a company's understanding of its position relative to other companies that produce similar products or services...Industry analysis enables small business owners to identify the threats and opportunities facing their businesses...an industry analysis consists of three major elements: the
underlying forces at work in the industry; the overall attractiveness of the industry; and the critical factors that determine a company's success within the industry." Encyclopedia of Small Business/ Kevin Hillstrom, Laurie Collier Hillstrom, Detroit : Gale Group/Thomson Learning, c2002
" Industry analysis is a type of business research that focuses on the status of an industry or an industrial sector. A complete industrial analysis usually includes a review of an industry's recent performance, its current status, and the outlook for the future. Many analyses include a combination of text and statistical data.
There are many sources of industry analysis: investment firms, business and trade periodicals, trade associations, and government agencies. To conduct a thorough industry analysis, include a variety of sources." Duke University
What is an environmental analysis?
Looks at the external business....environment political, legal, economic, socio-cultural and technological.... and examines the impact of each of these factors and their interplay with each other on the business - Market and
Competitive Intelligence FAQ's
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Political and legal -analysis of legislations, regulations, government policies.
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Economic - analysis of exchange rates, inflation levels, income growth, debt and saving levels etc.
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Socio-cultural - analysis of social factors that influence people's choices and include the beliefs, values and attitudes of society.
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Technological - analysis of the impact of new technologies - the Internet, EDI, mobile phones, and the increasing advances in computing.
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PEST analysis - from www.Businessballs.com. Excellent guide on how to do a PEST analysis, includes method, examples and template
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SWOT analysis - from www.Businessballs.com. Excellent guide on how to do a SWOT analysis, includes method, examples and template
Resources for your analyses
The Library's Business and Economics Information team has put together a comprehensive web page of resources that will help you find the information you need for your situation, environmental or industry analyses.
Databases
The following databases can be used to find information on the varying aspects of your analyses.
It will be important to explore several of these databases, don't limit yourself to just one choice:
ABI/Inform | Helpsheet
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Covers academic, trade and popular business publications.
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Trade journals are a great place to find market-share, sales figures, pricing information, and company and brand name rankings.
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International in coverage with some New Zealand content
Business Source Premier| Helpsheet
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Company profiles from DataMonitor.
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Industry reports from DataMonitor
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Industry yearbooks from Global Insight.
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Country economic reports from the EIU, Global Insight, ICON Group and CountryWatch .
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Country profiles e.g. Search: ‘zealand country report’ and change Default Fields to SO Publication name.
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International in coverage with some New Zealand content
Datamonitor360 Explorer
- Company and industry profiles include SWOT analyses and Porters Five Forces scorecards.
- Databooks provide information on company financials and top ten industry players guide.
- Industry reports include market value, volume, segmentation, leading companies and forecasts.
- Market data analytics contain information for a range of consumer products in 55 countries.
- Country profiles provide information on political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental landscapes.
- Opinion wire pieces provide analysts' views on upcoming trends as well as forecasts. Live news feeds are also available.
- This database was previously known as MarketLine.
Factiva
Gartner
Global Market Information Database
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Coverage includes statistics (country statistics, market data, lifestyle indicators), market reports, company profiles (market share and performance indicators) country profiles.
NewztextPlus | Helpsheet
Newzindex
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An index to New Zealand trade and business magazines, and four major daily newspapers.
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This database is an index so you will not find the full text.
To find the full text of an article make a note of the serial/magazine title and go to Voyager (the Library catalogue) to find the location of the magazine in the Library.
Websites
The following web pages will link you further resources you need to investigate the current social, political, economic and business environment in New Zealand.
1) Check out these links from our New Zealand industry and product information web page, for example:
2) Check out these links from our New Zealand Company information web page:
3) Check out these links from our Current state of the New Zealand Economy web page:
Porters 5 forces
Books
Search the Library catalogue using appropriate terms and keywords to locate material. Use search terms such as situation analysis, industry analysis, environmental analysis, business planning and strategic planning
e-Books
Check out the following e-book databases. Once you have logged into these database do a keyword or subject search on a topic of your choice, e.g. industry analysis
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