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Market planning continues by assessing your competitive position and how people in your area choose financial services providers.

You should be able to explain who the competition is in your marketing area and how people choose one service provider over others. Understanding your competition means collecting, assessing, and applying information about the capabilities, vulnerabilities and intentions of your competitors, and monitoring trends and developments in your marketplace.

You'll benefit from understanding your competition by...

  • Forecasting changes in the marketplace and anticipating your competitor's moves rather than just reacting to them.

  • Proactively detecting opportunities or threats to your plan, and getting potential competitors on your side.

  • Learning from the successes and failures of others.

  • Finding blind spots and unexpected opportunities you didn't know were there. (Why leave business on the table just because you weren't paying attention?)

State licensing records — and the Yellow Pages — can tell you the nature and extent of competition for financial services business in your area. Industry publications, media business coverage, and competitors' marketing materials and Web sites are also good sources. However, it's by talking with people in your marketing area that you're going to understand your competition, what they're doing, how they're regarded, where they're going, and what strategies you'll need to stay ahead of the game.

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Ohio National is not affiliated with, nor does it endorse or sponsor, any particular prospecting, marketing or selling system.

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