The Business Plan Workbook, 11th Edition

ASSIGNMENT 6 A plan for market research

It is unlikely that you will already have the answers to all the important questions concerning your marketplace. The purpose of the market research element of the workbook is to ensure you have sufficient information on customers, competitors and markets so that your market entry or expansion strategy is at least on the target, if not the bullseye itself. In other words, enough people want to buy what you want to sell at a price that will give you a viable business. If you miss the target completely, you may not have the resources for a second shot.

One of the sad aspects of new business starts is that often the one-in-three failure rate for businesses in the first three years of life involves someone ...