Artifact: Competitive Analysis
This artifact captures information about the strengths and weaknesses of current and potential competitors.
Domains: Product Portfolio Management Work Products
Purpose
To provide both an offensive and defensive strategic context through which to identify opportunities and threats.
Relationships
RolesResponsible: Modified By:
TasksInput To: Output From:
Description
Main Description

Competitive analysis is an important part of the strategic planning process. In marketing and strategic management, this analysis is an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and potential competitors to the organization.

Competitive analysis has several important roles in strategic planning:

  • To help management understand their competitive advantages and disadvantages relative to competitors
  • To generate understanding of competitors’ past, present, and (most important) future strategies
  • To provide an informed basis to develop strategies to achieve competitive advantage in the future
  • To help forecast the potential returns from future investments (for example, how competitors will respond to a new product or pricing strategy)