Week 7: Giving business some extra horsepower...

When I was eight years old my Dad and older brothers began teaching me about race cars. I remember learning about the brakes and suspension.  At the time, my Dad's cars had front disc brakes and rear drum so I had to learn two different methods to service each axle.  At age 10, I began working on transmissions  and eventually turning a wrench.. or two on engines.  There was Chevy 350, 396, 427 and even an occasional Dodge 440. While this was just a hobby, one thing that stayed with me was the methodical process to take in the situation and evaluate what is necessary.  There is a process to be followed.  Is the car tracked or it is a street driven vehicle?  What kind of performance is desired?  What is the car's current condition?  

What does this have to do with marketing and situational analysis you ask?  Situational analysis is an examination of internal and external factors of a business. It provides an analysis that reveals a better understanding of the factors that influence business  performance.  What kind of performance does the business desire?  What kind of performance can be achieved?  Situational analysis examines internal factors such as strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threat.  It details the 5C's; company consumer, competitor, collaborators and context which answer questions about the business.  It also lists market attractiveness assessment to illustrate potential new markets.  The competitive advantage section compares the business to its main rival and points outs pros and cons.  At the end of the analysis, the key issues have been identified, documented and assessed. 

My situational analysis for Pharmasim was challenging.  There were a lot of moving parts that I had to be mindful about.  While it all comes together to form one body of work, I broke each component down into more manageable parts and then reassembled.  If I had to chose the most difficult part it would be the market attractiveness.  There were many variables that required review to accurately assemble this component.  Overall, I find this was a really good exercise.  I learned what is necessary to improve performance and find I have a clear path for my marketing strategy.  Now if I can just bolt a supercharger on this thing...