business analysis
(noun)
a research discipline of identifying needs and determining solutions to problems facing firms
Examples of business analysis in the following topics:
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Business Analysis
- The output of the business analysis stage is a prediction about whether the product is likely to be profitable or not if ultimately produced.
- The first step in the business analysis process is to examine the projected demand for the product.
- A complete cost appraisal is also necessary as part of the business analysis.
- Based on these costs, the business analysis stage will estimate the likely selling price.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the components included in the business analysis stage of product development
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Conducting a Situational Analysis
- Managers can use various methods of analysis to understand the firm's own capabilities, customers, and business environment.
- A situation analysis is often referred to as a "3C analysis", but when extended to a 5C analysis it allows businesses to gain more information about the internal, macro and micro-environmental factors within the environment.
- Businesses must be able to identify whether the collaborator has the capabilities needed to help run the business as well as an analysis on the level of commitment needed for a collaborator-business relationship.
- Porter five forces analysis is a framework for industry analysis and business strategy development.
- Firms use Porter's five forces to develop business strategy and conduct competitive analysis.
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Analyzing Data
- Data analysis has multiple facets and approaches, encompassing diverse techniques under a variety of names in different business, science, and social science domains.
- Business intelligence covers data analysis that relies heavily on aggregation and focusing on business information.
- In statistical applications, some people divide data analysis into descriptive statistics, exploratory data analysis (EDA), and confirmatory data analysis (CDA).
- All are varieties of data analysis.
- Types of data analysis outputs: heat map, bar plots, scatter plots.
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Organizational Online Buying
- E-business software solutions allow the integration of "intra" and "inter" firm business processes.
- Today, online B2B services have become an integral part of business to business and business to consumer marketing strategies while originally its use was restricted to industrial/ capital-goods applications only.
- Businesses must market their goods and services to other businesses exactly the same way a retailer must market to its end user or consumer.
- Businesses use sales tools, advertising, direct sales, in-person sales forces and multi-media to market their products to other businesses, much of which is now conducted on line.
- A SWOT analysis includes analysis of markets and trends and can involve potential scenarios, so it shares important intersections with forecasting.
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Strategic Business Units
- SBUs typically have a discrete marketing plan, analysis of competition, and marketing campaign, even though they may be part of a larger business entity.
- An SBU may be a business unit within a larger corporation or it may be a business unto itself.
- General Electric is an example of a company with this sort of business organization.
- Managed as separate businesses, they are responsible to a parent corporation.
- Diagram the role and functionality of a strategic business unit (SBU)
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Break-Even Analysis
- For example, if a business sells fewer than 200 tables each month, it will make a loss.
- If the business sells more, it will make a profit.
- With this information, the business managers will then need to see if they expect to be able to make and sell 200 tables per month.
- In terms of pricing decisions, break-even analysis can give a company a benchmark quantity of goods to be sold.
- Some limitations of break-even analysis include:
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Marginal Analysis
- Pricing decisions tend to heavily involve analysis regarding marginal contributions to revenues and costs.
- Pricing decisions tend to heavily involve analysis regarding marginal contributions to revenues and costs.
- Businesses often set prices close to marginal cost during periods of poor sales.
- The business would choose this approach because the incremental profit of 10 cents from the transaction is better than no sale at all.
- Identify the characteristics of a marginal price analysis relative to pricing decision making
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Competitive Intelligence
- Competitive Intelligence (CI) is a hybrid process of marketing research and strategic analysis that can give companies a competitive advantage.
- Although the term CI is also considered synonymous with competitor analysis, competitive intelligence extends beyond analyzing competitors.
- There are many synonyms for competitive intelligence such as business intelligence, market intelligence, and corporate intelligence.
- The CI field has been growing exponentially as it is becoming a must-have core competency for many businesses.
- At the core of this concept is the ability to understand the competition's position and predict the likely moves that competing companies will employ based on basic business principles.
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Scanning and Analysis
- One approach is the PEST analysis.
- Of the four categories explored in the PEST analysis, the company has the least control over economic factors.
- Two more factors, the environmental and legal factor, are defined within the PESTEL analysis (or PESTLE analysis).
- The segmentation of the macro environment according to the six presented factors of the PESTEL analysis is the starting point of the global environmental analysis.
- The six environmental factors of the PESTEL analysis are the following:
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Conclude with Action Plan
- It may be part of a business plan but it should be founded on a solid marketing strategy and incorporate proven business tactics.
- Corporate vision is paramount to creating and implementing a successful business and marketing plan.
- Situational Analysis - the current situation - the macro-environment - the Economy, legal, technological, ecological, socio-cultural and supply chain oriented, market analysis, market definition including segmentation and size, industry structure, strategic groupings, competition strengths and weaknesses and their market share, a Porter 5 Force Analysis, a consumer analysis, the nature of the buying decision, staffing, demographics, psychographics, buyer motivation and expectations, loyalty segments and company resources.
- Financial Forecast-assumptions, budgets, use of funds, monthly pro-forma, contribution margin analysis, break even analysis, prediction of future scenarios with corresponding action plan
- How touch point information, input from the customer, flows through the business is paramount to success