New Competitors
In addition to analysing current competitors, it is necessary to estimate future competitive threats. The most common sources of new competitors are:
- Companies competing in a related product/market
- Companies using related technologies
- Companies already targeting your prime market segment but with unrelated products
- Companies from other geographical areas and with similar products
- New start-up companies organized by former employees and/or managers of existing companies
The entrance of new competitors is likely when:
- There are high profit margins in the industry
- There is unmet demand (insufficient supply) in the industry
- There are no major barriers to entry
- There is future growth potential
- Competitive rivalry is not intense
- Gaining a competitive advantage over existing firms is feasible
Read more about this topic: Competitor Analysis