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Scanning your environment

Written by: Robyn Pollard

Article Overview: Industry research and environment scanning are crucial to putting you ahead of your competitors. Without them, your business may unwittingly be missing some key marks. With them, you will be equipped with knowledge to capitalise on the strengths of your business and develop new areas that could help you grow in ways you had not yet considered.

Scanning your environment

One crucial part of being in business is research - researching your industry, scanning the environment and knowing your strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats. No matter how strong your own skills are, and how well defined your product is, your business will struggle if you haven’t done the groundwork about the bigger picture of where the trends are heading and what may impact the business.

It is easy to get so caught up in day to day work that you run out of time for activities such as research. As a business owner you must put aside time to research – it is the responsibility of being a director of a company. Benchmarking is one of the tasks that you should carry out. Benchmarking simply means comparing your business and its specific activities to your competitors. They may do things better than you, be more profitable, etc. You can even compare your business to other businesses that perform a similar process to determine whether they do it better than you and if there are improvements that you can make. This is the great thing about being a business coach - we see how things work across industries and in many ways perform informal benchmarking for our clients.

Here are some questions that might be useful:
• Who are my key competitors
• What are my key competitors achieving that I would like to?
• What am I achieving that sets me apart from my key competitors?
• What is the trend in demand in my targeted sales demographic or should I look at diversifying or specialising further?

In evaluating your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats don’t forget to take into account PEST. PEST stands for: political, economical, social and technological. It is an analysis that should be done to assess the external factors that will have an impact on your business (such as economic, technological and legal developments or changes in an industry or the environment that will impact the business). By becoming aware of these factors and focusing on the ones that will have the highest impact on your business, you can identify challenges and also see opportunities for growth and expansion. It becomes part of your risk management strategy, but also alerts you to changes that may be necessary in your processes, for example with all the telemarketing calls from overseas that consumers are receiving renders this method of generating leads more difficult.

Read more about this type of analysis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_scanning

Another helpful research tool is IBISWorld. IBISWorld is an international service provider that provides high quality information, research analysis and reports on every industry. Visit your local Victorian Business Centre or check out their Australian website at: www.ibisworld.com.au

Also check out http://www.trendwatching.com and http://www.springwise.com for examples of innovative products services and services and trends.

Another way in which you can research your industry and place yourself and your business at the forefront of new developments and information is to join an industry association. Being a member of a relevant industry association will give you invaluable access to things such as newsletters, networking, professional development and referral services.

You might have been very lucky with your business and it took off very quickly. But it is likely that even if your start up is swift, you will face times when things slow down or change directions. At these times, knowing your industry, through a process of thorough research and informed knowledge will be a saving grace and may also open up opportunities and ideas you had never even considered. It’s definitely worth the time and effort now, for the pay off in the future! Sometimes businesses that take longer to get off the ground are the ones where the directors learn to research and continually improve their processes to get the business going, which is valuable training for the long-term viability of the business.

To find out more about Moving Forward Business Coach, visit the website at: www.movingforwardcoaching.com.au

© Robyn Pollard 2006

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Related Forum Posts
Men and Women, or Republican vs Democrat? - >>I don't know many men who talk about the environment so I think you're right that it probably wouldn't be in their top ten It all depends on what you mean by the environment. Global warming? Yes...men such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannitty and Neal Boortz say it's not happening and that it's just an anti-capitalist plot. And I think the Republicans prefer to believe that while Democrats - male, ie Al Gore - are pushing it for all its worth. Meanwhile female Sheryl Crowe is telling us to use one square of bathroom tissue a piece... that's just plain silly! If American Women were that concerned about the environment they'd all be riding their bikes to work instead of driving those big old SUVs...
Intro in doses - I think that has more to do with parental guidance rather than enforcing what they would like their child to be when he/she grows up. Parents need to take on a role as a Guidance Counselor would in High school these days - that includes introducing their children to new environments so that they are exposed to an environment they enjoy without enforcing it. e.g. Instead of a parent saying you should become a doctor! They could introduce the environment through "chemistry sets", the Science Center etc. etc. If the child automatically enjoys these environments and doesn't resist it then continue introducing the environment in greater doses. If they resist then continue exploring other environments. The caveat is that with today's lifestyles some parents can't commit to doing this.
Re: Why aren't there more women entrepreneurs? - My opinion on this (being a women, and being disabled), is; Women in general like security. Women are the caretakers, in general. In the work environment we are the one to have children. We are the ones who leave work to do this. We deal with a stigma that we are bad mothers if we work, but we are a bad mother if we do not work. I feel there is no way a man could ever understand this. Sure they can try, and some do a good job of it, however they truly do not understand. How could they?? Being a entrepreneur is throwing cation to the wind. It takes believing in yourself. It takes a women who can have someone say no, put us down or just plan old negativity and for us to turn it around. Women who can do this are called names, while men in the business world are just expected to have a thick skin. Studies show in the work environment that women are more apt to be bullies. Women are more apt to turn on each other. We expect more out of each other. Many women also use the work environment to socialize and to find a mate. Men and women are not created equal. Once we understand this and take what we are and "run" with it; the better all of us will be. Women business owners, women entrepreneurs are still considered a minority. Since there are more women then men in this world, some day this will turn around. This too is why men need to protect themselves and keep us under some kind of control. What bothers me to no end is when women give in to the mans world using sex as a selling tool. We need strong women leaders, not those who use their bodies as a step up. This is just my opinion on this subject.
Hi Everyone!! - Hello, I now became a member of this community here and I would love to be a part of it. Just enjoy the environment here.
Re: I'm Back - Hi GT, Don't worry, Not trying anything, although it can be very nice. I love forums, and it's make it very easy to post when you have a friendly environment.


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