Understanding the specifics of your industry is key to staying ahead of the curve. That’s why conducting a thorough industry analysis is essential for making informed decisions and driving strategic growth. Fortunately, there’s plenty of industry analysis templates available to guide you through this process and give you valuable insights about your competitive landscape. In this guide we have listed 20 industry analysis templates to study your competitive landscape along with ready-to-use templates.
What are Industry Analysis Templates
Industry analysis is a thorough look at different aspects of a specific business sector. It helps companies understand the market they’re in by studying things like its size, growth patterns, competition, rules, and technology trends. By doing this analysis, businesses can make smarter decisions about where to focus and how to stay ahead.
Industry analysis templates simplify the collection and analysis of industry data, making it accessible and actionable. And they provide a structured approach to market evaluation, making sure that all relevant factors are considered. This leads to a more holistic understanding of the competitive landscape.
1. Industry Analysis Template
An industry analysis template is a structured framework designed to facilitate the systematic examination and evaluation of various aspects of a particular industry or market. It serves as a roadmap for businesses and analysts to gather, organize, and analyze information about the industry’s dynamics, trends, competitive landscape, regulatory environment, and other relevant factors.
2. SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis is a powerful strategic tool used to identify and understand the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats related to business competition or project planning. This method helps organizations in aligning their resources and capabilities to the competitive environment in which they operate. SWOT Analysis Templates serve as a framework to guide this strategic examination, making it easier and more efficient.
Learn more: What is SWOT Analysis and How to Do One
3. Competitor Profile
A competitor profile is a vital tool in industry analysis, offering concise insights into competitors' strengths, weaknesses, strategies, and market positions. By analyzing competitor profiles, businesses can anticipate competitive threats, benchmark their performance, identify market trends and opportunities, understand customer preferences, and inform strategic decision-making. This helps businesses to stay ahead of the competition, capitalize on emerging opportunities, and maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace.
4. PEST Analysis
PEST analysis is a strategic tool used to assess the external macro-environmental factors that could impact an organization or industry. PEST stands for Political, Economic, Social, and Technological factors. PEST analyis tool helps businesses to develop informed strategies, mitigate risks, and capitalize on emerging opportunities to maintain a competitive edge in their industry.
5. Competitor Analysis
A competitor analysis template is a structured framework for evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, strategies, and performance of competitors within an industry. It typically includes sections for profiling competitors, analyzing their products or services, assessing their market share, and identifying competitive advantages and vulnerabilities.
Learn more: How to Do a Competitive Analysis
6. Porter’s Five Forces
Porter’s five forces is a framework developed by Michael Porter that helps businesses analyze the competitive forces within an industry. The five forces include the threat of new entrants, the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of suppliers, the threat of substitute products or services, and the intensity of rivalry among existing competitors. By assessing these forces, businesses can understand the level of competition and develop strategies to gain a competitive advantage.
Learn more: A Deep Dive into Porter’s Five Forces Model
7. Perceptual Map
A perceptual map is a visual representation of how customers perceive different products or brands based on specific attributes or characteristics. It helps businesses understand the competitive landscape and identify gaps in the market where they can position their products or brands more effectively. Perceptual maps are often used in conjunction with market research data to gain insights into customer preferences and behavior.
8. Brand Asset Scorecard
The brand asset scorecard is a strategic tool used to evaluate and measure the strength and performance of a brand across various dimensions. It typically assesses factors such as brand awareness, brand loyalty, brand associations, and perceived quality. The scorecard provides a comprehensive view of the brand’s health and identifies areas for improvement to improve brand equity and competitiveness in the market.
9. Strategic Group Analysis
Strategic group analysis is a framework used to identify groups of firms within an industry that have similar strategies, business models, or market positions. By mapping out these strategic groups, businesses can better understand the competitive landscape and the dynamics between different players in the industry. This analysis helps businesses identify their direct competitors and assess their relative strengths and weaknesses.
Learn more: The Complete Guide to Strategic Group Analysis
10. Customer Segmentation Template
A customer segmentation template is a tool used to divide a target market into distinct groups or segments based on common characteristics, needs, or behaviors. It helps businesses better understand their customers and tailor their marketing strategies, product offerings, and customer experiences to meet the specific needs of each segment. The template typically includes criteria for segmenting customers, such as demographics, psychographics, and purchasing behavior, as well as guidelines for analyzing and prioritizing segments.
Learn more: What is Customer Segmentation? Practical Guide with Templates
11. Unique Selling Proposition Analysis
A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) analysis is a strategic exercise used to identify and describe the unique benefits or advantages that set a product, service, or brand apart from its competitors. It involves assessing the key features, attributes, or value propositions that differentiate the offering and resonate with target customers. By clarifying and communicating its USP, a business can effectively position itself in the industry and attract customers who value its distinctiveness.
12. BCG Matrix
The BCG matrix is a strategic tool used to analyze a company’s portfolio of products or business units based on two key dimensions: market growth rate and relative market share. It categorizes products or business units into four quadrants: Stars, Cash Cows, Question Marks (Problem Children), and Dogs. Stars represent high-growth, high-market-share products or units that require heavy investment to sustain growth. Cash Cows are high-market-share, low-growth products or units that generate significant cash flow. Question Marks are low-market-share, high-growth products or units that require careful consideration and investment to determine their future viability. Dogs are low-market-share, low-growth products or units that may need to be divested or discontinued. The BCG Matrix helps businesses allocate resources effectively and make strategic decisions about their product portfolio.
Learn more: BCG Matrix Templates and Examples
13. Go To Market Strategy Template
A Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy template is a framework used to plan and execute the launch of a new product or service into the market. It outlines the key elements of the GTM strategy, including target market definition, value proposition development, channel selection, pricing strategy, marketing and sales tactics, and launch timeline. The template provides a structured approach for businesses to identify and prioritize target customers, define their competitive positioning, and determine the most effective distribution and promotional channels to reach their audience. By following a GTM strategy template, businesses can streamline their launch efforts, maximize industry impact, and accelerate revenue growth.
Learn more: The Easy Guide to Building an Effective Go-to-Market Strategy
14. SOAR Analysis
SOAR Analysis is a strategic planning tool that focuses on identifying and leveraging an organization’s strengths and opportunities to achieve its goals and aspirations. The acronym SOAR stands for Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results. Strengths are the internal capabilities and resources that the organization can leverage to create value. Opportunities are external factors and trends in the market or industry that present potential avenues for growth or success. Aspirations are the organization’s desired future state and long-term goals. Results are the tangible outcomes or measures of success that the organization aims to achieve.
Learn more: How to Use SOAR Analysis to Boost Business Performance
15. Competitive Price Response Analysis
Competitive price response analysis is a method used by businesses to evaluate and respond to changes in pricing strategies by competitors within the market. This analysis involves monitoring and assessing how competitors adjust their prices in response to various market conditions, promotions, or other factors. By analyzing competitors' pricing strategies and their impact on market dynamics, businesses can gain insights into pricing trends, competitive positioning, and potential threats or opportunities.
16. Industry Life Cycle Model
The Industry Life Cycle Model is a conceptual framework used to understand the evolution of industries over time. It outlines the four stages through which industries typically evolve: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. It provides businesses with insights into the dynamics of their industry and guides strategic decision-making regarding resource allocation, innovation, and competitive positioning at each stage of the industry’s lifecycle. This way businesses can adapt their strategies to capitalize on opportunities and mitigate risks associated with industry maturity or decline.
17. Blue Ocean Strategy
Blue Ocean Strategy is a strategic framework that encourages businesses to carve out new market spaces, termed “blue oceans,” by creating innovative value propositions that set them apart from competitors. Instead of engaging in head-to-head competition in existing markets (termed “red oceans”), Blue Ocean Strategy advocates for value innovation, where companies simultaneously pursue differentiation and low cost to attract new customers and make competition irrelevant. By adopting this approach, businesses can unlock new growth opportunities and achieve success in untapped markets.
18. VRIO Framework
The VRIO framework evaluates a firm’s competitive advantage based on four criteria: Value, Rarity, Imitability, and Organization. It assesses whether a firm’s resources and capabilities provide a sustainable edge in the market. Resources and capabilities must add value to the firm, be rare compared to competitors, be difficult to imitate, and be effectively organized within the organization. By applying the VRIO framework, businesses can identify their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for creating and sustaining competitive advantages in their industry.
Learn more: VRIO Analysis Examples and Templates
19. Value Chain Analysis
Value chain analysis is a strategic tool used to examine the activities within a company’s operations that contribute to its competitive advantage and overall value creation. The process involves breaking down a company’s operations into primary and support activities, each of which adds value to the final product or service. Primary activities include inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and service, while support activities encompass procurement, technology development, human resource management, and firm infrastructure. By analyzing each activity’s cost and value contribution, businesses can identify areas for improvement, cost reduction, differentiation, and competitive advantage. Value chain analysis helps businesses understand their internal processes better and optimize them to improve overall performance and profitability.
Learn more: Value Chain Model
20. Customer Journey Mapping
Customer journey mapping is a method used by businesses to visualize and understand the entire customer experience across different touchpoints and stages of interaction. It involves mapping out the customer’s journey from initial awareness to post-purchase and identifying various touchpoints where customers interact with the brand. By analyzing this journey, businesses can gain insights into customer needs, preferences, and pain points, enabling them to design more personalized and seamless experiences that improves satisfaction and foster long-term loyalty.
Learn more: Customer Journey Map: Definition with Examples
Importance of Industry Analysis
Industry analysis helps businesses stay informed, make smart choices, and succeed in their market. And it’s important to businesses for several reasons.
- Industry analysis offers a comprehensive view of the market landscape, providing businesses with essential information on market size, trends, and dynamics, enabling informed decision-making.
- Through diligent analysis, businesses can identify emerging opportunities for growth and potential threats to their operations, allowing for proactive strategy development.
- Understanding competitors' strategies, strengths, and weaknesses is critical for businesses to position themselves effectively within the market and gain a competitive edge.
- Industry analysis empowers businesses to make decisions grounded in data and market insights, minimizing risks associated with conjecture or intuition.
- By identifying areas of opportunity and assessing market demand, businesses can allocate resources strategically to maximize efficiency and returns on investment.
- Markets are dynamic and subject to constant change. Industry analysis enables businesses to stay attuned to market shifts, consumer preferences, and regulatory developments, facilitating timely adaptation and responsiveness.
- By assessing market risks and vulnerabilities, businesses can develop risk mitigation strategies to safeguard against potential threats and minimize adverse impacts on operations and profitability.
In this comprehensive guide, we have explored a variety of industry analysis templates that are essential for strategic business planning. From SWOT to Porter’s Five Forces, each template offers unique insights that help businesses understand their competitive landscape and make informed decisions. Start leveraging these powerful tools today to boost your strategic planning and gain a competitive edge in your industry.
