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Conducting a Competitive Survey
              Business  owners  need  to  survey  all  possible  businesses  to  find  out  what  is  available  in  the  market  and  what  their
              competitors are doing. In customer surveys, you go directly to your customers and talk to them, but in competitive
              surveys, entrepreneurs need to observe these questions and ask others. This is a sample survey that you can use for
              competitive research.

                  Questions                                             Observations (To be filled by students)
                  Customer outlook of business
                  1. High-end
                  2. Low-cost
                  Competitor Price for Product

                  Is any offer being given?
                  Competitor’s interaction with the customer

                  Customer’s feelings while buying the Product


                 4.10 BUSINESS PLANNING & IMPROVING BUSINESS GROWTH
              Planning is fundamental to business growth. It helps to create a vision for a well established business. A successful
              business requires strategy to please its customers and excel
              despite cut throat competition. Let us now learn what exactly   Planning the
                                                                                business
              is business plan and why it is necessary.
              Business Plan

              A business plan is a detailed plan of what entrepreneurs want                 Growing Business
              to achieve in a company and how to achieve it. When planning
              a business, an entrepreneur has to think about several factors.
              This includes answering the following questions:

              Ð ÐWho is the customer, and which need is being met?

              Ð ÐWhat product or service do we sell?
              Ð ÐWhat are the various business activities involved?
              Ð ÐWhich material(s) is/are required to build the product?
              Ð ÐWhat is the number of customers being targeted?
              Ð ÐWhat is the role of each team member involved in the business?
              Importance of Planning the Business

              Business planning is important to entrepreneurs. The reasons for making a business plan are as follows:
               Ð Estimate of required funds: Once you know the products and sales destinations, the next step is to estimate the
              Ð
                 amount it will take to start a business. Without an estimate of the amount of money, an entrepreneur could make
                 a large investment or start a business without enough money to run the business.

              Ð Ð Estimating the amount of material required: Knowing the amount of material required lets the entrepreneur
                 determine the cost of manufacturing a product or the cost of providing a service.

              Ð Ð Standing out: A business plan, entrepreneurs need to think about how they can make their business different and
                 special compared to other similar businesses.
               Ð Goal Setting: Another important reason for the plan is to set ambitious yet realistic goals. These goals motivate
              Ð
                 entrepreneurs to work hard.



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