I was working with my marketing advisor this morning about refining our green marketing strategy and the term "gap analysis" came up as a description of what I wanted to work on. I did what most people these do in the information gathering phase...I visited Google.
Resource one that caught my eye:
The GAP Analysis Program
"Keeping Common Species Common"
The goal of the GAP Analysis Program is to keep
common species common by identifying those species and plant
communities that are not adequately represented in existing
conservation lands. Common species are those not currently threatened
with extinction. By identifying their habitats, GAP Analysis gives land
managers and policy makers the information they need to make
better-informed decisions when identifying priority areas for
conservation.
I always learn from natural systems...so this was interesting. Community matters! Survival matters!
Resource two:
gap analysis definition
- from BusinessDictionary.com
Technique for determining the steps to be taken in moving from a current state to a desired future-state. It begins with (1) listing of characteristic factors (such as attributes, competencies, performance levels) of the present situation ("what is"), (2) cross-lists factors required to achieve the future objectives ("what should be"), and then (3) highlights the 'gaps' that exist and need to be 'filled.' Also called need-gap analysis, needs analysis, and needs assessment. www.businessdictionary.com/definition/gap-analysis.html
Change...yes! List factors. Cross factors, and objectives. Highlight gaps. Fill them! An updated needs assessment. That makes sense.
Resource three: ... this was a synthesis of what I was looking for! Report the following images as offensive. Confirm CancelThank you for the feedback.
Gap analysis is a very useful tool for helping marketing managers to decide upon marketing strategies
and tactics. Again, the simple tools are the most effective. There's a straightforward structure to
follow. The first step is to decide upon how you are going to judge the gap over time. For example,
by market share, by profit, by sales and so on.
This will help you to write
SMART objectives. Then you simply ask two questions -
where are we now? and
where do we want to be? What is Gap Analysis?
Your next step is to close the gap. Firstly decide whether you view from a strategic or an
operational/tactical perspective. If you are writing strategy, you will go on to write tactics -
see the lesson on marketing plans.
The diagram below uses Ansoff's matrix to bridge the gap using
strategies:
Strategic Gap Analysis.
You can close the gap by using tactical approaches. The
marketing mix is ideal for this. So effectively, you modify the mix so that you get to where you
want to be. That is to say you change price, or promotion to move from where you are today
(or in fact any or all of the elements of the marketing mix).
Tactical Gap Analysis.
This is how you close the gap by deciding upon strategies and tactics -
and that's gap analysis.
Thank you Marketing Teacher!
... the only problem is... these are not traditional times! Traditional marketing methods don't necessarily apply. Do they?
With social media, and YouTube and Google and Ebay and the Obama Stimulus Plan... do the old rules apply?
Having been around for a few decades, my husband and I have been through this recessionary cycle before. And we've seen long recoveries and deep drops...like this one. And the latest fads in marketing all came tumbling down. Just like now.
I hope Google survives. I hope YouTube survives. I hope...well, I'm not so sure about Twitter.
But good companies need to survive. Good products are needed to put food on the table and connect us to our loved ones and get us to our jobs ... if we still have them. What we've observed is that during down times, fluffy marketing strategies fall away and we get back to basics. Product, price, promotion and place.
PRODUCT: Product adjustments are in order: people and companies are buying ESSENTIALS. Things to fill definite NEEDS. As in "find a need and fill it," kind of business.
PRICE: Prices are adjusting. Banks are once again trying to gouge their best customers to bail out their mistakes,... but for the rest of us, we are adjusting our prices to balance between what we need to survive and what our customers can afford to pay during these stressful times. We respect our customers' needs as much as our own.
PROMOTION: It still starts with the people we already know. I know...the giant blogosphere is tempting...but strangers use us and throw us away because their best bud or their cousin drops by and offers them a deal they can't refuse! Internal promotion to your own customers and the folks who know you will work best during these lean times.
PLACE: Distribution is still rather local, rather bricks and mortar. We know that shop owner down the street. Local is back. When times get tough we band together and distribution becomes a matter of supporting one another because we care as much as because it's the best price. That is, IF we have any of those relationships!
So the four P's of marketing still matter. They still can shore up a business during tough times. They still make sense, even in the era of YouTube and Twitter.
People are asking themselves the ageold question...who will take care of me when I'm down and out? That's who will get their business after they come to their senses. And if we're smart, we'll come to our senses before we burn all our bridges -- our relationships with the people who make our food, make our cars run, educate our children, manufacture our clothes and pass the word along to readers like you :-)
That's gap analysis and gap solutions!
Carolyn, your steadfast friend, right?
