Competitor Analysis 80%

Competitor analysis is your first step. To complete this task, you should first determine your competitor evaluation criteria. This is essentially a set of traits/features of your competitors. Step 1: Competitor Analysis Criteria

 Clear and well-defined competitor analysis criteria are established

 Assessment criteria cover relevant aspects of competitors’ performance

 Assessment criteria align with the objectives of the analysis Step 2: Data Gathering

 Comprehensive and relevant data is collected through thorough desktop research including the

keywords you used during your search

 Data collection demonstrates a systematic approach and attention to detail

 Data sources are credible (eg: Competitors’ official websites, annual reports, industry publications and journals, customer reviews and feedback platforms, social media channels and online forums, up-to-date, and properly cited) Step 3: Analysis Methodology

 Selection of an appropriate analysis methodology based on the objectives and available data

 Clear explanation of the chosen analysis methodology and the rational for the selection

 Demonstration of critical thinking and analytical skills in applying the methodology Step 4: Visualization of Analysis Outcome

 Clear and visually appealing representation of the competitor analysis outcome

 Effective use of charts, graphs, or other visual aids to present data and insights

 Visualization accurately highlights key findings and supports the overall analysis

 Synthesize to arrive at a conclusion on the unmet need based on what the competition is offering: Identify areas where competitors are performing strongly and where they are falling short. Based on this analysis, deduce the unmet needs or opportunities in the market. Look for areas where no competitor is effectively addressing customer demands, and this could indicate unmet needs. Step 5: Overall Quality and Organisation

 Structure of the analysis is logical, coherent, and well-organised

 Demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of competitor analysis concepts and techniques

 Writing is clear, concise, and effectively communicates key points

 Proper grammar, spelling, referencing and formatting are observed

Fail (<50%)Credit (70%) Distinction (80%) High Distinction (85%)** High Distinction (100%)**

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

 Competitor Analysis Criteria

 Data Gathering

 Analysis Methodology

 Visualisation and Analysis Outcome

Overall Quality and Organisation Not submitted Submitted. Have not listed competitor analysis criteria and specific competitors Have listed the criteria, have identified key competitors and reasonable analysis Have listed the criteria, have identified key competitors with direct/indirect classification and reasoned analysis Have listed the criteria, excellent identification of key competitors with direct/indirect classification and reasoned analysis** Have listed the criteria, excellent identification of key competitors with direct/indirect classification and reasoned analysis**

** Arguments should be evidence based and use credible references. Grey literature is acceptable. Argument structure and whether the argument is free of grammar and spelling mistakes will be evaluated.

Empathy Interview Preparation 20%

We invite you to conduct empathy interviews with potential customers to uncover their unmet needs. Begin by reaching out to your current network, which serves as an excellent starting point. If you need to expand your outreach, consider exploring the connections of your friends, which we refer to as second degree connections. Your insights from these interviews will play a crucial role in understanding customer needs and shaping our approach. Following is also a supplementary method to determine interviewers.

 Current or former employees of competitor companies

 Industry experts or analysts

 Customers of competitor companies

 Sales representatives or customer support personnel of competitor companies List the people to be interviewed and the likelihood they will be available for an interview and mode of interview (F2F, online). Fail (<50%) Credit (65%) Distinction (80%) High Distinction (90- 100%)

INTERVIEWS

 Interviewer details

 Likelihood of availability

 Mode of interview

 Empathy questions (focus on quality of the questions in response to competitor analysis outcome) Not submitted

Some items covered. All items covered at a basic level. Interviewer details are verifiable, Complete details on likelihood and mode of interview. Questions related to the required insights. Interviewer details are verifiable, Complete details on likelihood and mode of interview. All the questions have been reasoned out related to the required insights.

Verifiability

As a part of the new guidelines of the university and in order to promote authentic assessments you should provide details to validate the authenticity of your interviews. This includes any public information (eg: linkedin profile) and other details to identify the person who has been interviewed, including not limited to full name, designation and title. If your submission will be randomly audited, your permission will be obtained before contacting the party.

Referencing

Ensure you acknowledge all sources, and support all your key points with references. These may include reviews and government reports (for example when discussing the prevalence of a problem), primary papers (for example when describing key research that enables the proposed innovation), and other credible sources. Ensure you acknowledge all sources, and support all your key points with references. Figures and tables that have already been published elsewhere can be used in your report, but be sure to reference these appropriately. You may use any standard referencing style as long as it is consistent and includes complete citation details. Helpful information about referencing is available from the Library and the Writing Centre.

Originality check in Turnitin

Turnitin is a text matching system for originality checking and plagiarism prevention. We recommend that you check your originality before the essay due date. You can do this at the Turnitin Originality Check. This link is only for checking your originality, not for submitting your assignment for marking. You can re-submit your draft business plan at this link multiple times. You should read the similarity report rather than just looking at the “matching” % (this is our approach too!). The system does not distinguish between published information like reference details and material from websites/published papers, so the best way of working out whether there is a problem is to check the highlighted matching sections in the report for your text. Some instructions for using Turnitin are available here. Information about interpreting the originality/similarity report is available here.