Tips to Writing the Situational Analysis Section Situational Analysis Provided an overview of the market (with key statistics) in which the organization exists Highlighted the need for product/service/event based on societal changes and/or market conditions Identified the primary target market(s) demographics, geographics, psychographics, etc. Discussed the method(s) of segmenting the above target market from the entire population Included a thorough SWOT analysis of the organization offering the product/service/event Included SWOT analyses on the main competitors in the organization's market External Market Analysis Customer Analysis External Market Analysis: In the first paragraph introduce and highlighting the market in which your charity exists. You will want to pull statistics related to who the charity serves. You may also want to include information about other charities that are similar and may compete for the same dollars. You should also include a few statements related to societal perceptions of your charity. Is there a heightened interest in your charity due to social interest (ie: ALS, bucket challenge), political interest (John McCain's fight with brain cancer), demographic information (low SES, minority groups, etc.) In a second paragraph highlight the need for a new type of fundraiser. Give a brief overview of the statistics related to this. Where and when will the fundraiser be held and why. What makes this fundraiser a good idea for this charity and this area? What other events will potentially be your competition? Customer Analysis: In this section you will want to discuss each of the following under their own subheading: Demographics: elements such as age, education, income, family size, race, gender, occupation, nationality, and more. Demographic segmentation is one of the simplest and most commonly used forms of segmentation because the products and services we buy, how we use those products, and how much we are willing to spend on them is most often based on demographic factors. Psychographics: takes into account the psychological aspects of consumer behavior by dividing markets according to lifestyle, personality traits, values, opinions, and interests of consumers. Large markets like the fitness market use psychographic segmentation when they sort their customers into categories of people who care about healthy living and exercise. Geographics: While typically a subset of demographics, geographic segmentation is typically the easiest. Geographic segmentation creates different target customer groups based on geographical boundaries. Because potential customers have needs, preferences, and interests that differ according to their geographies, understanding the climates and geographic regions of customer groups can help determine where to sell and advertise, as well as where to expand your business. Tips to Writing the Situational Analysis Section Behavioral Factors: Behavioral segmentation divides markets by behaviors and decision-making patterns such as purchase, consumption, lifestyle, and usage. For instance, younger buyers may tend to purchase body wash, while older consumer groups may lean towards soap bars. Segmenting markets based off purchase behaviors enables marketers to develop a more targeted approach. Segmentation: In this section discuss your strategy to reach the target market? Will you apply a strategy using all of the above criteria or just a few? Provide a justification. SWOT: This is the only section of the marketing plan that can be completed using bullet points. Please make sure that you complete two SWOT charts, one for the charity and one for a competitor. You should list at least 3 points for each area of the SWOT. Strengths (internal) Weaknesses (internal) Formatting: size and scope of organization, financial resources, staffing, customer perceptions of organization, etc. Opportunities (external) the competitive market, technological environment, financial/economic market, etc. Threats (external) **Note: There is a PPT on D2L for more information about creating a SWOT analysis. 3rd 1 inch margins Single spaced Times New Roman Font (12 point) person narrative Use of citations Use of headers and subheaders to organize material Use of paragraphs to organize thoughts Pictures should not be within the body of the text, use them in an appendix