Finding Profitable Markets with "what if" Software

With the help of the accompanying Excel spreadsheets, this book offers a systematic method for analyzing a business’ current and future market potential.

Luther (The Marketing Plan, 2011) offers sage advice and a tool for businesses large and small to develop detailed plans for their companies’ futures. Included with the book are URLs to download two comprehensive Excel workbooks designed to calculate a wide range of data. One of the workbooks, which already has the data filled in, serves as a case study. By manipulating the numbers, users can see the impact those changes have by reviewing the nearly 30 graphs and charts found in the workbook’s tabs. In the second workbook, users can insert numbers relevant to their own businesses. Luther begins the book with an overview of the importance of future planning and other areas many companies fail to consider. He reviews various charts and graphs, which will help users understand the results of their own analysis. The remainder of the book explains each section of the main worksheet in slightly more detail, but this isn’t a book for beginners. For readers unfamiliar with basic market analysis, the terminology could become overwhelming, especially since Luther doesn’t begin to explain what each data field represents until Chapter 3, and even then, descriptions are brief. Some terms, such as Customer Bargaining Power, aren’t explained at all; a glossary and index would be useful additions. For more experienced readers, the ample information may get business owners thinking about their markets and competitors in greater detail than ever before. Still, the learning curve for understanding and using the workbook seems steep, so users may want to brush up on some basic market analysis concepts before attempting to input their own data.

Solid, advanced advice from an experienced management and marketing consultant.