2.7 Competitive Analysis

WEALTH AS A VACATION

Do they have a family? • No, they are single • Yes, only one child • Yes, several children

Keep going with questions like these until you’ve built an entire profi le of the person, which will then help you understand their personal beliefs, values, and spending habits.

If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail! By doing this planning, you’ll be able to understand things like common complaints you will face, likes and dislikes your future customer will have in a property rental, and amenities travelers will expect to fi nd within the property.

TIP: A good CRM (customer relationship management system) can do wonders as you gather information and contacts. I recommend Hubspot.com. This powerful tool also has a robust education component that centers on sales and marketing, two things you can never learn too much about.

2.7 Competitive Analysis

While you are focusing on your own VRP, one element of your business plan is carrying out competitor research. Take a look at the market to fi nd your direct competitors and analyze them to see how your business can thrive. Competitive analysis is a similar idea to industry analysis, but this time you’re going to really focus on your immediate competitors rather than the industry as a whole.

For example, if your VRP is a beautiful, tranquil cottage on a tourist island, your direct competitors would be other accommodation providers on that island. With a competitive analysis, you want to look at all of the people who may win a booking over you and use what you fi nd to put yourself on top.