Week Three: Competitive and Analysis & SWOT Analysis

1. Using this week's article, MaGee, Susan (n.d.). How to conduct and prepare a competitive analysis (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Retrieved: http://edwardlowe.org/how-to-conduct-and-prepare-a…, you will conduct a competitive analysis on an established acupuncture practice. You may choose any practice in any location that you'd like (including your colleagues, your own practitioner, or even your

faculty members), and you may need to interview the owner of the practice in order to answer the following questions:

• Name of the practice and location
• What products and services are offered here?
• Are these products or services aimed at satisfying target markets similar to my target market?
• Is this practice profitable?
• In the next year, does this practice intend to expand or scale down?
• How long have they been in business?
• What distinguishes this practice from its local competitors?
• Do they have a competitive advantage; if so, what is it?
• What is their marketing / promotional strategy? What types of marketing and promotions do they use? Website, Social media, print advertisement, etc.?
• What are their pricing structures?
• Have there been any changes in their targeted market segments in the last five years?
• What is their size? This could include a number of practitioners, hours of operations, number of treatments provided annually, etc.
• Any additional, relevant information that contributes to understanding how this practice might compete with your future practice?

2. Using this week's article, Berry, T. (n.d.). What is a SWOT analysis? (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. Retrieved: http://articles.bplans.com/how-to-perform-swot-analysis/, conduct a SWOT Analysis of your future practice. Your analysis should cover all four topics: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Your analysis should address or answer the questions that the article listed under each of these four topics.