In this video, you will add a table to your notes document to analyze your competitors.

By understanding what your competitors’ strengths are, you can use this information to develop your own business plan and decide how your business will compete.

A table provides a space to organize data by rows and columns.

It clearly organizes related information side-by-side, making it easier to compare and interpret at a glance.

To begin, scroll to the bottom of your notes.

Add a heading for your table.

Then, insert a table beneath your heading.

Use a table with two columns and at least five rows in which to list the main strengths of your competitors.

Give the left column a label for competitor strengths and format it to make it stand out.

Strengths are the parts of a company’s business model that make it successful in the market and lead customers to buy its products and services.

Look back through your research from the last video to determine what about each competitor’s business model sets them apart.

These might be things like the selection of products that they offer, a strategic location, or strong customer satisfaction guarantees.

If an advantage is specific to a certain competitor, indicate that, as well.

In the right column, list how your business might respond to that strength or set itself apart as a different type of business.

Your responses may require you to get more information or do more research.

You don’t have to be certain of your responses, but you do want to think about how to challenge competitive advantages held by others.

Add at least five items to the Competitor Strengths column.

Then, describe how your business will respond to these strengths to seek out a competitive advantage.

If you identify more strengths, add more rows as needed to list them.

Next, insert a table of contents at the top of your document.

This will make it easy for you and your audience to immediately locate and view your table and each section of your notes.

Add page numbers to make your notes easier to read and reference.

This is just a starting point.

It’s best to identify as many competitor strengths as possible so that you can design your business to compete with each strength or decide to build your business in a unique way.

Now that you’ve analyzed your competitors in a table, move on to the next video to wrap up the lesson.

Now, it’s your turn: Insert a table and label the columns, List competitor strengths in one column, List your business’s response to these strengths in the other column, And add a table of contents and page numbers to your document.