Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. 156 How does competition for customers influence a marketing plan? Section 9.2 Evaluate the Competition Learning Objectives LO 9.2-1 Identify types of competition that a business encounters. LO 9.2-2 Identify components of a market analysis. LO 9.2-3 Define product positioning.g LO 9.2-4 Discuss steps taken to create a sales analysis. Key Terms direct competitor indirect competitor feature benefit unique selling proposition (USP) trade show competitive advantage repositioning market-share leader LO 9.2-1 Competition Knowing exactly what the competition is doing helps marketers make decisions about how to market their products or companies. Iden- tifying competitors helps in market planning efforts, which is one of the functions of marketing. Competition is either direct or indirect. It is also based on price and nonprice factors. Direct or Indirect Competition Direct competitors are companies that sell identical or very similar goods or services. For example, if your business provides carpet cleaning services, the other businesses that provide the same services compete directly with yours. Indirect competitors offer different, but similar, goods or services that meet customer needs. The products sold by a company’s indirect competitors might be acceptable substitutes for the products that a specific company sells. For example, all of the businesses that offer enter- tainment options within a community are indi- rect competitors. There may be a movie theater, miniature golf course, laser tag arena, and arcade in a town. Each of these businesses competes indi- rectly for the same customers. Pieter Beens/Shutterstock.com Direct competitors are companies that sell identical or very similar goods or services. What products or companies can you name that are in direct competition with each other?