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How to Write a Customer Analysis Section for Your Business Plan

Customer Analysis Template

Free Customer Analysis Template

  • July 12, 2024

how to write a customer analysis for business plan

A customer contributes significantly to building a winning brand.

Understanding your target consumer, their needs, the problems they face, and the way they behave assists you in creating products and services that can satisfy your customer needs.

Customer analysis is a quintessential part of your business plan. Writing it accurately will help you make informed decisions for other aspects of business planning, i.e. product development and business strategies.

So let’s get started. This blog post describes the process of creating customer analysis in a business plan and guides you with a customer persona example.

What Is Customer Analysis?

Customer analysis is an important section of your business plan offering a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of your potential customer. It is a study of their behavioral, psychological, and demographic patterns to help you make sound business decisions.

Such analysis assists in developing products and services addressing the pain points of your customers and in determining your pricing, marketing, and customer retention strategies.

Why conduct a customer analysis?

A thorough and insightful customer analysis offers a plentitude of benefits. Here are a few you should know of:

  • Helps optimize product development by offering insights into customer behavior, needs, and pain points.
  • Helps gain a competitive advantage by identifying the pain points that are unaddressed by competitors.
  • Helps tailor your marketing efforts to cater to specific customer segments.
  • Increases customer retention by giving you a thorough insight into what the customer needs and what drives their decision.

If you think of it, customer analysis forms the basis for designing your products and services, devising your marketing and sales strategies, determining your pricing point, and driving your business growth.

How to Write a Customer Analysis Section

Writing a customer analysis includes extensive research and collecting data from various sources. This data consists of qualitative and quantitative aspects which help you write an accurate customer analysis for your business plan.

Let’s now understand a step-by-step process to write your customer analysis.

Steps to create customer analysis for your business plan

1. Identify your customers

The first step of customer analysis is to identify your potential customers and collect information about their special characteristics. Such information comes in handy when you want your product and marketing strategies to align with your customers’ needs.

However, what details should you collect and how should you segment it? Well, segmenting in the following manner can help you get a headstart.

  • Demographic: Age, gender, income
  • Geographic: Location, type of area (Rural, suburban, urban)
  • Psychographic: Values, interests, beliefs, personality, lifestyle, social class
  • Technographic: Type of technology the buyer is using; tech-savviness
  • Behavioral: Habits, frequent actions, buying patterns
  • Industry (For B2B): Based on the industry a company belongs to.
  • Business size (For B2B): Size of the company

Customer database can help capture the above data for existing businesses. However, for additional details, you can retort to surveys and forums.

If you are a startup, conducting an audience analysis might seem impossible as you don’t have an existing customer base. Fortunately, there are numerous ways through which you can study your potential customers.

A few of them are:

  • Identifying who would benefit from your product/service
  • Analyzing your competitors to understand their target customers
  • Using social media to prompt potential buyers to answer questionnaires

2. Define the needs of your Customers

Now that you have identified your customers, the next step is to understand and specify their needs and challenges. This is the step where you need to go hands-on with your research.

Getting to know your customers’ needs helps you determine whether or not your product or service hits the mark.

You can adopt one of these approaches to understand the needs of your customers:

Engage directly with potential Customers

A very reliable way to get to know your customers is to simply engage with them, either in person or on a call. You can reach out to your customers using one of the following ways:

  • One-on-one interviews
  • Focus groups
  • Beta testing (invite users to test your products).

These techniques can help you collect adequate data for your analysis.

However, before approaching your customers, set up a systematic survey that can get you structured data for analysis. To ensure that your questionnaire isn’t just covering surface-level information but a deep interrogation of customers’ problems, use the technique of five whys .

Collect data from your customer support

Customer support is the place where you can find raw and unfiltered feedback given by your customers. Analyzing this data helps you understand the pain points of your customers.

You can further gather direct customer feedback by contacting the customers who had issues with your products. This will help you understand the pain points and gaps in your products more vividly.

Run surveys and mention statistics

Talking to your customers helps you get qualitative information that can be used to alter your product or services according to your customers. The next part is to attain quantitative information, in other words, presenting numbers to support the previous data.

Conducting surveys is one of the commonly used methods for quantifying information. You can conduct in-app surveys, post-purchase surveys, or link surveys in email and apps, etc.

You can also collect statistical data to support your conclusions from the interviews. These include stating studies related to customer choices, results from popular surveys, etc.

example of customer analysis in business plan

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3. Create a Customer Persona

It is now time to present your collected data using a customer persona.

A customer persona represents a segment of customers with similar traits. It outlines the psychological and demographic features of your potential customer group and thereby assists you in making important strategic decisions.

Consider it as a tool that will make your data analysis process easier and more efficient.

Now, you can either use customer persona templates or an AI tool to generate your buyer’s persona. However, to get a more thorough insight check how a customer profile looks.

Customer Persona Example

This is a customer persona example of an internet service provider(ISP) to help you get a more practical overview.

customer persona example

  • About: A lot of customers remain at home and have a minimal and easy-going lifestyle. They need high-speed, interruption-free internet access.
  • Demographics: Age is between 30 and 40, has a laid-back lifestyle, lives in suburban areas, and the income range is between $10,000 to $40,000.
  • Professional role: Shop owners, employees, freelancers, etc.
  • Identifiers/Personality traits: Introverts, like routines, make schedules, prefer online shopping, and stick with the companies they trust.
  • Goals: Wants easily available service, and 24×7 customer support, prefers self-service technologies and chatbots over interacting with representatives.
  • Challenges: Fluctuating internet connection while working or consuming media. Not enough signal coverage.

4. Explain the product alignment to the Customer’s Needs

You’ve gathered info and created customer personas. The final step is to explain how your product or service caters to the needs of your customers.

Here, you specify the solution you offer to tackle the challenges faced by your customers.

Mention the USPs of your product and its features, and clarify how they benefit the customer. Also, mention how your offerings make the customers’ lives better.

Continuing the previous example of an ISP provider, this company can show how its high-speed Internet plans cater to the needs of individual working professionals. They can focus on aspects like customizable plans, cost-effectiveness, and coverage in remote areas to attract users.

And there you have it—a guide to writing your customer analysis. Just ensure that you maintain accuracy while making assumptions and predictions to make this section useful for making further decisions.

Build a solid business foundation with customer analysis

Understanding you r customers inside out assists you in making profitable decisions for your business. But remember, it is an ever-evolving and continuous process. You need to analyze your customers as often as possible to stay updated about their ever-changing needs.

After all, understanding what your customers need and what they prefer will help you devise strategies that ensure maximum customer satisfaction.

Now quickly create customer profiles for your business with Upmetrics’s AI SWOT analysis generator. However, once you do that, use this tool to streamline your entire business planning process.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What key components should be included in customer analysis.

Here are the key components of a sound customer analysis:

  • Market segmentation
  • Customer behavior analysis
  • Customer profiling
  • Customer journey mapping
  • Trend analysis and future customer behavior

How can I gather data for my customer analysis?

Here are a few ways for you to gather data for your customer analysis:

  • Gather customer feedback using surveys, forums, and questionnaires.
  • Use secondary methods to gather industrial data, competitors’ data, and data from publications.
  • Use the collected data till data (i.e. social media analytics, customer support data) to form your analysis.

Can customer analysis help in forecasting future trends?

Absolutely, yes. A detailed customer analysis helps you to understand the emerging shifts and patterns in consumer behavior, thereby helping you optimize your product offerings and marketing strategies.

About the Author

example of customer analysis in business plan

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

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How to Write a Customer Analysis for Your Business Plan + Example

Written by Dave Lavinsky

explaining customer demographics

What is a Customer Analysis in a Business Plan?

The customer analysis section which incorporates the essential steps of writing a business plan step-by-step is a key component of your business plan and assesses the customer segments your company serves. The objective of the customer analysis is to justify your market choice, identify differentiators, and prioritize the segments you are targeting.

A complete customer analysis contains 3 primary sections:

  • Identify your target customers
  • Convey the needs of these customers
  • Show how your products and/or services satisfy these needs

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here

Why Your Customer Analysis is Important

In this section of your business plan, you will describe your ideal customer and their core needs. It is important since readers want to be sure you 1) know who your target customers are and what they want, and 2) your strategy (products/services, promotions strategy, etc.) aligns with your customers’ preferences.

A thorough customer analysis provides the following benefits:

  • Supports your market choice and helps you avoid entering too broad a market
  • Helps you focus on serving current customers rather than trying to find new ones
  • Enables you to determine which segments to prioritize and how much effort to put into each one
  • Helps you craft a strategic marketing plan and platform to reach these customer segments

Steps For Performing a Comprehensive Customer Analysis

The Customer Analysis section has two sub-sections: Target Customers and Customer Needs.

1. Identifying Your Target Customers

In the Target Customers section of your plan, you should provide a profile of your target customers.

For instance, how old are they? Are they married? Where do they live/work?

Below are several demographic (e.g., age) and psychographic (e.g., values) variables you can use to describe your target customers. Some are for B2C (business to consumer) and others are for B2B (business to business) companies:

  • Marital Status
  • Family size
  • Values/Beliefs
  • Activities Engaged In
  • Business Size

Once you have identified and defined the your target customers and their demographics, you need to determine the size of your target market: How many potential customers fit the given definition and is this customer base growing or decreasing?

Customer Segmentation Analysis

To further refine your target customer profile, consider segmenting your market. This involves dividing your target market into smaller, more homogeneous groups based on specific criteria. By segmenting your market, you can tailor your marketing efforts to specific preferences, increasing your business’s chance of success.

Here are some common segmentation strategies:

  • Demographic Segmentation: Dividing the market based on demographic factors such as age range, gender, income, education level, occupation, and family size.
  • Geographic Segmentation: Dividing the market based on geographic factors such as country, region, state, city, or neighborhood.
  • Psychographic Segmentation: Dividing the market based on psychological factors such as lifestyle, interests, values, and attitudes.
  • Behavioral Segmentation: Dividing the market based on customer behavior, such as purchase frequency, brand loyalty, and usage rate.

For example, if you’re selling athletic apparel, you might segment your market based on:

  • Demographic Segmentation: Age (e.g., teens, adults, seniors), gender, income level
  • Psychographic Segmentation: Lifestyle (e.g., active, casual), fitness goals (e.g., weight loss, muscle gain, endurance)
  • Behavioral Segmentation: Purchase frequency (e.g., frequent buyers, occasional buyers), brand loyalty (e.g., loyal to specific brands, brand agnostic)

With an in-depth understanding of your target customers and segmenting your market, you can develop more effective marketing strategies, allocate resources more efficiently, and ultimately drive sales and growth.

2. Understanding Your Customers’ Needs, Pain Points & Preferences

A crucial aspect of your customer analysis is understanding the specific needs, desires, and challenges your target customers face. This information is essential for developing products or services that truly resonate with your audience and drive sales.

Identifying Customer Pain Points

To identify your customers’ pain points, consider the following questions:

  • What problems or challenges do they face?
  • What frustrations do they experience with current solutions?
  • What are their unmet needs or desires?

To gather this information, you can use a variety of methods, including:

  • Surveys and questionnaires: Ask for direct customer feedback to better understand their needs and preferences.
  • Interviews: Conduct one-on-one interviews to delve deeper into their experiences and motivations.
  • Focus groups: Facilitate group discussions to identify common themes and pain points.
  • Market research: Analyze existing market and customer data to understand broader trends and consumer behavior.
  • Social listening: Monitor social media conversations to see what people are saying about your industry and competitors.

Understanding Customer Preferences

Once you’ve identified your customers’ pain points, you can start to understand their preferences. This involves:

  • Identifying their values and priorities: What do they value most in a product or service?
  • Understanding their purchasing patterns: What is their buying criteria? What is their actual decision-making process? What factors influence their choices?
  • Determining the channels customers prefer: How do customers interact with businesses (e.g., in-store, online, phone, social media platforms and other marketing and sales channels)?

By understanding your customers’ preferences, you can tailor your marketing and sales efforts to their specific needs. For example, if your customers prefer online shopping, you should invest in a strong e-commerce platform.

By thoroughly understanding and addressing your customers’ pain points and preferences, you can address how your business creates a solution for your target audience which increases your chances of building a successful business.

Example of an Effective Customer Analysis

Sample customer analysis for fitness clothing line business plan, target customers, target customer segment 1: the fitness enthusiast.

Demographic Segmentation:

  • Gender: Male & Female
  • Income: $50,000 – $100,000 annually
  • Location: Urban and Suburban areas

Psychographic Segmentation:

  • Lifestyle: Active and health-conscious
  • Fitness Goals: Weight loss, muscle gain, improved endurance
  • Values: Performance, comfort, style

Behavioral Segmentation:

  • Purchase Frequency: Frequent buyer of athletic apparel
  • Brand Loyalty: Moderately loyal to specific brands
  • Price Sensitivity: Willing to pay a premium for high-quality products

Target Customer Segment 2: The Casual Athlete

  • Income: $30,000 – $50,000 annually
  • Location: Urban, Suburban, and Rural areas
  • Lifestyle: Casual, active during leisure time
  • Fitness Goals: Maintain overall fitness, stress relief
  • Values: Comfort, style, affordability
  • Purchase Frequency: Occasional buyer of athletic apparel
  • Brand Loyalty: Less brand-loyal, influenced by trends
  • Price Sensitivity: Price-conscious, seeks value for money

Target Customer Segment 3: The Performance Athlete

  • Income: $50,000+ annually
  • Lifestyle: Highly active, competitive
  • Fitness Goals: Peak athletic performance, sports-specific training
  • Values: Performance, durability, innovation
  • Purchase Frequency: Frequent buyer of high-performance athletic apparel
  • Brand Loyalty: Highly brand-loyal, seeks cutting-edge technology
  • Price Sensitivity: Less price-sensitive, willing to invest in top-tier products

Crucial Insights and Marketing Implications:

  • Fitness Enthusiasts: Focus on high-quality, functional apparel that aligns with their active lifestyle. Emphasize performance benefits, comfort, and style. Offer a variety of products to cater to different fitness goals.
  • Casual Athletes: Target affordability and versatility. Offer stylish, comfortable apparel that can be worn for both workouts and everyday activities. Leverage social media and influencer marketing to reach this audience.
  • Performance Athletes: Prioritize innovation and cutting-edge technology. Collaborate with professional athletes and sports teams to build credibility. Offer personalized fitting and customization options.

Customer Needs

Fitness enthusiast.

  • Need for high-performance apparel: This segment seeks clothing that can withstand rigorous workouts, wicks away moisture effectively, and provides optimal comfort and support.
  • Desire for stylish and functional designs: They want clothing that not only performs well but also looks good.
  • Need for versatility: They often lead busy lifestyles and need clothing that can transition seamlessly from the gym to everyday wear.

Casual Athlete

  • Need for affordable, comfortable clothing: This segment prioritizes comfort and value for money. They seek clothing that is soft, breathable, and suitable for casual workouts and leisure activities.
  • Desire for stylish and trendy designs: They want clothing that reflects their personal style and keeps up with the latest fashion trends.
  • Need for versatility: They often wear their workout clothes for multiple purposes, so versatility is key.

Performance Athlete

  • Need for high-performance, technical apparel: This segment demands clothing that can enhance their athletic performance, such as compression wear, moisture-wicking fabrics, and temperature-regulating technology.
  • Desire for durable and long-lasting clothing: They need clothing that can withstand frequent use and washing without losing its quality or performance.
  • Need for innovative and cutting-edge designs: They are always on the lookout for the latest advancements in athletic apparel technology.

Addressing Customer Needs

To attract and retain these customer segments, our fitness clothing line will:

  • Offer a diverse range of products: We will cater to different fitness levels, preferences, and body types by offering a wide variety of styles, sizes, and fits.
  • Prioritize quality and performance: We will use high-quality materials and innovative technologies to ensure our products deliver optimal performance, durability, and comfort.
  • Focus on stylish and functional designs: We will collaborate with experienced designers to create stylish and functional clothing that appeals to a wide range of customers.
  • Offer competitive pricing: We will strive to offer competitive pricing without compromising on quality or performance.
  • Provide excellent customer service: We will provide exceptional customer service, including easy returns, exchanges, and personalized sizing advice.
  • Leverage digital marketing and social media: We will utilize digital marketing strategies, such as social media marketing, influencer partnerships, and email marketing, to reach our target audience effectively.
  • Build strong brand loyalty: We will focus on building a strong brand identity and fostering customer loyalty through exceptional product quality, customer service, and community engagement.

By addressing the needs of our customers and implementing effective marketing strategies, we are confident that our fitness clothing line will attract and retain a loyal customer base.

It is essential to truly understand customers to develop effective marketing messages that will encourage potential customers to interact with your business. That’s why including a customer analysis in your business plan is so crucial. Likewise, sophisticated investors require comprehensive customer profiles of a company’s target audience. By spending the time researching and analyzing customers in your target market, you will develop both enhance your business strategy and funding success.

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How to Write a Customer Analysis

Author: Elon Glucklich

Elon Glucklich

9 min. read

Updated October 27, 2023

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You’ve been hard at work conducting market research into your potential customers— developing a deep understanding of industry dynamics and the potential size of your market .

Hopefully, you’ve also spent time interviewing potential customers—learning about their behaviors and needs, and digging into publicly available data to support your research. 

But you still need to document these findings in a way that gives you an actionable road map to grow your customer base.

This is where a well-written customer analysis can be extremely useful. 

Including a customer analysis in your business plan will boost your marketing efforts by identifying your target customers , their needs, and how your product or service addresses these needs.

  • Customer analysis vs market analysis

A market analysis is a broader exploration of the market and potential customers.  A customer analysis zooms in on the specific behavioral or demographic characteristics of individual customer segments in your target market.

The market analysis includes details like the number of customers you hope to serve and the types of competitors you must contend with. 

By contrast, the customer analysis looks at the specific attributes of your potential customers – their personal habits, values, beliefs, and other characteristics that might affect their purchasing decisions.

  • What should a customer analysis include?

Demographics

Some of the earliest information you’ve collected probably about your customers includes:

  • Gender/ethnicity
  • Income level
  • Geographic area
  • Education level

Example: Suppose you own a business that creates an environmentally friendly cleaning product . Your customer demographics might include: 

  • Age range: 30-60 (old enough to have used a variety of cleaning products in their homes)
  • Income: Above average (more likely to buy a higher-priced alternative to discount cleaning products)
  • Education level: college degree or equivalent (high enough education level to understand the product’s societal benefits).
  • Employment: full-time employee

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Values and beliefs

This section captures the psychological and emotional factors that influence customer behavior. 

  • Cultural backgrounds
  • Ethical values

Let’s return to the environmentally friendly cleaning product example. You are more likely to attract customers who prioritize sustainability and are willing to pay more for products that match their values.

Buying behaviors

Analyzing buying behaviors involves understanding how, when, and why customers purchase. These behaviors impact:

  • The channels customers prefer for shopping
  • Price sensitivity
  • Factors that trigger a buying decision

Example: Suppose you’re running an environmentally friendly cleaning products business. In that case, you might discover that most of your customers buy their cleaning products from a magazine for homeowners or that they typically buy multiple cleaning products simultaneously. 

Technology use

Nearly three-quarters of small businesses have a website . Even if your business doesn’t have one, your customers are, without a doubt, browsing the internet. 

So it’s critical to understand how your target customers interact with technology and to set up an online presence for your business if you aren’t already active. 

Key questions about customers’ technology habits include:

  • Are they active on social media? If so, which platforms? 
  • Do they prefer online shopping or in-store visits? 
  • Are they more likely to respond to email marketing, blog content, or social media campaigns?

Example: Let’s say you discover that significantly more of your target customers visit websites like yours on a smartphone than a desktop. In that case, it would be important to optimize your website for mobile viewing or develop a user-friendly app . 

  • 5 steps to write a customer analysis for your business plan

Now that we understand the individual pieces of a customer analysis, we’ll examine how to write a customer analysis for your business plan .

1. Use existing data

Regardless of your country, there are likely numerous sources of data published by government agencies, private industry, or educational institutions that could be relevant to your business.

Finding existing data is the best starting point for your customer analysis. It’s easy to find, it’s regularly updated, and it’s immensely valuable for providing context for your research. 

For instance, if you determine that your target demographic is people between 30 and 60, Census data can help you determine the number of residents in your selling area within that age range.

We’ll look at some examples of publicly available data for businesses operating in the United States.

U.S. Census Bureau

The Census Bureau publishes official population counts for the country, states, and local communities. Demographic characteristics like age, gender, and race sort the data. Census data also includes useful data for businesses, such as the total number of businesses, employment counts, and average incomes in local communities across the country.

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks changes in the U.S. workforce and the overall state of the labor market. The BLS publishes the Consumer Price Index , tracks consumer spending, and gauges overall consumer confidence. 

Examining this data can give you insights into the willingness of consumers to pay for your product or service.

Bureau of Economic Analysis

The Bureau of Economic Analysis takes a broader look at the performance of the U.S. Economy. You can use BEA data to find personal income and corporate profit data by industry. 

If you make a product or service used by other businesses, these figures can help you understand the financial health of the broad customer base you’re targeting.

Federal Reserve

The Federal Reserve publishes various financial reports, such as consumer credit and spending statistics , as well as the health of banks. 

This data can give you important context about the financial health of your customers, which could help you determine pricing strategies—like whether you should offer flexible payment plans.

Industry associations

There are thousands of private sector industry associations in the United States alone. These organizations not only advocate for the businesses in their field. They provide members with a wealth of helpful information, such as “state of the industry” reports and business surveys. 

You should leverage customer data from these peer organizations as a business owner.

Academic institutions

Many university business schools make their research publicly available online. Scholars make a career out of researching market and industry trends, and much of their work is available through online searches. 

2. Review customer feedback

One of the most direct ways to show an understanding of your customers in your analysis is by reviewing their feedback.

If you’re a new business without direct customer feedback yet, that’s OK. Instead, look around at what people are saying about your competitors . You might find common complaints from customers in your industry about the products available. 

You can then reach out and interview potential customers to better understand their needs.

If you have an existing business, there may already be reviews of your company on Google or social media sites like LinkedIn. Doing so can help you determine if customers are struggling to use your product or have suggestions for improvements. 

Read as many reviews as possible, and use them to show an understanding of your customers’ needs in your analysis.

3. Use third-party data

So far, we’ve discussed free, publicly available sources to find information about your customers. 

But for those willing to dig deeper, third-party data providers can help you uncover information that’s truly unique to your business and your customers.

Google Analytics

Third-party data providers like Google track the activity of users across numerous websites. Google has its own tool, Google Analytics , which makes that information available on your company’s website.

This data is a gold mine for understanding your customers. Besides giving you a demographic and geographic breakdown of your visitors, it can tell if they view your site on a desktop or smartphone, what pages they’re clicking, navigating around your site, and much more.

For new business owners, Google Trends is a powerful tool to discover what people are searching for online. 

For the environmentally friendly cleaning products business we’ve used as an example—you could see how many people are searching on Google for information about products like floor cleaners or dishwasher detergents.

Social media metrics

If your business uses social media, there are plenty of tools to help you understand your audience on these platforms. 

Many social media companies make their data available to businesses at a cost. For instance, the Facebook Audience Insights platform gives you information about the types of people who visit your page or interact with your posts.

There are also third-party tools like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, and Buffer, which track various metrics across social media platforms.

Wherever you find the data, including social media metrics in your customer analysis provides instant feedback about how customers interact with your business.

Specialty tools

Software companies have created numerous tools that collect and analyze customer data from various online sources. 

Audience research tools like SparkToro and FullStory analyze large amounts of data online and spot trends—such as the topics people discuss online and which websites or social media accounts those audiences visit. 

These are insights that would be incredibly time-consuming to get directly from customers. However, understanding where potential customers spend time online and what they talk about can easily turn your analysis into a targeted marketing campaign that addresses their needs.

4. Create a customer persona

After gathering and analyzing all this data, you should have plenty of information about your customers. The next step is to create a customer persona . In case you need a refresher, the customer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on your collected data.

For example, a customer persona for that environmentally friendly cleaning products business will reflect that audience’s demographics, behaviors, and needs. 

Example of a written customer persona. Name of the persona is "Nature's Cleaners". It includes demographics, values and beliefs, buying behaviors, and technology use.

In addition to being an effective tool to focus your marketing efforts, creating this persona can help determine the size of your customer base and how to prioritize your time and resources to attract them to your business. It’s also helpful to show potential investors you know your target audience.

5. Connect to your problem/solution statement

Many business plans include a problem and solution statement as early as the introduction. It’s a reasonable way to start, considering that successful businesses identify a problem and provide a solution. 

So as you put your customer analysis together, ensure the research is grounded in the problems they’re experiencing. Doing so will keep you accountable by making you validate your product or service as the solution they need.

  • Get started with your business plan template

A customer analysis is a key part of any business plan. But it’s just one piece. At Bplans, we take some of the pain out of business planning. 

We’ve developed a free business planning template to help reduce entrepreneurs’ time to create a full, lender-ready business plan.

Bplans has also collected over 550 free sample business plans across numerous industries. Find one that fits your industry to get inspiration and guidance when writing your plan.

Content Author: Elon Glucklich

Elon is a marketing specialist at Palo Alto Software, working with consultants, accountants, business instructors and others who use LivePlan at scale. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism and an MBA from the University of Oregon.

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How to Write a Customer Analysis for a Business Plan

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  • September 4, 2024

customer analysis

Understanding your customers is essential for any business striving for success. A customer analysis provides valuable insights into the demographics, preferences, behaviors, and needs of your target audience .

This guide will walk you through the process of writing a thorough customer analysis, enabling you to tailor your products, services, and marketing strategies to meet the needs of your customers effectively.

Define Your Target Audience

Begin by clearly defining your target audience : the specific group of people you aim to serve with your products or services.

Consider factors such as age, gender, income level, geographic location, and psychographic traits (e.g., lifestyle, values, interests). Understanding who your customers are is the first step in building a successful business strategy.

  • Example for a Coffee Shop : Your target audience might include young professionals aged 25-40, living in urban areas, who value high-quality coffee and a relaxed atmosphere for socializing or remote work.

Gather Data on Your Customers

Next, gather data on your customers through various sources, including market research surveys, interviews, focus groups, and customer feedback.

Analyze both quantitative data (e.g., demographics, purchase history) and qualitative data (e.g., customer feedback, testimonials) to gain a holistic understanding of your customers’ needs and preferences.

  • Example for a Coffee Shop : Conduct surveys or interviews with your target audience to gather insights into their coffee preferences, frequency of visits to coffee shops, and reasons for choosing one coffee shop over another.

Segment Your Customers

Segment your customers into distinct groups based on common characteristics or behaviors.

This segmentation allows you to tailor your marketing efforts and product offerings to better meet the specific needs of each segment. Common segmentation criteria include demographics, psychographics, behavior, and purchasing patterns.

  • Example for a Coffee Shop : Segment your customers based on their coffee preferences (e.g., espresso lovers, latte enthusiasts), frequency of visits (e.g., daily customers, occasional visitors), and reasons for visiting (e.g., socializing, work meetings).

Analyze Customer Needs and Preferences

Analyze the needs, preferences, and pain points of each customer segment to identify opportunities for product or service improvement.

Consider factors such as price sensitivity, convenience, quality expectations, and brand loyalty. This analysis will help you tailor your offerings to better align with customer expectations.

  • Example for a Coffee Shop : Analyze customer feedback to identify common preferences in coffee flavors, brewing methods, and food options. Use this information to adjust your menu offerings and pricing strategies accordingly.

Assess Customer Behavior

Examine how customers interact with your business at each stage of the buying process, from awareness to purchase and post-purchase.

Identify patterns in customer behavior, such as browsing habits, purchase frequency, and loyalty. This analysis will help you optimize the customer experience and maximize customer satisfaction and retention.

  • Example for a Coffee Shop : Track customer traffic patterns, peak hours, and popular menu items to optimize staffing levels, inventory management, and promotional strategies.

Identify Growth Opportunities

Based on your customer analysis, identify growth opportunities for your business. This could involve expanding into new customer segments, introducing new products or services, or entering new geographic markets.

By understanding your customers’ needs and preferences, you can better position your business for long-term success.

  • Example for a Coffee Shop : Identify opportunities to expand your customer base by offering specialty coffee subscriptions for remote workers or partnering with local businesses to host networking events.

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Examples

Customer Analysis

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Every business should take care of its customers to promote trust, retention, and continuous relationship. However, this will not be effectively done if the business is not aware of who their customers are in the first place. Customer satisfaction is one of the most important things for any business to flourish. To keep this on track, you need to conduct a customer analysis now and then, so that you know what you can do to make your name and fame in the market better. This also helps you in retaining your customer base and expanding it if and when needed.

Simple Customer Analysis Template

Customer Analysis Template

  • Google Docs

Size: A4, US

Understand how your business generates revenue from your different customers and the different factors involved that affect your performance in meeting the needs of such customers through the use of this customer analysis t emplate. Identify which factors influence your customers in terms of how they respond and in their decision to buy or avail of any product or service you or other competitors are offering. Easily add or remove parts of the template you wish to be included. An added advantage of using this template is that it can be download with ease on any electronic device. Check it out now!

Restaurant Customer Analysis Template

Restaurant Customer Analysis Template

Restaurants should be aware of their customers’ wants and need as these are the key factors of major business decisions. With the help of this above-mentioned template, you can make a  professionally drafted and well-formatted analysis needed to help restaurant operators gather data. Usually from customer behavior via marketing segmentation and predictive analysis to direct marketing, site selection, and customer relationship management. Increase your potential to boost sales and profit with the use of this template now!

Customer Needs Analysis Template

Customer Needs Analysis Template

Are you looking for a business tool to identify the requirements customers have for a product or service? Well, you’re in luck for we have just the thing you need. This  analysis sample template   is professionally designed to help users understand the customers’ needs and their position in the overall market. It makes use of well-researched and industry-compliant content drafted by our experts. You can now save a lot of time and effort as you fo not have to make an analysis template right from scratch. Check it out now!

Customer Service SWOT Analysis Template

Customer Service SWOT Analysis Template

Customer Analysis Template

Customer Analysis Template

Simple Customer Profitability Analysis Example

Simple Customer Profitability Analysis Example

Customer Value Chain Analysis Example

Customer Value Chain Analysis Example

Size: 550 KB

Apart from industry analysis , knowing the needs and demands of your target and potential customers can also help you thrive and be successful in a stiff and competitive environment. If you want to achieve your business goals and objectives while sharing the marketplace with competitors, developing a customer analysis can help you a lot. If your business can have a full understanding of the elements that affect the purchasing decisions of your clients or customers, then you can easily make ways and adjustments on how you offer and market your products and/or services.

Why Does Your Business Need Customer Analysis

Using  analysis examples  provide businesses the chance to change or remove processes and activities that do not work, maintain efforts that yield the most favorable results, and develop activities that can get more clients for the business. Aside from these, listed below are more reasons why your business needs to have its customer analysis:

  • Customer analysis can help you focus on the acquisition of new customers while maintaining your current customer base. Planning your programs for retention can be more effective if you are knowledgeable on how you can show to your previous customers that they matter. The investment analysis examples that are available online can be of great help to you. Check them out now.
  • Customer analysis can give you an idea of how you can cross-promote your offers and discounts to the right audience. This way, you can achieve higher sales without hard selling your products and/or services to customers.
  • Customer analysis can help your business now your customers and their levels of engagement in the business you are running. This can help you develop strategies that can further improve your market positioning. Essay examples can also be of great help to you in making the right needed essays.
  • Customer analysis can make your business better in terms of customer satisfaction and service. With the help of the customer analysis at hand, you can easily identify the factors that can help you satisfy customers and keep them in your business.
  • Customer analysis helps your market disassembly decisions better and this leads to a better success rate. You may also check out needs analysis examples . This document can easily allow you to target potential customers from a specific group or range since you are already aware of their activities and how your offers can impact their daily undertaking.
  • Customer analysis can also give your business a higher chance of retaining and also, pulling in new customers and making them patrons. Loyalty can be developed between the business and the market if you can consistently give the demands and needs of your clients.
  • Customer analysis can contribute to the success of your marketing campaigns from its stages of planning up to final execution. With a comprehensive customer analysis, you can target specific customers in given demography in the most cost-efficient and effective way possible. You might be interested in organizational analysis examples .

Customer Analysis and Targeting Example

Customer Analysis and Targeting Example

Size: 331 KB

Defining Customer and Business Requirements Example

Defining Customer and Business Requirements Example

Size: 673 KB

Basic Consumer Behavior Analysis Example

Basic Consumer Behavior Analysis Example

Size: 276 KB

Customer Profitability Analysis Example

Customer Profitability Analysis Example

Size: 279 KB

Market Analysis and Audience Research Example

Market Analysis and Audience Research Example

Customer Behavior Analysis Example

Customer Behavior Analysis Example

Needs-Based Analysis Customer Reviews Example

Needs-Based Analysis of Online Customer Reviews Example

Size: 243 KB

Customer Analysis and Market Strategy Example

Customer Analysis and Market Strategy Example

Size: 228 KB

Customer Needs Analysis Example

Customer Needs Analysis Example

Size: 683 KB

Benefits of Having Customer Analysis:

Aside from survey questions to ask your customers , you also have to develop an effective customer analysis that can further showcase the movement and activities of your target market. If you can make a thorough and professionally formulated customer analysis, then there are a lot of potential advantages that your business can experience. Here is how your business can benefit from having customer analysis:

  • Creating a cusotmer analysis can presnt your business accurately and as per the market place. If you know how the perception and impression of your customers can affect your business, then you can make corporate messages and branding statements that can segment your customers better. Requirements analysis examples and samples can be of great help to you.
  • Making a customer analysis can reduce your business’ cost of campaigning and marketing as this gives all the customers a gist fo what you do without the need for marketing. If you already know who to specifically target, then your budget for advertising and promotion will not be put to waste. Business analysis examples can be of great help to you. This document can also help you to narrow down your marketing efforts based on what are the most necessary and beneficial for your business.
  • Developing a customer analysis can help you keep in touch with the right customers. This can lead to a faster return of investments as you can increase customer loyalty which is very important if you want people to continue purchasing your products and other offers.
  • Having a customer analysis can lessen the possibilities of attrition. If you will be aware of the level of relationship that you have with customers in terms of their purchasing activities, then you can already predict the customers who can potentially discontinue their support to the business. With this, you can develop programs that can help these customers stay for the business to still benefit from their purchasing power.

Market Analysis for Customer Segmentation Example

Market Analysis for Customer Segmentation Example

Size: 837 KB

Repeat Customer Presentation Analysis Example

Repeat Customer Presentation Based on Analysis of the Transaction Data

Size: 408 KB

Tips in Developing Customer Analysis:

The studies and researches that you will implement for your business are aligned with one another. A customeer anaysis can stregthen the claoms and the results of the market on the whole. You can check market analysis – demand and supply for more. This can also go the other way around if you want to ensure that the demand of the customers is truly aligned with how you prepare the supply of the business.

Before making a customer analysis, you must know what are the basic factors and elements that need to be added in an analysis in the first place. This means that you need to consider to gather the precise and necessary information so you can make the most useful and effective customer analysis results. Aside from that, a few of the tips that can help you develop an impressive customer analysis include the following:

  • You need to carefully analyze the habits and activities if your clients. The content of the customer analysis of your business needs to be based on first-hand information. Doing this can make the document more effective. Take a look at operational analysis examples and samples for more.
  • Other than the basic and known factors that can affect the purchasing decisions of new customers, you also need to seek for the reaction and comments of these customers after buying an item from your business or acquiring your services. Be reminded that new customers can share information about your business and the details that they will disclose can affect the perception of other people who have not tried your offers yet. You may also want to see the process analysis examples and samples that are available online for more.
  • You can be well organized within the process of development if you use the customer analysis perfectly. You have to make sure that the steps of the customer analysis procedure, the materials that you will need for data gathering, and the metrics and measures that you will follow are prepared and well-arranged. This can result in a great customer analysis document that is complete and easily understandable to others. You can check the sales analysis for more.
  • Allow the customer analysis to be a part of the business plan you make. It is essential for the information that you will gather in this activity to serve as the foundation of the new strategies of your company.
  • If you will refer to existing examples that you can download, it will be easier for you to create a custom analysis of your own without sacrificing the document’s quality. Check root cause analysis for more.

Approaches to Customer Analysis Example

Approaches to Customer Analysis Example

Size: 662 KB

Customer Analysis Presentation Example

Customer Analysis Presentation Example

Size: 111 KB

Customer Analysis – Discussion and Example

Customer Analysis - Discussion and Example

Size: 385 KB

How Does Customer Analysis Affect a Business?

If you want to know to use a SWOT analysis , then the first thing you need to do is know the internal and external factors that can affect your business. In one way or another, having customer analysis can truly impact your business and the way it operates. A few changes that can occur if you use a customer analysis are mentioned below. They are:

  • You can attract potential customers into trusting your brand and what you can provide them with.
  • You can take a foot forward from your competition in the market.
  • You can benefit financially as an increase in actual sales can be achieved.
  • You can present the quality and value of your products and/or services accordingly.

If you are unsure of how to create a customer analysis, then the template in this article can be of great help to you. These examples and other information can be of great use so that you can make the needed document. Make sure to use the maximum potential of these references as having a well-thought and carefully planned customer analysis can be one of the strengths of your business. Financial analysis examples and samples can also be of great help to you in making the needed financial decisions as and when needed.

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How To Develop the Customer Analysis Section of Your Business Plan

customer analysis business plan

If you’re launching a new business, or expanding an existing one, you need a business plan. And as any successful entrepreneur knows, understanding your customers and how they fit with your products or services, is key to your success. That’s why the customer analysis section of your business plan is so important.

What is the Customer Analysis in a Business Plan?

A customer analysis thoroughly examines who your customer is, why a customer chooses your products or services, and why a customer will return to buy your products or services again and again. A completed customer analysis will also serve as important information for lenders or investors who examine your business plan. It tells them that you thoroughly know who will buy your products or services and why.

Customer Analysis Methods

Choosing the right customer analysis method, or a combination of methods, is a crucial step in developing a comprehensive understanding of your target market. These methods offer insights into customer behavior, preferences, and buying patterns, enabling businesses to tailor their products, services, and marketing strategies effectively. Whether you opt for a single approach or integrate multiple techniques, the goal is to gather actionable data that supports informed decision-making and strategic planning for your business’s growth.

Surveys and Questionnaires

One of the most direct methods of customer analysis is through surveys and questionnaires. This approach allows businesses to gather qualitative and quantitative data directly from potential or existing customers about their preferences, buying habits, and direct customer feedback on products or services. Carefully designed questions can provide valuable insights into customer demographics, psychographics, and behavior. Digital tools and platforms can facilitate the distribution of surveys to a wide audience, allowing for a broad sample size that can lead to more accurate and actionable data.

Social Media Analysis

Social media platforms are a goldmine of customer data and sentiments. Analyzing social media interactions can provide real-time insights into how customers perceive your brand, what they expect, and their level of engagement with your products or services. Tools like sentiment analysis and social listening can help identify trends, monitor brand mentions, and understand the overall customer sentiment. This method is particularly useful for capturing the voice of the customer and adjusting marketing efforts accordingly.

Focus Groups

Focus groups offer a more in-depth method of customer analysis, allowing for detailed discussions and feedback on specific topics, products, or services. By bringing together a diverse group of customers, businesses can explore customers’ attitudes, perceptions, and reactions in a controlled environment. Although more resource-intensive than surveys, focus groups can provide nuanced insights into customer needs and preferences, often uncovering issues or opportunities not visible through other forms of analysis. The key to a successful focus group is careful selection of participants and structured facilitation to ensure open and honest feedback.

How To Write the Customer Analysis For Your Business

Below, we outline steps that will guide you through creating a customer analysis section that not only aligns with your business goals but also resonates with investors and stakeholders.

Develop Your Customer Persona

Understand their buying behaviors, conduct market research to identify current trends, research what the competition is doing, customer analysis examples.

To illustrate the depth and application of a thorough customer analysis, consider the following two examples. These samples will provide you with a framework to craft a customer analysis that resonates with both investors and your target audience.

Example #1 – Little Dreamers Boutique

Little Dreamers Boutique primarily targets parents, guardians, and gift-givers seeking high-quality, fashionable clothing and toys for children aged newborn to pre-teen. The boutique’s ideal customers are individuals who value unique, stylish, and sometimes eco-friendly options for children’s attire and playthings. Situated in the vibrant downtown area of Greenville, the boutique also attracts foot traffic from locals and visitors exploring the picturesque row of shops and cafés. The demographic is largely middle to upper-middle-class consumers who are willing to invest in premium products for the children in their lives. Secondary customers include grandparents and extended family members looking for special occasion gifts.

Customers of Little Dreamers Boutique are motivated by the desire to purchase unique, high-quality items that are not found in typical retail chains. They appreciate the curatorial eye behind the selection of local and international brands offered at the boutique. Purchasing behaviors are influenced by the appeal of giving children and recipients stylish, comfortable, and sometimes eco-conscious clothing and toys. Seasonal trends, special occasions, and the continuous need for children’s clothing due to growth spurts also drive buying behavior. The boutique’s atmosphere, customer service, and product quality encourage repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals.

The children’s clothing and toy market is increasingly moving towards sustainability and unique, boutique-style offerings. Parents and gift-givers today show a preference for organic materials, ethical production, and products that support local economies. Little Dreamers Boutique is well-positioned to capitalize on these trends, with its focus on eco-friendly toys and sustainable fashion. Additionally, the rise of ‘shop local’ movements provides a favorable environment for the boutique’s growth. Staying adaptive to digital trends, like social media marketing and online shopping, is crucial for reaching a wider audience and catering to changing shopping behaviors.

Competition for Little Dreamers Boutique comes from both local shops and larger retail chains. While larger retailers might offer lower prices due to mass production, they lack the unique selection, personal touch, and community feel of Little Dreamers. The boutique sets itself apart by curating a diverse range of styles and brands that cater to the specific tastes and values of its customer base. Online competitors present a challenge in convenience and variety but cannot match the tactile, personal shopping experience offered by Little Dreamers Boutique. The boutique’s dedication to customer experience and unique product offerings creates a competitive advantage that keeps customers returning.

Example #2 – HandyFix Solutions

HandyFix Solutions targets a wide array of customers within the Austin metro area and its surrounding neighborhoods. We focus on homeowners and small business owners in need of dependable, high-quality handyman and maintenance services. The primary customer base includes:

  • Busy Professionals : Individuals with demanding work schedules who lack the time to perform household repairs or maintenance tasks. They value quick, efficient service that fits into their busy lifestyles.
  • Families : Homes with children often require frequent maintenance and updates. Families seek reliable services that can handle a diverse range of tasks, from simple repairs to major renovations, ensuring a safe and comfortable living space.
  • Elderly Homeowners : Older residents may struggle with the physical demands of home upkeep and prefer to trust a professional for their home maintenance needs. They seek reliable, respectful and patient service providers.

Customers of HandyFix Solutions are primarily motivated by the need for convenience, quality, and trustworthiness. They prefer a one-stop solution for their home maintenance needs that offers both minor repairs and more extensive renovation services. The company’s commitment to quality workmanship, flexible scheduling, and excellent customer service aligns with the desires of its target customers.

The growing trend towards DIY home improvement has influenced the handyman service market, with more homeowners willing to undertake small projects themselves. However, for larger, more complex tasks, or for those without the time or skills, HandyFix Solutions provides a valued service. Furthermore, the increasing number of aging homeowners contributes to the demand for home maintenance and modification services, presenting opportunities for HandyFix to cater to this demographic.

Competitively, HandyFix Solutions distinguishes itself from larger, generalized contractors and franchise handyman services with its local expertise, personalized customer service, and a broad service offering that caters to specific community needs. The company faces competition from other local handymen and national chains; nevertheless, its dedication to customer satisfaction and quality workmanship positions HandyFix as a preferred provider in the Austin area.

HandyFix Solutions has strategically positioned itself to meet the diverse needs of homeowners and small businesses in the Austin metro area. By focusing on high-quality service, reliability, and a broad range of offerings, HandyFix aims to cultivate long-term customer relationships and build a strong, loyal base within its target market.

A clear summary of your comprehensive findings in the customer analysis will go a long way toward demonstrating the value of your business. Moving through the checklists, adding research, listening to focus groups, and interpreting industry data will combine to form a customer analysis that holds a central position in the business plan. Whether used in the introduction of a new business or as an entrepreneur, the customer analysis indicates you know your customer very well.

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How to Write a Customer Analysis Section for Your Business Plan

customer analysis section of your business plan

Written by Vinay Kevadiya

Published Jul. 4 2024 · 7 Min Read

"There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” – Sam Walton.

So, everything a business does is for its customers. Because they’re central, customer analysis isn’t just any other section of the business plan.

It's the key section that determines what your product or service will be, who will buy it, and how you will target them.

But how do you write a customer analysis section for your business plan ? Don't worry; here are six simple steps to guide you through writing this crucial section, along with an example.

Let's start by understanding what customer analysis precisely means.

What is customer analysis in a business plan?

Customer analysis in a business plan is a detailed look at your target customers, including their characteristics, needs, and buying behaviors. This analysis helps you understand your market better, customize your products and services to meet customer demands, as well as identify opportunities for business growth.

Why conduct customer analysis?

According to a Google survey, more than 40% of marketers use customer research and analysis to drive strategic business decisions.

Needless to say, there are multiple benefits to accurate customer analysis. Here are some of them:

  • Helps in customizing marketing strategies for better customer engagement by understanding customer profiles.
  • Assists in making informed decisions about product developments and improvements.
  • Allows you to deeply understand customer needs reducing customer churn rate.
  • Helps in identifying the pain points which supports gaining a competitive edge.

In short, the purpose of customer analysis in a business plan is to align your business strategy with the needs and behaviors of your target market.

6 steps to write customer analysis in a business plan

Now, that you understand why the customer analysis section is important, let's move forward with how to actually write one in 6 simple steps:

6 steps to write customer analysis in a business plan

1. Define your target customers

The first step of customer analysis is to define and identify your target customers. Here are the steps on how to identify your target audience through market segment:

Customer demographics

Firstly define the age range of your customers (teenagers, young adults, seniors, or middle-aged). Then see to which gender your product or services appeal.

Also, consider the educational background, occupation, and income level of the target customers.

Psychographics

The psychological and emotional factors affecting the choice of a consumer are known as psychographics. It includes analyzing the lifestyle of your consumers.

Likewise, identify the core values of your customers like do they seek affordability, quality, or sustainability. Try to understand the interests of your customers too.

Here, mention the location of your customers. Are they situated in urban, suburban, or rural areas? Additionally, look if the weather affects the demand for your product or service. If it does, then consider the weather of the particular location.

Purchasing behavior

Understand the customer behavior whether they prefer to buy things online or through physical stores. Do they think twice before buying any product or purchase it recklessly?

Additionally, consider whether your target audience sticks to a brand or switches it frequently.

Use of technology

Technographic segmentation can help companies to identify the applications and motives for purchasing. Here is how you can create technographic segments:

  • Find out what technologies your customers use with surveys, web analytics, or third-party data providers.
  • Identify key technographic variables (consumers' technology usage behaviors) such as hardware, software, technology stack, etc.
  • Segment your audience based on essential variables such as device-based, tech savviness, usage intensity, etc.

2. Gather data from existing sources

The next step is to identify sources for gathering relevant data. Start with your internal data, which may include customer statistics such as age, gender, location, and contact numbers.

Here are some ways:

  • Google Analytics: It’s an excellent tool for tracking user activities across your website including age, gender, interests, traffic sources, buying behavior, and more.
  • Social media metrics: Instagram insights, Facebook insights, and others provide you with demographic information and visitor tools.
  • U.S. Census Bureau: You should seek population statistics like age, gender, and race. Then search for average incomes, number of businesses, and employment figures in local communities.

3. Estimate market size and trends

Once you know the target audience, estimate the market size for your product and the number of potential customers from your target market.

You can use existing data from industry reports, market research data, and statistical resources to support your estimates.

Also, analyze the current trends affecting your target market. It includes technological advancements, economic factors, cultural shifts, or other relevant trends.

4. Discover customer needs and pain points

The next step is to specify the needs and challenges of your target audience. Getting to know what exactly your customers need helps you understand whether your product or service is fitting or not.

Some of the ways to do it are:

  • Engage directly with potential customers - Engage directly with customers as it is a reliable and affordable way to know about their needs.
  • Collect customer support data - Gather direct customer data from the customers who had any issue with your product or service to better understand their pain points.
  • Review customer feedback - Check all the Google reviews and social media platforms for direct customer feedback to understand more about what kind of products or services are they seeking.

5. Develop customer profiles and personas

After all the research, it’s now time to create a customer profile. It includes all the characteristics of the type of audience you’re planning to target.

These personas enable businesses to understand customers more deeply. It allows businesses to tailor marketing efforts and product development to meet their needs better.

Here’s an example of a persona profile for a skincare company:

person profile for a skincare company

6. Conduct competitor analysis

Identify your potential competitors and analyze how they meet their customer needs. Evaluate their strengths and weaknesses in comparison to your offerings.

Determine where your competitors stand in the market and how they segment their customer base. This will help you identify opportunities and gaps in the market.

With all the competitor research data, you can craft a marketing plan to target customers differently than competitors, helping in identifying unique selling points.

So, these were the six simple steps, and to understand it further, let’s get forward with the example.

Customer analysis example of an online sustainable clothing retail store

Target market overview

  • Demographic Segmentation : Women aged 18-35; Men aged 18-35; College-educated; Students and young professionals.
  • Geographic Segmentation : Urban areas in the U.S.; Major cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
  • Psychographic Segmentation : Environmentally conscious; Interested in fashion and trendy styles.
  • Behavioral Segmentation : Regular online shoppers; Prefer eco-friendly products; willing to pay a premium for sustainability.

Target customer profile 

Primary Target Customer:

primary target customer

Secondary Target Customer:

secondary target customer

Customer needs and preferences 

Customer Needs:

  • High-quality, sustainable fashion products
  • Easy online shopping experience
  • Reliable and fast shipping options
  • Transparent information about product sustainability.

Buying Preferences:

  • Prefer online shopping via website and social media
  • Detailed product descriptions and reviews
  • Attracted to brands with strong ethical and environmental values

Market Size and Growth

Customer buying behavior.

Buying Process:

  • Discover through social media and online ads
  • Visit the website, browse products, read reviews, compare options
  • Follow the brand on social media, engage with content

Decision-Making Factors:

  • Product quality and sustainability
  • Brand reputation and ethical values
  • Positive reviews and word-of-mouth
  • Price and value for money

Competitive Landscape:

This comprehensive customer analysis example will help align business strategies with customer needs, drive growth, and build a loyal customer base.

In the end, understanding and prioritizing the customer is necessary for any business's success.

Customer analysis is not merely a section in your business plan; it influences product development, marketing strategies, and overall business growth.

And we hope you can write this crucial section effectively with this article. But if you're still unsure about formatting and presentation, consider using an AI business plan generator .

This tool can help you create a comprehensive customer analysis section and complete your entire business plan within minutes.

Happy planning!

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Answer a few questions, and AI will generate a detailed business plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most important customer metrics to track?

The most important customer metrics to track include:

  • Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
  • Customer lifetime value (CLV)
  • Customer retention rate
  • Customer satisfaction score (CSAT)
  • Average revenue per user (ARPU)
  • Repeat purchase rate

Tracking these metrics helps you understand customer behavior, improve satisfaction, and drive business growth.

What common mistakes should be avoided in customer analysis?

Common mistakes to avoid in customer analysis include:

  • Ignoring data quality : Ensure your data is accurate and up-to-date.
  • Overgeneralizing customer segments : Avoid lumping diverse customers into broad categories.
  • Neglecting qualitative insights : Balance quantitative data with qualitative feedback.
  • Focusing solely on demographics : Consider psychographic and behavioral factors as well.
  • Not updating analysis regularly : Regularly review and update your analysis to reflect current trends.
  • Overlooking competitor insights : Consider how competitors influence your customers.

Avoiding these mistakes will lead to more accurate and actionable customer insights.

What are the most effective methods for collecting customer data?

The most effective methods for collecting customer data include surveys, website analytics, social media monitoring, customer feedback forms, purchase history, customer reviews, etc.

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As the founder and CEO of Upmetrics, Vinay Kevadiya has over 12 years of experience in business planning. He provides valuable insights to help entrepreneurs build and manage successful business plans.

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example of customer analysis in business plan

Crafting the Customer Analysis in Business Plan: A Comprehensive Guide

In today’s competitive business environment, understanding your customers is the key to success. Customer analysis in business plans plays a crucial role in driving business growth and providing a competitive edge.

Imagine unlocking the hidden potential within your customer base, tailoring marketing strategies, and developing products that resonate with their needs and preferences. This comprehensive guide will explore the ins and outs of customer analysis in a business plan and how to leverage it for maximum impact on your business.

Short Summary

  • Customer analysis is an essential part of any business plan, allowing businesses to understand their target customers and create tailored products/services.
  • It involves identifying a market, assessing demographics & analyzing customer behavior in order to inform marketing strategies.
  • Utilizing insights from customer analysis can help optimize marketing campaigns & product offerings for maximum return on investment.

The Essence of Customer Analysis

Customer analysis is an essential element of any business plan, emphasizing the comprehension of target customers, their requirements, and how your product or service fulfills those requirements. By performing customer analysis, businesses can better tailor their products and services to their target audience , ultimately leading to increased sales and a thriving business.

Understanding the needs of your target customers is key to success. Knowing who your customers are

example of customer analysis in business plan

Purpose of Customer Analysis

The primary objective of customer analysis is to recognize potential customers, prioritize customer segments, and provide guidance for marketing and product development strategies. Understanding your customers’ wants, needs, pain points, and objectives is crucial to creating targeted marketing campaigns and product offerings that resonate with them.

By closely monitoring customer feedback and support requests (Voice of Customer analysis), businesses can gain insight into customer pain points and preferences and even discover unexpected uses for their products.

Key Components of Customer Analysis

The essential elements of customer analysis encompass target market identification, demographic analysis, and behavioral analysis. Demographic analysis provides insights into factors such as age, income, and location, which can be used to create targeted marketing strategies.

Behavioral analysis, on the other hand, entails comprehending the customer’s decision-making process for the purchase, including the steps taken, information sources consulted, and who has the authority to make the final decision. By understanding these components, businesses can better cater to their customer’s needs and preferences, ultimately leading to success.

Conducting an Effective Customer Analysis

An effective customer analysis involves a thorough research process that focuses on customer pain points, goals, and insights on what influences their buying decisions. This process begins with identifying your target market, which is crucial in ensuring a successful business.

By analyzing customer demographics and examining customer behavior and purchasing patterns, businesses can tailor their marketing strategies and product offerings to address the specific needs and preferences of their target customers.

Identifying Your Target Market

Identifying your target market is the first step in conducting a comprehensive customer analysis. By precisely defining the target customer your company is serving, you can focus your marketing efforts and resources on the most profitable customer segments.

Small businesses with 10 to 50 employees located in large metropolitan cities on the West Coast can benefit from having a business plan. This plan should provide clear guidance and instructions for the successful execution of tasks, including target market analysis.

With a clear understanding of your target market, you’ll be better equipped to develop a targeted marketing strategy that resonates with your audience and drives sales.

Analyzing Customer Demographics

Analyzing customer demographics is crucial for tailoring marketing strategies to specific customer groups. By examining your current customer base, you can determine which demographics to focus on for future marketing efforts. Demographic information, such as:

  • education levels

A comprehensive view of the messaging that is most likely to appeal to customers and the marketing channels that are most effective in reaching them can be achieved when customers seek multiple bids, as it provides valuable insights into their preferences and decision-making process.

By constructing a marketing strategy around the types of people who have already made a purchase, you can maximize the return on investment of your marketing budget.

Examining Customer Behavior and Purchasing Patterns

Analyzing customer behavior and purchasing patterns can yield valuable insights through customer behavior analysis. By monitoring customer interactions with your products and services, such as website visits, purchases, and customer reviews, you can identify customer needs and preferences and devise strategies to enhance customer retention and loyalty.

Additionally, understanding the drivers of customer decision-making is crucial for creating targeted marketing campaigns and product offerings that resonate with your target audience.

Utilizing Customer Analysis Results

Customer analysis results can be leveraged to enhance marketing strategies, drive product development and innovation, and strengthen customer retention and loyalty. By recognizing customer feedback and customer support requests, businesses can acquire advantageous insights into customer behavior and preferences, which can be utilized to provide direction to marketing and product development strategies.

In this section, we will explore how customer analysis results can be utilized to improve various aspects of your business.

Enhancing Marketing Strategies

Customer analysis results, including customer segmentation analysis, can inform targeted marketing strategies that lead to increased sales and revenue. By leveraging insights from customer demographics and behavior, businesses can create personalized marketing campaigns that resonate with their target audience. For example, a company catering to young professionals may focus its marketing efforts on social media platforms, while a company targeting older adults may prioritize direct mail or email campaigns.

By tailoring marketing strategies based on customer analysis, businesses can optimize their marketing efforts and achieve greater success.

Driving Product Development and Innovation

Insights from customer analysis can guide product development and innovation, ensuring that products and services meet customer needs and preferences. By understanding customer pain points and objectives, businesses can create new products and services that address these needs, resulting in increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Additionally, existing customer feedback can be utilized to refine existing products and services, making them more appealing to the target audience and driving business growth .

Strengthening Customer Retention and Loyalty

Understanding customer needs and preferences through customer analysis can help businesses improve customer retention and loyalty. By tailoring products and services to the specific needs and preferences of your target audience, you can enhance customer satisfaction and encourage repeat business.

Furthermore, by identifying gaps in the customer experience and optimizing touchpoints, businesses can improve the overall customer journey and nurture long-lasting relationships with their customers.

Tools and Techniques for Customer Analysis

To effectively conduct customer analysis, businesses can employ various tools and techniques, including data collection and analysis, creating buyer personas, and customer journey mapping. These methods enable businesses to gain a deeper understanding of their customers and make informed decisions regarding their products, services, and promotional activities.

In this section, we will explore the different tools and techniques that can be used in customer analysis.

Data Collection and Analysis

Data collection and analysis play a critical role in customer analysis, as they involve gathering information on customer interactions, demographics, and purchasing patterns. Businesses can utilize various methods for data collection, such as surveys, focus groups, and interviews, as well as analytics tools to track customer behavior online.

By analyzing this data through market research, businesses can identify trends, patterns, and areas for improvement, ultimately informing their marketing strategies and product development efforts.

Creating Buyer Personas

Creating buyer personas is an essential technique in customer analysis, as it helps businesses visualize their ideal customers and tailor marketing and product development strategies accordingly.

Buyer personas are fictional representations of major customer segments, taking into account factors such as:

  • demographics
  • professional status
  • purchasing habits

By developing accurate and detailed buyer personas, businesses can ensure that their marketing campaigns and product offerings resonate with their target audience, leading to increased sales and customer loyalty.

example of customer analysis in business plan

Customer Journey Mapping

Customer journey mapping is an invaluable tool in customer analysis, as it enables businesses to identify gaps in the customer experience and optimize touchpoints to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. A customer journey map is a visual representation of the stages a customer goes through when interacting with a business, from initial awareness to loyalty.

By understanding the customer journey and identifying areas for improvement, businesses can enhance the overall customer experience and nurture long-lasting relationships with their customers.

Case Study: Successful Customer Analysis in Action

A prime example of successful customer analysis in action is the Buxton case study. Buxton, a leading provider of customer analytics and consulting services, utilized customer analysis techniques to help businesses expand, grow, and market themselves more efficiently. Through a combination of data collection, buyer persona creation, and customer journey mapping, Buxton was able to gain a deep understanding of their client’s customers and develop targeted marketing campaigns that resonated with their audience.

As a result, their current customers experienced increased sales, customer loyalty, and overall business growth and success.

In conclusion, customer analysis is a powerful tool that can drive business growth and success by helping companies understand their target customers, tailor their marketing strategies, and develop products and services that meet customer needs and preferences.

By utilizing tools and techniques such as data collection and analysis, buyer persona creation, and customer journey mapping, businesses can gain valuable insights into their customers and make informed decisions that lead to increased sales, customer loyalty, and overall business success. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to unlock your business’s full potential – start conducting customer analysis today and reap the rewards.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a customer analysis in a business plan.

A customer analysis is an essential part of a business plan, which identifies target customers and outlines how a product or service meets their needs.

It helps businesses understand their customers better, so they can create marketing strategies that are tailored to their target audience. It also helps them identify potential opportunities and threats in the market.

By understanding their customers, businesses can better serve their customers.

What is an example of customer analysis?

Customer analysis involves understanding consumers’ behaviors through observation and measurement of analytics, analyzing brand recognition and awareness, understanding how customers feel about the competition, and testing different customer acquisition approaches.

This process helps businesses better understand their target audience and develop strategies to reach them. It also helps to identify potential opportunities for growth and improvement. By understanding customer behavior, businesses can create more effective marketing campaigns and better serve their customers.

What should be included in a customer analysis?

A customer analysis should include details on the customer’s demographics, professional status, purchasing habits, values and goals, influences, and challenges. It should also assess their buying patterns, product usage history, spending habits, loyalty metrics, and more to gain an understanding of their wants, needs, pain points, and objectives.

What is the primary objective of customer analysis?

The primary objective of customer analysis is to recognize potential customers, prioritize customer segments, and inform marketing and product development strategies.

By understanding customer needs and preferences, businesses can create targeted marketing campaigns and product offerings that are tailored to the needs of their target audience. This helps to ensure that the company is reaching the right people.

How can customer analysis help improve marketing strategies?

Customer analysis provides valuable insights into customer’s needs and preferences, enabling businesses to create tailored marketing strategies that drive sales. It is an essential tool for effective marketing.

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Published October 31 st 2023

Complete Guide on How to Conduct an Effective Customer and Segmentation Analysis

Follow this detailed guide to conducting customer analysis and segmentation and learn how to target your customers with the right messages.

The purpose of undertaking customer analysis as part of a business plan is to examine in-depth the consumers most likely to purchase your product or service. Brands can establish different groups of customers and the needs of those customers. By understanding what motivates them to purchase, brands can build their business around providing solutions to those needs.

So, how can we define customer analysis?

What is customer analysis, and why is it important?

Customer analysis is the process of examining, understanding, and developing in-depth knowledge about the consumers most likely to convert into customers by purchasing your product or service.

Customer analysis is a critical component of market research and business strategy. The customer analysis process involves systematically collecting and examining data and insights about a company's existing and potential customers. 

This type of analysis aims to discover consumer purchase drivers and how an organization can effectively fill the gap with its product offerings. 

The goal is to identify and segment different groups of customers based on their unique traits, motivations, and needs. Organizations can explore demographics, psychographics, interests, behaviors, and other characteristics that make up a customer profile or buyer persona. 

What is a customer profile or buyer persona?

A customer profile (or buyer persona) is a dossier containing a detailed record of the ideal consumer interested in purchasing your product or service. Organizations use buyer personas to tailor their marketing strategies, product development, and sales efforts to better align with customer preferences and expectations. 

How can brands benefit from doing customer analysis?

Insights from customer analysis can help companies enhance customer satisfaction, target the right audience with tailored messages, uncover market trends, and make informed decisions, ultimately driving business growth and success in a competitive marketplace. 

Customer analysis empowers businesses to bridge the gap between what they offer and what their customers genuinely need, ensuring that products and services provide practical solutions to consumer pain points.

Stages of customer analysis

Customer analysis should move through three different stages.

  • You first need to identify who your current customers are. The more detailed understanding you have of your customers, the better. This one group of customers should then be split into subgroups with similar traits and motivations. You can also identify target customers you are not yet reaching.
  • Customer analysis must then show what the needs of these different customer groups are.
  • You then need to work out what bridges these two, identifying how the company’s products meet the needs of each customer group. How do you provide solutions to their pain points?

What is a customer analysis model?

Any analysis should start with asking clarifying questions that can help establish the reason for the analysis and create a framework for evaluating the data. 

The customer analysis model represents the framework marketers and insights professionals can follow when diving deeper into the customer data to surface consumer preferences and interests.

Researchers often cite the 5W and 6W models, which stand for the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and, lastly, Why not of the data. 

This approach to analyzing customer data can help reveal not only who your target audience is and what they might be interested in but also what they dislike and the reasons behind it.

5 Key steps to conducting effective customer and segmentation analysis

To conduct effective customer and segmentation analysis, organizations should follow the following five key steps:

1. Identify and segment your existing customer base:

  • Identify your current customers and gather as much detailed information as possible.
  • Segment these customers into distinct groups with similar traits and motivations.
  • Identify potential target customers you still need to reach

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2. Define segment criteria:

  • Ensure that your segmentation criteria are measurable, observable, substantial, and financially justified (the effort and resources required to target and serve a particular customer segment are justified by the potential return on investment).
  • Consider whether marketing messages can be tailored to each segment.
  • Evaluate the size and accessibility of each segment to determine the focus.

3. Develop customer profiles and personas:

  • Create detailed buyer personas that include background, demographics, communication preferences, and challenges.
  • Gather qualitative data in the form of quotes to humanize the personas.
  • Visualize a human behind your potential buyer rather than an abstract idea when crafting your personas.

4. Discover customer needs and pain points:

  • Engage with customers through surveys, social media, and direct dialogs to understand their needs (e.g., create an open feedback loop or run Q/As on social).
  • Analyze past customer actions and explore relevant online platforms like Quora, Reddit, and LinkedIn groups.
  • Use social intelligence to monitor discussions and content shared within your persona groups.

5. Connect customer needs to your brand:

  • Work with internal stakeholders to determine how your brand can meet the needs and solve the problems of each customer group.
  • Emphasize solutions over features, focusing on making customers' lives easier.
  • Apply these insights to marketing, sales, and product development to better align with customer expectations and drive business success.

Identify your customers

You can learn more about your customers in a variety of ways, and a mix of research methods will give you the most accurate results. It is best to gather as much information as possible and avoid thinking details are irrelevant. Details like age, gender, location, demographics, and psychographics are all important, but so are their interests, other brands they like, publications they read, and so on.

Talking to them and running a survey will be the best way of hearing about them in their own words, although that does come with biases. Reduce this by complementing that research with sales and CRM data and speaking to customer-facing employees. Once you have identified these groups, social data can elaborate your understanding by providing a more holistic view of the groups.

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It’s also worth considering at this stage whether or not the buyer and end-user are the same person. In a B2B setting, the buyer might hold budget responsibility but not actually use the service or product themselves. 

In a B2C setting, there are several situations when a buyer might not be the end user; a toy water pistol or a diamond ring are both unlikely to be used by the purchaser.

Do customer segmentation in groups

You cannot undertake an accurate customer analysis without segmenting your audience into groups whose members are homogenous and distinct from other groups. Your segmentation criteria should be:

  • Measurable : Your analysis should identify the size of a market segment so that you can decide to what extent efforts should be focused on the segment.
  • Distinguishable : Observable differences that are clearly defined must exist in order to characterize segments.
  • Substantial : The market needs to be large enough to justify segmenting, with each segment substantial enough to make it worthwhile.
  • Financial : There will be additional costs when marketing to multiple, separate groups, so the predicted income must exceed these costs.
  • Accessible : Your marketing messages should be accessible to each market segment. Different groups will respond better to different forms of advertising.

Develop a customer profile analysis

Use your data, segmentation criteria, and some educated guesswork to develop your buyer personas. It helps to have personas to visualize a human rather than aiming for an abstract idea.

Elements to include in a buyer persona include:

  • Background and responsibilities , including job title, career path, and consumers’ primary job responsibilities.
  • Demographics , including gender, age, income, family, and location.
  • Communication : Which channels do they prefer? What is their demeanor? Do they have an assistant?
  • Media and influencers : Which publications do they follow, and which individuals are leading the conversation in their world?
  • Challenges vs proposition : The challenges they face in implementing their primary job goals and how your product or service can help them overcome those issues.
  • Objections : Common reasons why this persona wouldn’t choose your product.
  • Common language : What language should you use to appeal to their needs?
  • Quotes : Adding some qualitative data in the form of quotes can really help to bring the personas to life and remind you there are real people behind these aggregated models.

Discover your customers’ needs

The next step in customer analysis is to get a good idea of what the customer’s needs are. By understanding their needs, several departments can gear their output towards answering these questions rather than taking an “If you build it, they will come” approach.

There are numerous ways to discover what your customers’ pain points are.

  • The best way is to ask them. A survey is great if you can get enough responses, and online services like SurveyMonkey can keep the cost down.
  • Consider the past actions of the group, such as the percentage that have purchased a similar product at some time in the past.
  • Look at questions asked on Quora or Reddit .
  • For B2B businesses, looking at job adverts for your target customers can give you an insight into their day-to-day work and problems.
  • Join LinkedIn professional groups to get an insight into questions and discussions.
  • Social intelligence can again help to understand the issues faced by customers. You can begin by building an audience of your personas and then monitor that group for questions asked, relevant content shared (such as how-to guides), and discussions.

How does your brand meet the needs of the customer?

Once you’ve done your research and outlined your different customer groups and their needs, you should connect the dots to your brand and identify how you meet those needs. This section of customer analysis should just be a matter of discussing and brainstorming with internal partners.

Solution-based answers should come out of this process. Instead of merely listing features, concentrate on showcasing how these features address the challenges your customers and prospects have. Always focus on benefits ahead of features. 

Solving the problems that customers face on a daily basis will resonate with them much better than shouting about a shiny new feature. Focus on how you can make their lives easier and more enjoyable.

This will obviously be reflected in marketing, but these insights can help sales and product development as well, tightening your focus to better match your customer’s needs.

Ready to make your customer and segmentation analysis?

Systematically conducting a customer and segmentation analysis is not merely a recommended practice but essential for any business aiming to thrive in today's competitive landscape. 

By understanding the core principles of customer analysis and following the five key steps to conducting an effective analysis outlined in this blog, you can unlock your brand’s true potential and foster lasting success. 

The journey of customer analysis starts from analyzing your existing customers, mirroring buyer personas after them, and ultimately connecting the dots between your brand and the solutions you provide to address your potential customers’ pain points. 

The insights from conducting a customer analysis are not just data; they are the compass that guides your marketing, sales, and product development efforts to better align with your customers’ needs. 

Now it's your turn: How are you going to harness the power of customer analysis to drive business success in 2024?

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COMMENTS

  1. How to Write a Customer Analysis Section for Your Business Plan

    This data consists of qualitative and quantitative aspects which help you write an accurate customer analysis for your business plan. Let's now understand a step-by-step process to write your customer analysis. 1. Identify your customers. The first step of customer analysis is to identify your potential customers and collect information about ...

  2. How to Write a Customer Analysis for Your Business Plan + Example

    A complete customer analysis contains 3 primary sections: Identify your target customers; Convey the needs of these customers; Show how your products and/or services satisfy these needs; Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here . Why Your Customer Analysis is Important. In this section of your business plan, you will describe your ...

  3. How to Write a Customer Analysis for Your Busines Plan

    Get started with your business plan template. A customer analysis is a key part of any business plan. But it's just one piece. At Bplans, we take some of the pain out of business planning. We've developed a free business planning template to help reduce entrepreneurs' time to create a full, lender-ready business plan.

  4. How to Write a Customer Analysis for a Business Plan

    Example for a Coffee Shop: Track customer traffic patterns, peak hours, and popular menu items to optimize staffing levels, inventory management, and promotional strategies. Identify Growth Opportunities. Based on your customer analysis, identify growth opportunities for your business. This could involve expanding into new customer segments ...

  5. Customer Analysis

    Restaurants should be aware of their customers' wants and need as these are the key factors of major business decisions. With the help of this above-mentioned template, you can make a professionally drafted and well-formatted analysis needed to help restaurant operators gather data. Usually from customer behavior via marketing segmentation and predictive analysis to direct marketing, site ...

  6. How To Develop the Customer Analysis Section of Your Business Plan

    A completed customer analysis will also serve as important information for lenders or investors who examine your business plan. It tells them that you thoroughly know who will buy your products or services and why. Customer Analysis Methods. Choosing the right customer analysis method, or a combination of methods, is a crucial step in ...

  7. How to Write a Customer Analysis Section for Your Business Plan

    In short, the purpose of customer analysis in a business plan is to align your business strategy with the needs and behaviors of your target market. 6 steps to write customer analysis in a business plan. Now, that you understand why the customer analysis section is important, let's move forward with how to actually write one in 6 simple steps: 1.

  8. Crafting the Customer Analysis in Business Plan: A Comprehensive Guide

    Customer analysis is an essential element of any business plan, emphasizing the comprehension of target customers, their requirements, and how your product or service fulfills those requirements. By performing customer analysis, businesses can better tailor their products and services to their target audience , ultimately leading to increased ...

  9. How to do a Customer Analysis and Customer Segmentation

    The purpose of undertaking customer analysis as part of a business plan is to examine in-depth the consumers most likely to purchase your product or service. Brands can establish different groups of customers and the needs of those customers. By understanding what motivates them to purchase, brands can build their business around providing ...

  10. Free Customer Analysis Templates (Guide with Examples)

    A customer analysis provides business owners with in-depth information about their current and prospective customers. This information is crucial as it helps the business people plan and determine the future direction of their businesses. While writing a customer analysis, one is often required to reflect upon the business through customer ...