V.Competitive Analysis
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Direct & Indirect Competitors
The following small business insurance broker age firms are located within a 20 mile radius of [Company Name], thus providing either direct or indirect competition for customers:
Small Biz Insurance
Small Biz Insurance is an owner-operated business run by Bob Johnson. Having started the business ten years ago, Johnson operates out of his home to keep down costs and meets with small businesses in the surrounding area at their offices. Johnson focuses primarily on casualty insurance and does not deal with health insurance providers. .
Small Biz Insurance has an estimated $300,000 in annual revenue and serves a small subset of area clients. However, its name and focus on small business insurance bring it to the top of local search rankings, causing many small businesses to consider working with Johnson.
Marsh Inc.
Marsh Inc. is part of Marsh & McLennan companies, a vast insurance and consulting company with 57,000 employees and revenue of $12 billion. Marsh itself employs approximately 40,000 people with $6.9 billion annual revenues. Its nearest office location is in [city name].
Unlike [Company Name], whose revenues will come entirely from commissions from insurance companies, Marsh receives advisory fees for locating property and casualty insurance for its clients who are mainly large companies, but include some small companies. This arrangement helps to maintain the company’s reputation as an impartial advisor, but generally makes insurance more expensive for their clients.
Small business clients go to Marsh because of its wide presence on the Internet, public brand awareness, and track record. However, many startups and small businesses cannot afford the fees of working with Marsh and instead seek insurance directly from insurance providers.
One-Stop Insurance Brokers
One-Stop is a local firm with 100 active brokers serving the [company location] area. One-Stop has approximately 70 brokers selling business insurance and 30 selling personal insurance. Local small businesses have increasingly used One-Stop brokers for their small business needs over the past ten years. [Founder’s Name] was one of the lead salespeople at One-Stop while he worked there.
One-Stop attempts to offer all types of insurance to business clients, going beyond the needs of small businesses. Some small businesses have expressed that they do not receive adequate customer service from their One-Stop brokers due to the larger clients that these brokers are also trying to serve. Furthermore, One-Stop does not provide intellectual property through newsletters, online content, or seminars, specifically aimed at small business audiences.
Competitive Advantage
[Company Name] enjoys several advantages over its competitors. These advantages include:
- Location: [Company Name]’s location is near the center of town, in the shopping district of the city. It is visible from the street where many small business owners and managers walk to and from work on a daily basis.
- Client-oriented service: [Company Name] will have a full-time assistant to keep in contact with clients and answer their everyday questions. [Founder’s Name] realizes the importance of accessibility to his clients, and will further keep in touch with his clients through monthly and then biweekly webinars on topics of interest.
- Management: [Founder’s Name] has been extremely successful working in the insurance brokerage sector and will be able to use his previous experience to grant his clients detailed insight into the insurance world. His unique qualifications will serve customers in a much more sophisticated manner than [Company Name’s] competitors.
- Relationships: Having lived in the community for 25 years, [Founder’s Name] knows many of the local leaders, newspapers and other influences. Furthermore, he established many relationships with small business owners and managers during his time at One-Stop Insurance Brokers.
