Market Gap Analysis

Gap Analysis Instructions
This activity is best done with a small group, representing different parts of the company (e.g., product management, marketing, sales, development and executives).
Please review the Troubleshooting tab, if you have difficulties with the Gap Analysis workbook.
Step Description
1 Print a copy of the Data Sheet tab of this workbook for everyone in the group.
2 Determine the current owner of each activity. Common roles and their abbreviations are on the Data Sheet. If you would like to change the roles, please do so on
the Values tab.
3 Discuss proposed owners for each activity.
4 Determine the relative importance (one activity vs. another) of each activity, ranked low to high (0-5). In most companies, all of these activities are necessary, but
some have a higher degree of importance than others.
5 Assess how well you are doing each of the activities in your company low to high (0-5), with 0 meaning you are not doing the activity.
6 Estimate to the nearest quarter hour (e.g., 4.25) the time devoted to activities in the Actual Hrs/Wk column. Use the Target Hrs/Wk column to determine the
number of hours per week that should be spent on the activity. Once hours are entered into the Data Sheet, review the Total Number of Hours and Number of
Employees needed at the bottom of the worksheet. This will help determine how many product managers you might need to accomplish your goals.
7 Enter the results into the Data Sheet. The gaps between Importance and Assessment will be automatically calculated, and the Framework will be filled in and color-
coded with your results.
8 Triage the high gaps. As a group, pick the top 3 to focus on in the next few quarters.
9 Develop an action plan for the top 3 activities. Discuss the constraints and barriers, and how you will overcome these to successfully close the gap between
importance and assessment.
© 1993-2013 Pragmatic Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved. Clients of Pragmatic Marketing are granted a limited license to use internally, for non-commercial purposes.
Abbreviation Role (Modify on Values tab if needed)
PM Product Manager
PMM Product Marketing Manager
TPM Technical Product Manager
PO Product Owner
PS Product Strategy
MC Marketing Communications Enter data in the yellow columns. For Owners,
SE Sales Engineer Importance, and Assessment columns click the cell and
select a value from the drop down or type the
Dev Development appropriate value from 0 (Low) to 5 (High). Enter Actual
Sales Sales Representative and Target Hours as a number to the nearest quarter
PGM Program Manager hour (e.g. 4.25).
PJM Project Manager The Gap is calculated when Importance and
Exec Executive Assessment are entered.
Other Other
None None
Owner
Actual Hrs/Wk
Target Hrs/Wk
Assessment
Importance
Proposed
Current
Gap
Category Activity Description
Market Market Problems Discover problems in the market by interviewing
customers, recent evaluators and untapped,
potential customers. Validate urgent problems to
show their pervasiveness in the market.
Understand Win/Loss Analysis Understand why recent evaluators of the product did
market problems or did not buy, and what steps they took in the
and your buying process.
organization's
unique ability to Distinctive Articulate and leverage the organization’s unique
address them. Competence abilities to deliver value to the market.
Competitive Identify competitive and alternative offerings in the
Landscape market. Assess their strengths and weaknesses.
Develop a strategy for winning against the
competition.
Technology Inventory technology assets and determine ways

Assessment they can be leveraged.
Focus Market Definition
Map needs with target markets and analyze the
market segments to actively pursue. Ensure that the
targeted segments are large enough to support the
current and future business of the product.
Create a product Distribution Determine which channels best align with your
strategy Strategy markets' buying preferences.
integrated with
Product Portfolio Integrate products into a coherent portfolio of
your
products focused on the market. Manage the
organization's
portfolio like a “product” (business plan, positioning,
products.
buying process, market requirements and marketing
plan).
Product Roadmap Illustrate the vision and key phases of deliverables

for the product. The roadmap is a plan, not a
commitment.
Business Business Plan
Perform an objective analysis of a potential market
opportunity to provide a basis for investment.
Articulate what you learned in the market and
quantify the risk, including a financial model.
Formalize your Pricing Establish a pricing model, schedules, guidelines and
product plans to procedures.
deliver profitable
Buy, Build or
solutions for Determine the most effective way to deliver a
Partner
market problems. complete solution to an identified market problem.
Where you have gaps in your offering, analyze
whether to buy, build or partner to complete the
solution for your market.
Product Monitor and analyze key performance indicators to
Profitability determine how well the product is performing in the
market, how it impacts the company operations, and
ultimately, how it contributes to profit.
Innovation Focus your team's creative spirit on solving market

problems by leveraging your organization's
distinctive competencies.
Planning Positioning
Describe the product by its ability to solve market
problems. Create internal positioning documents that
will be used to develop external messages focused
on each key buyer or persona.
Connect your Buying Process Research and document the buying process your
business plans target personas use to select a product. Understand
with the the barriers that buyers encounter during their
organizations that selection process.
develop, promote,
and deliver Buyer Personas Define the archetypical buyers involved in the
solutions to the purchasing process of your products and services.
market.
User Personas Define the archetypical users of your products and
services.
Requirements Articulate and prioritize personas and their problems
so that the appropriate products can be built.
Use Scenarios Illustrate market problems in a “story” that puts the

problem in context. Use scenarios are one
component of requirements.
Status Dashboard Monitor key dates and checkpoints in product
delivery.
Programs Marketing Plan Articulate the strategies and tactics for generating
awareness and leads for the upcoming fiscal period,
including key programs and events with
measurements and goals.
Create go-to- Customer Define the specific plans and budgets for selling
market programs Acquisition products and services to new customers.
aligned with the
buying process.
Customer Define the specific plans and budgets for ensuring
Retention customer loyalty, as well as selling products and
services to existing customers.
Program Measure and tune product marketing programs to
Effectiveness ensure alignment with corporate goals.
Launch Plan Ensure that all departments are prepared for new
product releases and all items are completed to
launch the product externally.
Thought Create and deliver thoughtful information (webinars,
Leadership blogs, eBooks, etc.) to influence customers, buyers,
industry specialists, research analysts, key editors in
the press and other third parties.
Lead Generation Develop a lead-generation process that is designed

to generate and nurture qualified leads, with an
objective to turn prospects into satisfied customers.
Referrals and Identify customers who are willing to give

References testimonials, be featured in case studies or agree to
be a reference account.
Readiness Sales Process Align your organization’s selling process to the
buying process, describing the key personas’
information needs for each step in the process.
Ensure the Collateral Create collateral for buyer personas focused on a
organization's specific step of the buying process.
ability to sell and
Sales Tools Create tools for salespeople focused on a specific
support your
step of the selling process.
product.
Channel Training Design and deliver training programs to help the
sales channels focus on how to sell the product, not
how to use it.
Support Presentations & Produce standard product presentations and demo
Demos scripts that can be used by the sales team in a
typical sales process.
Support the sales “Special” Calls Deliver product information to qualified buyers in
channels with support of existing sales efforts.
market and
Event Support Provide product and market expertise for events
product expertise.
such as conferences, tradeshows, webinars and
seminars.
Channel Support Provide ongoing support for the sales channel. Look
for opportunities to make support more repeatable.
Total Hours
Number of Employees Needed (Based on 40 Hour Work Week)
Legend
This Framework is automatically
displayed and calculated based on
the information given on the Data
Sheet tab.
Information in each box:
Activity Name
Business Plan Positioning Marketing Plan
Current Owner, Proposed Owner
Importance, Assessment (Gap)
Market Problems Market Definition Pricing Buying Process Customer Acquisition

Large Gap
Scores >= 3
5 High
Small Gap
4
> 0, < 3
3 Win/Loss Analysis Distribution Strategy Buy, Build or Partner Buyer Personas Customer Retention
2 No Gap
1
Negative Gap
0 Low (Overinvestment)
<0 Distinctive Competence Product Portfolio Product Profitability User Personas Program Effectiveness
Roles
PM - Product Manager Market Focus Business Planning Programs Readiness Support

PMM - Product Marketing Manager
Competitive Landscape Product Roadmap Innovation Requirements Launch Plan Sales Process Presentations & Demos
TPM - Technical Product Manager
PO - Product Owner
PS - Product Strategy
MC - Marketing Communications Technology Assessment Use Scenarios Thought Leadership Collateral “Special” Calls
SE - Sales Engineer
Dev - Development
Sales - Sales Representative Status Dashboard Lead Generation Sales Tools Event Support
PGM - Program Manager
PJM - Project Manager
Exec - Executive Referrals and

Channel Training Channel Support
References
Other - Other
None - None
Use these Pivot tables to compare number of activities for current owners and proposed owners. To refresh
the data, right click on a pivot table and select Refresh.
Number of Activities for Current Owners Number of Activities for Proposed Owners
Count of Current Activities Count of Proposed Activities
Current Count of Current ActivitiesProposed Count of Proposed Activities
0 37 0 37
Total Result 37 Total Result 37
© 1993-2013 Pragmatic Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved. Clients of Pragmatic Marketing are granted a limited license to use internally, for non-commercial
purposes.
Score Value Description Abbreviation Role
0 0 Low PM Product Manager
1 1 PMM Product Marketing Manager
2 2 TPM Technical Product Manager
3 3 PO Product Owner
4 4 PS Product Strategy
5 5 High MC Marketing Communications
SE Sales Engineer
Dev Development
Sales Sales Representative
PGM Program Manager
PJM Project Manager
Exec Executive
Other Other
None None
Gap Analysis Troubleshooting Guide
Item Tab Issue Solution

1 Data Sheet You cannot change the activity names or descriptions. Unprotect the tab labeled Data Sheet and change the name of the activity there. Unprotecting the
Framework is not recommended, unless you are an Excel expert.
2 Framework You see a comma (,) before or after text. One of the owner columns has not been evaluated for that activity.
3 Framework The Framework is not color-coded properly. Values have not been entered for importance and assessment, or scoring different from 0-5 was used.
4 Framework You cannot enter anything on the Framework page. This Framework worksheet is protected. If unprotected (there is no password), changes are unsupported
and calculations and/or formatting may no longer work properly. If you have done a lot of work on the
workbook, remember to make a backup copy before unprotecting the worksheet.
5 Data Sheet You cannot change activities or their descriptions on the Data Sheet. This Data Sheet is protected. If unprotected and changed, it will likely cause errors on the Framework
worksheet. To change the activity name and/or description, unprotect the sheet and make the changes.
6 Data Sheet You have different roles than those listed. Unprotect the Values worksheet and change any of the roles or their abbreviations.
7 Data Sheet You want to use a different rating scale. Using a different rating scale is not recommended. The color-coding on the Framework and the gap
calculation are based on this rating. If changed, the Framework worksheet will no longer work properly. To
change the scale, select the Values tab and update the score, value and/or description. To change the
color-coding on the Framework worksheet, the conditional formatting rules for each cell on the Framework
will need to be updated.
8 Framework, You are trying to add rows to the Data Sheet or boxes to the Framework. Changing the Data Sheet and Framework is not recommended. If trying to add cells to the Framework or
Data Sheet move cells, difficulties may be encountered. This workbook was designed for those using the gap analysis,
as published by Pragmatic Marketing. It is recommended to manually change and color-code the
PowerPoint version of the Framework as an alternative. The Data Sheet can also be changed without
having it automatically update the Framework (hide or delete the Framework worksheet). If it is necessary
to change the Framework, the cell references in the worksheet must be manually updated. Each activity has
3 cells: name of activity, current and proposed roles, and scores with the gap in parentheses. All cells have
conditional formatting that control the color-coding of the Framework. Adding or changing cells will also
require new conditional formatting rules and/or changes to existing rules.
9 All What happened to the toolbars, Framework background, row and column headers and other To simplify this workbook, these have been hidden. To display headings, ruler, formulas or gridlines in
Excel objects? Excel 2010, select View, then check the box for the appropriate item in the Show grouping. For previous
versions of Excel, Display toolbars: Select View, Toolbars; Display gridlines: Select File, Page Setup,
Sheet tab, check Gridlines; Display row and column headers, the formula bar, and other objects: Select
Tools, Options.
10 Framework When I click on one of the boxes, sometimes it takes me to the Data Sheet. What is happening, There are hyperlinks in the Framework to the row in the Data Sheet for each activity clicked on. To go back
and how do I get back? to the Framework, click on the Framework tab.
11 Framework When I print the Framework in black and white, it is hard to see the differences in shading The color-coding on the Framework is optimized for viewing in color and for color printing. To change the
between red and green. colors, the conditional formatting rules must be changed (not recommended if not familiar with conditional
formatting in Excel). To change conditional formatting rules, unprotect the Framework worksheet, select a
cell on the Framework, select Conditional Formatting (on the Home menu in Excel 2010 or from Format
menu in prior versions), select Manage Rules, and select This Worksheet to view/edit all rules.
If you would like to provide feedback for this tool, contact us at:
GapAnalysis@pragmaticmarketing.com
Market Market Problems 0 0 0 0
Market Win/Loss Analysis 0 0 0 0
Market Distinctive Competence 0 0 0 0
Market Competitive Landscape 0 0 0 0
Market Technology Assessment 0 0 0 0
Focus Market Definition 0 0 0 0
Focus Distribution Strategy 0 0 0 0
Focus Product Portfolio 0 0 0 0
Focus Product Roadmap 0 0 0 0
Business Business Plan 0 0 0 0
Business Pricing 0 0 0 0
Business Buy, Build or Partner 0 0 0 0
Business Product Profitability 0 0 0 0
Business Innovation 0 0 0 0
Planning Positioning 0 0 0 0
Planning Buying Process 0 0 0 0
Planning Buyer Personas 0 0 0 0
Planning User Personas 0 0 0 0
Planning Requirements 0 0 0 0
Planning Use Scenarios 0 0 0 0
Planning Status Dashboard 0 0 0 0
Programs Marketing Plan 0 0 0 0
Programs Customer Acquisition 0 0 0 0
Programs Customer Retention 0 0 0 0
Programs Program Effectiveness 0 0 0 0
Programs Launch Plan 0 0 0 0
Programs Thought Leadership 0 0 0 0
Programs Lead Generation 0 0 0 0
Programs Referrals and References 0 0 0 0
Readiness Sales Process 0 0 0 0
Readiness Collateral 0 0 0 0
Readiness Sales Tools 0 0 0 0
Readiness Channel Training 0 0 0 0
Support Presentations & Demos 0 0 0 0
Support “Special” Calls 0 0 0 0
Support Event Support 0 0 0 0
Support Channel Support 0 0 0 0
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Market Gap Analysis

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Gap Analysis Instructions

Technology Inventory technology assets and determine ways

Product Roadmap Illustrate the vision and key phases of deliverables

Innovation Focus your team's creative spirit on solving market

Use Scenarios Illustrate market problems in a “story” that puts the

Lead Generation Develop a lead-generation process that is designed

Referrals and Identify customers who are willing to give

Number of Employees Needed (Based on 40 Hour Work Week)

Information in each box:

Market Problems Market Definition Pricing Buying Process Customer Acquisition

PM - Product Manager Market Focus Business Planning Programs Readiness Support

PJM - Project Manager

Exec - Executive Referrals and

Item Tab Issue Solution

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