Your company may have a great product or service, but without a great marketing plan, you’re missing out on untapped revenues each and every day. Below is a consolidated guide to finding the right product or service and marketing it to the right customer base.

The first step in a marketing analysis is to determine where you can get maximum value from the marketplace. To do so, diagram these five elements in a spreadsheet: the end use of the product or service; current sales volume for that segment; the average profit margin; the main competitors in that field; and the growth rate in the market sector. Through the results, you will be able to prioritize the key markets you wish to pursue. And be open-minded! You may find that you have been pursuing the wrong market for the past several years, but let the impetus for change triumph over remorse for missing past opportunities or, worse yet, stubbornness or pride.

Once you’ve selected your desired market segment, chart the labor costs, capital investment and the time it will take to reach market. Then you can calculate profit potential and ROI to determine whether the venture you’re planning is worthwhile.

It is also prudent practice to break down the marketing chain to find where the greatest profit is made. In so doing, you may decide to reconfigure your strategy altogether, at which point you should analyze the market all over again.