Porter's 5 Forces Checklist

• Threat of New Entrants:
  • What are the barriers to entry for other new competitors entering the market?
  • Would these new entrants be able to leverage existing capabilities and cash flow from other markets they currently compete in?
• Supplier Power:
  • Are your upstream suppliers more powerful and profitable than your own business?
  • Do you have options to switch between suppliers at a reasonable cost? Are your suppliers themselves a threat to compete in your market?
• Threat of Substitutes:
  • Can customers switch to goods or services other than your own to satisfy the same need?
  • Can they do so with low switching costs?
• Bargaining Power of Customers:
  • Are the customers in your market sensitive to price and do they themselves demand high value with low cost?
  • Do you have relatively few customers that purchase in high volumes from you and therefore have leverage to negotiate price?
• Rivalry With Existing Competitors:
  • Is there high rivalry among existing competitors in your market?
  • Has this resulted in price competition that will limit your ability to earn and sustain profit?