Economics and management in the field of information and communication technologies

MARKET SHARE
Market share is the percentage of a market (defined in terms of units sold or revenue) accounted for by a specific product or entity. For instance, if you run a neighborhood lemonade stand that sells 200 glasses of lemonade each summer, and there are two other competing lemonade stands that sell 50 glasses and 150 glasses, respectively, then you have 50 percent market share. Out of 400 glass sold, you sell 200 glasses, or 50 percent of the total.
Companies track market share data closely. For example, what is the market share for different types of cell phones in the U.S.? The International Data Corporation reports these numbers quarterly. As the following table shows, Android phones have had the dominant market share over the past several years.

MARKET-GROWTH POTENTIAL

The market-growth potential is more difficult to quantify, but it’s the other important factor in the BCG matrix. Let’s use some of the products in Proctor & Gamble’s portfolio to identify markets with different growth potential. How about bathroom tissue—is that a high-growth market? Probably not. Data show that, in the U.S. anyway, bathroom tissue use tracks closely with population numbers, which have declined 0.7 percent since 1992. How about the market for high-end skin-care products? Generally, markets for products that serve Americans born between 1946 and 1964—the baby boomers—are growing rapidly. The reason is that this large generation is aging with more income and a longer life expectancy that any previous generation.
Market-growth potential generally includes analysis of similar markets, as well as analysis of the underlying drivers for marketing growth. It can be thought of as a “best guess” at what the future value of a market will be.
The easiest way to understand the BCG matrix is to actually create one, and to do that you'll need information on the growth rate and market share of your products or services. Examine your sales over a year or a quarter, and compare that against the revenue the entire market is acquiring.
Next, draw a four-quadrant matrix or find a template online. Realtimeboard has a free BCG download, and a quick Google search should turn up plenty of templates that you can base your own chart on.
In your matrix, write "Rate of Market Growth" along the vertical axis running from low at the bottom to high at the top. The horizontal line is "Relative Market Share," running from low on the left to high on the right. You can now split your chart into four quadrants. These are designated:

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  Cash Cows (lower left quadrant).
  
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  Stars (upper left quadrant).
  
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  Dogs (lower right quadrant).
  
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  Question Marks (upper right quadrant).
  

Place your products and services in the relevant quadrant based on their relative status in growth and market share.