Business Orientation
Entrepreneurs must convey in the business plan a strong sense of being marketing oriented. In writing the marketing section of the plan, managers should address the following issues:
-
What is the product's or service's user benefit? That is, how long will it take for the product or service to pay for itself ? The more quickly it does, the more quickly it is to appeal to customers.
-
What evidence is there of market interest? It is preferred that this should be demonstrated by potential customers buying it or using early version of the product or service. It should also be supported with data about the size and buying habits of the targeted market.
-
What is the nature and number of products and services? Most preferable are improvements on existing offering and focus on one or a few products or services.
-
What is the nature of the competition? Business plans must describe competitors in terms of their prices, marketing approaches, quality, and other characteristics.
-
Marketing is strategy and Sales are the tactics.
1. The Company:
This section should summarize the enterprise's overall objectives, its origins, its expectations, and the management team. Investors should get a clear indication early on of where the company is going and how it plans to get there.
2. The Market:
Within the business plan, the definition of the market to be served by the company is second in importance only to the definition of the company itself. An important part of that market definition is a description of the benefits to the user of the company's product or service and why. That is, entrepreneurs must demonstrate that they focus primarily on the market their company will serve rather than on the technicalities of their product or service. Investors are interested in companies which are market-driven, not product driven.
3. Product (or service):
This section describes the company's products or services, including a summarized theory of operation and a statement about performance and present status. The proprietary, patented, or patentable features of the company's products should be summarized in this section.
4. Sales:
Investors will want to know precisely how the company plans to approach its customer prospects and thus capitalize on its potential.
In this section, the business plan