Ok, I Have a Business now What?
A business plan is the cornerstone of any marketing campaign. It’s a document that outlines your goals and objectives, as well as how you plan to achieve them. It also includes a budget so you know how much money you have available to spend on each part of your campaign. The best thing about creating a business plan is that it forces you to think through all aspects of your business so when it comes time to implement your strategy, there will be no surprises and nothing left out.
A business plan should be updated regularly. The more you use it, the more effective your marketing will become. If you don’t have time to sit down and create a full business plan, at least take time to write down the basic components in each section of the document. This way, when you have time later on, you can flesh out each section with more detail—and know what exactly needs to be done in order to achieve success.
A business plan is not a set of instructions on how to market your business. It’s a set of guidelines that help keep you focused on the big picture and remind you where you want to be in the future. It helps you think through your business idea and make sure it's something you're really passionate about. It can help you make important decisions about your company's future, like whether or not you should hire employees or buy new equipment.
You may be thinking: "But I don't need a business plan for my small business." That's not true! Even if your startup is only a one-person show right now, writing down your ideas and goals can help you focus on what matters most as your company grows. A business plan is a crucial part of any small business, and as you can see there are numerous benefits to creating a business plan for your business.
Your business plan should include:
-A written description of your business, including its mission and vision statements, which should be just a few sentences describing what your company does and why it exists. This will help with branding and marketing, as well as help keep your vision in mind when making decisions.
-A list of your products or services and how you plan to market your product / services. What kind of advertising will you use, and how will you communicate with your audience? This can be done through a number of methods, for example; website, Youtube, video tutorials, workshops, blogs, newsletters, etc. Remember it takes on average 7 touch points for a customer to take the next steps. So the more places you can be visible and showing up the quicker customers will take the next steps. At the same time highlight some of the things that could go wrong with this strategy? Look at your business from the outside in, from a customer's point of view.
-An overview of your target audience, including demographics like age range and income level, as well as psycho-graphics like interests or hobbies that they might have. This will help you better understand who you're selling to so that you can tailor your marketing materials appropriately.
-Prices of your products and services. You need to conduct thorough research into where your brand sits in terms of the market. If you're going to charge high prices, then you need to make sure your brand is seen as luxury and delivering high quality throughout its customer journey. This section sits alongside the previous section- target audience. If you haven't done the work into who you want to sell to you're going to find it hard getting your pricing correct. You will attract people that are not willing to pay your prices and vice versa you may be perceived as too cheap.
-A list of goals for each year (or quarter) You need a strategic marketing plan to keep your business moving forward. Making sure your marketing and sales are aligned for greater success and profits. Defining what you want to achieve gives you meaning and focus. It keeps you on track and provides the motivation and determination to succeed. It also allows you to see how far you have come and what you have achieved along the way.
-A list of your competitors and how you can differentiate yourself from them. Creating a USP (Unique selling point) means that your customers will find it difficult to find like for like elsewhere, this allows you to charge more for your products and services as they are unique, this also makes you stand out from the crowd. Remember you will not be the only one doing what you are doing, you will be fighting for your market share of the industry. The more unique you can make your products and services the more market share you can gain.
-Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats - Being able to highlight personal and business factors in these 4 areas (Known as the acronym SWOT analysis) identifies areas of your business that you excel in and areas that could become a concern later on. This is an area that I would suggest reviewing on a regular basis, as situations evolve quickly around us, keeping a regular track on your SWOT analysis will enable you to keep up to date with trends and develop or change aspects within your business if necessary .
These are just the basic elements of a business plan. As you develop and grow over the years your business plan can grow alongside. It can be adapted and changed as much as necessary. You may find yourself applying for grants or financial help in the future to help you grow your business, an in depth business plan will be required by lenders at this point.
I hope you’ve found this article helpful. Be sure to check out our other marketing articles for more tips on how to grow your business. If you need help with any aspect of your marketing strategy, please feel free to contact me today!
Comments