Mediastreet
Tag

Business Plan

Browsing
In News

How to Write a Really Great Mission Statement, Step-By-Step

No Comments

By 

A business plan defines how you’re going to run your business (yes, also important), but a mission statement helps you define that passion and purpose.

Just because your business is small, doesn’t mean it doesn’t have big dreams. Starting your own small business requires taking risks, working long hours, and, most likely, making some personal and financial sacrifices.

Most entrepreneurs wouldn’t take the risks without having some kind of passion, core values, or beliefs about improving the world or their community. Oftentimes, it’s the passion, values, and beliefs that drive them to build their start-up—whether it’s creating an app to help families stay connected long-distance or making the world’s most sustainably made vegan pizza.

A business plan defines how you’re going to run your business (yes, also important), but a mission statement helps you define that passion and purpose.

What Is a Good Mission Statement?

A company’s mission statement captures its purpose and trumpets it to the world. It’s a short statement that articulates the “why” and “how” of the business.

There’s a lot riding on the mission statement. An effective mission statement is a powerful tool for guiding efficient decision-making, creating company culture, attracting and keeping employees and customers, informing your marketing and advertising messages, and helping you build a strong brand.

This should serve as your “north star,” keeping everyone in your company together and working toward the same goal. With a clear view of your mission, you can develop scalable, repeatable operating processes that enable your business to grow in a more or less orderly fashion. Without it, you’re likely to experience communication breakdowns, inconsistent delivery of your products and services, and chaos as you try to grow.

Building a High-Quality Mission Statement

Companies sometimes pair mission and vision statements. Technically, these are two different ideas—a mission statement defines the business’s objectives and how it will achieve them, while a vision statement speaks to the future state of the business, and perhaps even the world. However, some companies combine their mission and their vision into a single statement.

There is no one right way to do it. So before we get started on creating your mission statement, we suggest reviewing some mission statement examples. Start with big-name brands like Amazon, Patagonia, and Coca-Cola. Then check out the brands you expect to compete with so you can get some inspiration on how to write your mission statement. If you’re feeling lost, it’s OK to use a mission statement template to help you get started!

Some brands choose to focus their mission statement on how their company impacts the world, while others stick closer to defining what the company does and how it benefits its customers. One thing to keep in mind is that in a larger company, a mission and vision exercise will typically involve dozens of people and outside agencies to ideate, draft, and polish different versions of the statement or statements until all of the stakeholders are aligned. What you see is the winning, world-class version. No doubt there were other unchosen versions that some people liked better.

The point is, don’t get hung up on perfection. Your mission statement will be unique—just like your company.

How to Write a Mission Statement

The exercise of creating a mission statement can be a powerful one. It’s sure to result in deep thinking and debate about the company, values, direction, and vision for the future. If you plan to make this decision with a business partner or team, it’s a good idea to layout a process ahead of time to ensure that everything is engaged and the debate is constructive.

Decide On a Process

The first thing you’ll need to decide is who should be involved. Is it just you running the show? You and co-owner? A few key team leaders and employees?

While you will probably not want to involve every person in the company, everyone on your leadership team should participate in the exercise and ideally, align on the outcome. You might also want to include customers, board members, advisors, and, perhaps, some key team members. To get the best result, it’s wise to include a diverse group of people that will have different perspectives on the company.

After you get the group together, decide how you’d like them to be involved. Maybe you want to send out a questionnaire to a wide range of people, compile the answers, then present them to a smaller group that will work together to draft the statement. Or maybe you’d like to have a writer take down the answers and create some drafts for debate before you meet.

Set aside some dedicated time for group discussion, but don’t leave it open-ended. Define a process and an outcome. For example, we will block out three hours to brainstorm and draft some options, then we will vote for one. Or, we will vote on our top three drafts and test them on a defined group of stakeholders, collect feedback, and reconvene for a final vote. Appoint a moderator or facilitator to keep the group on track.

If you are a very small company, maybe all you need are three people in a room for a couple of hours. For a mid-size company with several stakeholders, you may need to use some strategic planning, or even bring in an outside firm to make sure all points of view are included.

The Anatomy of a Mission Statement

So, what are the ingredients of a solid mission statement, and what makes it stand out? Here is a breakdown of the three basic elements:

1. Your Company’s Purpose

This should go beyond simply stating what you do. Think of the benefit and impact of what you do. Is your purpose to connect people, make life easier, or improve productivity? What wants or needs do you fulfil for your customers?

2. Describe How You Do It

How you do what you do is part of what makes your business unique. That could include sustainable sourcing, a commitment to diversity, working through partnerships, extra convenience, cost-effectiveness, or serious dedication to customer service.

3. Who You Do It For

Who are your current and desired customers? Are they athletes? Busy moms? Pet owners? Making sure your mission statement identifies your customers helps your customers identify with your mission.

Making It Resonate

Once you have gained clarity on the three basic elements, it’s time to make it sing. There are three keys to doing this:

1. Keep It Short

Less is more. The ideal length of a mission statement is two to four sentences, and no more than 100 words. Remember, this is a central tenet to your business. It’s something you want employees to think about every day. It should be easy for them to keep top of mind, without having to open their employee handbook and read a paragraph or two to refresh their memory. It should be easy for customers to grasp and remember, as well.

2. Keep It Simple

Don’t make people have to think, piece things together, or have to Google a word. (They probably won’t.)

3. Make It Engaging

Smart copywriters make the writing compelling by using powerful verbs to trigger certain emotional responses. Think: “empower” vs. “enable”; “challenge” vs. “question”; “discover” vs. “find.”

There are tons of “power word” lists available on the internet, sorted by the type of emotion they are known to elicit. Simply search for “copywriting power words” and note a couple of your favourites to have on hand while you’re doing your writing exercise. Play around with different buzzwords and see how they change the feeling of your mission statement.

Your Mission Statement In Action

A well-crafted mission statement that resonates with your employees, customers, and partners is a valuable asset to your business. Work to incorporate it in as many places as you can—on your website, on social media and LinkedIn, and in your advertising. Internally it should be prominently featured for employees to see and absorb on a regular basis.

While it should not change often, the world is always evolving, and your business may evolve with it. If you are using it as your north star every day, you may eventually notice that it is losing its resonance and needs to be reworked. If you get to that point, congratulations! Your mission statement has probably served you well and carried you far. Now go and write another.

By 

Sourced from TheStreet

 

Read More
By
In News

10 steps to the perfect business plan for your creative venture

No Comments

By , Contributions from

The perfect business plan is your first step to success in the creative sector.

Writing the perfect business plan is one of the most important first steps to launch your own creative venture, but it can also be one of the most daunting. It’s the first real stage in properly planning your venture, which can help make your dream design business feel a lot more real, but it can also be hard to know where to start. You might even be tempted to skip this step altogether, but would be a mistake.

The perfect business plan provides clarity and direction for your whole enterprise. It can help you raise cash from banks and or other investors, but even if you’re not looking for that, it can help you home in on a gap in the market and work out how your design business will fill it (and turn a profit in the process).

So before you start looking at website wireframes, choosing a logo or shopping around for studio space, it’s time to put pen to paper. Your plan should be focused, readable, and most importantly explain why your business will be a success. In the guide below, we’ll look at the 10 traditional ingredients that any business plan should cover, with pointers on what to include in each. For more tips on setting up your creative venture, see our guide to how to start a design business and how to improve your graphic design skills.

The perfect business plan: what should it include?

There’s no one layout or formula for the perfect business plan, but there are general conventions on what a business plan should include. Exactly how you write it will depend a little on who you’re writing for – for example, if you aim to present it to a bank or other potential investors or just to serve as a guide for yourself and colleagues.

The best business plans are usually fairly brief and keep things simple. They succinctly explain what you want to do, how you will get there and what you need to do to reach that goal. While there are no set rules, we’ll look at the more traditional elements to include in your business plan below.

01. Write an executive summary

An executive summary essentially summarises your design business in a quick, succinct pitch. This is the part that investors or banks will read first so it needs to be concise and to the point; certainly no more than a couple of pages. Above all it needs to explain your business idea.

The executive summary should include your company name and the reason you chose it, your mission statement, details of your product or service, and basic information about your company’s leadership team, employees, and location. You should also make sure you cover what makes your creative business different, who will you sell your services to and a list of short- and long-term goals. For example, where exactly do you see your business in five or so years?

You’ll also want to include details on financial goals and growth plans, especially if you plan to seek investors. Set out the turnover you expect to make and the cash you think you’ll have at the end of the first year; plus where you’ll get money from (grants etc); and how much money you plan to invest yourself.

02. Compose an elevator pitch

An ‘elevator pitch’ is a much briefer summary of your business that serves to sell it to potential investors, or to clients, in few words. It should be possible to read an elevator pitch in under two minutes. The idea is that you could deliver it to any potential investor you might happen to cross in an elevator, but don’t worry if that kind of meeting doesn’t tend to happen to you; the pitch will still prove useful for understanding the real selling point of your future business.

Your elevator pitch should include the name of your business, your mission, what your design business will do, who it will do that for and what makes it different. It should be direct, to the point and free from any kind of jargon or waffle.

03. Describe yourself (and any partners)

A woman working on her business plan on a large desk

(Image credit: Andresr via Getty )

The next section in the perfect business plan should describe the people behind the business – that means you (and your partners if you have any). You should outline your experience and training, why you want to start your creative business and why you will make it a success.

Do the same for every partner in the business and attach well-crafted résumés (see our guide to the perfect résumé for creatives). The aim of this section is to show investors why you have the know-how to make your business successful, and also to allow you and your partners to take stock of your strengths and how you plan to use them.

04. Define your design business’s offering

The next thing to include in the business plan for your design venture is to define the service that you’re going to deliver. This should be more specific than you might first think because unless you’re planning to launch a fully fledged agency, you’re probably not going to be able to cover everything. Are you going to offer graphic design, motion design, web design, mobile, 3D? Are you going to cater to anyone and everyone or will you aim to serve a specific industry or niche?

Remember that any bank or other potential investor will probably know very little about the subject area, so try to describe exactly what the services will entail and what your business’s output will be. Don’t worry if it sounds patronising or overly simplified. You may know what motion graphics means, but will your bank manager? You should also mention here whether you plan to expand into other services in the future. So if you’re starting in graphic design, are you planning to expand to offer full branding services?

05. Describe your clients

The perfect business plan doesn’t only describe who you are and what your business will offer; it also offers a very clear description of your target customer. Where are they based? What needs do they have and how will you fulfil them? Asking these questions can be a good test of just how well you understand the client you’re aiming at and may reveal a need to do more research. Be sure you really understand your target customer and there’s more chance an investor will understand.

You need to describe your typical client and what makes them buy design services, whether you have worked with them before and whether you have any future jobs lined up already. Try to be as detailed as possible. If you’ve already worked for a specific client in some capacity (maybe in a freelance job) explain this here too since this demonstrates an ability to generate business.

06. Do a SWOT analysis

Bricks displaying the components of a SWOT analysis

(Image credit: Andrey Popov via Getty )

Remember that your customers aren’t the only influence on your business. There are also competitors and the state of the economy as a whole. How big is the market you’ll serve? How much is the market expected to grow in the future? Who will be your main competitors now and can you expect more competition in the future? These are some of the questions you’ll need to answer in your market analysis.

You should make a simple SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) to define the opportunities and threats in your market and compare them to your business’s strengths and weaknesses. Draw up a list of competing businesses, both big and small. Analyses what they do well and what they do badly, and consider what will make your offering different. Opportunities are external factors that could make your business thrive (is the market changing? are clients demanding a certain kind of work that you do well?). Threats are the same but opposite (if you’re an illustration studio and budgets dry up, what will you do?).

This research will help to define where there are gaps and where you need to focus (once you’ve done this, go back through your sections and make sure your business still seems relevant. Any market research you can do in the field (perhaps talking to past clients and getting their take on the market) can be included here as well).

07. Outline your marketing strategy

How are you going to reach potential customers? Word of mouth? Advertising? Promotional material? Social media? Your own website? This is a question that should ideally be answered after carrying out market research to find out how potential clients find and contract the services you’ll be providing.

Make sure the marketing strategy you define in your business plan outlines the expected costs for all of these things because, with the possible exception of word of mouth, they’re far from free (see finance below).

08. Define your USP

Once you’ve carried out a SWOT analysis, including analysis of your competitors, you’re ready to define your USP, or unique selling point. This is incredibly important to include this in your business plan. It sums up in a nutshell why a client choose your business over another creative business? So what will you do better?

A USP is usually summed up in a single sentence; two at the most. This can be a challenge but the shorter the better since that will make it easier to focus on delivering it.

09. Forecast your budgets

A woman sits in front of a computer and looks over her financial forecast

(Image credit: 10’000 Hours via Getty )

Now it’s time to explain how you’ll actually make money. Consider details such as how long you spend on projects and how you’ll charge for this. If you’ll have an hourly rate that state what that will be. You also need to say how you’ll get paid (almost certainly on invoice).

You’ll also need to define your costs here. This will be of great interest to any potential investors, so pay great attention to it. You’ll need to outline both one-off costs such as the equipment you’ll need to set up to regular outgoings such as staff, rent (explain where you’ll be working from), software subscriptions, bills and insurance.

Calculate your total costs per month and other costs of running the business and define How much income you will need each month to realistically survive as a business, and how much you aim to make. A cash-flow forecast shows how much money will enter and leave your design business and will help identify whether you’re going to be able to make things work financially. This can be a sobering moment.

Be pessimistic and realistic. Don’t assume you will be working flat out at your maximum rate from the start because it’s unlikely that you’ll achieve that. It’s better to underestimate how you’ll perform and overachieve than the other way around. In this section, you also need to outline any financial needs you have for potential investors. In this case, outline the length of time your request will cover and give a detailed description of how you’ll use the funds.

10. Make a backup plan

Finally, what if things don’t work out. We’ve stressed the importance of taking the time to make the perfect business plan, but a plan is a plan and something things turn out differently. This is why it’s important that you also have a back-up plan.

If things aren’t working out, what will you change in the short or long term in order to turn things around. If you aren’t making money, do you plans ready for what you could do to make the business more profitable? Could you sacrifice international clients/pitches for local ones? Could you employ freelancers as and when they are needed instead of hiring a junior designer full-time? Could you downsize your planned studio space or switch to a coworking space (See our guide to the world’s coolest coworking spaces for inspiration).

There’s a lot to think about when writing a business plan for a creative business, but with careful consideration, it can help you prepare for the undertaking ahead and keep you focused no matter what challenges you face. If you’re passionate about making your business a success, writing your plan will be the first step on that path.

Feature Image Credit: Nora Carol Photography via Getty

By

Joseph is a regular freelance journalist at Creative Bloq. He also works as a writer and translator, as well as a project manager at a design agency based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he spends his nights dancing tango and drinking malbec. His interests include graphic design and social media.

Contributions from

Sourced from Creative BLOQ

Read More
By
In News

How to Write a Business Plan

No Comments

By Dan Casarella,

As a startup, you’ll need to know how to write a business plan in order to attract investors. Here are some templates and examples to help you get started.

If you’re starting a new business or executing a new plan within your company, you’ll want to have a business plan. It’s a formal document that outlines your company, your project, funding options and your means of execution. There are many resources available to help you write your business plan, including countless templates you can follow depending on your goals. Below we’ve outlined some examples, including a sample plan.

Business plan template examples

While business plans can be general, it’s helpful to gear yours toward your industry. Here are five business plan templates for specific industries or situations:

Sample business plan

A one-page business plan briefly states your opportunity and timeline. It’s often used as an introduction to your longer, more robust plan. Here is a brief overview of a business plan and the nine elements that should be included.

1. The business opportunity

At the top of your plan, state the endeavour you’re looking to pursue. Are you a new start-up or an existing company looking to grow? Describe your challenges and how you plan to work through them. This section should be a one- or two-sentence elevator pitch of your business opportunity.

2. Your company description

When writing your company description, assume the reader knows nothing about your company. Briefly define who you are, identifying your values and why your company is necessary right now.

Outline your timeline for launching your business or project. Timelines are always subject to change, so make sure you account for alternative scenarios and setbacks.

3. Your talent description

In this section, you’ll want to introduce your team and demonstrate why they are the right fit for your business. Talk about their relevant skills, experience and background, getting as specific as possible. Providing their track record will reassure potential investors that your business is backed by reliable professionals.

4. The industry analysis

While writing your plan, it’s important to recognize your industry’s outlook and your potential within it. This will also help you identify your competitors and analyze their offerings in comparison to yours, so you can focus on how you might stand out among them. This analysis is a great way to show investors that you’ve done your research and understand how you fit into your market.

5. Your target audience

In this section, you will identify your target audience, defining their demographic, location and other specific traits. Additionally, explain how your audience will benefit from your company or project, or how you will solve common problems they share.

6. The timeline

Outline your timeline for launching your business or project. Timelines are always subject to change, so make sure you account for alternative scenarios and setbacks. For your one-page business plan, talk about your general timeline, its phases and why it’s a realistic goal.

7. Your marketing plan

How will you get the word out about your new business or project? Identify the avenues you and your company will choose to explore and how you plan to meet your target audience there. For example, consider your social media efforts, digital marketing and other methods that you seek to execute.

8. The financial summary

Clearly define your cost structure and revenue streams, describing your sales methods and post-launch goals, as well as how you will achieve them. Be sure to include both your long- and short-term financial goals and benchmarks.

9. Your funding requirements

One of the primary reasons you write a business plan is to help obtain funding. In this section, talk about the amount of funding you’ll need from investors and where that funding will go. You should also be clear about how you plan to pay back your investors through your financial plan.

CO— aims to bring you inspiration from leading respected experts. However, before making any business decision, you should consult a professional who can advise you based on your individual situation.

Feature Image Credit: Getty Images/shapecharge 

By Dan Casarella

Sourced from CO

Read More
By
In News

How to start your own business

No Comments

Sourced from Microsoft

Starting your own business. It’s thrilling, exciting – full of hope and possibilities. It’s a time in your life when anything can happen – and anything will. It’s a process marked by creativity, passion, and pure, unadulterated chutzpah. And that’s an exciting thing.

But before you pop the champagne cork, there’s a heck of a lot of work to be done. Because, after all, starting your own company takes more than just a dream and a kernel of an idea.

It takes capital – and plenty of it. It takes fleshed out plans, and roadmaps, and…, and…, and…. But don’t let all of those “ands” bring you down. You can do this! It’s all there – you just need to know how to organize and present it to potential investors, and your customers or clients.

So, let’s take a look at some of those “ands,” so you can start your business on the right foot.

Write your business plan

Starting a small business starts with a plan. And while it may sound daunting, it shouldn’t be. Business plans are fairly formulaic, and they’re designed that way for a reason: To help you understand your direction and attract investors. In general, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recommends seven segments for any business plan. They include:

  • Executive summary. It offers a brief look at what your business does and why it will succeed.
  • Company description. Gives detailed information about your company, the problems it solves and the consumers, organization(s) and/or businesses it will serve. In it, you should address any competitive advantages, experts on your team, etc. Use this space to talk to your strengths.
  • Market analysis. Provides details on your industry outlook and target market. It’s the area where you’ll outline what other businesses are doing, what their strengths are, and how you can compete for a share of the market.
  • Organization and management. In this segment, you’ll explain how your company is structured and who will run it.
  • Service or product. It gives you a space to deliver detailed information on the products and/or services you’re offering.
  • Marketing and sales. Here, you’ll address how you’ll market your business and provide details on your sales strategy.
  • Funding request. If you need funding, use this space to describe how much money you’ll need for next five years – and how you’ll use it.
  • Financial projections. Here, you’ll tell your financial story, provide well-founded projections, and balance sheets, statements, etc. (if you’re already an established business).
  • Appendix. Use this optional section to include things like résumés, licenses, permits, patents, legal documents, permits, etc.

If you’re still not sure how to start a business plan, or beginning one from scratch is more than you’d like to tackle, some document creation software offers comprehensive business plan templates to help you along the way.

Research the competition

Whether it’s for your business plan or your own on-going edification, understanding your competition before starting your own business – and throughout its life – is critical. Of course, you can use your favorite search engine to gather data, read trade publications, and follow them on social media, but there’s one other resource you may be overlooking: your word processing program.

Templates every business needs

Achieve your goals with professionally-designed templates for small and medium-sized businesses.

GET BUSINESS TEMPLATES

Depending on which you have, you may be able to perform research directly from your business plan or files. With features that help you find related subjects, and content from reliable sources, you can gain valuable information without ever leaving your document.

Claim your domain & social media handles

Once you’ve finalized your company’s name and gained understanding of your competition’s online (and offline) presence, you can prepare to compete for business – and funding. Which means that now is the time to claim your website and email domain names. By doing so, you’ll be able to begin work on your website, and communicate with clients, and potential investors from a professional email address (rather than a free online service), and begin building your electronic presence even before you’ve officially opened for business.

In addition to claiming your domain names, claim your social media handles. A study commissioned by Infosys found that “brand consistency across channels is a significant factor in consumer spend, with more than 63% of shoppers asserting that brand consistency plays a role in their spending. Additionally, 34% say a high level of brand consistency equates to a greater spend, while a lack of consistency reduces spend for 39% of consumers.”

Note: Ideally, your website domain and your email domain should be the same (or as near to identical as possible), easy to remember, and not too long. And your social media handles should be the same as your company’s name.

Build your financial forecast

Financial forecasting is not only one of the most important steps to starting a business, but it’s an on-going task that can help you understand where you are and where you’re going (financially), and help inform investors’ decisions, as well as your own decisions about certain aspects of your company. But while the idea of forecasting may seem overwhelming, you don’t need to be a PhD in economics to do it. In fact, some spreadsheet software allows you to create financial forecasts with just a few taps of the keyboard. All you’ll need to get started is some historical time- or date-based data, and your software can help you not only predict future sales, but can even go so far as to predict inventory requirements, and consumer trends.

Build your pitch for capital

When you’re asking investors for capital, a business plan and a dossier full of facts and figures can only go so far. Eventually, you’ll have to meet in person – and that’s where a good presentation can really help you shine. Yes, it will have to contain all of the important data, but it can (and should) also give you the opportunity to share your passion, your knowledge, your product and services, and all of your “reasons why.”

Just don’t overwhelm your audience with too much information. According to Forbes.com, a pitch deck should include no more than 20 slides, it shouldn’t be “too wordy” and it should feature quality graphics and a layout that’s easy to follow/understand. And that’s where the right presentation software can come in handy. With templates, easy editing features, and the power to include charts, graphs, words and pictures – and manipulate them to make them look perfect – the software you choose can make all the difference.

There are many steps to opening a business – and the road from your “big idea” to your official business launch can be stressful (and a little bit bumpy) – but it just might be one of the most exciting, rewarding things you’ll ever do. Of course, you may be nervous, and that’s natural, but with the right tools, and support, as well as your passion and commitment, you can make your dream a reality – and not only start a business, but develop one that will grow and thrive over time.

 

 

Sourced from Microsoft

 

Read More
By
In News

Preparing A Great Marketing Section For Your Business Plan

No Comments

By Matthew Podolsky.

Every business needs a marketing plan – a systematic approach to attracting the consumers you hope will become your customers. A marketing plan is a prime component of your business plan; your business can’t survive unless people buy your product or service, and they can’t buy your product or service if they don’t know it exists.

As with any other section of your business plan, the marketing component will be highly specific to the nature of your business and industry. Still, there are guidelines that can get you started and shape how you approach your marketing research and choices.

In this article, I’d like to share an overview of the process of developing a great marketing section that will make your business plan stand out to potential investors, partners and loan officers.

In the marketing section of your business plan, your overarching goal is to show how you’re going to expose your potential customers to your product or service, and show how you’re going to get those potential customers buy what you’re offering. That means fleshing out the “four P’s” of marketing:

• Product (or service): What exactly are you selling, and why will people want it?

• Pricing: How much will you charge, and why?

• Place: How and where will customers buy your product or service?

• Promotion: How will you attract those customers (and keep them coming back)?

1. Describe your product/service and target market.

The idea is to paint a picture of your product or service as valuable to the customers in your target market. This component details what you’re offering to customers, how they’ll benefit from it and why it’s better than what everyone else is offering to that market.

You’ll detail topics such as:

• Your product/service’s traits and features.

• Your target market and ideal customer.

• How your product/service benefits that target market/ideal customer.

• How your branding strategy relates to that target market/ideal customer.

• New products/services you’ll offer the same market down the road.

Tie all of the elements together to show that your product, strategy and target market are in perfect alignment.

2. Explain your pricing strategy.

Pricing is a huge consideration. In involves balancing value, competitiveness and profit, and it affects other aspects of your marketing plan, including your budget and where you advertise.

To come up with the ideal price for your product, consider factors including:

• Your target market’s needs and finances.

• Your costs to produce and sell your product or service, both fixed and variable (materials, shipping, labor, rent, utilities, administration, promotion).

• Product availability.

• Pricing of similar products.

Include information on your profit margin, and explain how your pricing choices relate to your target market, providing detailed information that shows your strategy is on the mark.

3. Lay out your sales and distribution methods.

For the “place” component, you’ll show how and where your customers will access and buy your product or service. The basic components are product distribution and sales transactions.

Describe your plan to get your product or service to your customer, including information on distribution channels and customer transactions. You’ll address topics including:

• Distribution channels: Will you sell the product directly to the customer, or indirectly, through an outside distributor?

• Customer transactions: Where/how will the customer have a chance to buy the product or service (retail location, home delivery, sales representatives)? What are your payment methods and terms? What are your warranty and return policies?

If your distribution involves sales representatives, the “place” component should also include details on any sales-related training, metrics and incentives involved in your strategy. Either way, include how much you expect to pay for all of the distribution elements.

4. Show how you’ll get the word out.

Detail your approach to advertising and promotion. Explain the reasoning behind that approach, and project your return on investment (ROI) if you utilize your strategy.

There are myriad options available when it comes to getting a product or service in the public eye, including:

• Internet, newspapers, magazine, TV, podcast, or radio advertising.

• Billboards, bus or subway ads.

• Direct mail, telemarketing or flyer distribution.

• Trade shows, press releases or product-launch events.

• Online presence (web site, social media, email marketing).

• Local directories or coupon books.

• Promotions (contests, giveaways, two-for-one deals).

• Community involvement (sponsoring a local fundraiser, hosting a community barbecue).

Don’t try to do some of everything; focus is the key. Use your understanding of your target market and your unique selling proposition, along with research into the costs associated with various promotional approaches, to develop a strategy to most efficiently convey that message to that market.

In the process, you’ll gain the knowledge to estimate your ROI and develop your advertising/promotions budget, in which you’ll indicate the percentage you’ll devote to each method employed in your strategy.

Effective marketing is critical to the survival of any business, so take the time to get it right and convey it clearly. It should be obvious to anyone reading your business plan that you know your customers, what they want and the perfect amount to charge for it.

By Matthew Podolsky

Sourced from Forbes

Read More
By