Business Plans Marketing 3 April Business Plans Marketing

Business Plan Title Page Executive Summary Industry Analysis Customer Analysis Competitor Analysis Company and Product Description Marketing Plan Development & Operations Plans Team Critical Risks Financial Plan

Title Page Company name and logo Tagline Contact Date (Controls) Just Do It! Others that have survived? Contact Date (Controls)

Executive Summary Write it last Tell the story Excite the reader Elaborate your tag line

Industry Analysis 3 Ms What’s hot? What’s not? Market demand Market size Market analysis What’s hot? What’s not? What is happening in the market in general Is it a growing? Local market conditions

Customer Analysis Who is your customer? How does this customer behave? The more specific the better How does this customer behave?

Competitor Analysis Who are they? How do you position yourself? BROAD view of your competitors Related businesses Businesses or behaviors that eliminate your market Free alternatives …

Company and Product Description How you are organized What you have accomplished Product or service description Customer value proposition What differentiates it from others? Growth plan How do you start? Where do you grow from here?

Marketing Plan Target Market and Product Strategy Service Strategy Pricing Strategy Distribution Strategy Advertising and Promotion Sales Strategy

Marketing Marketing vs. sales Focus groups Marketing: advertising, promotions Public relations and publicity Sales Focus groups

Target Market & Product Strategy Dimensions on which you need to sell What dimensions do people buying a car consider? What dimensions will your customer deliver? Relate to your competitors Are you more focused or more general? Are you going for atmosphere or bare bones? Justification of your assessment

Service Strategy Physical product Software Customer support Warranty Upgrades Customer support

Pricing Strategy Two models Goal is not to lose money Cost-plus Much harder to evaluate Market-demand Look at current market and determine where you should fall (above, average or below) Goal is not to lose money

Distribution Strategy Options Mail Trucking Delivery Pick-up Consider Weight Fragility Set up Where your customers are

Advertising and Promotion How will you reach your target group? Advertising Television Radio Newspapers Magazines Internet Grass Roots Flyers Press Publicity

Sales Strategy Who will sell for you? Sales and Marketing Forecasts Dedicated sales force Other stores Internet Sales and Marketing Forecasts Comparable – derive from competitors Build up – based on what you expect to sell, profit per unit, sales per day, …

Development & Operations Plans What needs to be done before you’re “in business” Operations Ongoing activity Cash flow: it’s possible to fail even with sales Outsourcing: control your competitive advantage

Operations Plan Ongoing activity Cash flow It’s possible to fail even with sales What you will do yourself and what will you outsource Control your competitive advantage

Team: Company As important as the idea If your life depended on a particular piece of software, what would you want to know about it? Writer “highly intelligent and possessed by an extremely rigorous, almost fanatical desire to make their program work the way it should.” Bollinger (2001) Compensation

Team: Advisory Board Mentoring Formal or informal Real board of directors Personal board of directors People with different skills People with influence Co-opt people that you need

Critical Risks Creates credibility Include Typical risks Critical assumptions Factors that need to happen for success Typical risks Market Competitors Development cost Operating expenses Financing