What are the major Elements of a Business and Marketing
Executive Summary
A brief summary of the business plan focusing on just the highlights. It should convey the message as to where the company is at present, where it intends to go and how does it plan to reach there.
Description of the Product(s)/Service(s) of the company
- Describe your products and services.
- Do not give too much technical information.
- What your product or service does for the custiomer?
- What is the competitive advantage of your products and services vis-à-vis the competition? What makes your product or service unique?
- New products to be launched.
- Relevant information with respect to patents, copyrights and trademarks.
- Applicable government regulations
The Industry / Market
- Discuss the industry in which your product / services participate in.
- What has been the performance of the industry in the past? What was the growth of the industry in the previous years?
- What does the future look like? What is the expected growth?
- Market segment wise details including numbers and growth rates. The market segment you participate in.
- Customer profile(s)
- Market research information (if available).
- Niches available
- Market share information with break-up competitorwise. What market share do you intend to capture?
- Pricing information
Past performance of the company (If existing company)
Description of how the company has performed vis-à-vis the competition in the past in terms of the following:
- Financial performance
- Market share performance
SWOT Analysis
Identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats to your business
The Marketing Plan
Discuss the following in detail :
-
Marketing Strategy
- New Product introduction plan
- Sales Plan
- dvertising Plan
- Positioning of product/service
- Distribution Plan
- Customer service plan
The Competition
Information in this section will relate to the following types of competition:
- Direct competition
- Indirect competition
The following information for each major competitor could be given:
- Strengths and weaknesses
- Competitive advantage.
- Revenues / market share / Pricing / Marketing startegy information
- Target Market
- Define their target market.
Operational Plan
Describe the manufacturing, R&D, purchasing, facilities etc.
HR Plan
The number of employees you need to achieve the objectives of the Business Plan? How will you acquire and train them.
Financial Plan with “What if” scenarios
- Summarized Annual financial data for previous years
- Projected Profit & Loss Accounts
- Projected Balance Sheet
- Projected Cash Flow Statements
References and Supporting Documentation
To build credibility of your business plan, provide references for sources from where data / statistics given in the plan. Also, provide photocopies of any document that you might think is necessary to support your business plan.
Resources needed to achieve the goals of the Business Plan
Details of resources needed to achieve the objective laid down in the plan.
The Management Team
The quality of the management team in terms of their experience, educational qualifications and achievements is probably the most important aspect that stakeholder, especially the investors look at. Even though the plan maybe good, but you need appropriate management capabilities to implement the plan. You could present the following information in this section:
- Education background
- Professional and business background
- Past experience including successes, responsibilities held and capabilities demonstrated
Summary
A brief summary of the business plan.
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Management Guru