The Purpose of a Smart Business Plan - Research Paper Example

THE BUSINESS PLAN The purpose of a business plan is to help identify goals and services that a can serve as a resume for the business. The basic components of any good business plan include proposed services, marketing plan and most important the financial plan as it can help in the allocation of resources and handling of any unforeseen circumstances. Pre-Planning for Success Much emphasis is placed on a business plan as it the source to acquire credit from outside sources. In order to prepare a good business plan, some questions need to be considered as advised by the Small Business Administration. These are What service or product is being provided and how does if fulfill the needs of the target market? What is the target market? How will the customers be contacted? What financial resources are needed and from where? Writing a Business Plan Many new entrepreneurs dread the writing of a business plan as they think that it is not as important as the market keeps changing and the demands keep shifting. The importance of writing plan can however be not diminished by this mere thinking. The business plan constitutes of the following parts that are necessary for any good plan. The first part is the description of the business that overall purpose and mission of the proposed business, its services or products that are to be rendered and so on. The second part is related to the marketing. This describes the market analysis of the industry in which the business is entering. This part can help identify the potential customers and competitors. The most important part of the business plan is the finance. It gives the financial position of the company at present and at future in which the investors are really interested. The financial plan that includes the breakeven analysis, pro-forma balance sheet, income statement and cash-flow statement should be built on the realistic value and should be calculated to accuracy as much as possible. The last part is related to the management side of the business that informs about the personnel and the ways of the work to be carried out by them. WRITING THE MARKETING PLAN The marketing plan gives a direction for the marketing activities that can be carried out given the nature of business. The marketing plan are not long but should be researched well as it just gives an idea about the activities to be undertaken to reach a higher goal. It helps devise the marketing strategy and goals in order to meet the business objectives. The Market Analysis The market analysis includes the research on industry and market in which the business is to be opened, the SWOT analysis of the business itself. The market analysis focuses on the need the needs and demands of the customers which can give the overall situation of the market so that business objectives are better achieved. Marketing Segmentation and Target Market Selection The concept of target market is one of the most important characteristic of the marketing plan and the pillar on which the entire business stands. It is extremely important to identify the target market in a segment because attracting everyone is unrealistic. This selection can help identify what resources are to be committed and what promotional strategies can be used. The target market can be identified on the basis of demographics, psychographics, activities, social groups and so on. Developing the Marketing Mix The marketing mix is the basis of the marketing plan for any business. It includes the four Ps which are product, price, place and promotion. The product section provides the information on the uniqueness of the product offered and the benefits the customer can drive from those products. This part includes the description of the features of the products, benefits of it and the uniqueness of it that sets it different than other products. The next part is the pricing of the product. The pricing should be carefully thought of as it should not be high and not too low than the competitors otherwise profits cannot be earned. The price should be reasonable and attractive to the target audience. The pricing will be mostly based on the incurred costs and the profits that will be added in the cost. The placement and distribution part tells about the how the business will be available to the customers. Is the product been offered to customer directly or is it offered through a distribution channel? What methods of distribution will be used and how will the packaging and handling be carried out? These are some of the questions that need to be addressed in this section. The promotional and advertising part describes how the uniqueness of the product will be communicated to the customers. For this feature, thousands of options are available in the advertising and sales promotion. These include the internet, television, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards, bus ads and so on. In addition to this, sales coupons, product demonstrations and point of purchase displays can also be used. Promotional Mix The promotional mix as discussed above relates to the promotional activities that can be undertaken by a new business. These can include the combination of various activities such as banners, newspaper ads, advertising campaigns, sponsorships and so on. The promotional activities are based on the person’s imagination and the willingness to do what it takes to promote the business. Marketing Results and Support Documents The marketing results are those that are required by the planner in terms of response from the customers towards the product or service. The feedback should be taken after the implementation of any marketing strategy in order to evaluate the customers’ interest in the product. IMPLEMENTING THE MARKETING PLAN The implementation of marketing plan depends on when, where and how it is to be conducted. The above mentioned marketing mix helps in this respect. In order to implement a marketing plan appropriately, the progress of the marketing strategy should be checked periodically to evaluate what is working and what is not. The implementation rests on the positive feedback from the customers. CONCLUSION The lesson to be learnt from the preparation of a business and the marketing plan is that business plan can help map out the person’s dream of achieving something in reality. The plan can give realistic view of the business even before it is implemented. In order to fully understand this concept of business plan and marketing plan, research using the internet and books has been carried out. REFERENCES Stapleton, J. & Thomas, M. (1998). How to Prepare a Marketing Plan: A Guide to Reaching the Consumer Market. Gower Publications. ISBN 0566077841, 9780566077845 Ward, S. (2009). Writing the Business Plan: Section 5, Part 4: The Marketing Plan - Advertising & Promotion Plan. About.com. Retrieved from http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/businessplans/a/bizplanmarkplan_4.htm Write a Business Plan. Small Business Administration. Retrieved from http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/plan/writeabusinessplan/index.html Read More