Marketing & Sales: Business Plan Basics

Every good marketing plan should include two major parts - a definition of your target market and a specific outline to market, promote and sell your product or service.

Target Market
It's critical to clearly define your target market in your business plan - investors expect it. Tell your business plan reader about your customers and describe their defining characteristics in detail. Include information such as age, gender, geographic location, income bracket, buying similarities, and more.

The goal of this section is to build a demographic profile of your typical customer. The more clearly you pinpoint the defining traits of your customer, the easier it is to construct a marketing program to reach them effectively.

The information and research included in your target market section should originate from primary and secondary sources. Primary sources includes information that you discover or conclude from personal observation and research, such as personal studies, results of questionnaires, site visits, and conversations with experts in your industry. Secondary sources include such sources as journals, books, published reports, government statistics, or internet findings.

Marketing Program
After you define your target market, you need to determine specifically how you will reach them. Outline the details and steps necessary to reach potential customers and convert them from prospects to paying customers. It is important to demonstrate to investors that you have identified specific marketing avenues and procedures to effectively sell your product or service. Answer questions such as the following in your marketing program section:

• What specific marketing mediums will you use to reach your customer?
• How often will each be used? What will they cost? Why did you choose these marketing avenues over others?
• What marketing materials will you needle (brochures, website, etc)
• Who will design your marketing materials? What will they cost?
• What is the cost of marketing materials per prospect or client (You may choose to include marketing pieces in the appendix of your business plan)
• Will your company be able to attract PR? Why will they run your story? What's the "angle"? Which publications and mediums will you target?