Implementation: business plan and marketing plan

Business plan vs. feasibility study

Both share much information but answer different questions. The feasibility study answers "will the business work?" and verifies whether it's worth investing. The business plan answers "how will the business work?" and guides those who must implement it, with concrete strategies, tactics, and actions.

As a planning tool, it lets you anticipate and focus on goals. As a management tool, it organizes resources and helps detect deviations. As a communication tool, it's key to presenting the business to investors or lenders.

The marketing plan: the four decisions

The commercial strategy defines how the business will win its target market. It involves four groups of decisions.

Product

Every product goes through a life cycle in four phases —introduction, growth, maturity, and decline— and each stage calls for different strategies. Its attributes include the core (physical and technical features), quality, design, packaging, price, and brand, which sets it apart from competitors.

Price

Pricing depends on internal and external factors: market structure, consumer preferences, project costs, the desired profit margin, intermediary margins, and competitors' prices. Pricing policy also covers discounts, promotions, and payment terms.

Promotion and distribution

• Advertising · A paid, non-personal form of promotion by an identified sponsor.
• Personal selling · Direct communication with potential buyers to close sales.
• Sales promotion · Short-term incentives: coupons, discounts, prizes, contests, samples.
• Distribution · Designing the channel based on product type, consumer needs, costs, competition, coverage, and the desired control over the product.