First Steps: Writing the Marketing Section of your Business Plan

So, you’ve started your business plan and you now have a product, a goal, and a system of distribution. The next step is to create your marketing plan, which is in and of itself an entirely different area of your business. Here’s how you can write a marketable campaign in line with your business plan.

1. Table of Contents

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   Benefits over features.

Focus on the benefits of the products and develop a strategy that will emphasize it for your audience. The best way to do this is by using the PASO technique:

• Pain
• Agitation
• Solution
• Outcome

Pain is when you describe the problem. Agitation is when you describe the disadvantages of having that problem. The solution is your product. The outcome is a list of benefits. Use this formula and you will be done with this section of the business plan.

      2. Choose your marketing medium.

Right now, social media is hot. However, search engines are still the first thing people look to when searching for a solution (your product) to their problem. They use voice-activated apps like Amazone Echo, Siri, and Google Home. Here is a short guide on which platform is best for your business:

• Google Business – Every industry.
• Facebook – High engagement products like coaching, training, etc.
• Instagram – Visually enticing products like food, fashion, and more.
• Twitter – For information and software services.
• Ads – This applies to all platforms.
• Snapchat – For generation Z products.
• Pinterest – For home, garden, cooking, kitchen, etc.
• Website – Direct sales and information.

      3. Set your budget.

Knowing what you do now, it is best to set a budget. When it comes to ads, you need to be competitive and big the highest for search engine rankings. For social media, you need to be an expert at targeting people who are ready to buy. Your budget should be based on this simple formula:

Marketing Budget = Capital + Profit – Expenses – Taxes – Petty Cash (Annual)

Whatever is left should be put into marketing and it should be noted that the final results of your campaign after 3 months should be double the profit of your venture. Otherwise, the ad space you are using is worthless. That is why it is best to invest in an ad expert.

     4. Time your marketing campaign.

When launching a campaign, you should design it to fit the season, the holidays, the state of the economy, and what’s trending online. If you launch at the wrong time, you will lose all your hard work and capital.

Here’s a tip: Do not launch the same day as a big corporation’s campaign. Your campaign will fold under their high ad bids and online reception. Time is when it’s off-peak season. Most new companies choose that time, so check if a company in the same area and industry is planning a launch too.

While these are few, these tips are more valuable than you think. They embody the whole section of the marketing campaign in your business plan. Besides, it is best to be direct and focused when it comes to executing your business plan. That is your key to success as well as your company’s and employees’.