Table of Contents
Think of a business plan and a marketing plan in terms of a pizza, for purposes of illustration. A business plan is the whole piece. A marketing plan is a portion, but a very important portion. The business plan offers an overview of all aspects of a company. The marketing plan focuses on strategies and efforts to generate sales and revenue.
Parts of a business plan
A business plan usually includes: an overview of the company, a description of the products or services and how they are produced, a description of the business model for the company, the identification of the executive management and the management team, cash flow statements, and charts and graphs in financial projections related to sales, costs, expenses and more.
Parts of a marketing summary
The marketing plan of an organization is included in the general business plan, however, it is written in summary format. Included in a marketing summary are the objectives, strategies and tactics that the company will use to generate sales and revenue. The marketing summary section of the business plan also gives an overview of the advertising plans that will be implemented to achieve the marketing objectives and goals.
Detailed Marketing Plan
The complete marketing plan is an independent, comprehensive document, which goes into more details about the objectives, goals and tactics. This document guides the implementation of marketing efforts, sales and advertising departments of the company.
The marketing department uses the plan to align how products and services should be placed on the market in terms of distribution channels and pricing. The plan describes in detail monthly, quarterly and annual sales volume goals that must be achieved by the sales team.
The plan also includes a section that establishes the communications platform for the team or the outdoor advertising agency to use to develop the advertising, promotions and events that align with the communication messaging strategy to reach customers in the market.
Business plan hearing
In general terms, the business plan is shared only with key executives within the company and external members of the financial community. It is usually written to target potential investors, shareholders and accountants. It is most often used to generate funds to provide working capital to execute the plans and programs that the company has identified as necessary to maintain a competitive position and sustainable success in the market.
Marketing Plan Hearing
The marketing plan is not shared with consumers and customers, but the contents are aimed at them. The complete plan is an internal document that is normally shared only with those responsible for marketing, sales and advertising efforts. The marketing plan includes the results of the research that help identify the tactics to communicate with customers to make them buy products.
The plan includes pricing strategies and incentives to win new customers for a service-oriented business and increase sales volume with retail distributors. The marketing plan is an internal strategic document developed to win customers, achieve sales and distribution objectives, compete with other businesses and increase the company’s market share.