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What our members have to say...
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"Thank you for your email yesterday regarding an extension of your services.
In fact I now have the necessary investors in my business, one of whom came
through Business Angels & we are now quite advanced on the project. I would
highly recommend any potential entrepreneur to acquire a partner through
your organization. Thank you again!"
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Eric Sanderson - Naremburn Child Care Centre |
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Creating a business plan and strong marketing message
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Having a good, solid, well thought through business plan is about a lot more than simply raising finance, although that is often erroneously perceived to be its main purpose. Attracting investment is, of course, important for any growing business, but drawing up a business plan has a range of other functions and values.
An important aspect of the perfect business plan for your business is that you and your fellow directors will have to be involved in creating it; no matter how good a professional planner is they can never know your strengths, weaknesses and true purposes better than you do and so will need your assistance to put your plan together.
The act of creating the plan for your business is an excellent way of getting clear in your own heads exactly what the business is about and what its purposes are. Put yourself in the position of a potential investor as you help create the plan and ask the sorts of searching questions they would ask when considering whether or not to invest in your business. This will help you, perhaps in role play scenarios, to plug the holes in your thinking relating to the business and help you keep your goals and long term projections firmly in mind.
As part of that thought process you will have to develop focused marketing messages. These are about creating a clear elevator pitch for business and the right strategy for communication about a product to the target audience. You have a lot of questions to ask yourself when creating focused marketing messages. These should include whether the audience has a clear understanding of the jargon you use in connection with your marketing of the product, and an appreciation of the benefits they will have when they choose to buy it. You also need to grasp how the target audience will view your sales pitch – whether, for example, they quickly grasp the big picture or tend to concentrate more on specific details.
If your clients cannot get a clear idea of what your product is about and how it will benefit them, then they are unlikely to buy it even if it is, in actual fact, perfect for them.
Ways of testing your focused marketing messages include doing a dry run of the material on a test audience or focus group to see how they receive it. Frequently asked questions can also be included on your website, and you can also ask existing clients about how they personally perceive the message before launching the campaign and possibly wasting your time and money on ineffective advertising.
A properly prepared business plan, when completed, will outline everything that your business is about, including a detailed description of it, survival plans and contingencies, financial projections, short-term and long-term aims, cash flow forecasts and a host of other factors that you need to consider with great care.
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