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This detailed business plan delves into industry, customer, and competitor analysis to provide a comprehensive overview. It covers company and product descriptions, marketing strategies, financial projections, and critical risks. Focus areas include target market strategies, sales and distribution plans, service development, and team organization. It emphasizes the importance of viral marketing, advertising, pricing strategies, and software strategies, with a strong emphasis on team compensation and critical risk analysis. The plan outlines a structured approach to achieve market success.
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Business Plan • Form follows function • Purpose of your plan: Attract someone’s interest • Consider • How long do you have to get someone interested? • How quickly do you judge people that you meet? • How much do youread before deciding that its “not interesting”?
Business Plan • Title Page • Executive Summary • Industry Analysis • Customer Analysis • Competitor Analysis • Company and Product Description • Marketing Plan • Development & Operations Plans • Team • Critical Risks • Financial Plan
Title Page: More Important that You Think! • Company name and logo • Tagline • Just Do It! • Others that have survived? • Contact • Date • (Controls)
Executive Summary • Write it last • Summary = short • Tell the story • Excite the reader • Elaborate your tag line
Industry Analysis • 3 Ms • Market demand • Market size • Market analysis • What’s hot? What’s not? • What is happening in the market in general • Is it a growing? • Local market conditions
Pain Points • What is “pain point”? • Why a key market issue? • We are willing to change if we have a problem • What is the game analogy of a pain point?
Customer Analysis • Who is your customer? • The more specific the better • How does this customer behave? Moore, Crossing the Chasm
Competitor Analysis • Who are they? • How do you position yourself? • BROAD view of your competitors • Related businesses • Businesses or behaviors that eliminate your market • Free alternatives • Work arounds • … • Are your competitors just games?
Company & Product Description • (Company) • How you are organized • What you have accomplished • Product or service description • Customer value proposition • What differentiates it from others? • Growth plan • How do you start? • Where do you grow from here?
Target Market & Product Strategy • Dimensions on which you need to sell • What dimensions do people consider? • What dimensions will you deliver? • Relate to your competitors • Are you more focused or more general? • Are you going for different aspects? • Justification of your assessment
Marketing Plan • Target Market and Product Strategy • Advertising and Promotion • Sales Strategy • Service Strategy • Pricing Strategy • Distribution Strategy
Marketing • Marketing vs. sales • Marketing: advertising, promotions • Public relations and publicity • Sales • Focus groups
Viral Marketing • Any strategy that encourages people to pass on the message • Why does it work? • How much do you talk about products you like? Dislike? • Reduces decision time
Viral Marketing Principles • Gives away products or services • Provides for effortless transfer to others • Scales easily from small to very large • Exploits common motivations and behaviors • Utilizes existing communication networks • Takes advantage of others' resources Ralph Wilson
Advertising and Promotion • How will you reach your target group? • Advertising • Television • Radio • Newspapers • Magazines • Internet: which sites? • Viral • Flyers • Press • Publicity • Social Media
Pricing Strategy • Market-demand • Look at current market • Determine where you should fall • Customer-based • Purchase • Monthly fees • Goal is not to lose money
Sales Strategy • Who will sell for you? • Stores • Internet • Sales and Marketing Forecasts • Comparable – derive from competitors • Build up – based on what you expect to sell, profit per unit, sales per day, …
Software Strategies • Fixes • Upgrades • Help Desk • Physical Media • Electronic • Both Service Distribution
Development & Operations Plans • Development • What needs to be done before you’re “in business” • Operations • Ongoing activity • Cash flow: it’s possible to fail even with sales • Outsourcing: control your competitive advantage
Team: Company • As important as the idea • If your life depended on a particular piece of software, what would you want to know about it? • Writer “highly intelligent and possessed by an extremely rigorous, almost fanatical desire to make their program work the way it should.” Bollinger (2001)
Team Compensation • $$$ • Sweat Equity (Part Ownership)
Team: Advisory Board • Mentoring • Formal or informal • Real board of directors • Personal board of directors • People with different skills • People with influence • Co-opt people that you need
Critical Risks • Creates credibility • Include • Critical assumptions • Factors that need to happen for success • Typical risks • Market • Competitors • Development cost • Operating expenses • Financing
Financial Plan • Expenses and expected revenues