A business development plan is a document that outlines how you intend to grow your business and achieve your goals. It covers various aspects of your business, such as your target market, your value proposition, your competitive advantage, your sales and marketing strategy, your operational needs, your financial projections, and your action plan.
A business development plan can help you:
- Clarify your vision and direction for your business
- Identify and prioritize the best opportunities for growth
- Communicate your value proposition and differentiation to your customers and stakeholders
- Align your team and resources with your objectives and milestones
- Track and measure your progress and performance
- Adjust and improve your strategy as needed
Step 1: Conduct a SWOT Analysis
The first step in writing a business development plan is to conduct a SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis is a tool that helps you evaluate your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in relation to your business environment.
Strengths are the internal factors that give you an advantage over your competitors. For example, you may have a strong brand reputation, a loyal customer base, a unique product or service, or a skilled team.
Weaknesses are the internal factors that limit or hinder your performance or growth. For example, you may have a lack of funding, a high turnover rate, a weak online presence, or a poor customer service.
Opportunities are the external factors that create favorable conditions for your business to grow or improve. For example, you may have an untapped market segment, a new technology trend, a favorable regulation change, or a partnership opportunity.
Threats are the external factors that pose challenges or risks to your business. For example, you may have a new competitor, a substitute product or service, a negative customer feedback, or a market downturn.
To conduct a SWOT analysis, you can use the following table:
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| List the internal factors that give you an edge over your competitors | List the internal factors that hold you back or need improvement |
| Example: Strong brand reputation | Example: Lack of funding |
| Opportunities | Threats |
|---|---|
| List the external factors that create favorable conditions for your growth or improvement | List the external factors that pose challenges or risks to your business |
| Example: Untapped market segment | Example: New competitor |
A SWOT analysis can help you identify the key issues and opportunities that you need to address in your business development plan. It can also help you set realistic and attainable goals based on your current situation and capabilities.
Step 2: Define Your Target Market
The next step in writing a business development plan is to define your target market. Your target market is the specific group of customers that you want to reach and serve with your product or service. It is important to define your target market clearly and precisely because it will guide your marketing and sales efforts and help you tailor your value proposition to their needs and preferences.
To define your target market, you need to conduct market research and segmentation. Market research is the process of gathering and analyzing information about your potential customers, such as their demographics, psychographics, behaviors, needs, problems, preferences, and buying patterns. Market segmentation is the process of dividing your potential customers into smaller groups based on their common characteristics or criteria.
You can use various methods and sources to conduct market research and segmentation, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, online tools, industry reports, competitor analysis, customer feedback, etc.
Based on your market research and segmentation results, you can create buyer personas for each segment of your target market. Buyer personas are fictional representations of your ideal customers that describe their characteristics, goals, challenges, motivations, pain points, etc. Buyer personas can help you understand your customers better and communicate with them more effectively.
To create buyer personas, you can use the following template:
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Give a name to your buyer persona | Write a brief description of who they are |
| Example: Sarah | Example: Sarah is a 35-year-old working mother who lives in New York City |
| Demographics | Psychographics |
|---|---|
| List the basic demographic information of your buyer persona | List the psychological traits of your buyer persona |
| Example: Age: 35 Gender: Female Income: $80K Education: Bachelor’s degree Location: New York City Family: Married with two kids Occupation: Marketing manager | Example: Personality: Outgoing, ambitious, creative Values: Family, career, health Attitudes: Optimistic, confident, proactive Interests: Traveling, reading, yoga |
| Goals | Challenges |
|---|---|
| List the main goals or objectives of your buyer persona | List the main challenges or problems of your buyer persona |
| Example: To balance her work and family life To advance her career in marketing To stay healthy and fit | Example: To manage her time and energy efficiently To cope with the stress and pressure of work To find reliable and affordable childcare |
| Pain Points | Solutions |
|---|---|
| List the specific pain points or frustrations of your buyer persona | List the specific solutions or benefits that your product or service can offer to your buyer persona |
| Example: She often feels overwhelmed and exhausted by her busy schedule She struggles to find time for herself and her hobbies She worries about the quality and safety of the products she buys for her family | Example: Your product or service can help her save time and money Your product or service can provide her with convenience and comfort Your product or service can assure her with quality and trust |
Step 3: Craft Your Value Proposition
The third step in writing a business development plan is to craft your value proposition. Your value proposition is a clear and concise statement that summarizes why your customers should choose your product or service over your competitors. It describes how you solve your customers’ problems, how you deliver value to them, and what makes you different from others.
Your value proposition should answer the following questions:
- What is your product or service?
- Who is your target market?
- What problem do you solve for your customers?
- What benefits do you offer to your customers?
- What makes you unique or superior to your competitors?
To craft your value proposition, you can use the following formula:
[Product or service] helps [target market] [solve problem] by [delivering benefits] unlike [competitors].
For example:
Pelacase helps eco-conscious smartphone users protect their devices by providing durable and compostable phone cases unlike plastic ones.
Your value proposition should be simple, specific, and compelling. It should highlight your unique selling proposition (USP) and communicate your competitive advantage. It should also be tested and validated with your target market to ensure that it resonates with them.
Step 4: Develop Your Sales and Marketing Strategy
The fourth step in writing a business development plan is to develop your sales and marketing strategy. Your sales and marketing strategy is the plan of action that outlines how you will attract, engage, convert, and retain your customers. It covers various aspects of your sales and marketing efforts, such as your channels, tactics, tools, budget, timeline, metrics, etc.
To develop your sales and marketing strategy, you need to consider the following elements:
- Channels: The channels are the platforms or mediums that you use to reach and communicate with your target market. They can be online or offline, such as websites, blogs, social media, email, podcasts, webinars, events, ads, etc. You should choose the channels that are most relevant, effective, and cost-efficient for your business goals and customer preferences.
- Tactics: The tactics are the specific actions or techniques that you use to execute your sales and marketing strategy. They can be inbound or outbound, such as SEO, content marketing, email marketing, social media marketing, PPC, cold calling, referrals, etc. You should choose the tactics that are most suitable, creative, and impactful for your business model and customer behavior.
- Tools: The tools are the software or applications that you use to support or automate your sales and marketing activities. They can be CRM, CMS, email marketing software, social media management tools, analytics tools, etc. You should choose the tools that are most user-friendly, functional, and integrative for your business needs and customer expectations.
- Budget: The budget is the amount of money that you allocate or spend on your sales and marketing efforts. It can be fixed or variable depending on your revenue model and growth stage. You should plan your budget carefully based on your expected return on investment (ROI) and break-even point (BEP).
- Timeline: The timeline is the schedule or timeframe that you set for your sales and marketing activities. It can be short-term or long-term depending on your business objectives and milestones. You should create a realistic timeline based on your available resources and potential challenges.
- Metrics: The metrics are the indicators or measurements that you use to track and evaluate your sales and marketing performance. They can be quantitative or qualitative depending on your business goals and KPIs. You should define clear metrics based on SMART criteria (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, timely).
To develop your sales and marketing strategy, you can use the following table:
| Channel | Tactic | Tool | Budget | Timeline | Metric |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| List the platforms or mediums that you use to reach and communicate with your target market | List the actions or techniques that you use to execute your sales and marketing strategy | List the software or applications that you use to support or automate your sales and marketing activities | List the amount of money that you allocate or spend on each channel or tactic | List the schedule or timeframe that you set for each channel or tactic | List the indicators or measurements that you use to track and evaluate |
Step 5: Assess Your Operational Needs
The fifth step in writing a business development plan is to assess your operational needs. Your operational needs are the resources and processes that you need to run and grow your business efficiently and effectively. They include your human resources, physical resources, technological resources, financial resources, legal resources, etc.
To assess your operational needs, you need to consider the following questions:
- Human resources: How many people do you need to hire, train, manage, and retain for your business? What are their roles, responsibilities, skills, and qualifications? How will you recruit, compensate, motivate, and evaluate them?
- Physical resources: What are the physical assets or facilities that you need to acquire, maintain, and utilize for your business? What are their costs, benefits, and risks? How will you secure, manage, and optimize them?
- Technological resources: What are the technological tools or systems that you need to implement, integrate, and update for your business? What are their functions, features, and benefits? How will you select, install, operate, and troubleshoot them?
- Financial resources: How much money do you need to start, operate, and grow your business? What are your sources of income and expenses? How will you manage your cash flow, budget, accounting, and taxation?
- Legal resources: What are the legal requirements or regulations that you need to comply with for your business? What are the licenses, permits, contracts, agreements, or policies that you need to obtain or follow? How will you protect your intellectual property rights, privacy rights, or liability risks?
To assess your operational needs, you can use the following table:
| Resource | Need | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| List the type of resource that you need for your business | List the specific need or challenge that you have for each resource | List the specific solution or action that you have or plan to have for each resource |
| Example: Human resource | Example: Need to hire a sales manager | Example: Post a job ad on LinkedIn |
Step 6: Project Your Financial Outcomes
The sixth step in writing a business development plan is to project your financial outcomes. Your financial outcomes are the expected results or impacts of your business development plan on your financial performance and position. They include your revenue, profit, growth rate, market share, return on investment (ROI), etc.
To project your financial outcomes, you need to create financial statements and forecasts. Financial statements are the reports that summarize your financial activities and status at a given point in time or over a period of time. They include your income statement (profit and loss statement), balance sheet (statement of financial position), and cash flow statement (statement of cash flows). Financial forecasts are the estimates or predictions of your future financial results based on your assumptions and scenarios. They include your sales forecast (revenue forecast), expense forecast (cost forecast), profit forecast (income forecast), etc.
You can use various methods and tools to create financial statements and forecasts, such as historical data analysis, trend analysis, ratio analysis, break-even analysis, sensitivity analysis, spreadsheet software (Excel), accounting software (QuickBooks), etc.
To project your financial outcomes, you can use the following template:
| Financial Statement | Forecast |
|---|---|
| List the name of the financial statement that you create or use | List the name of the financial forecast that you create or use |
| Example: Income statement | Example: Sales forecast |
| Assumptions | Scenarios |
|---|---|
| List the key assumptions or factors that affect your financial outcomes | List the possible scenarios or situations that affect your financial outcomes |
| Example: Market size: 10 million customers Growth rate: 10% per year Price: $50 per unit Cost: $30 per unit | Example: Best case scenario: Market size increases by 20% Growth rate increases by 15% Price increases by 10% Cost decreases by 10% |
| Results | Impacts |
|---|---|
| List the expected results or numbers of your financial outcomes | List the expected impacts or implications of your financial outcomes |
| Example: Revenue: $50 million Profit: $20 million ROI: 40% | Example: Increase market share by 5% Increase customer satisfaction by 10% Increase competitive advantage by 15% |
Step 7: Create Your Action Plan
The seventh step in writing a business development plan is to create your action plan. Your action plan is the detailed list of tasks or activities that you need to complete to implement your business development plan. It specifies what you need to do, when you need to do it, who is responsible for doing it, how much it will cost, and how you will measure its success.
To create your action plan, you need to follow the SMART criteria:
- Specific: Your tasks or activities should be clear and well-defined, not vague or ambiguous.
- Measurable: Your tasks or activities should have quantifiable outcomes or indicators, not subjective or qualitative.
- Attainable: Your tasks or activities should be realistic and achievable, not impossible or unrealistic.
- Relevant: Your tasks or activities should be aligned with your business goals and objectives, not irrelevant or unrelated.
- Timely: Your tasks or activities should have deadlines or timeframes, not open-ended or indefinite.
To create your action plan, you can use the following table:
| Task | Deadline | Responsible | Cost | Metric |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| List the specific task or activity that you need to complete | List the deadline or timeframe that you need to complete it by | List the person or team that is responsible for completing it | List the cost or budget that is allocated for completing it | List the metric or indicator that you use to measure its success |
| Example: Launch a new website | Example: March 31, 2023 | Example: Web developer | Example: $5,000 | Example: Number of visitors |
Step 8: Review and Revise Your Business Development Plan
The eighth and final step in writing a business development plan is to review and revise your business development plan. Your business development plan is not a static document that you write once and forget. It is a dynamic document that you need to review and revise regularly to ensure that it reflects your current situation and goals, as well as the changing market conditions and customer needs.
To review and revise your business development plan, you need to consider the following questions:
- Is your business development plan still relevant and realistic?
- Have you achieved your goals and objectives?
- Have you encountered any challenges or risks?
- Have you learned any lessons or insights?
- Have you identified any new opportunities or threats?
- Have you received any feedback or suggestions?
Based on your answers to these questions, you may need to update or modify your business development plan accordingly. You may need to add, remove, change, or improve some elements of your business development plan, such as your SWOT analysis, your target market, your value proposition, your sales and marketing strategy, your operational needs, your financial outcomes, or your action plan.
You should also communicate any changes or updates to your business development plan to your team and stakeholders, so that they are aware of your progress and performance, as well as your expectations and requirements.
Conclusion
A business development plan is a vital document that helps you grow your business and achieve your goals. It covers various aspects of your business, such as your target market, your value proposition, your competitive advantage, your sales and marketing strategy, your operational needs, your financial projections, and your action plan.
To write a business development plan, you can follow these eight steps:
- Conduct a SWOT analysis
- Define your target market
- Craft your value proposition
- Develop your sales and marketing strategy
- Assess your operational needs
- Project your financial outcomes
- Create your action plan
- Review and revise your business development plan
By following these steps, you can create a comprehensive and effective business development plan that can help you grow your business and achieve success.