Marketing Plans, Business Plans
and Strategic Plans
Marketing business plans and
strategic plans are closely related and have extensive overlap. The
essential difference is that they have different purposes, perspectives
and emphasis. A marketing plan is part of a broader
business plan but the two are not mutually exclusive.
A
business plan is often used to obtain finance or venture capital from a
bank, shareholders or other investors. It certainly addresses marketing
but is more expansive on finance, production and administration. Broadly
speaking a business plan has three main components: a marketing plan,
an operational plan and a financial plan.
The
operational plan examines such considerations as supply sources, costs,
equipment and so on.
The
financial plan shows all the numbers affecting the business including a
cash flow forecast, balance sheet, profit and loss statement, sources
of funding and tax statements.
The
marketing plan looks at what a business sells, its location, packaging,
pricing and selling methods. Anything connected with
'selling' your products or services forms part of
the marketing plan. A marketing plan is more comprehensive on anything
to do with selling your products or services than the marketing section
of a business plan would be.
A strategic plan takes a longer term view
and defines your vision for the future. A strategic plan usually addresses the next five to ten years. It has a
lot to do with where your company is now, your vision for the future,
and how you are going to get there. It addresses marketing, operations,
innovation (including services offered and technology needed), human
resources and finance.
