Promotions are an important part of deciding how you will market your product or service.
According to Entrepreneur Magazine, there are several important components of a business plan, including an executive summary, business description, market strategies, competitive analysis, design and development plan, operations and management plan and financial components. The goal of the marketing strategies section of a business plan is to communicate the "four Ps," which are also known as your "marketing mix." This includes price, product, place and promotion. There are a variety of different types of promotions you can write about in your business plan.
Advertising
Advertising is a type of promotion you can use to help communicate the unique features and benefits of your products and services. Your business plan should include your advertising budget; a description of the advertising tactics you plan to use, such as television, radio, newspaper, magazine and Internet; and any creative messaging and themes that you have come up with for your advertising materials.
Packaging
Packaging is another type of promotion in which you use your product's packaging as a promotional tool. Communicate your packaging promotional strategy in your business plan by describing how you will use your packaging to attract customers, and provide any samples or "mock-ups" of your product's labels, trademarks or service marks.
Public Relations
Public relations, also known as "PR," is another promotional idea you should include in your business plan. PR can help you build and maintain a positive image for your brands and company. In your business plan, describe your public relations strategy and a list of PR tactics you will use to boost your company's image. Examples include press kits, press releases, sponsorships and charity work and interviews.
Sales Promotions
"Sales promotions" refers to the strategies you will use to support your selling messages. Describe any sales promotional ideas you have for your business, including contests, rebates, discounts and giveaways. Include a list of collateral materials you will use to enhance your sales promotions, such as coupons that are available on your website, instant rebate forms, special Web sites you set up for contests and items you plan to give away as part of a promotion.
Personal Sales
Another type of promotion you should describe when writing a business plan is personal sales, which refers to the strategies you will use to support your sales team. Communicate the size of your sales force, the methods you will use to generate leads, pricing procedures, types of sales presentations you will use, salesperson training and compensation and how your sales team will respond to customer inquiries and complaints.
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