Business plan: The first plan you must have!

Skipped the business plan and jumped straight to the marketing phase of your business journey?

How is it linked to my marketing plan?

Your marketing plan is there to support and amplify the goals of your business plan. Your marketing strategy needs a target market … and this will be identified during your business planning stage. It also helps you prioritise where you allocate precious funds during the start-up phase of your business. For example, you wouldn’t invest your time and money into digital marketing when you are not sure of who your target market is first.

But don’t I need an online presence straight away?

There are certainly elements within this space that you have to work on early. Once you register your business name, register your domain name. Park those social media and Google Business pages with your new name to make sure they are yours and even setup a business email against your new domain name. Build a temporary landing page while you get everything else sorted, so once you your business plan is finalised, you can quickly build up your brand online.

Final thoughts

Overall, it’s really never been easier to get an idea off the ground and into the marketplace thanks to an abundant amount of easily accessible information, digital tools, platforms and advice. And while it’s a fast-moving world out there within the digital world, the value of a business plan remains the same today as it has since commerce began.

Remember a plan can change and it doesn’t have to overly complex … but you do need one! It’s easier to change an existing plan than to not have one at all.

Ben Hayward is a three coffee a day Director of Digital Strategy at In Cahoots Co. We're an Ipswich based Digital Marketing Agency helping business and organisations be seen, heard and found in a digital world.