Find the marketing plan template to take your business to the next level
The ever-expanding scope of digital marketing leaves many modern executives feeling overstretched and under-resourced. Marketing decision-makers face a multitude of questions.
How can I improve engagement within the target market? How can I pivot to keep up with emerging trends and technologies? How can I meet deadlines more effectively and overcome bottlenecks?
Every executive knows that a solid marketing plan helps to solve each of these issues â and more. Marketing plans are vital to the success of your programs and campaigns, but creating one is a huge project in itself. Indeed, if your marketing plan needs to be refreshed â or overhauled completely â that can feel like an insurmountable task.
Fortunately, it doesnât have to be a headache. Weâve collected just a few of the very best marketing plan templates, so you can get what you need and get back to work. Weâve also compiled some key points to help you use these templates to tweak or create an effective marketing plan quickly.
In this guide to marketing plan templates, youâll learn:
- What a marketing plan is
- Simple marketing plan templates
Elements of a good marketing plan
- Marketing plan examples
- How to get started with an effective marketing plan today
What is a marketing plan?
A marketing plan is a powerful, dynamic document that details an organizationâs strategy for achieving key marketing objectives over a certain time period. It includes background analysis, a practical outline, tactics, and projections. Continuous analysis is required to assess the plan and revise it when necessary.
Marketing plans are customized for general use by any organization, including startups, small businesses, and large-scale corporations. They can even be created for one-time use, as for a specific product launch.
The term âmarketing planâ is sometimes confused with a business plan or marketing strategy. But there are important differences to keep in mind.
- Business plan â details your companyâs overall objectives and strategy. Marketing plans are a key component of the business plan but focus solely on products and services.
- Marketing strategy â the conceptual approach you take toward generating leads and customers. Marketing plans detail the practical steps youâll take to put that strategy into action.
Four simple marketing plan templates
A marketing plan must be comprehensive to maximize impact. That takes time, effort, and money. Using a pre-built template not only means you get started faster, but it also saves on cost. And it lets your design team stay focused on creating great customer-facing content.
Here are four marketing plan templates to help you get started:
- Simple and straightforward. This template is a simple, easy-to-use document. Itâs perfect for those who are making a marketing plan for the first time, or for those who simply need to get the job done. It includes all the essential elements of a robust marketing plan and leads you through them easily and succinctly. Use this template as a starting point and incorporate design elements further down the road. Or make this template your starting and stopping point and produce a completely comprehensive plan â efficiently and effectively.
- Process orientation and spectacular design. This template features expert design that is ready and waiting for your expert content. Structured in a presentation format, this template incorporates the best of Adobe design capabilities with Microsoft PowerPointâs user-friendly functionality. It features 80 unique slide designs already formatted for the essential elements outlined. Seamlessly add your executive summary, mission statement, objectives, KPIs, and more. And youâll be ready to present to stakeholders and decision-makers immediately.
- Versatile and professional. This template is advertised for a business plan but includes many important components of a marketing plan and is easily customizable to input the rest. It offers a printed or digital booklet format. Eye-catching visuals allow you to showcase important information quickly and memorably. Break down each phase of your timeline so you can project and track success across them all.
- Smartsheet solutions. In this article , Smartsheet offers several user-friendly templates catered to various styles of marketing plans. Choose anything from their simple, single-page plan offering to a comprehensive 11-section template. This option even includes an appendix for recording data findings upon plan implementation. Each template can be downloaded for use in Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat, or within the Smartsheet online platform.
A quality marketing plan isnât determined by length â itâs determined by accuracy and comprehensiveness. How you structure your marketing plan is subjective. But the following elements are essential inclusions for success.
Executive summary
An executive summary is a short, summarized version of your marketing plan. It lists and describes briefly all the planâs major components. Place it at the beginning of your plan so that readers can immediately grasp the whole picture even before getting into the details. Remember to write your executive summary for a specific intended audience. Pinpoint your goals and what the marketing plan will accomplish.
Mission statement
A mission statement answers what you want to do , why you want to do it , and who you are doing it for . A clear mission statement is a helpful anchor for key decisions down the road. It facilitates unity of purpose and thought for stakeholders and decision-makers. Make sure your mission statement is centered around the data-supported services you provide your customers. It should also go hand-in-hand with the goals expressed in your executive summary.
Brand identity
This section should describe your customersâ precise needs and how your offered solutions align with your brand values. Address the type of experience you want customers to have. Also, describe what your brand uniquely brings to the market. Maintaining a consistent brand identity throughout your marketing plan is essential. A well-written brand identity section helps ensure that.
SWOT analysis
SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Including a SWOT analysis in your marketing plan requires deeper, progressive thinking, but it yields more profitable, differentiated results. Address SWOT using data analytics as well as direct employee and customer feedback. Think creatively about how to leverage opportunities. And make sure not to overlook influences outside your industry that might still lead to internal threats.
Target market
In this section, go beyond simply addressing which companies and customer groups comprise your target market. Identify their unique needs, desires, and pain points. How can you solve those issues and communicate the solutions to your target market audience? Whatâs currently keeping users in your target market from utilizing your services?
Answering these questions will help you increase specialization within your target market. It will also help you identify more diverse methods of reaching potential users in that market who were previously unaccounted for. From there, you can develop tailored marketing strategies to serve your customersâ needs.
Buyer personas
A buyer persona is a fictional, generalized representation of a specific type of customer. It is meant to conceptualize individual stakeholders, not companies. Creating a buyer persona lets you develop personalized solutions for customers â if youâve done it well. You can interact with a thorough buyer persona as a one-stop representative sample of a larger customer base.
Conduct research to determine customer traits, tendencies, needs, and engagement. Itâs best to do this using varied resources. These might include customer surveys and interviews, online reviews, social media accounts, and data analytics.
Your persona should include details like name, background, goals, challenges, values, and brand interaction. Make sure that the persona you generate is comprehensive enough to answer any relevant question you might put to it â whether peripheral or fundamental. Use these buyer persona templates to help you get started.
Objectives, goals, and KPIs
Although sometimes used synonymously, there are key differences between marketing objectives and goals. Marketing objectives are specific, measurable actions taken to achieve desired results. Marketing goals are broader aims that direct your strategy. Key performance indicators (KPIs) assign numerical values to how well you are reaching these targets.
Measuring results using KPIs is the best way to accomplish marketing objectives. KPIs should be tailored to your specific organization and marketing strategies. KPIs can reflect a wide range of metrics â engagement, conversions, or sales, to name a few. Make sure you select ones that are tied directly to your marketing objectives.
Establish goals and objectives based on the SMART framework. This stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-oriented. Set SMART goals using this template , then identify which KPIs are best suited for analyzing results.
Pricing strategy
Pricing strategy is the process of determining the optimal price for your product. Utilizing your buyer persona is valuable here in identifying customersâ unmet needs and how much they will pay to assuage them. Including this willingness-to-pay calculation in your strategy is key to profitability. And developing a thoughtful overall pricing strategy is crucial to your marketing planâs success.
Determine what type of strategy you will use â price skimming, bundle pricing, penetration pricing, or another one entirely. What are the reasons behind your strategy selection? What do your tactics convey to customers about your brand values and identity? In order to develop an effective pricing strategy, you must ask yourself these questions. Actually pricing your products or services is the very last step.
Distribution plan
A distribution plan is where you will determine the process for giving customers access to your products and services. Analyze your organizationâs distribution capabilities honestly. Develop a plan that is financially feasible while maximizing output. Ask how your distribution methods will support your overall marketing goals and objectives. A proper distribution plan will sync with them seamlessly â and prioritize efficiency and cost-effectiveness while doing so.
Your distribution plan should identify your preferred distribution channel and why youâve selected it over others. It should also explain any costs related to distributing your products and services and consider the appropriate distribution channels for those items.
Promotional plan
A promotional plan gives a detailed description of the communication channels you will use to advertise your product. Drive traffic and sales by promoting your organization across a wide variety of platforms. Develop a plan that aims to build lasting customer relationships. Use it to establish a base of loyal, returning customers.
Promotional strategy is a smaller subset of your overall marketing strategy, meant to increase product or service demand. But remember that the most effective plan will look beyond that and connect to your larger marketing goals. A fully functional promotional plan will encompass message, target market, plan of action, budget, and strategy.
Be sure to consider online and offline strategies. Should you utilize social media? If so, which platforms are best suited to each product? Prioritize content value over quantity or frequency. For best results, select your top traction channels and schedule testing before rolling out the full promotion schedule.
Establish a marketing budget to account for all your marketing planâs projected costs. And donât be misled by the fact that it comes last on this list. Developing a sensible budget should be one of the first steps in forming your marketing plan. All key decisions must be made in consideration of it.
A comprehensive budget will inform your pricing, objectives, distribution and promotional plans, and even your SWOT analysis. Calculate cost projections for every category â including software, personnel, content creation, promotion, and distribution. Even if every other element in your marketing plan is executed perfectly, an inaccurate budget will hinder it all.
To ensure accuracy, make sure youâre accounting for external and operational spending. Identify costs and marketing channels across each phase of your sales funnel. Look at competitorsâ marketing campaigns and calculate a cost estimate. Then compare that to your drafted budget. How can you save comparatively while still driving sales?
Examples of successful marketing plans
It can be valuable to see examples of other organizationsâ marketing plans as you work to develop your own. Here are a few samples to help you get started:
- This Shopify blog features several of the marketing plan elements, including an executive summary, mission statement, marketing objectives, SWOT analysis, market research, market strategy, and budget. The examples come from well-established companies like Patagonia and Warby Parker. They are comprehensive while remaining easily readable. You also get a sense of how style and tone can differ across each element and across organizations.
- This article from MoreBusiness.com takes one company, Mobile News Games, and leads you through their entire marketing plan from start to finish. You get a sense of overall length, as well as which sections might need more content than others. And you can see firsthand how each element builds upon the others to facilitate a full-scale document solution.
- This sample marketing plan from Houghton Mifflin â for a fictional company â is simple and straightforward. It links KPIs to specific objectives, and its SWOT section demonstrates a multi-dimensional analysis. The plan also links unique marketing strategies to specific target market groups.
Get started with an effective marketing plan today
Initially, the thought of creating a marketing plan may seem overwhelming. But the final document provides such multifaceted solutions that delaying comes at a significant cost.
Marketing plans establish a united purpose among principal decision-makers. They tie together what are otherwise often-disconnected departments â like finance, design, sales, and marketing. And they increase internal awareness of the target audience and customer groups.
Using Adobe Marketo Engage as you develop your marketing plan enhances these benefits even further. Marketo Engage specializes in customer engagement for complex B2B buying journeys. As a complete solution for lead management, it brings marketing and sales together to nurture leads, orchestrate personalized experiences, optimize content, and measure business impact across every channel.
Marketo Engage natively supports both demand- and account-based marketing strategies, providing a single, integrated lead management platform from acquisition to advocacy. You can build engaging, personalized experiences at scale and prove impact with Adobe Marketo Engage.
Take the Marketo Engage product tour to learn more.
With these templates, tips, and tools, you are ready for the next step. Choose a marketing plan template to download and get started today.
Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Simple Business Plan
By Joe Weller | October 11, 2021
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A business plan is the cornerstone of any successful company, regardless of size or industry. This step-by-step guide provides information on writing a business plan for organizations at any stage, complete with free templates and expert advice.Â
Included on this page, youâll find a step-by-step guide to writing a business plan and a chart to identify which type of business plan you should write . Plus, find information on how a business plan can help grow a business and expert tips on writing one .
What Is a Business Plan?
A business plan is a document that communicates a companyâs goals and ambitions, along with the timeline, finances, and methods needed to achieve them. Additionally, it may include a mission statement and details about the specific products or services offered.
A business plan can highlight varying time periods, depending on the stage of your company and its goals. That said, a typical business plan will include the following benchmarks:
- Product goals and deadlines for each month
- Monthly financials for the first two years
- Profit and loss statements for the first three to five years
- Balance sheet projections for the first three to five years
Startups, entrepreneurs, and small businesses all create business plans to use as a guide as their new company progresses. Larger organizations may also create (and update) a business plan to keep high-level goals, financials, and timelines in check.
While you certainly need to have a formalized outline of your businessâs goals and finances, creating a business plan can also help you determine a companyâs viability, its profitability (including when it will first turn a profit), and how much money you will need from investors. In turn, a business plan has functional value as well: Not only does outlining goals help keep you accountable on a timeline, it can also attract investors in and of itself and, therefore, act as an effective strategy for growth.
For more information, visit our comprehensive guide to writing a strategic plan or download free strategic plan templates . This page focuses on for-profit business plans, but you can read our article with nonprofit business plan templates .
Business Plan Steps
The specific information in your business plan will vary, depending on the needs and goals of your venture, but a typical plan includes the following ordered elements:
- Executive summary
- Description of business
- Market analysis
- Competitive analysis
- Description of organizational management
- Description of product or services
- Marketing plan
- Sales strategy
- Funding details (or request for funding)
- Financial projections
If your plan is particularly long or complicated, consider adding a table of contents or an appendix for reference. For an in-depth description of each step listed above, read â How to Write a Business Plan Step by Step â below.
Broadly speaking, your audience includes anyone with a vested interest in your organization. They can include potential and existing investors, as well as customers, internal team members, suppliers, and vendors.
Do I Need a Simple or Detailed Plan?
Your businessâs stage and intended audience dictates the level of detail your plan needs. Corporations require a thorough business plan â up to 100 pages. Small businesses or startups should have a concise plan focusing on financials and strategy.
How to Choose the Right Plan for Your Business
In order to identify which type of business plan you need to create, ask: âWhat do we want the plan to do?â Identify function first, and form will follow.
Use the chart below as a guide for what type of business plan to create:
Is the Order of Your Business Plan Important?
There is no set order for a business plan, with the exception of the executive summary, which should always come first. Beyond that, simply ensure that you organize the plan in a way that makes sense and flows naturally.
The Difference Between Traditional and Lean Business Plans
A traditional business plan follows the standard structure â because these plans encourage detail, they tend to require more work upfront and can run dozens of pages. A Lean business plan is less common and focuses on summarizing critical points for each section. These plans take much less work and typically run one page in length.
In general, you should use a traditional model for a legacy company, a large company, or any business that does not adhere to Lean (or another Agile method ). Use Lean if you expect the company to pivot quickly or if you already employ a Lean strategy with other business operations. Additionally, a Lean business plan can suffice if the document is for internal use only. Stick to a traditional version for investors, as they may be more sensitive to sudden changes or a high degree of built-in flexibility in the plan.
How to Write a Business Plan Step by Step
Writing a strong business plan requires research and attention to detail for each section. Below, youâll find a 10-step guide to researching and defining each element in the plan.
Step 1: Executive Summary
The executive summary will always be the first section of your business plan. The goal is to answer the following questions:
- What is the vision and mission of the company?
- What are the companyâs short- and long-term goals?
See our roundup of executive summary examples and templates for samples. Read our executive summary guide to learn more about writing one.
Step 2: Description of Business
The goal of this section is to define the realm, scope, and intent of your venture. To do so, answer the following questions as clearly and concisely as possible:
- What business are we in?
- What does our business do?
Step 3: Market Analysis
In this section, provide evidence that you have surveyed and understand the current marketplace, and that your product or service satisfies a niche in the market. To do so, answer these questions:
- Who is our customer?Â
- What does that customer value?
Step 4: Competitive Analysis
In many cases, a business plan proposes not a brand-new (or even market-disrupting) venture, but a more competitive version â whether via features, pricing, integrations, etc. â than what is currently available. In this section, answer the following questions to show that your product or service stands to outpace competitors:
- Who is the competition?Â
- What do they do best?Â
- What is our unique value proposition?
Step 5: Description of Organizational Management
In this section, write an overview of the team members and other key personnel who are integral to success. List roles and responsibilities, and if possible, note the hierarchy or team structure.
Step 6: Description of Products or Services
In this section, clearly define your product or service, as well as all the effort and resources that go into producing it. The strength of your product largely defines the success of your business, so itâs imperative that you take time to test and refine the product before launching into marketing, sales, or funding details.
Questions to answer in this section are as follows:
- What is the product or service?
- How do we produce it, and what resources are necessary for production?
Step 7: Marketing Plan
In this section, define the marketing strategy for your product or service. This doesnât need to be as fleshed out as a full marketing plan , but it should answer basic questions, such as the following:
- Who is the target market (if different from existing customer base)?
- What channels will you use to reach your target market?
- What resources does your marketing strategy require, and do you have access to them?
- If possible, do you have a rough estimate of timeline and budget?
- How will you measure success?
Step 8: Sales Plan
Write an overview of the sales strategy, including the priorities of each cycle, steps to achieve these goals, and metrics for success. For the purposes of a business plan, this section does not need to be a comprehensive, in-depth sales plan , but can simply outline the high-level objectives and strategies of your sales efforts.Â
Start by answering the following questions:
- What is the sales strategy?
- What are the tools and tactics you will use to achieve your goals?
- What are the potential obstacles, and how will you overcome them?
- What is the timeline for sales and turning a profit?
- What are the metrics of success?
Step 9: Funding Details (or Request for Funding)
This section is one of the most critical parts of your business plan, particularly if you are sharing it with investors. You do not need to provide a full financial plan, but you should be able to answer the following questions:
- How much capital do you currently have? How much capital do you need?
- How will you grow the team (onboarding, team structure, training and development)?
- What are your physical needs and constraints (space, equipment, etc.)?
Step 10: Financial Projections
Apart from the fundraising analysis, investors like to see thought-out financial projections for the future. As discussed earlier, depending on the scope and stage of your business, this could be anywhere from one to five years.Â
While these projections wonât be exact â and will need to be somewhat flexible â you should be able to gauge the following:
- How and when will the company first generate a profit?
- How will the company maintain profit thereafter?
Business Plan Template
Download Business Plan Template
Microsoft Excel | Smartsheet
This basic business plan template has space for all the traditional elements: an executive summary, product or service details, target audience, marketing and sales strategies, etc. In the finances sections, input your baseline numbers, and the template will automatically calculate projections for sales forecasting, financial statements, and more.
For templates tailored to more specific needs, visit this business plan template roundup or download a fill-in-the-blank business plan template to make things easy.Â
If you are looking for a particular template by file type, visit our pages dedicated exclusively to Microsoft Excel , Microsoft Word , and Adobe PDF business plan templates.
How to Write a Simple Business Plan
A simple business plan is a streamlined, lightweight version of the large, traditional model. As opposed to a one-page business plan , which communicates high-level information for quick overviews (such as a stakeholder presentation), a simple business plan can exceed one page.
Below are the steps for creating a generic simple business plan, which are reflected in the template below .
- Write the Executive Summary This section is the same as in the traditional business plan â simply offer an overview of whatâs in the business plan, the prospect or core offering, and the short- and long-term goals of the company.Â
- Add a Company Overview Document the larger company mission and vision.Â
- Provide the Problem and Solution In straightforward terms, define the problem you are attempting to solve with your product or service and how your company will attempt to do it. Think of this section as the gap in the market you are attempting to close.
- Identify the Target Market Who is your company (and its products or services) attempting to reach? If possible, briefly define your buyer personas .
- Write About the Competition In this section, demonstrate your knowledge of the market by listing the current competitors and outlining your competitive advantage.
- Describe Your Product or Service Offerings Get down to brass tacks and define your product or service. What exactly are you selling?
- Outline Your Marketing Tactics Without getting into too much detail, describe your planned marketing initiatives.
- Add a Timeline and the Metrics You Will Use to Measure Success Offer a rough timeline, including milestones and key performance indicators (KPIs) that you will use to measure your progress.
- Include Your Financial Forecasts Write an overview of your financial plan that demonstrates you have done your research and adequate modeling. You can also list key assumptions that go into this forecasting.Â
- Identify Your Financing Needs This section is where you will make your funding request. Based on everything in the business plan, list your proposed sources of funding, as well as how you will use it.
Simple Business Plan Template
Download Simple Business Plan Template
Microsoft Excel |Â Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF Â | Smartsheet
Use this simple business plan template to outline each aspect of your organization, including information about financing and opportunities to seek out further funding. This template is completely customizable to fit the needs of any business, whether itâs a startup or large company.
Read our article offering free simple business plan templates or free 30-60-90-day business plan templates to find more tailored options. You can also explore our collection of one page business templates .Â
How to Write a Business Plan for a Lean Startup
A Lean startup business plan is a more Agile approach to a traditional version. The plan focuses more on activities, processes, and relationships (and maintains flexibility in all aspects), rather than on concrete deliverables and timelines.
While there is some overlap between a traditional and a Lean business plan, you can write a Lean plan by following the steps below:
- Add Your Value Proposition Take a streamlined approach to describing your product or service. What is the unique value your startup aims to deliver to customers? Make sure the team is aligned on the core offering and that you can state it in clear, simple language.
- List Your Key Partners List any other businesses you will work with to realize your vision, including external vendors, suppliers, and partners. This section demonstrates that you have thoughtfully considered the resources you can provide internally, identified areas for external assistance, and conducted research to find alternatives.
- Note the Key Activities Describe the key activities of your business, including sourcing, production, marketing, distribution channels, and customer relationships.
- Include Your Key Resources List the critical resources â including personnel, equipment, space, and intellectual property â that will enable you to deliver your unique value.
- Identify Your Customer Relationships and Channels In this section, document how you will reach and build relationships with customers. Provide a high-level map of the customer experience from start to finish, including the spaces in which you will interact with the customer (online, retail, etc.).Â
- Detail Your Marketing Channels Describe the marketing methods and communication platforms you will use to identify and nurture your relationships with customers. These could be email, advertising, social media, etc.
- Explain the Cost Structure This section is especially necessary in the early stages of a business. Will you prioritize maximizing value or keeping costs low? List the foundational startup costs and how you will move toward profit over time.
- Share Your Revenue Streams Over time, how will the company make money? Include both the direct product or service purchase, as well as secondary sources of revenue, such as subscriptions, selling advertising space, fundraising, etc.
Lean Business Plan Template for Startups
Download Lean Business Plan Template for Startups
Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF
Startup leaders can use this Lean business plan template to relay the most critical information from a traditional plan. Youâll find all the sections listed above, including spaces for industry and product overviews, cost structure and sources of revenue, and key metrics, and a timeline. The template is completely customizable, so you can edit it to suit the objectives of your Lean startups.
See our wide variety of startup business plan templates for more options.
How to Write a Business Plan for a Loan
A business plan for a loan, often called a loan proposal , includes many of the same aspects of a traditional business plan, as well as additional financial documents, such as a credit history, a loan request, and a loan repayment plan.
In addition, you may be asked to include personal and business financial statements, a form of collateral, and equity investment information.
Download free financial templates to support your business plan.
Tips for Writing a Business Plan
Outside of including all the key details in your business plan, you have several options to elevate the document for the highest chance of winning funding and other resources. Follow these tips from experts:.
- Keep It Simple: Avner Brodsky , the Co-Founder and CEO of Lezgo Limited, an online marketing company, uses the acronym KISS (keep it short and simple) as a variation on this idea. âThe business plan is not a college thesis,â he says. âJust focus on providing the essential information.â
- Do Adequate Research: Michael Dean, the Co-Founder of Pool Research , encourages business leaders to âinvest time in research, both internal and external (market, finance, legal etc.). Avoid being overly ambitious or presumptive. Instead, keep everything objective, balanced, and accurate.â Your plan needs to stand on its own, and you must have the data to back up any claims or forecasting you make. As Brodsky explains, âYour business needs to be grounded on the realities of the market in your chosen location. Get the most recent data from authoritative sources so that the figures are vetted by experts and are reliable.â
- Set Clear Goals: Make sure your plan includes clear, time-based goals. âShort-term goals are key to momentum growth and are especially important to identify for new businesses,â advises Dean.
- Know (and Address) Your Weaknesses: âThis awareness sets you up to overcome your weak points much quicker than waiting for them to arise,â shares Dean. Brodsky recommends performing a full SWOT analysis to identify your weaknesses, too. âYour business will fare better with self-knowledge, which will help you better define the mission of your business, as well as the strategies you will choose to achieve your objectives,â he adds.
- Seek Peer or Mentor Review: âAsk for feedback on your drafts and for areas to improve,â advises Brodsky. âWhen your mind is filled with dreams for your business, sometimes it is an outsider who can tell you what youâre missing and will save your business from being a product of whimsy.â
Outside of these more practical tips, the language you use is also important and may make or break your business plan.
Shaun Heng, VP of Operations at Coin Market Cap , gives the following advice on the writing, âYour business plan is your sales pitch to an investor. And as with any sales pitch, you need to strike the right tone and hit a few emotional chords. This is a little tricky in a business plan, because you also need to be formal and matter-of-fact. But you can still impress by weaving in descriptive language and saying things in a more elegant way.
âA great way to do this is by expanding your vocabulary, avoiding word repetition, and using business language. Instead of saying that something âwill bring in as many customers as possible,â try saying âwill garner the largest possible market segment.â Elevate your writing with precise descriptive words and you'll impress even the busiest investor.â
Additionally, Dean recommends that you âstay consistent and concise by keeping your tone and style steady throughout, and your language clear and precise. Include only what is 100 percent necessary.â
Resources for Writing a Business Plan
While a template provides a great outline of what to include in a business plan, a live document or more robust program can provide additional functionality, visibility, and real-time updates. The U.S. Small Business Association also curates resources for writing a business plan.
Additionally, you can use business plan software to house data, attach documentation, and share information with stakeholders. Popular options include LivePlan, Enloop, BizPlanner, PlanGuru, and iPlanner.
How a Business Plan Helps to Grow Your Business
A business plan â both the exercise of creating one and the document â can grow your business by helping you to refine your product, target audience, sales plan, identify opportunities, secure funding, and build new partnerships.Â
Outside of these immediate returns, writing a business plan is a useful exercise in that it forces you to research the market, which prompts you to forge your unique value proposition and identify ways to beat the competition. Doing so will also help you build (and keep you accountable to) attainable financial and product milestones. And down the line, it will serve as a welcome guide as hurdles inevitably arise.
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10 Free Business Plan Templates in Word, Excel, & ClickUp
Praburam Srinivasan
Growth Marketing Manager
February 13, 2024
Turning your vision into a clear and coherent business plan can be confusing and tough.Â
Hours of brainstorming and facing an intimidating blank page can raise more questions than answers. Are you covering everything? What should go where? How do you keep each section thorough but brief?
If these questions have kept you up at night and slowed your progress, know youâre not alone. Thatâs why weâve put together the top 10 business plan templates in Word, Excel, and ClickUpâto provide answers, clarity, and a structured framework to work with. This way, youâre sure to capture all the relevant information without wasting time.Â
And the best part? Business planning becomes a little less âugh!â and a lot more âaha!â đ¤Š
What is a Business Plan Template?
What makes a good business plan template, 1. clickup business plan template, 2. clickup sales plan template, 3. clickup business development action plan template, 4. clickup business roadmap template, 5. clickup business continuity plan template, 6. clickup lean business plan template, 7. clickup small business action plan template, 8. clickup strategic business roadmap template , 9. microsoft word business plan template by microsoft, 10. excel business plan template by vertex42.
A business plan template is a structured framework for entrepreneurs and business executives who want to create business plans. It comes with pre-arranged sections and headings that cover key elements like the executive summary , business overview, target customers, unique value proposition, marketing plans, and financial statements. Â
A good business plan template helps with thorough planning, clear documentation, and practical implementation. Hereâs what to look for:
- Comprehensive structure: A good template comes with all the relevant sections to outline a business strategy, such as executive summary, market research and analysis, and financial projectionsÂ
- Clarity and guidance: A good template is easy to follow. It has brief instructions or prompts for each section, guiding you to think deeply about your business and ensuring you donât skip important details
- Clean design: Aesthetics matter. Choose a template thatâs not just functional but also professionally designed. This ensures your plan is presentable to stakeholders, partners, and potential investors
- Flexibility : Your template should easily accommodate changes without hassle, like adding or removing sections, changing content and style, and rearranging parts đ ď¸Â
While a template provides the structure, itâs the information you feed it that brings it to life. These pointers will help you pick a template that aligns with your business needs and clearly showcases your vision.
10 Business Plan Templates to Use in 2024
Preparing for business success in 2024 (and beyond) requires a comprehensive and organized business plan. Weâve handpicked the best templates to help you guide your team, attract investors, and secure funding. Letâs check them out.
If youâre looking to replace a traditional business plan document, then ClickUpâs Business Plan Template is for you!
This one-page business plan template, designed in ClickUp Docs , is neatly broken down into the following sections:
- Company description : Overview, mission, vision, and team
- Market analysis : Problem, solution, target market, competition, and competitive advantage
- Sales and marketing strategy : Products/services and marketing channels
- Operational plan : Location and facilities, equipment and tools, manpower, and financial forecasts
- Milestones and metrics: Targets and KPIs
Customize the template with your company logo and contact details, and easily navigate to different sections using the collapsible table of contents. The mini prompts under each section guide you on what to includeâwith suggestions on how to present the data (e.g., bullet lists, pictures, charts, and tables).Â
You can share the document with anyone via URL and collaborate in real time. And when the business plan is ready, you have the option to print it or export it to PDF, HTML, or Markdown.
But thatâs not all. This template is equipped with basic and enterprise project management features to streamline the business plan creation process . The Topics List view has a list of all the different sections and subsections of the template and allows you to assign it to a team member, set a due date, and attach relevant documents and references.
Switch from List to Board view to track and update task statuses according to the following: To Do, In Progress, Needs Revision, and Complete.Â
This template is a comprehensive toolkit for documenting the different sections of your business plan and streamlining the creation process to ensure itâs completed on time. đď¸
If youâre looking for a tool to kickstart or update your sales plan, ClickUpâs Sales Plan Template has got you covered. This sales plan template features a project summary list with tasks to help you craft a comprehensive and effective sales strategy. Some of these tasks include:
- Determine sales objectives and goals
- Draft positioning statement
- Perform competitive analysis
- Draft ideal customer persona
- Create a lead generation strategy
Assign each task to a specific individual or team, set priority levels , and add due dates. Specify what section of the sales plan each task belongs to (e.g., executive summary, revenue goals, team structure, etc.), deliverable type (such as document, task, or meeting), and approval state (like pending, needs revisions, and approved).
And in ClickUp style, you can switch to multiple views: List for a list of all tasks, Board for visual task management, Timeline for an overview of task durations, and Gantt to get a view of task dependencies.Â
This simple business plan template is perfect for any type of business looking to create a winning sales strategy while clarifying team roles and keeping tasks organized. â¨
Thinking about scaling your businessâs reach and operations but unsure where or how to start? It can be overwhelming, no doubtâyou need a clear vision, measurable goals, and an actionable plan that every member of your team can rally behind.Â
Thankfully, ClickUpâs Business Development Action Plan Template is designed to use automations to simplify this process so every step toward your business growth is clear, trackable, and actionable.
Start by assessing your current situation and deciding on your main growth goal. Are you aiming to increase revenue, tap into new markets, or introduce new products or services? With ClickUp Whiteboards or Docs, brainstorm and collaborate with your team on this decision.
Set and track your short- and long-term growth goals with ClickUpâs Goals , break them down into smaller targets, and assign these targets to team members, complete with due dates. Add these targets to a new ClickUp Dashboard to track real-time progress and celebrate small wins. đ
Whether youâre a startup or small business owner looking to hit your next major milestone or an established business exploring new avenues, this template keeps your team aligned, engaged, and informed every step of the way.
ClickUpâs Business Roadmap Template is your go-to for mapping out major strategies and initiatives in areas like revenue growth, brand awareness, community engagement, and customer satisfaction.Â
Use the List view to populate tasks under each initiative. With Custom Fields, you can capture which business category (e.g., Product, Operations, Sales & Marketing, etc.) tasks fall under and which quarter theyâre slated for. You can also link to relevant documents and resources and evaluate tasks by effort and impact to ensure the most critical tasks get the attention they deserve. đ
Depending on your focus, this template provides different views to show just what you need. For example, the All Initiatives per Quarter view lets you focus on whatâs ahead by seeing tasks that need completion within a specific quarter. This ensures timely execution and helps in aligning resources effectively for the short term.
This template is ideal for business executives and management teams who need to coordinate multiple short- and long-term initiatives and business strategies.
In business, unexpected threats to operations can arise at any moment. Whether itâs economic turbulence, a global health crisis, or supply chain interruptions, every company needs to be ready. ClickUpâs Business Continuity Plan Template lets you prepare proactively for these unforeseen challenges.
The template organizes tasks into three main categories:
- Priorities: Tasks that need immediate attention
- Continuity coverage: Tasks that must continue despite challenges
- Guiding principles: Resources and protocols to ensure smooth operations
The Board view makes it easy to visualize all the tasks under each of these categories. And the Priorities List sorts tasks by those that are overdue, the upcoming ones, and then the ones due later.
In times of uncertainty, being prepared is your best strategy. This template helps your business not just survive but thrive in challenging situations, keeping your customers, employees, and investors satisfied. đ¤
Looking to execute your business plan the âleanâ way? Use ClickUpâs Lean Business Plan Template . Itâs designed to help you optimize resource usage and cut unnecessary stepsâgiving you better results with less effort.
In the Plan Summary List view, list all the tasks that need to get done. Add specific details like whoâs doing each task, when itâs due, and which part of the Business Model Canvas (BMC) it falls under. The By Priority view sorts this list based on priorities like Urgent, High, Normal, and Low. This makes it easy to spot the most important tasks and tackle them first.
Additionally, the Board view gives you an overview of task progression from start to finish. And the BMC view rearranges these tasks based on the various BMC components.Â
Each task can further be broken down into subtasks and multiple checklists to ensure all related action items are executed. âď¸
This template is an invaluable resource for startups and large enterprises looking to maximize process efficiencies and results in a streamlined and cost-effective way.
The Small Business Action Plan Template by ClickUp is tailor-made for small businesses looking to transform their business ideas and goals into actionable steps and, eventually, into reality.Â
It provides a simple and organized framework for creating, assigning, prioritizing, and tracking tasks. And in effect, it ensures that goals are not just set but achieved. Through the native dashboard and goal-setting features, you can monitor task progress and how they move you closer to achieving your goals.
Thanks to ClickUpâs robust communication features like chat, comments, and @mentions, itâs easy to get every team member on the same page and quickly address questions or concerns.
Use this action plan template to hit your business goals by streamlining your internal processes and aligning team efforts.
For larger businesses and scaling enterprises, getting different departments to work together toward a big goal can be challenging. The ClickUp Strategic Business Roadmap Template makes it easier by giving you a clear plan to follow.
This template is packaged in a folder and split into different lists for each department in your business, like Sales, Product, Marketing, and Enablement. This way, every team can focus on their tasks while collectively contributing to the bigger goal.
There are multiple viewing options available for team members. These include:
- Progress Board: Visualize tasks that are on track, those at risk, and those behind
- Gantt view: Get an overview of project timelines and dependencies
- Team view: See what each team member is working on so you can balance workloads for maximum productivity
While this template may feel overwhelming at first, the getting started guide offers a step-by-step breakdown to help you navigate it with ease. And like all ClickUp templates, you can easily customize it to suit your business needs and preferences.
Microsoftâs 20-page traditional business plan template simplifies the process of drafting comprehensive business plans. Itâs made up of different sections, including:
- Executive summary : Highlights, objectives, mission statement, and keys to success
- Description of business: Company ownership and legal structure, hours of operation, products and services, suppliers, financial plans, etc.
- Marketing: Market analysis, market segmentation, competition, and pricing
- Appendix: Start-up expenses, cash flow statements, income statements, sales forecast, milestones, break-even analysis, etc.
The table of contents makes it easy to move to different sections of the document. And the text placeholders under each section provide clarity on the specific details requiredâmaking the process easier for users who may not be familiar with certain business terminology.
No business template roundup is complete without an Excel template. This business plan template lets you work on your business financials in Excel. It comes with customizable tables, formulas, and charts to help you look at the following areas:
- Highlight charts
- Market analysis
- Start-up assets and expenses
- Sales forecasts
- Profit and loss
- Balance sheet
- Cash flow projections
- Break-even analysis
This Excel template is especially useful when you want to create a clear and visual financial section for your business plan documentâan essential element for attracting investors and lenders. However, there might be a steep learning curve to using this template if youâre not familiar with business financial planning and using Excel.
Try a Free Business Plan Template in ClickUp
Launching and running a successful business requires a well-thought-out and carefully crafted business plan. However, the business planning process doesnât have to be complicated, boring, or take up too much time. Use any of the above 10 free business plan formats to simplify and speed up the process.
ClickUp templates go beyond offering a solid foundation to build your business plans. They come with extensive project management features to turn your vision into reality. And thatâs not allâ ClickUpâs template library offers over 1,000 additional templates to help manage various aspects of your business, from decision-making to product development to resource management .
Sign up for ClickUpâs Free Forever Plan today to fast-track your businessâs growth! đ
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Here are some key benefits: Outline and Clarify Goals. Using a business plan template can help you to define and set goals, helping you to easily pitch them when required. It can serve as an excellent touchstone, too. Identify Issues. By clearly outlining plans ahead of time, you may be able to identify issues early - whether in the planning ...
The business plan overview checklist. Your business overview should include a few core components. Think through the following while you're putting together your business overview template: Basic company information. Include your business name, logo, tagline, address, contact information, and a brief description of what the business does.
Download Fill-in-the-Blank Small Business Plan Template Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF. This small business plan template simplifies the process to help you create a comprehensive, organized business plan. Simply enter original content for the executive summary, company overview, and other sections to customize the plan.
Versatile and professional. This template is advertised for a business plan but includes many important components of a marketing plan and is easily customizable to input the rest. It offers a printed or digital booklet format. Eye-catching visuals allow you to showcase important information quickly and memorably.
Create Your Company with our Business Plan Builder Templates. Why you need a business plan and how to get started. Though entrepreneurs should always be flexible, a Harvard Business Review study found it pays to have a plan when starting your business-literally. Founders who created a business plan before launching their company were 16% more ...
This depends on the kind of business plan you need to write and how you intend to use the plan that you create. For example, a plan for a small business seeking potential investors or a business loan will need to provide income statements, cash flow statements, and a balance sheet (usually for a three-year or five-year forecast period).
A slideshow template is a great option if you need to present your marketing plan live, like this one featuring multiple color theme choices. Apps like Adobe Express are a good option for this type of design, and you can try the Adobe Express online template free even if you don't yet have a website for your business.
717 templates. Create a blank Business Plan. Dark Blue And Green Modern Business Plan Cover Page. Document by shadow.diamond. Green Professional Strategic Business Plan Executive Summary. Document by Antler. Startup Business Plan. Document by Maea Studio. Blue and Sandy Modern Minimalistic Business Plan Cover Page.
For templates tailored to more specific needs, visit this business plan template roundup or download a fill-in-the-blank business plan template to make things easy. If you are looking for a particular template by file type, visit our pages dedicated exclusively to Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, and Adobe PDF business plan templates.
In times of uncertainty, being prepared is your best strategy. This template helps your business not just survive but thrive in challenging situations, keeping your customers, employees, and investors satisfied. đ¤. Download This Template. 6. ClickUp Lean Business Plan Template. ClickUp Lean Business Plan Template.
Common items to include are credit histories, resumes, product pictures, letters of reference, licenses, permits, patents, legal documents, and other contracts. Example traditional business plans. Before you write your business plan, read the following example business plans written by fictional business owners.
Adobe InDesign Proposal Template Design. This Adobe proposal template for InDesign is a perfect choice. It includes 40 pages. The layouts are highly adaptable to a variety of design projects. It's minimal and a top look if you want to use creative business plan InDesign templates.
Step #3: Conduct Your Market Analysis. Step #4: Research Your Competition. Step #5: Outline Your Products or Services. Step #6: Summarize Your Financial Plan. Step #7: Determine Your Marketing Strategy. Step #8: Showcase Your Organizational Chart. 14 Business Plan Templates to Help You Get Started.
Try Now. Apply our simple business plan template. to give you a head start. Our business plan software lights the way as you sort through the important elements of creating a business plan. Inject your own creativity into your presentation using our vast library of icons, photos and animations, or keep it simple and clean.
Simple InDesign Proposal Templates. 26. Proposal with Square Element. This template offers you a powerful source of information in a great look to have a strong, visually pleasing brand, easy to edit text, images, and elements. There are 3 colors available for your choice: green, purple and orange. 27.
This Business Plan Template will help you to design a modern and product for your clients. This Proposal Template offers to you a modern and easy way to edit your own design. Since the template has been designed in format, you will be able to send it directly to pre-production. This InDesign Template has been designed to ensure its layout is as ...
Our generative AI tools are designed to be commercially safe. Templates:Access to all Adobe Express premium static and video templates. Assets:200M+ royalty-free Adobe Stock photos, videos, music tracks, and design elements2. Brand management:Brand kits, controls, and template locking to maintain brand consistency.