business plan for merchandising company

Merchandising Plan Template

Elements of a successful merchandising plan.

By Bert Shlensky, PhD Part of the Startup Connection Business Library Copyright © 2014 by Bert Shlensky, PhD All Rights Reserved.

Merchandising Plan directions

What is a merchandising plan.

A good merchandising plan is essential to insure smooth and stable growth, especially when a company is young and running on slim inventory reserves. With a merchandising plan you are able to answer many questions that might arise as sales begin to grow and change.

While the merchandising plan is mainly a retail or internet concept, it also should be adapted for service industries. In general it is a plan to have the right inventory, at the right time in the right amount to maximize your sales, profits and returns . Your plan needs to include a variety of information and concepts. And yes it is mainly numbers that are necessary to understand for the success of your business.

Elements of a Good Merchandising Plan

Your Product Listing

The merchandising plan starts with listing each product or SKU (stock keeping unit) that you are selling. This SKU list must be broken down by style, flavor, size, color, width etc.—whatever the variables are for your products, they must be on your list and they must be track-able. There are differences in describing products. A yogurt shop might have 10 flavors, 20 toppings and five sizes and customize the product for each customer. However they really only stock 35 “core ingredients” and then they customize those into thousands of combinations.

In contrast a shoe store may have 20 styles, six colors, six lengths, and four widths which multiply to over 2500 different SKUS. Managing those SKUs when less than about 100 probably represent 80 % of the sales is the challenge in that product category.

The main caution is to remember to review carefully all the options you need to sell. The listing also requires a style number and usually a UPC code. Listing all that information on a chart is critical to developing the plan. Here are just a sample of products and some variations:

In service businesses the list is frequently called a schedule but is equally important. How many people do you need at what hours to perform what tasks?

Determining Your Costs

You also need to detail the parameters of each SKU in terms of cost, wholesale if applicable and retail if applicable. Cost should include everything like freight, fees, distribution costs, etc. If your products are frequently promoted you need to review both the regular price and the average promotional price.

Estimating Your Quantities

Determining the quantity of each product you carry begins with knowing how much you plan to sell in a given period, be it monthly, quarterly or annually. This part of your plan must also be detailed by seasons, peak buying periods (e.g., Holidays) or promotion and sales events. Your quantity plan should be estimated by both units and dollars.

Typical ways to estimate unit and sales numbers are to consider individual estimates by product, history, or percentage estimates of the total. I recommend the later if there is no history because it forces you to understand the totals and the breakdown to individual products and categories.

Planning Your Number of “Turns”

The next number required for your merchandising plan is to determine your inventory requirements based on frequency of demand. These numbers are calculated by estimating your “turns”–the number of times in the period your item sells. For example if you are planning to sell $1 million in a year and have two turns you will need about $500,000 of inventory (with some in reserve). However, if you turn your products four times you will only need $ 250,000 in inventory during any period. There are numerous ways to increase your turn rate, such as stocking more of the high volume items, reducing order times, reducing shipping times and managing seasonality. These efforts may be somewhat offset by minimum purchase requirements, especially when you are starting out and can’t afford to buy at the volume levels of much larger companies.

Designing Your Analytics and Reporting

One of the main reasons for a carefully-designed merchandising plan is to enable you to analyze your performance. Reliable reporting will not only enable you to manage your inventory more efficiently and profitably, but it will allow you to make information clear for partners and suppliers.

The first question you will want to answer with your analysis is whether or not your sales and inventory plans are realistic, profitable and affordable. Unless you are purchasing physical assets such as real estate, your inventory is frequently your largest investment and often represents a majority of your cash flow. There are ways to minimize the negative impact of inventory financing, such as direct shipping of your products from your suppliers to your customers. “Just in time” parts and ingredient management is also a tool to keep your cash outlays in line with sales.

Your analytics will also allow you to determine how profitable each product is for your business. Gross profit calculations may be made by item, by category, by location, and many other variables, each of which may be critical to your success.

Gross profit—or “Gross Margin” is calculated simply by the following equation:

Gross Profit = (Sales – Costs) / Sales

For example, if you sell a pair of shoes at retail for $100 and they cost you $30 to produce, your Gross Profit is equal to ($100 – $30)/$100 or 70%. Each industry has standards for Gross Profits that must be met in order to have enough cash flow to meet payroll, other operating expenses, marketing, and still make a profit.

Return on investment (ROI) refers to your profits in relation to your inventory investment or

Gross Profit /Inventory investment

This is another measure of your profitability and there are industry standards that you may use for comparison.

You also need to plan sales, purchases and inventories over a period. This should be updated on a weekly or monthly basis depending on your “turn rate”. You also need to consider lead times, delivery commitments, minimums, stock outs and returns in these calculations. Ask your vendors when and how you can modify orders, their terms and their capabilities.

Sample Merchandising Plan

A simple merchandising plan is provided on the spreadsheet e. This spreadsheet is “live”, enabling you to test it using your own products and numbers. The spreadsheet is without the long term planning element, which should be separate

In summary the merchandising plan is really the engine that quantifies your products, their financial impact on your entire business and the marketing plans you will need to support sales. On the one hand, being in stock with the right items is critical to success, profits and customer service. On the other hand being in stock with obsolete or slow selling inventory is a frequent cause of excess investment requirements and lower than projected profits.

Managing that balance can be facilitated by planning, working with suppliers, managing lead times, and optimizing retail sales based upon analysis.

Please Download this Excel Spreadsheet as part of this lesson:

Merchandising_Plan_Template .xls

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How to Write a Business Plan in 9 Steps (+ Template and Examples)

Every successful business has one thing in common, a good and well-executed business plan. A business plan is more than a document, it is a complete guide that outlines the goals your business wants to achieve, including its financial goals . It helps you analyze results, make strategic decisions, show your business operations and growth.

If you want to start a business or already have one and need to pitch it to investors for funding, writing a good business plan improves your chances of attracting financiers. As a startup, if you want to secure loans from financial institutions, part of the requirements involve submitting your business plan.

Writing a business plan does not have to be a complicated or time-consuming process. In this article, you will learn the step-by-step process for writing a successful business plan.

You will also learn what you need a business plan for, tips and strategies for writing a convincing business plan, business plan examples and templates that will save you tons of time, and the alternatives to the traditional business plan.

Let’s get started.

What Do You Need A Business Plan For?

Businesses create business plans for different purposes such as to secure funds, monitor business growth, measure your marketing strategies, and measure your business success.

1. Secure Funds

One of the primary reasons for writing a business plan is to secure funds, either from financial institutions/agencies or investors.

For you to effectively acquire funds, your business plan must contain the key elements of your business plan . For example, your business plan should include your growth plans, goals you want to achieve, and milestones you have recorded.

A business plan can also attract new business partners that are willing to contribute financially and intellectually. If you are writing a business plan to a bank, your project must show your traction , that is, the proof that you can pay back any loan borrowed.

Also, if you are writing to an investor, your plan must contain evidence that you can effectively utilize the funds you want them to invest in your business. Here, you are using your business plan to persuade a group or an individual that your business is a source of a good investment.

2. Monitor Business Growth

A business plan can help you track cash flows in your business. It steers your business to greater heights. A business plan capable of tracking business growth should contain:

• The business goals
• Methods to achieve the goals
• Time-frame for attaining those goals

A good business plan should guide you through every step in achieving your goals. It can also track the allocation of assets to every aspect of the business. You can tell when you are spending more than you should on a project.

You can compare a business plan to a written GPS. It helps you manage your business and hints at the right time to expand your business.

3. Measure Business Success

A business plan can help you measure your business success rate. Some small-scale businesses are thriving better than more prominent companies because of their track record of success.

Right from the onset of your business operation, set goals and work towards them. Write a plan to guide you through your procedures. Use your plan to measure how much you have achieved and how much is left to attain.

You can also weigh your success by monitoring the position of your brand relative to competitors. On the other hand, a business plan can also show you why you have not achieved a goal. It can tell if you have elapsed the time frame you set to attain a goal.

4. Document Your Marketing Strategies

You can use a business plan to document your marketing plans. Every business should have an effective marketing plan.

Competition mandates every business owner to go the extraordinary mile to remain relevant in the market. Your business plan should contain your marketing strategies that work. You can measure the success rate of your marketing plans.

In your business plan, your marketing strategy must answer the questions:

• How do you want to reach your target audience?
• How do you plan to retain your customers?
• What is/are your pricing plans?
• What is your budget for marketing?

How to Write a Business Plan Step-by-Step

1. create your executive summary.

The executive summary is a snapshot of your business or a high-level overview of your business purposes and plans . Although the executive summary is the first section in your business plan, most people write it last. The length of the executive summary is not more than two pages.

Generally, there are nine sections in a business plan, the executive summary should condense essential ideas from the other eight sections.

A good executive summary should do the following:

• A Snapshot of Growth Potential. Briefly inform the reader about your company and why it will be successful)
• Contain your Mission Statement which explains what the main objective or focus of your business is.
• Product Description and Differentiation. Brief description of your products or services and why it is different from other solutions in the market.
• The Team. Basic information about your company’s leadership team and employees
• Business Concept. A solid description of what your business does.
• Target Market. The customers you plan to sell to.
• Marketing Strategy. Your plans on reaching and selling to your customers
• Current Financial State. Brief information about what revenue your business currently generates.
• Projected Financial State. Brief information about what you foresee your business revenue to be in the future.

The executive summary is the make-or-break section of your business plan. If your summary cannot in less than two pages cannot clearly describe how your business will solve a particular problem of your target audience and make a profit, your business plan is set on a faulty foundation.

Avoid using the executive summary to hype your business, instead, focus on helping the reader understand the what and how of your plan.

View the executive summary as an opportunity to introduce your vision for your company. You know your executive summary is powerful when it can answer these key questions:

• Who is your target audience?
• What sector or industry are you in?
• What are your products and services?
• What is the future of your industry?
• Is your company scaleable?
• Who are the owners and leaders of your company? What are their backgrounds and experience levels?
• What is the motivation for starting your company?
• What are the next steps?

Writing the executive summary last although it is the most important section of your business plan is an excellent idea. The reason why is because it is a high-level overview of your business plan. It is the section that determines whether potential investors and lenders will read further or not.

The executive summary can be a stand-alone document that covers everything in your business plan. It is not uncommon for investors to request only the executive summary when evaluating your business. If the information in the executive summary impresses them, they will ask for the complete business plan.

If you are writing your business plan for your planning purposes, you do not need to write the executive summary.

2. Add Your Company Overview

The company overview or description is the next section in your business plan after the executive summary. It describes what your business does.

Adding your company overview can be tricky especially when your business is still in the planning stages. Existing businesses can easily summarize their current operations but may encounter difficulties trying to explain what they plan to become.

Your company overview should contain the following:

• What products and services you will provide
• Geographical markets and locations your company have a presence
• What you need to run your business
• Who your target audience or customers are
• Who will service your customers
• Your company’s purpose, mission, and vision
• Information about your company’s founders
• Who the founders are
• Notable achievements of your company so far

When creating a company overview, you have to focus on three basics: identifying your industry, identifying your customer, and explaining the problem you solve.

If you are stuck when creating your company overview, try to answer some of these questions that pertain to you.

• Who are you targeting? (The answer is not everyone)
• What pain point does your product or service solve for your customers that they will be willing to spend money on resolving?
• How does your product or service overcome that pain point?
• Where is the location of your business?
• What products, equipment, and services do you need to run your business?
• How is your company’s product or service different from your competition in the eyes of your customers?
• How many employees do you need and what skills do you require them to have?

After answering some or all of these questions, you will get more than enough information you need to write your company overview or description section. When writing this section, describe what your company does for your customers.

The company description or overview section contains three elements: mission statement, history, and objectives.

• Mission Statement

The mission statement refers to the reason why your business or company is existing. It goes beyond what you do or sell, it is about the ‘why’. A good mission statement should be emotional and inspirational.

Your mission statement should follow the KISS rule (Keep It Simple, Stupid). For example, Shopify’s mission statement is “Make commerce better for everyone.”

When describing your company’s history, make it simple and avoid the temptation of tying it to a defensive narrative. Write it in the manner you would a profile. Your company’s history should include the following information:

• Founding Date
• Major Milestones
• Location(s)
• Flagship Products or Services
• Number of Employees
• Executive Leadership Roles

When you fill in this information, you use it to write one or two paragraphs about your company’s history.

Business Objectives

Your business objective must be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.) Failure to clearly identify your business objectives does not inspire confidence and makes it hard for your team members to work towards a common purpose.

3. Perform Market and Competitive Analyses to Proof a Big Enough Business Opportunity

The third step in writing a business plan is the market and competitive analysis section. Every business, no matter the size, needs to perform comprehensive market and competitive analyses before it enters into a market.

Performing market and competitive analyses are critical for the success of your business. It helps you avoid entering the right market with the wrong product, or vice versa. Anyone reading your business plans, especially financiers and financial institutions will want to see proof that there is a big enough business opportunity you are targeting.

This section is where you describe the market and industry you want to operate in and show the big opportunities in the market that your business can leverage to make a profit. If you noticed any unique trends when doing your research, show them in this section.

Market analysis alone is not enough, you have to add competitive analysis to strengthen this section. There are already businesses in the industry or market, how do you plan to take a share of the market from them?

You have to clearly illustrate the competitive landscape in your business plan. Are there areas your competitors are doing well? Are there areas where they are not doing so well? Show it.

Make it clear in this section why you are moving into the industry and what weaknesses are present there that you plan to explain. How are your competitors going to react to your market entry? How do you plan to get customers? Do you plan on taking your competitors' competitors, tap into other sources for customers, or both?

Illustrate the competitive landscape as well. What are your competitors doing well and not so well?

Answering these questions and thoughts will aid your market and competitive analysis of the opportunities in your space. Depending on how sophisticated your industry is, or the expectations of your financiers, you may need to carry out a more comprehensive market and competitive analysis to prove that big business opportunity.

Instead of looking at the market and competitive analyses as one entity, separating them will make the research even more comprehensive.

Market Analysis

Market analysis, boarding speaking, refers to research a business carried out on its industry, market, and competitors. It helps businesses gain a good understanding of their target market and the outlook of their industry. Before starting a company, it is vital to carry out market research to find out if the market is viable.

The market analysis section is a key part of the business plan. It is the section where you identify who your best clients or customers are. You cannot omit this section, without it your business plan is incomplete.

A good market analysis will tell your readers how you fit into the existing market and what makes you stand out. This section requires in-depth research, it will probably be the most time-consuming part of the business plan to write.

• Market Research

To create a compelling market analysis that will win over investors and financial institutions, you have to carry out thorough market research . Your market research should be targeted at your primary target market for your products or services. Here is what you want to find out about your target market.

• Your target market’s needs or pain points
• The existing solutions for their pain points
• Geographic Location
• Demographics

The purpose of carrying out a marketing analysis is to get all the information you need to show that you have a solid and thorough understanding of your target audience.

Only after you have fully understood the people you plan to sell your products or services to, can you evaluate correctly if your target market will be interested in your products or services.

You can easily convince interested parties to invest in your business if you can show them you thoroughly understand the market and show them that there is a market for your products or services.

How to Quantify Your Target Market

One of the goals of your marketing research is to understand who your ideal customers are and their purchasing power. To quantify your target market, you have to determine the following:

• Your Potential Customers: They are the people you plan to target. For example, if you sell accounting software for small businesses , then anyone who runs an enterprise or large business is unlikely to be your customers. Also, individuals who do not have a business will most likely not be interested in your product.
• Total Households: If you are selling household products such as heating and air conditioning systems, determining the number of total households is more important than finding out the total population in the area you want to sell to. The logic is simple, people buy the product but it is the household that uses it.
• Median Income: You need to know the median income of your target market. If you target a market that cannot afford to buy your products and services, your business will not last long.
• Income by Demographics: If your potential customers belong to a certain age group or gender, determining income levels by demographics is necessary. For example, if you sell men's clothes, your target audience is men.

What Does a Good Market Analysis Entail?

Your business does not exist on its own, it can only flourish within an industry and alongside competitors. Market analysis takes into consideration your industry, target market, and competitors. Understanding these three entities will drastically improve your company’s chances of success.

You can view your market analysis as an examination of the market you want to break into and an education on the emerging trends and themes in that market. Good market analyses include the following:

• Industry Description. You find out about the history of your industry, the current and future market size, and who the largest players/companies are in your industry.
• Overview of Target Market. You research your target market and its characteristics. Who are you targeting? Note, it cannot be everyone, it has to be a specific group. You also have to find out all information possible about your customers that can help you understand how and why they make buying decisions.
• Size of Target Market: You need to know the size of your target market, how frequently they buy, and the expected quantity they buy so you do not risk overproducing and having lots of bad inventory. Researching the size of your target market will help you determine if it is big enough for sustained business or not.
• Growth Potential: Before picking a target market, you want to be sure there are lots of potential for future growth. You want to avoid going for an industry that is declining slowly or rapidly with almost zero growth potential.
• Market Share Potential: Does your business stand a good chance of taking a good share of the market?
• Market Pricing and Promotional Strategies: Your market analysis should give you an idea of the price point you can expect to charge for your products and services. Researching your target market will also give you ideas of pricing strategies you can implement to break into the market or to enjoy maximum profits.
• Potential Barriers to Entry: One of the biggest benefits of conducting market analysis is that it shows you every potential barrier to entry your business will likely encounter. It is a good idea to discuss potential barriers to entry such as changing technology. It informs readers of your business plan that you understand the market.
• Research on Competitors: You need to know the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors and how you can exploit them for the benefit of your business. Find patterns and trends among your competitors that make them successful, discover what works and what doesn’t, and see what you can do better.

The market analysis section is not just for talking about your target market, industry, and competitors. You also have to explain how your company can fill the hole you have identified in the market.

Here are some questions you can answer that can help you position your product or service in a positive light to your readers.

• Is your product or service of superior quality?
• What additional features do you offer that your competitors do not offer?
• Are you targeting a ‘new’ market?

Basically, your market analysis should include an analysis of what already exists in the market and an explanation of how your company fits into the market.

Competitive Analysis

In the competitive analysis section, y ou have to understand who your direct and indirect competitions are, and how successful they are in the marketplace. It is the section where you assess the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors, the advantage(s) they possess in the market and show the unique features or qualities that make you different from your competitors.

Many businesses do market analysis and competitive analysis together. However, to fully understand what the competitive analysis entails, it is essential to separate it from the market analysis.

Competitive analysis for your business can also include analysis on how to overcome barriers to entry in your target market.

The primary goal of conducting a competitive analysis is to distinguish your business from your competitors. A strong competitive analysis is essential if you want to convince potential funding sources to invest in your business. You have to show potential investors and lenders that your business has what it takes to compete in the marketplace successfully.

Competitive analysis will s how you what the strengths of your competition are and what they are doing to maintain that advantage.

When doing your competitive research, you first have to identify your competitor and then get all the information you can about them. The idea of spending time to identify your competitor and learn everything about them may seem daunting but it is well worth it.

Find answers to the following questions after you have identified who your competitors are.

• What are your successful competitors doing?
• Why is what they are doing working?
• Can your business do it better?
• What are the weaknesses of your successful competitors?
• What are they not doing well?
• Can your business turn its weaknesses into strengths?
• How good is your competitors’ customer service?
• Where do your competitors invest in advertising?
• What sales and pricing strategies are they using?
• What marketing strategies are they using?
• What kind of press coverage do they get?
• What are their customers saying about your competitors (both the positive and negative)?

If your competitors have a website, it is a good idea to visit their websites for more competitors’ research. Check their “About Us” page for more information.

If you are presenting your business plan to investors, you need to clearly distinguish yourself from your competitors. Investors can easily tell when you have not properly researched your competitors.

Take time to think about what unique qualities or features set you apart from your competitors. If you do not have any direct competition offering your product to the market, it does not mean you leave out the competitor analysis section blank. Instead research on other companies that are providing a similar product, or whose product is solving the problem your product solves.

The next step is to create a table listing the top competitors you want to include in your business plan. Ensure you list your business as the last and on the right. What you just created is known as the competitor analysis table.

Direct vs Indirect Competition

You cannot know if your product or service will be a fit for your target market if you have not understood your business and the competitive landscape.

There is no market you want to target where you will not encounter competition, even if your product is innovative. Including competitive analysis in your business plan is essential.

If you are entering an established market, you need to explain how you plan to differentiate your products from the available options in the market. Also, include a list of few companies that you view as your direct competitors The competition you face in an established market is your direct competition.

In situations where you are entering a market with no direct competition, it does not mean there is no competition there. Consider your indirect competition that offers substitutes for the products or services you offer.

For example, if you sell an innovative SaaS product, let us say a project management software , a company offering time management software is your indirect competition.

There is an easy way to find out who your indirect competitors are in the absence of no direct competitors. You simply have to research how your potential customers are solving the problems that your product or service seeks to solve. That is your direct competition.

Factors that Differentiate Your Business from the Competition

There are three main factors that any business can use to differentiate itself from its competition. They are cost leadership, product differentiation, and market segmentation.

1. Cost Leadership

A strategy you can impose to maximize your profits and gain an edge over your competitors. It involves offering lower prices than what the majority of your competitors are offering.

A common practice among businesses looking to enter into a market where there are dominant players is to use free trials or pricing to attract as many customers as possible to their offer.

2. Product Differentiation

Your product or service should have a unique selling proposition (USP) that your competitors do not have or do not stress in their marketing.

Part of the marketing strategy should involve making your products unique and different from your competitors. It does not have to be different from your competitors, it can be the addition to a feature or benefit that your competitors do not currently have.

3. Market Segmentation

As a new business seeking to break into an industry, you will gain more success from focusing on a specific niche or target market, and not the whole industry.

If your competitors are focused on a general need or target market, you can differentiate yourself from them by having a small and hyper-targeted audience. For example, if your competitors are selling men’s clothes in their online stores , you can sell hoodies for men.

4. Define Your Business and Management Structure

The next step in your business plan is your business and management structure. It is the section where you describe the legal structure of your business and the team running it.

Your business is only as good as the management team that runs it, while the management team can only strive when there is a proper business and management structure in place.

If your company is a sole proprietor or a limited liability company (LLC), a general or limited partnership, or a C or an S corporation, state it clearly in this section.

Use an organizational chart to show the management structure in your business. Clearly show who is in charge of what area in your company. It is where you show how each key manager or team leader’s unique experience can contribute immensely to the success of your company. You can also opt to add the resumes and CVs of the key players in your company.

The business and management structure section should show who the owner is, and other owners of the businesses (if the business has other owners). For businesses or companies with multiple owners, include the percent ownership of the various owners and clearly show the extent of each others’ involvement in the company.

Investors want to know who is behind the company and the team running it to determine if it has the right management to achieve its set goals.

Management Team

The management team section is where you show that you have the right team in place to successfully execute the business operations and ideas. Take time to create the management structure for your business. Think about all the important roles and responsibilities that you need managers for to grow your business.

Include brief bios of each key team member and ensure you highlight only the relevant information that is needed. If your team members have background industry experience or have held top positions for other companies and achieved success while filling that role, highlight it in this section.

A common mistake that many startups make is assigning C-level titles such as (CMO and CEO) to everyone on their team. It is unrealistic for a small business to have those titles. While it may look good on paper for the ego of your team members, it can prevent investors from investing in your business.

Instead of building an unrealistic management structure that does not fit your business reality, it is best to allow business titles to grow as the business grows. Starting everyone at the top leaves no room for future change or growth, which is bad for productivity.

Your management team does not have to be complete before you start writing your business plan. You can have a complete business plan even when there are managerial positions that are empty and need filling.

If you have management gaps in your team, simply show the gaps and indicate you are searching for the right candidates for the role(s). Investors do not expect you to have a full management team when you are just starting your business.

Key Questions to Answer When Structuring Your Management Team

• Who are the key leaders?
• What experiences, skills, and educational backgrounds do you expect your key leaders to have?
• Do your key leaders have industry experience?
• What positions will they fill and what duties will they perform in those positions?
• What level of authority do the key leaders have and what are their responsibilities?
• What is the salary for the various management positions that will attract the ideal candidates?

Additional Tips for Writing the Management Structure Section

1. Avoid Adding ‘Ghost’ Names to Your Management Team

There is always that temptation to include a ‘ghost’ name to your management team to attract and influence investors to invest in your business. Although the presence of these celebrity management team members may attract the attention of investors, it can cause your business to lose any credibility if you get found out.

Seasoned investors will investigate further the members of your management team before committing fully to your business If they find out that the celebrity name used does not play any actual role in your business, they will not invest and may write you off as dishonest.

2. Focus on Credentials But Pay Extra Attention to the Roles

Investors want to know the experience that your key team members have to determine if they can successfully reach the company’s growth and financial goals.

While it is an excellent boost for your key management team to have the right credentials, you also want to pay extra attention to the roles they will play in your company.

Organizational Chart

Adding an organizational chart in this section of your business plan is not necessary, you can do it in your business plan’s appendix.

If you are exploring funding options, it is not uncommon to get asked for your organizational chart. The function of an organizational chart goes beyond raising money, you can also use it as a useful planning tool for your business.

An organizational chart can help you identify how best to structure your management team for maximum productivity and point you towards key roles you need to fill in the future.

You can use the organizational chart to show your company’s internal management structure such as the roles and responsibilities of your management team, and relationships that exist between them.

5. Describe Your Product and Service Offering

In your business plan, you have to describe what you sell or the service you plan to offer. It is the next step after defining your business and management structure. The products and services section is where you sell the benefits of your business.

Here you have to explain how your product or service will benefit your customers and describe your product lifecycle. It is also the section where you write down your plans for intellectual property like patent filings and copyrighting.

The research and development that you are undertaking for your product or service need to be explained in detail in this section. However, do not get too technical, sell the general idea and its benefits.

If you have any diagrams or intricate designs of your product or service, do not include them in the products and services section. Instead, leave them for the addendum page. Also, if you are leaving out diagrams or designs for the addendum, ensure you add this phrase “For more detail, visit the addendum Page #.”

Your product and service section in your business plan should include the following:

• A detailed explanation that clearly shows how your product or service works.
• The pricing model for your product or service.
• Your business’ sales and distribution strategy.
• The ideal customers that want your product or service.
• The benefits of your products and services.
• Reason(s) why your product or service is a better alternative to what your competitors are currently offering in the market.
• Plans for filling the orders you receive
• If you have current or pending patents, copyrights, and trademarks for your product or service, you can also discuss them in this section.

What to Focus On When Describing the Benefits, Lifecycle, and Production Process of Your Products or Services

In the products and services section, you have to distill the benefits, lifecycle, and production process of your products and services.

When describing the benefits of your products or services, here are some key factors to focus on.

• Unique features
• Translating the unique features into benefits
• The emotional, psychological, and practical payoffs to attract customers
• Intellectual property rights or any patents

When describing the product life cycle of your products or services, here are some key factors to focus on.

• Upsells, cross-sells, and down-sells
• Time between purchases
• Plans for research and development.

When describing the production process for your products or services, you need to think about the following:

• The creation of new or existing products and services.
• The sources for the raw materials or components you need for production.
• Assembling the products
• Maintaining quality control
• Supply-chain logistics (receiving the raw materials and delivering the finished products)
• The day-to-day management of the production processes, bookkeeping, and inventory.

Tips for Writing the Products or Services Section of Your Business Plan

1. Avoid Technical Descriptions and Industry Buzzwords

The products and services section of your business plan should clearly describe the products and services that your company provides. However, it is not a section to include technical jargons that anyone outside your industry will not understand.

A good practice is to remove highly detailed or technical descriptions in favor of simple terms. Industry buzzwords are not necessary, if there are simpler terms you can use, then use them. If you plan to use your business plan to source funds, making the product or service section so technical will do you no favors.

2. Describe How Your Products or Services Differ from Your Competitors

When potential investors look at your business plan, they want to know how the products and services you are offering differ from that of your competition. Differentiating your products or services from your competition in a way that makes your solution more attractive is critical.

If you are going the innovative path and there is no market currently for your product or service, you need to describe in this section why the market needs your product or service.

For example, overnight delivery was a niche business that only a few companies were participating in. Federal Express (FedEx) had to show in its business plan that there was a large opportunity for that service and they justified why the market needed that service.

3. Long or Short Products or Services Section

Should your products or services section be short? Does the long products or services section attract more investors?

There are no straightforward answers to these questions. Whether your products or services section should be long or relatively short depends on the nature of your business.

If your business is product-focused, then automatically you need to use more space to describe the details of your products. However, if the product your business sells is a commodity item that relies on competitive pricing or other pricing strategies, you do not have to use up so much space to provide significant details about the product.

Likewise, if you are selling a commodity that is available in numerous outlets, then you do not have to spend time on writing a long products or services section.

The key to the success of your business is most likely the effectiveness of your marketing strategies compared to your competitors. Use more space to address that section.

If you are creating a new product or service that the market does not know about, your products or services section can be lengthy. The reason why is because you need to explain everything about the product or service such as the nature of the product, its use case, and values.

A short products or services section for an innovative product or service will not give the readers enough information to properly evaluate your business.

4. Describe Your Relationships with Vendors or Suppliers

Your business will rely on vendors or suppliers to supply raw materials or the components needed to make your products. In your products and services section, describe your relationships with your vendors and suppliers fully.

Avoid the mistake of relying on only one supplier or vendor. If that supplier or vendor fails to supply or goes out of business, you can easily face supply problems and struggle to meet your demands. Plan to set up multiple vendor or supplier relationships for better business stability.

5. Your Primary Goal Is to Convince Your Readers

The primary goal of your business plan is to convince your readers that your business is viable and to create a guide for your business to follow. It applies to the products and services section.

When drafting this section, think like the reader. See your reader as someone who has no idea about your products and services. You are using the products and services section to provide the needed information to help your reader understand your products and services. As a result, you have to be clear and to the point.

While you want to educate your readers about your products or services, you also do not want to bore them with lots of technical details. Show your products and services and not your fancy choice of words.

Your products and services section should provide the answer to the “what” question for your business. You and your management team may run the business, but it is your products and services that are the lifeblood of the business.

Key Questions to Answer When Writing your Products and Services Section

Answering these questions can help you write your products and services section quickly and in a way that will appeal to your readers.

• Are your products existing on the market or are they still in the development stage?
• What is your timeline for adding new products and services to the market?
• What are the positives that make your products and services different from your competitors?
• Do your products and services have any competitive advantage that your competitors’ products and services do not currently have?
• Do your products or services have any competitive disadvantages that you need to overcome to compete with your competitors? If your answer is yes, state how you plan to overcome them,
• How much does it cost to produce your products or services? How much do you plan to sell it for?
• What is the price for your products and services compared to your competitors? Is pricing an issue?
• What are your operating costs and will it be low enough for you to compete with your competitors and still take home a reasonable profit margin?
• What is your plan for acquiring your products? Are you involved in the production of your products or services?
• Are you the manufacturer and produce all the components you need to create your products? Do you assemble your products by using components supplied by other manufacturers? Do you purchase your products directly from suppliers or wholesalers?
• Do you have a steady supply of products that you need to start your business? (If your business is yet to kick-off)
• How do you plan to distribute your products or services to the market?

You can also hint at the marketing or promotion plans you have for your products or services such as how you plan to build awareness or retain customers. The next section is where you can go fully into details about your business’s marketing and sales plan.

6. Show and Explain Your Marketing and Sales Plan

Providing great products and services is wonderful, but it means nothing if you do not have a marketing and sales plan to inform your customers about them. Your marketing and sales plan is critical to the success of your business.

The sales and marketing section is where you show and offer a detailed explanation of your marketing and sales plan and how you plan to execute it. It covers your pricing plan, proposed advertising and promotion activities, activities and partnerships you need to make your business a success, and the benefits of your products and services.

There are several ways you can approach your marketing and sales strategy. Ideally, your marketing and sales strategy has to fit the unique needs of your business.

In this section, you describe how the plans your business has for attracting and retaining customers, and the exact process for making a sale happen. It is essential to thoroughly describe your complete marketing and sales plans because you are still going to reference this section when you are making financial projections for your business.

Outline Your Business’ Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

The sales and marketing section is where you outline your business’s unique selling proposition (USP). When you are developing your unique selling proposition, think about the strongest reasons why people should buy from you over your competition. That reason(s) is most likely a good fit to serve as your unique selling proposition (USP).

Target Market and Target Audience

Plans on how to get your products or services to your target market and how to get your target audience to buy them go into this section. You also highlight the strengths of your business here, particularly what sets them apart from your competition.

Before you start writing your marketing and sales plan, you need to have properly defined your target audience and fleshed out your buyer persona. If you do not first understand the individual you are marketing to, your marketing and sales plan will lack any substance and easily fall.

Creating a Smart Marketing and Sales Plan

Marketing your products and services is an investment that requires you to spend money. Like any other investment, you have to generate a good return on investment (ROI) to justify using that marketing and sales plan. Good marketing and sales plans bring in high sales and profits to your company.

Avoid spending money on unproductive marketing channels. Do your research and find out the best marketing and sales plan that works best for your company.

Your marketing and sales plan can be broken into different parts: your positioning statement, pricing, promotion, packaging, advertising, public relations, content marketing, social media, and strategic alliances.

Your Positioning Statement

Your positioning statement is the first part of your marketing and sales plan. It refers to the way you present your company to your customers.

Are you the premium solution, the low-price solution, or are you the intermediary between the two extremes in the market? What do you offer that your competitors do not that can give you leverage in the market?

Before you start writing your positioning statement, you need to spend some time evaluating the current market conditions. Here are some questions that can help you to evaluate the market

• What are the unique features or benefits that you offer that your competitors lack?
• What are your customers’ primary needs and wants?
• Why should a customer choose you over your competition? How do you plan to differentiate yourself from the competition?
• How does your company’s solution compare with other solutions in the market?

After answering these questions, then you can start writing your positioning statement. Your positioning statement does not have to be in-depth or too long.

All you need to explain with your positioning statement are two focus areas. The first is the position of your company within the competitive landscape. The other focus area is the core value proposition that sets your company apart from other alternatives that your ideal customer might consider.

Here is a simple template you can use to develop a positioning statement.

For [description of target market] who [need of target market], [product or service] [how it meets the need]. Unlike [top competition], it [most essential distinguishing feature].

For example, let’s create the positioning statement for fictional accounting software and QuickBooks alternative , TBooks.

“For small business owners who need accounting services, TBooks is an accounting software that helps small businesses handle their small business bookkeeping basics quickly and easily. Unlike Wave, TBooks gives small businesses access to live sessions with top accountants.”

You can edit this positioning statement sample and fill it with your business details.

After writing your positioning statement, the next step is the pricing of your offerings. The overall positioning strategy you set in your positioning statement will often determine how you price your products or services.

Pricing is a powerful tool that sends a strong message to your customers. Failure to get your pricing strategy right can make or mar your business. If you are targeting a low-income audience, setting a premium price can result in low sales.

You can use pricing to communicate your positioning to your customers. For example, if you are offering a product at a premium price, you are sending a message to your customers that the product belongs to the premium category.

Basic Rules to Follow When Pricing Your Offering

Setting a price for your offering involves more than just putting a price tag on it. Deciding on the right pricing for your offering requires following some basic rules. They include covering your costs, primary and secondary profit center pricing, and matching the market rate.

• Covering Your Costs: The price you set for your products or service should be more than it costs you to produce and deliver them. Every business has the same goal, to make a profit. Depending on the strategy you want to use, there are exceptions to this rule. However, the vast majority of businesses follow this rule.
• Primary and Secondary Profit Center Pricing: When a company sets its price above the cost of production, it is making that product its primary profit center. A company can also decide not to make its initial price its primary profit center by selling below or at even with its production cost. It rather depends on the support product or even maintenance that is associated with the initial purchase to make its profit. The initial price thus became its secondary profit center.
• Matching the Market Rate: A good rule to follow when pricing your products or services is to match your pricing with consumer demand and expectations. If you price your products or services beyond the price your customer perceives as the ideal price range, you may end up with no customers. Pricing your products too low below what your customer perceives as the ideal price range may lead to them undervaluing your offering.

Pricing Strategy

Your pricing strategy influences the price of your offering. There are several pricing strategies available for you to choose from when examining the right pricing strategy for your business. They include cost-plus pricing, market-based pricing, value pricing, and more.

• Cost-plus Pricing: This strategy is one of the simplest and oldest pricing strategies. Here you consider the cost of producing a unit of your product and then add a profit to it to arrive at your market price. It is an effective pricing strategy for manufacturers because it helps them cover their initial costs. Another name for the cost-plus pricing strategy is the markup pricing strategy.
• Market-based Pricing: This pricing strategy analyses the market including competitors’ pricing and then sets a price based on what the market is expecting. With this pricing strategy, you can either set your price at the low-end or high-end of the market.
• Value Pricing: This pricing strategy involves setting a price based on the value you are providing to your customer. When adopting a value-based pricing strategy, you have to set a price that your customers are willing to pay. Service-based businesses such as small business insurance providers , luxury goods sellers, and the fashion industry use this pricing strategy.

After carefully sorting out your positioning statement and pricing, the next item to look at is your promotional strategy. Your promotional strategy explains how you plan on communicating with your customers and prospects.

As a business, you must measure all your costs, including the cost of your promotions. You also want to measure how much sales your promotions bring for your business to determine its usefulness. Promotional strategies or programs that do not lead to profit need to be removed.

There are different types of promotional strategies you can adopt for your business, they include advertising, public relations, and content marketing.

Advertising

Your business plan should include your advertising plan which can be found in the marketing and sales plan section. You need to include an overview of your advertising plans such as the areas you plan to spend money on to advertise your business and offers.

Ensure that you make it clear in this section if your business will be advertising online or using the more traditional offline media, or the combination of both online and offline media. You can also include the advertising medium you want to use to raise awareness about your business and offers.

Some common online advertising mediums you can use include social media ads, landing pages, sales pages, SEO, Pay-Per-Click, emails, Google Ads, and others. Some common traditional and offline advertising mediums include word of mouth, radios, direct mail, televisions, flyers, billboards, posters, and others.

A key component of your advertising strategy is how you plan to measure the effectiveness and success of your advertising campaign. There is no point in sticking with an advertising plan or medium that does not produce results for your business in the long run.

Public Relations

A great way to reach your customers is to get the media to cover your business or product. Publicity, especially good ones, should be a part of your marketing and sales plan. In this section, show your plans for getting prominent reviews of your product from reputable publications and sources.

Your business needs that exposure to grow. If public relations is a crucial part of your promotional strategy, provide details about your public relations plan here.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is a popular promotional strategy used by businesses to inform and attract their customers. It is about teaching and educating your prospects on various topics of interest in your niche, it does not just involve informing them about the benefits and features of the products and services you have,

Businesses publish content usually for free where they provide useful information, tips, and advice so that their target market can be made aware of the importance of their products and services. Content marketing strategies seek to nurture prospects into buyers over time by simply providing value.

Your company can create a blog where it will be publishing content for its target market. You will need to use the best website builder such as Wix and Squarespace and the best web hosting services such as Bluehost, Hostinger, and other Bluehost alternatives to create a functional blog or website.

If content marketing is a crucial part of your promotional strategy (as it should be), detail your plans under promotions.

Including high-quality images of the packaging of your product in your business plan is a lovely idea. You can add the images of the packaging of that product in the marketing and sales plan section. If you are not selling a product, then you do not need to include any worry about the physical packaging of your product.

When organizing the packaging section of your business plan, you can answer the following questions to make maximum use of this section.

• Is your choice of packaging consistent with your positioning strategy?
• What key value proposition does your packaging communicate? (It should reflect the key value proposition of your business)
• How does your packaging compare to that of your competitors?

Social Media

Your 21st-century business needs to have a good social media presence. Not having one is leaving out opportunities for growth and reaching out to your prospect.

You do not have to join the thousands of social media platforms out there. What you need to do is join the ones that your customers are active on and be active there.

Businesses use social media to provide information about their products such as promotions, discounts, the benefits of their products, and content on their blogs.

Social media is also a platform for engaging with your customers and getting feedback about your products or services. Make no mistake, more and more of your prospects are using social media channels to find more information about companies.

You need to consider the social media channels you want to prioritize your business (prioritize the ones your customers are active in) and your branding plans in this section.

Strategic Alliances

If your company plans to work closely with other companies as part of your sales and marketing plan, include it in this section. Prove details about those partnerships in your business plan if you have already established them.

Strategic alliances can be beneficial for all parties involved including your company. Working closely with another company in the form of a partnership can provide access to a different target market segment for your company.

The company you are partnering with may also gain access to your target market or simply offer a new product or service (that of your company) to its customers.

Mutually beneficial partnerships can cover the weaknesses of one company with the strength of another. You should consider strategic alliances with companies that sell complimentary products to yours. For example, if you provide printers, you can partner with a company that produces ink since the customers that buy printers from you will also need inks for printing.

Steps Involved in Creating a Marketing and Sales Plan

1. Focus on Your Target Market

Identify who your customers are, the market you want to target. Then determine the best ways to get your products or services to your potential customers.

2. Evaluate Your Competition

One of the goals of having a marketing plan is to distinguish yourself from your competition. You cannot stand out from them without first knowing them in and out.

You can know your competitors by gathering information about their products, pricing, service, and advertising campaigns.

These questions can help you know your competition.

• What makes your competition successful?
• What are their weaknesses?
• What are customers saying about your competition?

3. Consider Your Brand

Customers' perception of your brand has a strong impact on your sales. Your marketing and sales plan should seek to bolster the image of your brand. Before you start marketing your business, think about the message you want to pass across about your business and your products and services.

4. Focus on Benefits

The majority of your customers do not view your product in terms of features, what they want to know is the benefits and solutions your product offers. Think about the problems your product solves and the benefits it delivers, and use it to create the right sales and marketing message.

Your marketing plan should focus on what you want your customer to get instead of what you provide. Identify those benefits in your marketing and sales plan.

5. Focus on Differentiation

Your marketing and sales plan should look for a unique angle they can take that differentiates your business from the competition, even if the products offered are similar. Some good areas of differentiation you can use are your benefits, pricing, and features.

Key Questions to Answer When Writing Your Marketing and Sales Plan

• What is your company’s budget for sales and marketing campaigns?
• What key metrics will you use to determine if your marketing plans are successful?
• What are your alternatives if your initial marketing efforts do not succeed?
• Who are the sales representatives you need to promote your products or services?
• What are the marketing and sales channels you plan to use? How do you plan to get your products in front of your ideal customers?
• Where will you sell your products?

You may want to include samples of marketing materials you plan to use such as print ads, website descriptions, and social media ads. While it is not compulsory to include these samples, it can help you better communicate your marketing and sales plan and objectives.

The purpose of the marketing and sales section is to answer this question “How will you reach your customers?” If you cannot convincingly provide an answer to this question, you need to rework your marketing and sales section.

7. Clearly Show Your Funding Request

If you are writing your business plan to ask for funding from investors or financial institutions, the funding request section is where you will outline your funding requirements. The funding request section should answer the question ‘How much money will your business need in the near future (3 to 5 years)?’

A good funding request section will clearly outline and explain the amount of funding your business needs over the next five years. You need to know the amount of money your business needs to make an accurate funding request.

Also, when writing your funding request, provide details of how the funds will be used over the period. Specify if you want to use the funds to buy raw materials or machinery, pay salaries, pay for advertisements, and cover specific bills such as rent and electricity.

In addition to explaining what you want to use the funds requested for, you need to clearly state the projected return on investment (ROI) . Investors and creditors want to know if your business can generate profit for them if they put funds into it.

Ensure you do not inflate the figures and stay as realistic as possible. Investors and financial institutions you are seeking funds from will do their research before investing money in your business.

If you are not sure of an exact number to request from, you can use some range of numbers as rough estimates. Add a best-case scenario and a work-case scenario to your funding request. Also, include a description of your strategic future financial plans such as selling your business or paying off debts.

Funding Request: Debt or Equity?

When making your funding request, specify the type of funding you want. Do you want debt or equity? Draw out the terms that will be applicable for the funding, and the length of time the funding request will cover.

Case for Equity

If your new business has not yet started generating profits, you are most likely preparing to sell equity in your business to raise capital at the early stage. Equity here refers to ownership. In this case, you are selling a portion of your company to raise capital.

Although this method of raising capital for your business does not put your business in debt, keep in mind that an equity owner may expect to play a key role in company decisions even if he does not hold a major stake in the company.

Most equity sales for startups are usually private transactions . If you are making a funding request by offering equity in exchange for funding, let the investor know that they will be paid a dividend (a share of the company’s profit). Also, let the investor know the process for selling their equity in your business.

Case for Debt

You may decide not to offer equity in exchange for funds, instead, you make a funding request with the promise to pay back the money borrowed at the agreed time frame.

When making a funding request with an agreement to pay back, note that you will have to repay your creditors both the principal amount borrowed and the interest on it. Financial institutions offer this type of funding for businesses.

Large companies combine both equity and debt in their capital structure. When drafting your business plan, decide if you want to offer both or one over the other.

Before you sell equity in exchange for funding in your business, consider if you are willing to accept not being in total control of your business. Also, before you seek loans in your funding request section, ensure that the terms of repayment are favorable.

You should set a clear timeline in your funding request so that potential investors and creditors can know what you are expecting. Some investors and creditors may agree to your funding request and then delay payment for longer than 30 days, meanwhile, your business needs an immediate cash injection to operate efficiently.

Additional Tips for Writing the Funding Request Section of your Business Plan

The funding request section is not necessary for every business, it is only needed by businesses who plan to use their business plan to secure funding.

If you are adding the funding request section to your business plan, provide an itemized summary of how you plan to use the funds requested. Hiring a lawyer, accountant, or other professionals may be necessary for the proper development of this section.

You should also gather and use financial statements that add credibility and support to your funding requests. Ensure that the financial statements you use should include your projected financial data such as projected cash flows, forecast statements, and expenditure budgets.

If you are an existing business, include all historical financial statements such as cash flow statements, balance sheets and income statements .

Provide monthly and quarterly financial statements for a year. If your business has records that date back beyond the one-year mark, add the yearly statements of those years. These documents are for the appendix section of your business plan.

8. Detail Your Financial Plan, Metrics, and Projections

If you used the funding request section in your business plan, supplement it with a financial plan, metrics, and projections. This section paints a picture of the past performance of your business and then goes ahead to make an informed projection about its future.

The goal of this section is to convince readers that your business is going to be a financial success. It outlines your business plan to generate enough profit to repay the loan (with interest if applicable) and to generate a decent return on investment for investors.

If you have an existing business already in operation, use this section to demonstrate stability through finance. This section should include your cash flow statements, balance sheets, and income statements covering the last three to five years. If your business has some acceptable collateral that you can use to acquire loans, list it in the financial plan, metrics, and projection section.

Apart from current financial statements, this section should also contain a prospective financial outlook that spans the next five years. Include forecasted income statements, cash flow statements, balance sheets, and capital expenditure budget.

If your business is new and is not yet generating profit, use clear and realistic projections to show the potentials of your business.

When drafting this section, research industry norms and the performance of comparable businesses. Your financial projections should cover at least five years. State the logic behind your financial projections. Remember you can always make adjustments to this section as the variables change.

The financial plan, metrics, and projection section create a baseline which your business can either exceed or fail to reach. If your business fails to reach your projections in this section, you need to understand why it failed.

Investors and loan managers spend a lot of time going through the financial plan, metrics, and projection section compared to other parts of the business plan. Ensure you spend time creating credible financial analyses for your business in this section.

Many entrepreneurs find this section daunting to write. You do not need a business degree to create a solid financial forecast for your business. Business finances, especially for startups, are not as complicated as they seem. There are several online tools and templates that make writing this section so much easier.

Use Graphs and Charts

The financial plan, metrics, and projection section is a great place to use graphs and charts to tell the financial story of your business. Charts and images make it easier to communicate your finances.

Accuracy in this section is key, ensure you carefully analyze your past financial statements properly before making financial projects.

Address the Risk Factors and Show Realistic Financial Projections

Keep your financial plan, metrics, and projection realistic. It is okay to be optimistic in your financial projection, however, you have to justify it.

You should also address the various risk factors associated with your business in this section. Investors want to know the potential risks involved, show them. You should also show your plans for mitigating those risks.

What You Should In The Financial Plan, Metrics, and Projection Section of Your Business Plan

The financial plan, metrics, and projection section of your business plan should have monthly sales and revenue forecasts for the first year. It should also include annual projections that cover 3 to 5 years.

A three-year projection is a basic requirement to have in your business plan. However, some investors may request a five-year forecast.

Your business plan should include the following financial statements: sales forecast, personnel plan, income statement, income statement, cash flow statement, balance sheet, and an exit strategy.

1. Sales Forecast

Sales forecast refers to your projections about the number of sales your business is going to record over the next few years. It is typically broken into several rows, with each row assigned to a core product or service that your business is offering.

One common mistake people make in their business plan is to break down the sales forecast section into long details. A sales forecast should forecast the high-level details.

For example, if you are forecasting sales for a payroll software provider, you could break down your forecast into target market segments or subscription categories.

Your sales forecast section should also have a corresponding row for each sales row to cover the direct cost or Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). The objective of these rows is to show the expenses that your business incurs in making and delivering your product or service.

Note that your Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) should only cover those direct costs incurred when making your products. Other indirect expenses such as insurance, salaries, payroll tax, and rent should not be included.

For example, the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) for a restaurant is the cost of ingredients while for a consulting company it will be the cost of paper and other presentation materials.

2. Personnel Plan

The personnel plan section is where you provide details about the payment plan for your employees. For a small business, you can easily list every position in your company and how much you plan to pay in the personnel plan.

However, for larger businesses, you have to break the personnel plan into functional groups such as sales and marketing.

The personnel plan will also include the cost of an employee beyond salary, commonly referred to as the employee burden. These costs include insurance, payroll taxes , and other essential costs incurred monthly as a result of having employees on your payroll.

3. Income Statement

The income statement section shows if your business is making a profit or taking a loss. Another name for the income statement is the profit and loss (P&L). It takes data from your sales forecast and personnel plan and adds other ongoing expenses you incur while running your business.

Every business plan should have an income statement. It subtracts your business expenses from its earnings to show if your business is generating profit or incurring losses.

The income statement has the following items: sales, Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), gross margin, operating expenses, total operating expenses, operating income , total expenses, and net profit.

• Sales refer to the revenue your business generates from selling its products or services. Other names for sales are income or revenue.
• Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) refers to the total cost of selling your products. Other names for COGS are direct costs or cost of sales. Manufacturing businesses use the Costs of Goods Manufactured (COGM) .
• Gross Margin is the figure you get when you subtract your COGS from your sales. In your income statement, you can express it as a percentage of total sales (Gross margin / Sales = Gross Margin Percent).
• Operating Expenses refer to all the expenses you incur from running your business. It exempts the COGS because it stands alone as a core part of your income statement. You also have to exclude taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Your operating expenses include salaries, marketing expenses, research and development (R&D) expenses, and other expenses.
• Total Operating Expenses refers to the sum of all your operating expenses including those exemptions named above under operating expenses.
• Operating Income refers to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. It is simply known as the acronym EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization). Calculating your operating income is simple, all you need to do is to subtract your COGS and total operating expenses from your sales.
• Total Expenses refer to the sum of your operating expenses and your business’ interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
• Net profit shows whether your business has made a profit or taken a loss during a given timeframe.

4. Cash Flow Statement

The cash flow statement tracks the money you have in the bank at any given point. It is often confused with the income statement or the profit and loss statement. They are both different types of financial statements. The income statement calculates your profits and losses while the cash flow statement shows you how much you have in the bank.

5. Balance Sheet

The balance sheet is a financial statement that provides an overview of the financial health of your business. It contains information about the assets and liabilities of your company, and owner’s or shareholders’ equity.

You can get the net worth of your company by subtracting your company’s liabilities from its assets.

6. Exit Strategy

The exit strategy refers to a probable plan for selling your business either to the public in an IPO or to another company. It is the last thing you include in the financial plan, metrics, and projection section.

You can choose to omit the exit strategy from your business plan if you plan to maintain full ownership of your business and do not plan on seeking angel investment or virtual capitalist (VC) funding.

Investors may want to know what your exit plan is. They invest in your business to get a good return on investment.

Your exit strategy does not have to include long and boring details. Ensure you identify some interested parties who may be interested in buying the company if it becomes a success.

Key Questions to Answer with Your Financial Plan, Metrics, and Projection

Your financial plan, metrics, and projection section helps investors, creditors, or your internal managers to understand what your expenses are, the amount of cash you need, and what it takes to make your company profitable. It also shows what you will be doing with any funding.

You do not need to show actual financial data if you do not have one. Adding forecasts and projections to your financial statements is added proof that your strategy is feasible and shows investors you have planned properly.

Here are some key questions to answer to help you develop this section.

• What is your sales forecast for the next year?
• When will your company achieve a positive cash flow?
• What are the core expenses you need to operate?
• How much money do you need upfront to operate or grow your company?
• How will you use the loans or investments?

9. Add an Appendix to Your Business Plan

Adding an appendix to your business plan is optional. It is a useful place to put any charts, tables, legal notes, definitions, permits, résumés, and other critical information that do not fit into other sections of your business plan.

The appendix section is where you would want to include details of a patent or patent-pending if you have one. You can always add illustrations or images of your products here. It is the last section of your business plan.

When writing your business plan, there are details you cut short or remove to prevent the entire section from becoming too lengthy. There are also details you want to include in the business plan but are not a good fit for any of the previous sections. You can add that additional information to the appendix section.

Businesses also use the appendix section to include supporting documents or other materials specially requested by investors or lenders.

You can include just about any information that supports the assumptions and statements you made in the business plan under the appendix. It is the one place in the business plan where unrelated data and information can coexist amicably.

If your appendix section is lengthy, try organizing it by adding a table of contents at the beginning of the appendix section. It is also advisable to group similar information to make it easier for the reader to access them.

A well-organized appendix section makes it easier to share your information clearly and concisely. Add footnotes throughout the rest of the business plan or make references in the plan to the documents in the appendix.

The appendix section is usually only necessary if you are seeking funding from investors or lenders, or hoping to attract partners.

People reading business plans do not want to spend time going through a heap of backup information, numbers, and charts. Keep these documents or information in the Appendix section in case the reader wants to dig deeper.

Common Items to Include in the Appendix Section of Your Business Plan

The appendix section includes documents that supplement or support the information or claims given in other sections of the business plans. Common items you can include in the appendix section include:

• Additional data about the process of manufacturing or creation
• Additional description of products or services such as product schematics
• Additional financial documents or projections
• Articles of incorporation and status
• Backup for market research or competitive analysis
• Bank statements
• Business registries
• Client testimonials (if your business is already running)
• Copies of insurances
• Credit histories (personal or/and business)
• Deeds and permits
• Equipment leases
• Examples of marketing and advertising collateral
• Industry associations and memberships
• Images of product
• Intellectual property
• Key customer contracts
• Legal documents and other contracts
• Letters of reference
• Links to references
• Market research data
• Organizational charts
• Photographs of potential facilities
• Professional licenses pertaining to your legal structure or type of business
• Purchase orders
• Resumes of the founder(s) and key managers
• State and federal identification numbers or codes
• Trademarks or patents’ registrations

Avoid using the appendix section as a place to dump any document or information you feel like adding. Only add documents or information that you support or increase the credibility of your business plan.

Tips and Strategies for Writing a Convincing Business Plan

To achieve a perfect business plan, you need to consider some key tips and strategies. These tips will raise the efficiency of your business plan above average.

1. Know Your Audience

When writing a business plan, you need to know your audience . Business owners write business plans for different reasons. Your business plan has to be specific. For example, you can write business plans to potential investors, banks, and even fellow board members of the company.

The audience you are writing to determines the structure of the business plan. As a business owner, you have to know your audience. Not everyone will be your audience. Knowing your audience will help you to narrow the scope of your business plan.

Consider what your audience wants to see in your projects, the likely questions they might ask, and what interests them.

• A business plan used to address a company's board members will center on its employment schemes, internal affairs, projects, stakeholders, etc.
• A business plan for financial institutions will talk about the size of your market and the chances for you to pay back any loans you demand.
• A business plan for investors will show proof that you can return the investment capital within a specific time. In addition, it discusses your financial projections, tractions, and market size.

2. Get Inspiration from People

Writing a business plan from scratch as an entrepreneur can be daunting. That is why you need the right inspiration to push you to write one. You can gain inspiration from the successful business plans of other businesses. Look at their business plans, the style they use, the structure of the project, etc.

To make your business plan easier to create, search companies related to your business to get an exact copy of what you need to create an effective business plan. You can also make references while citing examples in your business plans.

When drafting your business plan, get as much help from others as you possibly can. By getting inspiration from people, you can create something better than what they have.

3. Avoid Being Over Optimistic

Many business owners make use of strong adjectives to qualify their content. One of the big mistakes entrepreneurs make when preparing a business plan is promising too much.

The use of superlatives and over-optimistic claims can prepare the audience for more than you can offer. In the end, you disappoint the confidence they have in you.

In most cases, the best option is to be realistic with your claims and statistics. Most of the investors can sense a bit of incompetency from the overuse of superlatives. As a new entrepreneur, do not be tempted to over-promise to get the interests of investors.

The concept of entrepreneurship centers on risks, nothing is certain when you make future analyses. What separates the best is the ability to do careful research and work towards achieving that, not promising more than you can achieve.

To make an excellent first impression as an entrepreneur, replace superlatives with compelling data-driven content. In this way, you are more specific than someone promising a huge ROI from an investment.

4. Keep it Simple and Short

When writing business plans, ensure you keep them simple throughout. Irrespective of the purpose of the business plan, your goal is to convince the audience.

One way to achieve this goal is to make them understand your proposal. Therefore, it would be best if you avoid the use of complex grammar to express yourself. It would be a huge turn-off if the people you want to convince are not familiar with your use of words.

Another thing to note is the length of your business plan. It would be best if you made it as brief as possible.

You hardly see investors or agencies that read through an extremely long document. In that case, if your first few pages can’t convince them, then you have lost it. The more pages you write, the higher the chances of you derailing from the essential contents.

To ensure your business plan has a high conversion rate, you need to dispose of every unnecessary information. For example, if you have a strategy that you are not sure of, it would be best to leave it out of the plan.

5. Make an Outline and Follow Through

A perfect business plan must have touched every part needed to convince the audience. Business owners get easily tempted to concentrate more on their products than on other sections. Doing this can be detrimental to the efficiency of the business plan.

For example, imagine you talking about a product but omitting or providing very little information about the target audience. You will leave your clients confused.

To ensure that your business plan communicates your full business model to readers, you have to input all the necessary information in it. One of the best ways to achieve this is to design a structure and stick to it.

This structure is what guides you throughout the writing. To make your work easier, you can assign an estimated word count or page limit to every section to avoid making it too bulky for easy reading. As a guide, the necessary things your business plan must contain are:

• Table of contents
• Introduction
• Product or service description
• Target audience
• Market size
• Competition analysis
• Financial projections

Some specific businesses can include some other essential sections, but these are the key sections that must be in every business plan.

6. Ask a Professional to Proofread

When writing a business plan, you must tie all loose ends to get a perfect result. When you are done with writing, call a professional to go through the document for you. You are bound to make mistakes, and the way to correct them is to get external help.

You should get a professional in your field who can relate to every section of your business plan. It would be easier for the professional to notice the inner flaws in the document than an editor with no knowledge of your business.

In addition to getting a professional to proofread, get an editor to proofread and edit your document. The editor will help you identify grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and inappropriate writing styles.

Writing a business plan can be daunting, but you can surmount that obstacle and get the best out of it with these tips.

Business Plan Examples and Templates That’ll Save You Tons of Time

1. hubspot's one-page business plan.

The one-page business plan template by HubSpot is the perfect guide for businesses of any size, irrespective of their business strategy. Although the template is condensed into a page, your final business plan should not be a page long! The template is designed to ask helpful questions that can help you develop your business plan.

Hubspot’s one-page business plan template is divided into nine fields:

• Business opportunity
• Company description
• Industry analysis
• Target market
• Implementation timeline
• Marketing plan
• Financial summary
• Funding required

2. Bplan’s Free Business Plan Template

Bplans' free business plan template is investor-approved. It is a rich template used by prestigious educational institutions such as Babson College and Princeton University to teach entrepreneurs how to create a business plan.

The template has six sections: the executive summary, opportunity, execution, company, financial plan, and appendix. There is a step-by-step guide for writing every little detail in the business plan. Follow the instructions each step of the way and you will create a business plan that impresses investors or lenders easily.

3. HubSpot's Downloadable Business Plan Template

HubSpot’s downloadable business plan template is a more comprehensive option compared to the one-page business template by HubSpot. This free and downloadable business plan template is designed for entrepreneurs.

The template is a comprehensive guide and checklist for business owners just starting their businesses. It tells you everything you need to fill in each section of the business plan and how to do it.

There are nine sections in this business plan template: an executive summary, company and business description, product and services line, market analysis, marketing plan, sales plan, legal notes, financial considerations, and appendix.

4. Business Plan by My Own Business Institute

My Own Business Institute (MOBI) which is a part of Santa Clara University's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship offers a free business plan template. You can either copy the free business template from the link provided above or download it as a Word document.

The comprehensive template consists of a whopping 15 sections.

• The Business Profile
• The Vision and the People
• Home-Based Business and Freelance Business Opportunities
• Organization
• Licenses and Permits
• Business Insurance
• Communication Tools
• Acquisitions
• Location and Leasing
• Accounting and Cash Flow
• Opening and Marketing
• Managing Employees
• Expanding and Handling Problems

There are lots of helpful tips on how to fill each section in the free business plan template by MOBI.

5. Score's Business Plan Template for Startups

Score is an American nonprofit organization that helps entrepreneurs build successful companies. This business plan template for startups by Score is available for free download. The business plan template asks a whooping 150 generic questions that help entrepreneurs from different fields to set up the perfect business plan.

The business plan template for startups contains clear instructions and worksheets, all you have to do is answer the questions and fill the worksheets.

There are nine sections in the business plan template: executive summary, company description, products and services, marketing plan, operational plan, management and organization, startup expenses and capitalization, financial plan, and appendices.

The ‘refining the plan’ resource contains instructions that help you modify your business plan to suit your specific needs, industry, and target audience. After you have completed Score’s business plan template, you can work with a SCORE mentor for expert advice in business planning.

6. Minimalist Architecture Business Plan Template by Venngage

The minimalist architecture business plan template is a simple template by Venngage that you can customize to suit your business needs .

There are five sections in the template: an executive summary, statement of problem, approach and methodology, qualifications, and schedule and benchmark. The business plan template has instructions that guide users on what to fill in each section.

7. Small Business Administration Free Business Plan Template

The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers two free business plan templates, filled with practical real-life examples that you can model to create your business plan. Both free business plan templates are written by fictional business owners: Rebecca who owns a consulting firm, and Andrew who owns a toy company.

There are five sections in the two SBA’s free business plan templates.

• Executive Summary
• Company Description
• Service Line
• Marketing and Sales

8. The $100 Startup's One-Page Business Plan

The one-page business plan by the $100 startup is a simple business plan template for entrepreneurs who do not want to create a long and complicated plan . You can include more details in the appendices for funders who want more information beyond what you can put in the one-page business plan.

There are five sections in the one-page business plan such as overview, ka-ching, hustling, success, and obstacles or challenges or open questions. You can answer all the questions using one or two sentences.

9. PandaDoc’s Free Business Plan Template

The free business plan template by PandaDoc is a comprehensive 15-page document that describes the information you should include in every section.

There are 11 sections in PandaDoc’s free business plan template.

• Executive summary
• Business description
• Products and services
• Operations plan
• Management organization
• Financial plan
• Conclusion / Call to action
• Confidentiality statement

You have to sign up for its 14-day free trial to access the template. You will find different business plan templates on PandaDoc once you sign up (including templates for general businesses and specific businesses such as bakeries, startups, restaurants, salons, hotels, and coffee shops)

PandaDoc allows you to customize its business plan templates to fit the needs of your business. After editing the template, you can send it to interested parties and track opens and views through PandaDoc.

10. Invoiceberry Templates for Word, Open Office, Excel, or PPT

InvoiceBerry is a U.K based online invoicing and tracking platform that offers free business plan templates in .docx, .odt, .xlsx, and .pptx formats for freelancers and small businesses.

Before you can download the free business plan template, it will ask you to give it your email address. After you complete the little task, it will send the download link to your inbox for you to download. It also provides a business plan checklist in .xlsx file format that ensures you add the right information to the business plan.

Alternatives to the Traditional Business Plan

A business plan is very important in mapping out how one expects their business to grow over a set number of years, particularly when they need external investment in their business. However, many investors do not have the time to watch you present your business plan. It is a long and boring read.

Luckily, there are three alternatives to the traditional business plan (the Business Model Canvas, Lean Canvas, and Startup Pitch Deck). These alternatives are less laborious and easier and quicker to present to investors.

Business Model Canvas (BMC)

The business model canvas is a business tool used to present all the important components of setting up a business, such as customers, route to market, value proposition, and finance in a single sheet. It provides a very focused blueprint that defines your business initially which you can later expand on if needed.

The sheet is divided mainly into company, industry, and consumer models that are interconnected in how they find problems and proffer solutions.

Segments of the Business Model Canvas

The business model canvas was developed by founder Alexander Osterwalder to answer important business questions. It contains nine segments.

• Key Partners: Who will be occupying important executive positions in your business? What do they bring to the table? Will there be a third party involved with the company?
• Key Activities: What important activities will production entail? What activities will be carried out to ensure the smooth running of the company?
• The Product’s Value Propositions: What does your product do? How will it be different from other products?
• Customer Segments: What demography of consumers are you targeting? What are the habits of these consumers? Who are the MVPs of your target consumers?
• Customer Relationships: How will the team support and work with its customer base? How do you intend to build and maintain trust with the customer?
• Key Resources: What type of personnel and tools will be needed? What size of the budget will they need access to?
• Channels: How do you plan to create awareness of your products? How do you intend to transport your product to the customer?
• Cost Structure: What is the estimated cost of production? How much will distribution cost?
• Revenue Streams: For what value are customers willing to pay? How do they prefer to pay for the product? Are there any external revenues attached apart from the main source? How do the revenue streams contribute to the overall revenue?

Lean Canvas

The lean canvas is a problem-oriented alternative to the standard business model canvas. It was proposed by Ash Maurya, creator of Lean Stack as a development of the business model generation. It uses a more problem-focused approach and it majorly targets entrepreneurs and startup businesses.

Lean Canvas uses the same 9 blocks concept as the business model canvas, however, they have been modified slightly to suit the needs and purpose of a small startup. The key partners, key activities, customer relationships, and key resources are replaced by new segments which are:

• Problem: Simple and straightforward number of problems you have identified, ideally three.
• Solution: The solutions to each problem.
• Unfair Advantage: Something you possess that can't be easily bought or replicated.
• Key Metrics: Important numbers that will tell how your business is doing.

Startup Pitch Deck

While the business model canvas compresses into a factual sheet, startup pitch decks expand flamboyantly.

Pitch decks, through slides, convey your business plan, often through graphs and images used to emphasize estimations and observations in your presentation. Entrepreneurs often use pitch decks to fully convince their target audience of their plans before discussing funding arrangements.

Considering the likelihood of it being used in a small time frame, a good startup pitch deck should ideally contain 20 slides or less to have enough time to answer questions from the audience.

Unlike the standard and lean business model canvases, a pitch deck doesn't have a set template on how to present your business plan but there are still important components to it. These components often mirror those of the business model canvas except that they are in slide form and contain more details.

Using Airbnb (one of the most successful start-ups in recent history) for reference, the important components of a good slide are listed below.

• Cover/Introduction Slide: Here, you should include your company's name and mission statement. Your mission statement should be a very catchy tagline. Also, include personal information and contact details to provide an easy link for potential investors.
• Problem Slide: This slide requires you to create a connection with the audience or the investor that you are pitching. For example in their pitch, Airbnb summarized the most important problems it would solve in three brief points – pricing of hotels, disconnection from city culture, and connection problems for local bookings.
• Solution Slide: This slide includes your core value proposition. List simple and direct solutions to the problems you have mentioned
• Customer Analysis: Here you will provide information on the customers you will be offering your service to. The identity of your customers plays an important part in fundraising as well as the long-run viability of the business.
• Market Validation: Use competitive analysis to show numbers that prove the presence of a market for your product, industry behavior in the present and the long run, as well as the percentage of the market you aim to attract. It shows that you understand your competitors and customers and convinces investors of the opportunities presented in the market.
• Business Model: Your business model is the hook of your presentation. It may vary in complexity but it should generally include a pricing system informed by your market analysis. The goal of the slide is to confirm your business model is easy to implement.
• Marketing Strategy: This slide should summarize a few customer acquisition methods that you plan to use to grow the business.
• Competitive Advantage: What this slide will do is provide information on what will set you apart and make you a more attractive option to customers. It could be the possession of technology that is not widely known in the market.
• Team Slide: Here you will give a brief description of your team. Include your key management personnel here and their specific roles in the company. Include their educational background, job history, and skillsets. Also, talk about their accomplishments in their careers so far to build investors' confidence in members of your team.
• Traction Slide: This validates the company’s business model by showing growth through early sales and support. The slide aims to reduce any lingering fears in potential investors by showing realistic periodic milestones and profit margins. It can include current sales, growth, valuable customers, pre-orders, or data from surveys outlining current consumer interest.
• Funding Slide: This slide is popularly referred to as ‘the ask'. Here you will include important details like how much is needed to get your business off the ground and how the funding will be spent to help the company reach its goals.
• Appendix Slides: Your pitch deck appendix should always be included alongside a standard pitch presentation. It consists of additional slides you could not show in the pitch deck but you need to complement your presentation.

It is important to support your calculations with pictorial renditions. Infographics, such as pie charts or bar graphs, will be more effective in presenting the information than just listing numbers. For example, a six-month graph that shows rising profit margins will easily look more impressive than merely writing it.

Lastly, since a pitch deck is primarily used to secure meetings and you may be sharing your pitch with several investors, it is advisable to keep a separate public version that doesn't include financials. Only disclose the one with projections once you have secured a link with an investor.

Advantages of the Business Model Canvas, Lean Canvas, and Startup Pitch Deck over the Traditional Business Plan

• Time-Saving: Writing a detailed traditional business plan could take weeks or months. On the other hand, all three alternatives can be done in a few days or even one night of brainstorming if you have a comprehensive understanding of your business.
• Easier to Understand: Since the information presented is almost entirely factual, it puts focus on what is most important in running the business. They cut away the excess pages of fillers in a traditional business plan and allow investors to see what is driving the business and what is getting in the way.
• Easy to Update: Businesses typically present their business plans to many potential investors before they secure funding. What this means is that you may regularly have to amend your presentation to update statistics or adjust to audience-specific needs. For a traditional business plan, this could mean rewriting a whole section of your plan. For the three alternatives, updating is much easier because they are not voluminous.
• Guide for a More In-depth Business Plan: All three alternatives have the added benefit of being able to double as a sketch of your business plan if the need to create one arises in the future.

Business Plan FAQ

Business plans are important for any entrepreneur who is looking for a framework to run their company over some time or seeking external support. Although they are essential for new businesses, every company should ideally have a business plan to track their growth from time to time.  They can be used by startups seeking investments or loans to convey their business ideas or an employee to convince his boss of the feasibility of starting a new project. They can also be used by companies seeking to recruit high-profile employee targets into key positions or trying to secure partnerships with other firms.

Business plans often vary depending on your target audience, the scope, and the goals for the plan. Startup plans are the most common among the different types of business plans.  A start-up plan is used by a new business to present all the necessary information to help get the business up and running. They are usually used by entrepreneurs who are seeking funding from investors or bank loans. The established company alternative to a start-up plan is a feasibility plan. A feasibility plan is often used by an established company looking for new business opportunities. They are used to show the upsides of creating a new product for a consumer base. Because the audience is usually company people, it requires less company analysis. The third type of business plan is the lean business plan. A lean business plan is a brief, straight-to-the-point breakdown of your ideas and analysis for your business. It does not contain details of your proposal and can be written on one page. Finally, you have the what-if plan. As it implies, a what-if plan is a preparation for the worst-case scenario. You must always be prepared for the possibility of your original plan being rejected. A good what-if plan will serve as a good plan B to the original.

A good business plan has 10 key components. They include an executive plan, product analysis, desired customer base, company analysis, industry analysis, marketing strategy, sales strategy, financial projection, funding, and appendix. Executive Plan Your business should begin with your executive plan. An executive plan will provide early insight into what you are planning to achieve with your business. It should include your mission statement and highlight some of the important points which you will explain later. Product Analysis The next component of your business plan is your product analysis. A key part of this section is explaining the type of item or service you are going to offer as well as the market problems your product will solve. Desired Consumer Base Your product analysis should be supplemented with a detailed breakdown of your desired consumer base. Investors are always interested in knowing the economic power of your market as well as potential MVP customers. Company Analysis The next component of your business plan is your company analysis. Here, you explain how you want to run your business. It will include your operational strategy, an insight into the workforce needed to keep the company running, and important executive positions. It will also provide a calculation of expected operational costs.  Industry Analysis A good business plan should also contain well laid out industry analysis. It is important to convince potential investors you know the companies you will be competing with, as well as your plans to gain an edge on the competition. Marketing Strategy Your business plan should also include your marketing strategy. This is how you intend to spread awareness of your product. It should include a detailed explanation of the company brand as well as your advertising methods. Sales Strategy Your sales strategy comes after the market strategy. Here you give an overview of your company's pricing strategy and how you aim to maximize profits. You can also explain how your prices will adapt to market behaviors. Financial Projection The financial projection is the next component of your business plan. It explains your company's expected running cost and revenue earned during the tenure of the business plan. Financial projection gives a clear idea of how your company will develop in the future. Funding The next component of your business plan is funding. You have to detail how much external investment you need to get your business idea off the ground here. Appendix The last component of your plan is the appendix. This is where you put licenses, graphs, or key information that does not fit in any of the other components.

The business model canvas is a business management tool used to quickly define your business idea and model. It is often used when investors need you to pitch your business idea during a brief window.

A pitch deck is similar to a business model canvas except that it makes use of slides in its presentation. A pitch is not primarily used to secure funding, rather its main purpose is to entice potential investors by selling a very optimistic outlook on the business.

Business plan competitions help you evaluate the strength of your business plan. By participating in business plan competitions, you are improving your experience. The experience provides you with a degree of validation while practicing important skills. The main motivation for entering into the competitions is often to secure funding by finishing in podium positions. There is also the chance that you may catch the eye of a casual observer outside of the competition. These competitions also provide good networking opportunities. You could meet mentors who will take a keen interest in guiding you in your business journey. You also have the opportunity to meet other entrepreneurs whose ideas can complement yours.

Exlore Further

• 12 Key Elements of a Business Plan (Top Components Explained)
• 13 Sources of Business Finance For Companies & Sole Traders
• 5 Common Types of Business Structures (+ Pros & Cons)
• How to Buy a Business in 8 Steps (+ Due Diligence Checklist)

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Martin luenendonk.

Martin loves entrepreneurship and has helped dozens of entrepreneurs by validating the business idea, finding scalable customer acquisition channels, and building a data-driven organization. During his time working in investment banking, tech startups, and industry-leading companies he gained extensive knowledge in using different software tools to optimize business processes.

This insights and his love for researching SaaS products enables him to provide in-depth, fact-based software reviews to enable software buyers make better decisions.

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How to create an Effective Merchandising Plan

It wasn’t too long ago that retailers and consumers were facing a plague of out-of-stock merchandise and empty shelves — on account of supply-chain disruptions in global retail. 

Times have certainly changed since then, and so have the challenges. A study by HubSpot shows that 50% of retailers in the U.S. are struggling with unsold inventory even after New Year discounting. What’s more, 53% of them believe there could be “dangerous ramifications” if they fail to sell the excess stock. 

The good news is, with proper planning, not only can you ensure that the right, in-demand products are available to customers when they need them, but also avoid ending up with excess inventory. This is where a merchandising plan can help. 

This article will guide you through the process of crafting an effective merchandising plan for your retail store.

Let’s get started.

What is a merchandising plan and why should retailers care?

According to Bob Phipps , CEO of The Retail Doctor, “ Merchandising is one of the most impactful strategies you can implement to influence a brick-and-mortar consumer and cause them to pause and consider.”  

He says when customers shop online, they can’t connect emotionally with the merchandise, so most often, they simply look for the cheapest option. However, when they take the trouble to visit a physical store, your display skills give you an opportunity to tell them, “it’s different here.”

“Then, they aren’t just looking for the cheapest but are open to having an emotional connection with your products that they can touch, hold, and try on,” he adds.

An effective merchandising plan can help you:

• Increase sales by creating a visually appealing shopping experience that encourages customers to buy more
• Manage inventory effectively by highlighting products that are popular and in demand
• Build brand awareness by showcasing products in a way that reflects your brand values and image
• Stay competitive by keeping up with the latest industry trends and customer preferences

Let’s now take a look at the different aspects of creating an effective merchandising plan.

Market research

Before creating a merchandising plan, it’s important to conduct market research to understand customer preferences and buying habits. Analyze your past sales data, market surveys, and industry trends to forecast consumer demand for the current season. 

This will help you figure out how much inventory you may need to order for each product. Remember to take into account the current state of the economy and the sales potential of an item in your calculations.

Product selection

Based on your target customer’s preferences and past sales data, you’ll need to figure out your product mix — product types, price range, and the number of SKUs for each. You should also think about how you’ll arrange your products on your store shelves. 

For example, placing similar products — say beach hats, swimwear, sunglasses, etc. — close to each other is a good way to ring in more sales. Display your most profitable products at eye level or at your endcaps as products placed in these locations generally sell better. 

Visual merchandising

Let’s face it. Shopping can be stressful for some — more so if customers can’t easily find what they are looking for. If your store is dirty, messy, or unorganized, you’re sure to send them packing, never to return. 

Retail consultant and influencer, Ian Scott , says, “If stores are poorly presented, all the hard work from marketing, advertising, sourcing, and construction is wasted because shoppers won’t be inspired at the final point of purchase.”

That’s why you should pay special attention to visual merchandising . Let’s take a look at some of its most crucial elements.

Store layout 

Whether you choose a loop, a grid, or a free-flow layout for your store, your goal should be to maximize the floor space so that customers can easily navigate your store and locate what they need. 

Also, make sure to incorporate design aesthetics and branding elements throughout your store to offer a fully immersive shopping experience to your customers. 

Specialist in retail and consumer behavior, Dr. Esther Pugh , says, “Space is invisible and intangible, yet its sensitive management is absolutely essential for creating atmosphere and ambience.”  

Signage 

In-store signage plays a crucial role in helping customers navigate your store , find the items they need, and perhaps even discover new products in the process. Typically, in-store signage is of three types: informational, navigational, and promotional. 

Most customers tend to have a short attention span, so make sure to incorporate smart visual cues that help them make a purchase decision quickly. 

For example, sometimes retailers use informational signs to convey the features of a product. While these may be useful, they may not be what it takes to sell. Instead, focusing on a product’s benefits or how it solves a particular challenge may be more effective.  

The secret to keeping your customers engaged and inspired is to change up your displays — at least every month. The simplest way to do this is to move around the location of your displays within the store. 

Use your displays to narrate a story or offer creative new ideas for using your products. It’s also a good idea to place your freshest, fanciest, dream-worthy impulse items prominently on display at the front of your store. 

Remember the old saying, “hope is not a management strategy”. So, don’t just hope that your signage and displays are properly put up,  inspect them regularly  and  assign corrective actions  when issues are found.

Pricing and promotion

Your job doesn’t end at getting people in through the door. You should determine your pricing strategy based on your target audience and the competition. It should be competitive, but also take into account your overhead costs and desired profit margins.

Also, plan your in-store advertising such as limited-time sales, special discounts, or seasonal events. Make sure to highlight any deals currently on offer or upcoming sales events to encourage customers to come back in the future.

Implementation and audit

Finally, you must ensure that the execution of your merchandising plan is on point. With a platform like Bindy , implementation of your merchandising plan won’t give you sleepless nights. 

You can put all the resources your team needs — customized checklists, best practice photos, and supporting documents — in one place for easier execution and management. Not only will you be able to track compliance in real-time but also take corrective action and uncover opportunities for staff training. 

Final words

An effective merchandising plan can go a long way in helping you outperform your competitors. In light of the current economic climate and the uncertainty associated with it, it’s even more crucial to get your merchandising plan right. 

Follow the tips mentioned above to craft a killer merchandising strategy and leverage Bindy to deploy and verify your program easily. Contact us today to learn more.

OTHER MERCHANDISING RESOURCES

Refer to the   Merchandising category  for checklists, how-tos and best practices for merchandising.

About the author:

Francesca Nicasio  is retail expert, B2B content strategist, and LinkedIn TopVoice. She writes about trends, tips, and best practices that enable retailers to increase sales and serve customers better. She’s also the author of  Retail Survival of the Fittest , a free eBook to help retailers future-proof their stores.

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Small Business Trends

How to create a business plan: examples & free template.

This guide has been designed to help you create a winning plan that stands out in the ever-evolving marketplace. U sing real-world examples and a free downloadable template, it will walk you through each step of the process.

Table of Contents

How to Write a Business Plan

Executive summary.

The Executive Summary serves as the gateway to your business plan, offering a snapshot of your venture’s core aspects. This section should captivate and inform, succinctly summarizing the essence of your plan.

Example: EcoTech is a technology company specializing in eco-friendly and sustainable products designed to reduce energy consumption and minimize waste. Our mission is to create innovative solutions that contribute to a cleaner, greener environment.

Overview and Business Objectives

This part of the plan demonstrates to investors and stakeholders your vision for growth and the practical steps you’ll take to get there.

Company Description

Include information about the company’s founders, their expertise, and why they are suited to lead the business to success. This section should paint a vivid picture of your business, its values, and its place in the industry.

Define Your Target Market

Example: Our target market comprises environmentally conscious consumers and businesses looking for innovative solutions to reduce their carbon footprint. Our ideal customers are those who prioritize sustainability and are willing to invest in eco-friendly products.

Market Analysis

Our research indicates a gap in the market for high-quality, innovative eco-friendly technology products that cater to both individual and business clients.

SWOT Analysis

Competitive analysis.

In this section, you’ll analyze your competitors in-depth, examining their products, services, market positioning, and pricing strategies. Understanding your competition allows you to identify gaps in the market and tailor your offerings to outperform them.

Organization and Management Team

Example: EcoTech’s organizational structure comprises the following key roles: CEO, CTO, CFO, Sales Director, Marketing Director, and R&D Manager. Our management team has extensive experience in technology, sustainability, and business development, ensuring that we are well-equipped to execute our business plan successfully.

Products and Services Offered

Marketing and sales strategy.

Describe the nature of your advertising campaigns and promotional activities, explaining how they will capture the attention of your target audience and convey the value of your products or services. Outline your sales strategy, including your sales process, team structure, and sales targets.

Logistics and Operations Plan

Inventory control is another crucial aspect, where you explain strategies for inventory management to ensure efficiency and reduce wastage. The section should also describe your production processes, emphasizing scalability and adaptability to meet changing market demands.

Financial Projections Plan

In the Financial Projections Plan, lay out a clear and realistic financial future for your business. This should include detailed projections for revenue, costs, and profitability over the next three to five years.

Income Statement

The income statement , also known as the profit and loss statement, provides a summary of your company’s revenues and expenses over a specified period. It helps you track your business’s financial performance and identify trends, ensuring you stay on track to achieve your financial goals.

Cash Flow Statement

Tips on Writing a Business Plan

3. Set realistic goals: Your business plan should outline achievable objectives that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Setting realistic goals demonstrates your understanding of the market and increases the likelihood of success.

FREE Business Plan Template

To help you get started on your business plan, we have created a template that includes all the essential components discussed in the “How to Write a Business Plan” section. This easy-to-use template will guide you through each step of the process, ensuring you don’t miss any critical details.

What is a Business Plan?

Why you should write a business plan, what are the different types of business plans.

In today’s fast-paced business world, having a well-structured roadmap is more important than ever. A traditional business plan provides a comprehensive overview of your company’s goals and strategies, helping you make informed decisions and achieve long-term success. There are various types of business plans, each designed to suit different needs and purposes. Let’s explore the main types:

Using Business Plan Software

Enloop is a robust business plan software that automatically generates a tailored plan based on your inputs. It provides industry-specific templates, financial forecasting, and a unique performance score that updates as you make changes to your plan. Enloop also offers a free version, making it accessible for businesses on a budget.

Business Plan FAQs

What is a good business plan, what are the 3 main purposes of a business plan, can i write a business plan by myself.

We also have examples for specific industries, including a using food truck business plan , salon business plan , farm business plan , daycare business plan , and restaurant business plan .

Is it possible to create a one-page business plan?

How long should a business plan be, what is a business plan outline, what are the 5 most common business plan mistakes, what questions should be asked in a business plan.

A business plan should address questions such as: What problem does the business solve? Who is the specific target market ? What is the unique selling proposition? What are the company’s objectives? How will it achieve those objectives?

What’s the difference between a business plan and a strategic plan?

How is business planning for a nonprofit different.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Clothing Boutique Business Plan Template [Updated for 2024]

• by Emily Polner

minute read

A business plan is a document that outlines its intended purpose and goals and helps serve as a reference to keep you on track after you open your doors. If you plan to raise capital, you can send your boutique business plan to friends, family and other potential investors so they have a clearer idea of what they’re investing in. 

In this article, we outline what to include in your clothing store business plan, as well as a blank business plan template for you to use however you see fit. You can be as detailed as you like when writing your plan. 

Here’s what you need to know and include to get started: 

How to start a clothing store business in 2023

Executive summary, business description and mission statement.

• Product services and pricing

Competitor and market analysis 

Clothing marketing strategies, business structure, clothing boutique startup costs and funding , growth forecast, clothing store boutique business plan template, the ultimate clothing boutique guide.

From managing always-evolving inventory to making personal connections during sales, your clothing store needs tools that help you do it all.

How much does it cost to open a clothing store? 

The cost of opening a clothing store varies depending on the size and location of your store. Leasing a retail space costs more in certain geographic areas than others. The average initial cost of opening a store can be anywhere from $48,000 USD to $150,000 USD, and this figure doesn’t include an upfront payment of first month’s rent or utilities. 

Having an accurate idea of your initial cost—and, as such, how much funding you need—is one of the key benefits of a thorough boutique business plan.

How to start a clothing store business in 2022

The costs and logistics involved in starting a clothing store business in 2023 are different than they were even 10 years ago. 

You need a rock-solid niche for your business, so you can make a splash in a crowded market. You need a brand identity that stands out, too. Those pieces aren’t new, though creativity is more important than ever—you want your new boutique clothing store to stand out online, after all. 

It’s the online aspect that really matters in 2023. Instead of picking between a brick-and-mortar or ecommerce store, your boutique business plan should take both into account. In an era of high-tech stores (even Amazon is getting in on the industry with its Amazon Style ), customers have come to expect more from retailers. 

Keep in mind the technology you need to start a clothing store today: that includes a POS system with an eCom platform and integrated payments, inventory management software that syncs your online and offline stock in real time and loyalty programs to reward them for shopping. These costs, and the time required to manage multiple sales channels, should be built into your business plan.

How to write a clothing boutique business plan

A business plan can be as long or as short as you’d like, but it needs to be clear to others, not just members of your organization. Other parties will read your plan in order to determine whether or not to invest, so each part needs to be understandable. 

Here is an example of a business plan for a boutique clothing store that gets funders on board (and what you should be putting in each section). 

The executive summary should be a summary of your entire business plan. It typically appears at the beginning of a business plan, but you should write this last so you can draw from the rest of the sections for a more accurate blurb. 

Think of this as the elevator pitch for your boutique business plan. If this summary was all someone read, they’d come away with an idea of what you want to open and why; detailed enough that they get the big picture, but not so detailed that they get lost on the page.

An executive summary should be at most 10% of the entire document. For example, if your clothing store’s business plan is 15 pages long, the summary should be a page and a half at most; if your plan is five pages long, try for a half-page executive summary. 

Example executive summary template

Business name: Corner Store

Founders and executive team: 

• John Retail, President
• Jane Ecom, CFO
• Ranjeet Sales, VP of Human Resources
• Kamala Brick, VP of Merchandising
• Frank Mortar, VP of Marketing

Products and services: 

Target demographic: Corner Store targets college students and young professionals ages 18 – 34. Our demographic is ambitious, on the go, health-conscious and environmentally aware.

Marketing strategies: 

Future plans and goals:

• 5 locations by next financial year
• 15% of sales through ecommerce
• Launch on third party delivery by second quarter

The next section should be a description of what your clothing business is and does. For example, are you a children’s clothing boutique? Are you selling in store, online or both? What kinds of styles are you going to cater to? For instance, do you sell basics like plain tee shirts or pieces with a more bohemian aesthetic?

This is also where you should define your mission and company values. Your mission should answer the questions: why are you starting your business and what will your new store bring to the table? Your company values are the characteristics your business aligns itself with and uses to make informed decisions. What values are most important to you and which qualities will you make a priority? 

This is your opportunity to really sell potential funders on why your clothing store will succeed. What’s more compelling: describing yourself as a new apparel retailer, or as a new clothing boutique with a focus on personal styling for young professionals that carries local designers in a high-foot-traffic area in your city’s financial district? 

Example company description template

Mission statement:

Corner Store combines athleisure and food and beverage retail into one convenient extended-hours offering. In addition to bespoke lines of healthy energy drinks, Corner Store offers comfortable workout clothing made from recycled fabrics.

Corner Store is open longer than competing athleisure stores, and is more focused on health than competing 24-hour convenience stores.

Core values:

• Ease of access
• Productivity
• Affordable healthy options

The structure of your business will have a big impact on how it’s taxed and managed. Define your plans for incorporating as well as your org chart: 

• How is your business defined, legally ? Is it an LLC, an S-Corporation, a partnership or unincorporated? 
• Who is running the clothing business? List the founders and what each person brings to the table in terms of skills and capital.
• What kinds of roles will you be hiring for? Who reports to whom? Create a preliminary organizational chart that includes the current hierarchy of your business and which roles will need to be filled. 

Example business structure template

Legal structure: 

Business leaders:

• John Retail, President – 35 years of experience in retail
• Jane Ecom, CFO – 10 years of experience heading financial operations 
• Ranjeet Sales, VP of Human Resources – 23 years of experience with HR, including founding a successful HR agency
• Kamala Brick, VP of Merchandising – launched 3 successful product lines targeting college students 
• Frank Mortar, VP of Marketing – co-founder of Digital Agency, leading marketing agency in the office supply retail space

Hiring plans: 

Products, services and pricing

With your executive summary and business description having introduced potential funders to your vision, your boutique business plan should next move into the concrete details. Your products and services section should outline: 

• What kinds of items you’ll be selling
• Any services you’ll be offering (i.e. tailoring or clothing rentals) 
• The main benefits and features of what you’re selling
• How much each item will cost you vs. what you’ll be selling it for 
• How each item will be created or sourced: which suppliers are you getting your inventory from, if any? Do you have existing relationships with suppliers or will you have to create them? 

If you plan to offer more or different products later down the line, outline that in this section as well.

Example products, services and pricing template

Description of each product and service: 

• Corner Store energy drinks: low sugar energy drinks with upscale flavors to appeal to a health-conscious consumer. Packaging made entirely from recycled materials, featuring inspirational quotes for productivity. Three flavors available in 330ml cans at launch (grapefruit tarragon, yerba mate, coconut lime) with two more launching in the third quarter (coffee, watermelon rose).
• Corner Store performance underwear: breathable, gender-neutral stretch tops and bottoms made for movement, to go under clothes for exercise or fashion. Made from recycled and end of line materials. Five colorways releasing at launch, with new updated styles every season.

How you plan to price each item:

Supply chain details: 

It’s important to look at what your competitors are doing to get a sense of which needs are being met and where the biggest gaps in the market lie. Make sure you explain how you’re positioning yourself and why you offer something different or better than what already exists. Include the following information: 

• Competitor analysis: who are your competitors? What seems to be working for them and what doesn’t? How long have your competitors been in business? Are they growing? Make sure you categorize your competition into direct and indirect competitors in your boutique business plan. Direct competitors will be anyone who is targeting your exact niche, while indirect competitors will be big chain retailers and department stores who offer an alternative experience to what you’re building.  
• Industry trends: talk about the current trends and future predictions for your industry. Is it popular or growing? How have these trends impacted your niche? Can you expect these trends to keep growing—and what proof do you have that the popularity of your chosen focus isn’t just a passing fad?
• SWOT analysis: a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis details exactly what it sounds like it does. Think about what your biggest strengths and opportunities are, as a business. On the flip side, is there anything that may be a potential threat to your success? 
• Target customer: what kind of person you’re aiming to target. Who is going to shop at your store? Where do they live, how old are they and what are their main pain points? What are they looking to get out of a clothing store, and how will you serve their needs? Do you have any data about your particular target’s spending power and shopping habits?

Example competitor and market analysis template

Competitor analysis:

• KiKiLime: 10 years in business, 7 locations across California and Texas, $60.8m in sales in 2022. Direct competitor Strong sales on launch, but recent supply chain scandal has impacted growth Opportunity to capture disillusioned customers who want truly sustainable options

Industry trends:

Market size:

SWOT analysis:

Target customer: 

• 18 – 34
• Lives or works in or near city centers
• Busy lives, looking for a store that’s open before and after work
• Health conscious, but price conscious 
• Focus on sustainability

As a new business, you’ll need to promote yourself to bring customers in the door. Use this section of your boutique business plan to explain to investors and your team how you intend to do that.

• Which marketing channels do you plan to use? Are you going to use email marketing, social media marketing , SEO blogging, PR or influencer marketing ? 
• Do you plan to run paid advertisements or only market your business organically, or both? If you plan to pay for advertising, you’ll need to include this budget in your costs section. 
• How will you measure the success of your marketing efforts? Which metrics will you examine to determine whether or not you met, exceeded or fell short of your goals? 
• What sort of loyalty program will you use to ensure customers keep returning? How will you split your budget for marketing to new customers and reaching out to returning customers? 

Example marketing strategies template

Which marketing channels you’ll be using:

• Social media: focus on Pinterest ( average age 25-34 ), Instagram (average age 18-24), TikTok (average age 18-24)
• Email marketing nurture flows: tied to loyalty program and in-store sales
• Influencer partnerships: launch partnership with Gia Influ, wellness influencer with 300,000 followers
• Content marketing: four online activations a month

Plans for paid vs. organic marketing: 

Loyalty program outline: 

Marketing goals:

There are many upfront purchases to be made as well as recurring expenses that come with starting a clothing store. This is where you’ll list what you need to buy and the funding you’ll need in order to make sure you get everything you need. Here are some examples of costs you might include: 

One-time costs

• Lease, security deposit and other fees associated with signing a retail lease
• Furniture and façade costs 
• Initial inventory
• Technology hardware, such as computers, tablets, phones, credit card readers
• Website design costs (if you’re not using an eCom platform with a built-in site builder)
• Grand opening costs for the store’s launch day

Recurring expenses  

• Rent and utilities
• Employee wages
• Marketing and advertising
• Retail commerce platform subscription 
• eCom platform subscription and web hosting costs
• Domain name registration
• Accounting services 

In addition to listing expected expenses and funding needs, also add a projected profit and loss statement, cash flow and balance sheet, if you’re able to. This will help paint a more complete financial picture.  

Example startup costs and funding template

What you need to buy: 

How much funding you need: 

Profit and loss statement: 

Need a profit and loss template? Download one free here.

Balance sheet: 

Growth forecast 

In this section, list how much inventory you’ll have on to start and your initial assets. Plan how much cash you’ll have on hand for your grand opening. 

Here is where you can predict how quickly you will grow and in what ways you intend to expand. How much revenue do you intend to generate after one year in operation? Do you plan to offer more products in the future? Are you envisioning outgrowing your first retail space? Do you intend to open more locations? Describe these plans to the best of your ability. 

Example growth forecast template

Assets: 

Cash on hand: 

Revenue (projected or actual): projected revenue $4m per location in first year, expanding to $10m per location by year five

Other growth plans or predictions: 

• 10 stores across the US by year five
• Enter the Canadian market by year seven

Now that you know what goes into a business plan, you’re ready to make one. Fill in this free template to set your future clothing store up for success. 

Executive summary 

Business name:

Founders and executive team:

Products and services:

Target demographic:

Marketing strategies:

Company description

What does your business do?

What gap does it fill in the market?

Legal structure:

Organizational chart: 

Supply chain details:

Competitor and market analysis

Industry trends: 

Marketing strategies

Startup costs and funding.

Revenue (projected or actual):

Create your clothing business the way you envision it

A clothing store business plan can help you solidify your thoughts and ideas so that you can start your business the way you intend to. Taking time to ask yourself important questions like how and why you’re starting will serve you well in the long run. 

Clothing retailers use Lightspeed’s commerce platform to take sales, manage inventory, create a website and so much more. If you’d like to learn about how Lightspeed can help you accomplish your business goals, watch a demo .

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Emily is a Content Specialist at Lightspeed, where she brings her passion, knowledge, and expertise to give you helpful tips on how to take your retail business to the next level. When she’s not behind the keyboard, Emily can be found thrifting, getting iced lattes at local cafes or endlessly scrolling through TikTok.

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How to Write an Ecommerce Business Plan [Examples & Template]

Published: April 03, 2024

If you have a promising idea for an online e-commerce business , it’s important to create an e-commerce business plan to ensure your vision has enough stock to be profitable.

Having a business plan for your online store will help you define your target market, establish your monthly and quarterly sales goals, and increase the likelihood of long-term e-commerce success.

In this post, we’ll go over an online store business plan and how you can create one for your e-commerce startup. Let’s get started.

What is an e-commerce business plan?

An e-commerce business plan is a document that outlines your business and its goals, analyzes your industry and competitors, and identifies the resources needed to execute your plan. It also lists the e-commerce retailers you’ll use to distribute your products and the marketing strategies you’ll use to drive sales.

Whether a company operates as a startup or has years of operations and growth under its belt, an e-commerce business plan is essential for evaluating a business and determining areas of improvement.

An e-commerce business plan is essential, with increasing numbers of shoppers conducting business online. It's estimated this number has reached over 2 billion . An e-commerce business plan keeps you organized and is useful when seeking investors who need to understand your company.

So, let’s dive into some examples of e-commerce business plans and what goes into writing one using our free template .

Free Business Plan Template

The essential document for starting a business -- custom built for your needs.

• Outline your idea.
• Pitch to investors.
• Secure funding.
• Get to work!

Download Free

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E-commerce Business Plan Template

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What is A Merchandising Business and How To Start One?

• Beginner SMEs Business Tips
• 28 November 2023

• Content Drivers

Many online stores are actually a merchandising business. When asked about their product categories, they’ll usually say “general merchandise”, because they may sell different types of products.

If you’re thinking of starting one, here are some things you need to know.

What is merchandising business?

A merchandising business is one that buys finished products from manufacturers or wholesalers and sells them to customers. It’s basically buying and selling goods , often adding value through marketing, branding and retailing.

There are two primary types of merchandising businesses:

Retail Merchandising

These businesses sell products directly to consumers through various channels such as physical stores, online platforms catalogs, or other means. They manage inventory, set prices, and often engage in promotional activities to attract customers.

Wholesale merchandising

Wholesale businesses buy goods in bulk from the manufacturers and sell them in large quantities to retailers or other businesses. They typically operate as middle men between manufacturers and retailers , facilitating the distribution process.

Both types of merchandising businesses involve aspects like inventory management, sales forecasting, pricing strategies, marketing and customer service to ensure a steady flow of products and a profitable operation.

How to start a merchandising business and be successful at it?

You might think: Buy and sell? Chicken! Madali lang yan!

But to make your business successful and profitable for a long time is not easy. You have a lot of competition online that can offer cheaper items similar to yours. So what you need is careful planning sa umpisa pa lang.

Starting a merchandising business involves several steps. Here’s a general outline of what you need to consider.

1. Do research and planning

Identify your target market, understand consumer needs, and analyze competitors.

Then create a comprehensive plan outlining your business goals, target audience, products, suppliers, marketing strategy and financial projections. 

Starting your merchandising business without any plan may give you profit at the beginning, but you may find it hard to sustain that profit in the long run.

2. Define your product line and suppliers

Decide what products you want to sell. Consider factors like market demand, competition, and profitability.

Next is to find your suppliers. Establish relationships only with reliable suppliers. This could involve direct relationships with manufacturers or wholesalers.

#NinjaTip: There’s a stress-free way to import products from China to the Philippines for your merchandising business. Ninja Direct will take care of everything for you — from finding suppliers to flexible payment, and cross-border fulfillment. Learn about Ninja Direct now!

3. Develop pricing strategies

Determine your pricing based on cost, market trends, and perceived value. It’s also important to check your competitor’s pricing and find a middle ground between too cheap and too expensive.

If your products are more expensive than that of your competitors, make sure to highlight the added values and why your product is better.

4. Set up your operations

Arrange for storage, logistics and inventory management. This step also involves renting a retail space or setting up an online store. Another option is going for a dropshipping model .

If you choose to keep your own inventory, you can outsource your warehousing and fulfillment to a 3PL (third-party logistics) to save on costs and ensure fast delivery of your orders to customers.

Learn How Ninja Van Can Boost Your ECommerce Fulfillment — from storage to shipping.

5. Plan your marketing and branding

Develop a brand identity that resonates with your target audience. Then create your marketing strategies to promote your products. This will definitely include social media marketing and SEO (search engine optimization). 

If you have the budget for it, creating an ecommerce website and doing influencer collaborations will give you a wider customer reach.

Here are  Ecommerce SEO Best Practices You Need to Know .

6. Manage your finances

Learn to manage your finances by setting your operational  budget, tracking your expenses and forecasting your revenue.

If you plan to expand in the future, determine how you’ll finance your expansion — self-funding, getting loans, inviting investors, etc.

7. Provide good customer service 

Provide excellent customer service to build loyalty and gain repeat customers. Part of this is collecting and analyzing your customers’ feedback to improve your products and services.

Your loyal customers will eventually become your brand ambassadors and will recommend you to their family and friends. 

Build your merchandising business with Ninja Direct

Running a successful merchandising business requires dedication, perseverance and adaptability. It’s crucial to stay flexible and willing to adjust your strategies based on market feedback and changing trends. 

And for your product sourcing and procurement needs, partner with Ninja Direct so you ensure getting reliable suppliers and high-quality products from China (or other SEA countries).

Ninja Direct gives you these conveniences:

• Single touchpoint – procure, pay, and ship all in one place.
• Competitive pricing – our extensive network of suppliers allows us to offer flexible financing options and payment terms.
• Secured overseas payments – order from abroad and pay in local PH currency via our secure payment portals.

Import your products now without stress and grow your business fast!

More useful tips for your merchandising business: What is Ecommerce API Integration and Why Do You Need It? Ninja Van’s Exciting Shipper Rewards Program, Rebates and Perks The Benefits of Postpaid Shipping for E-commerce

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• Sample Business Plans
• Retail, Consumers & E-commerce

T-Shirt Business Plan

If you’ve got a passion for t-shirt designs or a dream of starting your own t-shirt business, you’re in the right place.

And isn’t it exciting to know that the global t-shirt industry is booming?

The global custom t-shirt printing market was valued at $4.87 billion in 2021 and is anticipated to reach $10.37 billion by 2030 .

So, it’s clear that there is a lot of earnings in this exhilarating adventure of starting a successful t-shirt company.

Now that your idea is validated, have you thought about planning it before diving into execution? Whether you want external investment or not, our t-shirt business plan will help you in every step of your journey.

This step-by-step guide assists you through the process of creating a t-shirt brand that leaves a mark on potential investors or partners.

Let’s dive in and discover the essential elements to kickstart your t-shirt business plan writing.

Key Takeaways

• Clearly identify your niche and establish your unique selling proposition(USP) that sets you apart from other t-shirt businesses.
• Draft a persuasive executive summary that outlines your goals, marketing plan, and financial forecast to attract potential investors.
• Make a realistic and strategic budget plan to assess startup costs and secure adequate financial funding.
• Do thorough market research and industry analysis to get a better idea about fashion trends, consumer needs, and preferences.
• Effectively promote your brand by developing a comprehensive sales and marketing approach.
• Highlight the importance of high-quality fabrics to build trust and loyalty among customers.
• Create a strong online presence to reach a wider audience and adhere to legal compliance to protect your brand.

How to write a business plan for a T-shirt Business?

1. get a business plan template.

Before you start writing a business plan for your t-shirt business, it is recommended to get a business plan template first.

It’s like having a guide that makes your business planning process more simpler and easier. It is a structured format and assists you in adding all the essential information to your plan.

However, you can effectively organize your thoughts and accurately draft a professional business plan according to your business requirements and preferences.

Not only that, a well-crafted business plan template helps you describe each section in detail with utmost care. And it will save you valuable time and effort.

Whether you are a newbie in the business world or looking for a polished template, choose Upmetrics’ business plan template now! It will be your go-to companion for a blossoming t-shirt business.

Our business plan template guides you through the essential elements of a T-shirt business plan and ensures that you present your business plan cohesively and professionally.

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2. Write an Executive Summary

The executive summary is a brief overview of your entire t-shirt printing business plan. It should feature an interesting description of your t-shirt business idea.

Try to summarize a few important topics of your business, from mission-vision statements to financial projections that will be explored in greater detail within the plan.

An executive summary should be clear, concise, and engaging as it attracts readers to delve further into your plan. Here’s how you can outline this section:

• Business description
• Market Opportunity
• Products and services offered
• Management team
• Financial highlights

You can also add a 3-year profit forecast as it entices investors to delve further into your plan. Here is an example illustrating the profit margin for the t-shirt business:

Lastly, conclude this section with a persuasive call to action for inviting potential investors or readers if they are curious about your business.

3. Provide a Company Overview

Now, it’s time to focus on key aspects of your t-shirt printing business that help you turn your idea into something real and concrete.

Provide all the basic details of your t-shirt company including

• Name & concept of your business (a physical store or online t-shirt business)
• Company structure & legal entity (sole proprietorship, Limited Liability Company (LLC), partnership firm, or some other)

Clearly define your business owners’ or partners’ names with the percentage of shares. And emphasize your passion for fashion and commitment to quality with mission and vision statements.

Here is an example of defining the mission statement of a t-shirt company using Upmetrics:

Discuss a little bit more about the business history and how your company operates. Here, don’t forget to answer questions like:

• When did you start your t-shirt business?
• What is the purpose and long-term objective of your t-shirt brand?
• What milestones have you accomplished? It could be the number of customers served, positive reviews, new t-shirt store openings, etc.

Also, represent any regulations or licensing requirements that affect your t-shirt company.

4. Conduct an Industry and Market Analysis

Starting a t-shirt business requires a strategic roadmap and a comprehensive t-shirt industry analysis. So, take some time to go further and locate more accurate data.

Consider answering the below questions to filter the most pertinent facts:

• What is the relevant market size of the t-shirt printing business?
• Is the market growing or dropping?
• Who is your target audience, and what are the habits of your ideal consumer?
• Who are the key players in the t-shirt printing industry?
• What are the market trends affecting your business?
• What is the potential growth forecast for the next 3-5 years?

This market research outlines a clear picture for planning every practical aspect of your business. Include below essential elements in your t-shirt business plan:

Market size and growth potential

It’s a major t-shirt market in the U.S. and it implies that there is an ongoing demand for new t-shirts. So, you need to explore specific data about various markets in which your company operates to ensure success and profitability.

It’s a well-diversified market as t-shirts are highly popular among an assortment of consumers. In 2023, the US t-shirt market revenue is projected to be $5.2 billion and is expected to grow annually by 3.56% (CAGR 2023-2027).

This report depicts the size of the t-shirt business market and serves as a practical example of what to incorporate in this section of your business plan.

Target market

In this section, you can give details of the customers you serve or expect to serve. Conduct market research, define your ideal customer, and describe the types of products or services they prefer.

College students, sports lovers, soccer mothers, techies, teens, and baby boomers are a few examples of customer segments.

While creating a buyer persona, consider demographics, style preferences, buying behavior, and their needs. Also, illustrate how your t-shirt designs cater to specific market segments.

Competitive analysis

Now, it’s time to identify the top competitors in the t-shirt industry. Let’s categorize them into the following two parts:

• Direct competitors can be other t-shirt businesses
• Indirect competitors can be other types of shirts and apparel items

Analyze their strengths and weaknesses, and explain what differentiates your T-shirt brand from them in terms of design, quality, and brand identity.

Emphasize what are your competitive advantages in the market. You can also perform a SWOT analysis to find your business position. Here is an example of a SWOT analysis using Upmetrics:

• Market trends

The dynamics of the fashion industry and emerging market trends can potentially influence buying and selling patterns. So, make sure your t-shirt company will potentially cope with all the trends.

Refer to updates from fashion and business publications to get the latest insights into the current industry trends for t-shirt businesses.

5. Propose Your Product Offerings

Begin this section with a quick introduction to your T-shirt business’s product line. As per t-shirt designs, your t-shirt offerings can be any of the following:

• Men’s t-shirts
• Women’s t-shirts
• Children’s t-shirts
• Toddler’s t-shirts
• Printed t-shirts
• Customized t-shirts
• Pet T-shirts for dogs and cats

Afterward, list each product with a relevant title and pricing information. Be transparent about the pricing strategies as positioned for premium, affordable, or mid-range.

Keep language simple that resonates with your target customer while crafting compelling descriptions and specifications of your t-shirt offerings or unique designs.

Ensure to accentuate the key features and fabrics used in the product descriptions. For specifications, summarize size options, material specifics, and available color variations.

Also, highlight the essence of what sets your t-shirts apart in the competitive market, whether it’s special t-shirt designs, eco-friendly materials, or a clear brand story.

Emphasize quality control measures, such as inspections or testing, that assure the durability and comfort of your products. Give clarity to potential customers and help in making informed decisions.

Refer below example written using Upmetrics’ AI writing assistant :

1. Classic Cotton Collection

Price: $20 per T-shirt

• Each T-shirt is meticulously crafted from premium, 100% organic cotton, ensuring a luxurious feel against the skin.
• These shirts boast supreme comfort, exceptional durability, and a versatile style that seamlessly transitions from casual outings to special occasions. 

Specifications

• Sizes Available: S, M, L, XL
• Color Options: Various classic colors, including white, black, navy, and gray
• Special Features: Tagless design for added comfort, reinforced seams for enhanced durability

2. Personalized Graphic Tees

Price: $25 per T-shirt

• Made from soft cotton blends, these T-shirts are a perfect canvas for self-expression, allowing customers to wear their stories. 
• Sizes Available: XS, S, M, L, XL
• Color Options: Diverse color palette for personalized designs
• Customization Features: Option to choose from curated designs or submit personal design ideas
• T-shirt printing method: High-quality digital printing for detailed and vibrant graphics

Lastly, detail any additional services like customization options, selling t-shirts online, or print-on-demand services if applicable. You can also offer details about return policies and warranties offered.

6. Outline a Sales and Marketing Plan

In this highly competitive t-shirt marketplace, being noticed is crucial, which is why you need a tangible sales and marketing plan to reach your target market.

Therefore, communicate the objectives of your sales and marketing strategies. It could be maximizing outreach, fostering engagement, and achieving sustained growth for your t-shirt company.

While writing the sales and marketing section, keep in mind to outline the below strategies to attract new customers and retain existing ones:

Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

Define your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and these distinctive features place your t-shirts apart from competitors. It will create a powerful brand stand for your t-shirt company.

Pricing Strategy

Research and analyze the pricing strategies of top players in the industry and create a competitive yet profitable pricing strategy. Set value-based average price for a t-shirt. Besides, sell t-shirts by offering discounts.

• Marketing strategies

Develop a marketing approach that encloses online and offline marketing tactics. Consider using social media channels, influencer alliances, email marketing, brochures, print marketing, and Google Ads campaigns.

Sales strategies

Mention sales strategies that diversify t-shirt sales through a multi-channel approach(website, e-commerce platform, retail collaboration). Draw new customers through periodic promotional sales and referral incentives.

Customer retention

Mention how your t-shirt company will retain customers and build loyalty, such as with the help of loyalty programs for repeat purchases, personalized service, or special events

7. Introduce Your Team

A powerful management team is paramount to demonstrate your t-shirt business’s ability to flourish. Spotlight your key managers’ backgrounds, including skills and experiences that ascertain their capability to grow your t-shirt company.

Let’s have a look; an example of mentioning the management team using Upmetrics:

Consider incorporating the organizational chart (visually introducing the team structure and hierarchy) and compensation plan(including salaries, incentives, or employee benefits) in this section. 

You can also present an advisory board by adding 2 -3 individuals who act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and guide you with strategic direction.

8. Outline Business Operations

Now, let’s emphasize the business operational plan, as detailed information on daily activities is essential for reaching business goals and fulfilling customer commitments.

Start with a quick introduction that outlines the pivotal role of daily operations. Then, give a meticulous summary of the day-to-day activities involved in driving the t-shirt business.

Wondering what to write in your t-shirt business’s operational plan? Well, here is a guideline:

Production process

Explain how these t-shirts are made, whether it is via in-house production or outsourcing to a third-party manufacturer. If you are designing t-shirts on your own, you can follow below 4 ways of printing t-shirts:

• Screen printing
• Heat transfer printing
• Direct-to-garment printing
• Embroidered printing

Supply chain management

Represent the supply chain procedures, from sourcing raw materials and manufacturing to distribution. Clarify how the supply chain supports product quality and fulfills customer demand.

Highlight the staffing structure and pinpoint their roles & responsibilities for seamless operations. Briefly draft the tasks assigned to each employee and state their contributions to daily functions.

Not only that, prepare a hiring plan if your team is lacking and want to increase the team’s size. You can also employ temporary workers, or even subcontract services for peak periods of activity.

If any third party is involved, you don’t need to hire staff for inventory management. For instance, with print-on-demand service, the printing process, packing operation, and order shipping activity can be carried out by your print-on-demand provider.

Equipment and Technology

Describe the equipment required and the technology used in daily operations. Your t-shirt business involves production facilities, specialized machinery, inventory control systems, or order processing software.

Take reference from the below example written with the help of Upmetrics:

• Production Facilities: [Your T-Shirt Business Name] takes pride in its purpose-built production facilities, meticulously designed to optimize the T-shirt manufacturing process. Dedicated to cutting, sewing, printing, and printing on demand to ensure an efficient and streamlined workflow.
• Specialized Machinery: Our arsenal includes state-of-the-art machinery, from advanced cutting machines to high-speed sewing units. Digital printers for intricate designs and precision-driven heat press equipment are the backbone of our graphic application processes.
• Technology for Design and Customization: Creativity takes center stage with the technology employed for T-shirt design and customization. Graphic design software, digital mockup tools, and innovative virtual try-on features empower customers to unleash their creativity and personalize their T-shirts effortlessly.
• Order Processing Software: This software is designed to manage customer orders with precision, featuring order tracking, automated invoicing, and integration capabilities to streamline the entire order fulfillment process.

Customer satisfaction

Highlight the steps for ensuring prompt and accurate order fulfillment, from order placement to shipping and delivery. If running an online store and selling t-shirts, specify some customer service protocols to address queries and manage returns or exchanges.

9. Prepare Financial Projections

Generally speaking, you need a well-structured and in-depth financial plan for a successful t-shirt business. This section involves strategic calculations that showcase your expenses and profit margins.

You can include the income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet for 3-5 years. You can estimate the break-even point and funding needs from these financial projections.

So, define all the major components explained below:

Income statement

It is most commonly known as a Profit and Loss statement, or P&L, describing the gross profitability of your t-shirt business by subtracting costs of goods sold from revenue.

This part is an overview of the revenues, costs, and expenses accumulated within a designated time frame.

• Initial investment for equipment
• Costs of raw materials and supplies
• The outlay for marketing, bills, rent, subscriptions, taxes, maintenance, personnel
• Working capital
• Print-on-demand costs (if applicable)

Cash flow statement

A cash flow statement helps you notice how much money you need to start or grow your business and avoid running out of cash. After launch, maintain this statement even for certain months before earning profits.

But sometimes, you get profits but still encounter financial issues that could lead to bankruptcy. Thus, you will require appropriate cash flow planning to avoid such cases.

Balance sheet

It is a financial aspect to display whether your t-shirt business has what it bears to pay and ultimately yield profit. Use this formula: total assets = total liabilities + total equity.

For instance,

• Assets would be your printed t-shirt business inventory, equipment, and investment cash.
• Liabilities would be taxes, subscriptions, eventual debts, and payments to suppliers.

Break-even analysis

It is a projection of the exact point at which your company will sell enough T-shirts to cover all its expenditures. From this threshold, you can expect to start making purely returns.

All the above financial aspects can help you identify the funding requirements and estimate the funding resources for your t-shirt company, including bank loans, SBA-guaranteed loans, angel investors, and personal savings.

However, figuring out all the financial statements from scratch can be a challenging task. But not to worry; here is an easy way.

Use Upmetrics’ financial forecasting tool to prepare all the financial aspects for initiating your own t-shirt business.

Well, having realistic financial projections at your hand can help you to reveal the financial feasibility and sustainability of your business.

T-Shirt Printing Industry Highlights 2024

Let’s go through some t-shirt printing industry trends and statistics:

• The sustainable fashion market is expected to grow to $9.81 billion in 2025 and $15.17 billion in 2030 at a CAGR of 9.1%.
• By 2027, the volume in the t-shirt market is projected to reach 1.0bn pieces units, and there will be a volume growth of 3.1% in 2024.
• The global custom t-shirt printing market size reached $5.09 billion in 2022 and is estimated to hit around $14.81 billion by 2032. It will grow at a CAGR of 11.27% during the forecast period of 2023-2032.
• In the US, online t-shirt business revenue share will overtake offline sales and will account for 50.7% of the market revenue in 2024.
• The volume of children’s t-shirts market sold is predicted to reach 0.5 billion pieces by 2027; an expected volume growth of 3.0% in 2024.
• As per Statista, the US market is currently experiencing a surge in demand for vintage-inspired graphic t-shirts for women and sustainable and ethically-made t-shirts for men.
• The digitally printed t-shirts segment is estimated to register the fastest CAGR of 12.0% from 2023 to 2030.

Download a T-shirt business plan template

Are you ready to start writing a t-shirt business plan? And want to get help with your business plan? Well, here you can download our free t-shirt business plan pdf and start writing.

This advanced investor-friendly template has been crafted with t-shirt businesses in mind, whether a physical or online store. With step-by-step instructions and examples, this template helps you draft your t-shirt business plan.

Import data into your editor and start your business plan writing.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

Start preparing your business plan with AI

Now, it’s time to craft a blueprint to turn your entrepreneurial vision into reality. Launch your t-shirt business with confidence and precision by leveraging the power of Upmetrics AI assistant .

Whether you are an experienced entrepreneur or a novice to the business world, our innovative tools and tailored business plan templates simplify your planning process and guide you through each crucial step.

Don’t wait; seize the opportunity to bring your unique t-shirt designs to the online marketplaces. Start preparing your printed t-shirt business plan with Upmetrics and set the stages for a successful t-shirt business journey.

Let’s pave the way to the fashion landscape!

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Strategies for Business Plan Presentations

Frequently asked questions, how much does it cost to start a t-shirt business.

A fair estimation for a small-scale t-shirt business can start around $5,000, while larger-scale ventures may demand a more significant investment. It can vary widely depending on equipment costs, inventory, website development for online sales, marketing, and working capital.

Is a t-shirt business profitable?

A t-shirt business is one of the most profitable business ideas and it can be successful with the right business strategy and market positioning. The profitability of the t-shirt business depends on a well-executed business plan, high-quality designs, custom t-shirts, and effective marketing.

Do you need a business plan to sell t-shirts online?

Of course, you need a proper business plan for selling t-shirts online. A well-thought-out business plan helps you define your business goals, target audience, marketing plan, and financial projections.

What is the easiest way to create a t-shirt business plan?

The easiest way to create a tshirt business plan is to use effective business plan templates available online. Platforms like Upmetrics offer user-friendly templates that guide you through the important sections of the business plan and make the process seamless and accessible.

What to consider before starting a t-shirt business?

Consider the following factors before starting a t-shirt business:

• Niche and USPs
• Financial projections & funding
• Target audience
• Competitor analysis

About the Author

Vinay Kevadiya

Vinay Kevadiya is the founder and CEO of Upmetrics, the #1 business planning software. His ultimate goal with Upmetrics is to revolutionize how entrepreneurs create, manage, and execute their business plans. He enjoys sharing his insights on business planning and other relevant topics through his articles and blog posts. Read more

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The Art and Science of Retail Merchandising

By Kate Eby | September 20, 2017

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Retail merchandising is subtle. When customers walk into the store, they don't consciously think about the sensory experience. Rather, the colors, sounds, smells, temperature, and the way the merchandise feels combine to deliver an experience to the customer psyche that they may not even realize. Retail merchandising is an art and science. Decades of customer research, driven by the overwhelming economic importance and growth of the retail industry, arm retailers with actionable data for effective merchandise strategies and best practices. 

This article provides information for retailers to better understand retail merchandising and the difference between related concepts. Whether you are new to retail, have been a retailer for years and are looking for new inspiration to outperform the competition, or work for an e-commerce giant, there's something here for you. Learn tips and the new visual merchandising concepts from experts and researchers who are using cutting-edge science to study buyer behavior. Explore the impact that retail merchandising has on customer experience as well as the business of merchandising, including criteria for selecting a merchandising solutions provider. Discover the new rules of visual merchandising and how to be successful as a merchandise manager.

Free E-book: Building the Retail Store of the Future 6 Essential Concepts to Maximize Retail Profitibility  Get it here

What Is Retail Merchandising?

Retail merchandising refers to the various activities and strategies used to visually optimize retail displays in order to attract customers. These activities include in-store design, selecting specific merchandise to match a target market, and marketing merchandise to customers.

In the retail sector, professionals use the classify things as merchandise to categorize the industry by the types of goods and services offered (e.g., automotive parts, shoes, jewelry, etc.). Merchandising is both an activity and a strategy that contributes to selling goods and services by stimulating interest or otherwise enticing customers to make a purchase (e.g., promotional deals and discounting methods).

The goal of retail merchandising activity is to support a retail strategy that generates revenue for the retailer and value for the customer. The selection of retail merchandise and the type of goods and services a retailer decides to stock are key retail strategies. According to author Michael Levy in Retailing Management , the decision to carry particular merchandise is tactical rather than strategic. Merchandise management, along with store management principles, are the "tactical decisions" that Levy believes help implement retail strategy. For example, Lululemon uses attractive packaging to market its apparel. Lululemon provides customers with reusable bags in a variety of sizes and styles. The bags leave the retail store and serve as a type of moving merchandising strategy for brand awareness. The packaging is so effective and recognizable among the brand’s loyalists that there is a resale market on ebay for the bags. 

The Difference Between Retail Strategy and Merchandising Strategy

Levy believes merchandise management decisions, like Lululemon’s impressive presentation of seasonal athletic apparel worn by local yoga instructors on in-store posters, have short-term - rather than long-term - impact. (Long-term retail strategies are more resource dependent.) A merchandising philosophy that combines Levy's retail strategies (such as store location, systems technology, or customer relationship strategy) with tactical decisions (such as the type of merchandise a retailer carries) contributes to a customer's overall brand loyalty. 

• The target market(s) in which a retailer focuses its resources
• The retail format (products and services, pricing, communications, location) that satisfies the needs of the target market
• How the retailer will build a sustainable (long-term) advantage over competitors
• Merchandising Strategy: Merchandising strategy involves the tactics (or business processes) that contribute to the sale of goods and services to the customer for profit. Tactics within the overall retail strategy include the variety of merchandise available for sale in store or online and how the retailer advertises and displays that merchandise to stimulate interest and create a customer experience. A sound retail strategy involves developing a desirable retail merchandise mix of products that add unique customer value. 

Learn more about retail management strategy in the article How to Survive and Thrive in Retail Management .

The Difference Between Fashion Merchandising and Retail Merchandising

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) , which classifies and measures economic activity in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, classifies retail merchandising and fashion merchandising as two separate categories. NAICS organizes the retail trade industry (code 44-45) according to the “similarity in the processes used to produce goods or services.” Retail merchandising refers to business activities and retail management philosophy that cover a wider category of goods and services than fashion merchandising. For example, retail merchandising includes classifications like Clothing Accessories Stores (code 448150) and Shoe Stores (code 448210). The NAICS accepts that “knowledge of fashion trends” is a service that various retailers in the retail merchandising category provide. However, fashion merchandising services also represent a separate economic activity under the Specialized Design Services (code 541490) category.  

While there is some overlap between fashion merchandising and retail merchandising, fashion merchandising also involves a different supply-chain partnership and a unique retail mix. Retailers typically occupy the end of the supply chain involving manufacturers, wholesalers, and other suppliers and agents. Retail merchandising is, therefore, responsible for selling directly to the customer. Fashion merchandising may involve direct, value-added customer activities, but fashion merchandising professionals often sell directly to wholesale suppliers as well. 

Levy defines the retail mix as “the combination of factors used by a retailer to satisfy customer needs and influence their purchase decisions.” According to Levy, the retail mix involves the following factors: 

• The merchandise and services that a retailer offers
• The merchandise price 
• The advertising and promotional activity 
• The design and layout of stores (digital and physical)
• The visual merchandising

Fashion merchandising concerns a different combination of factors (and a narrower category of goods and services) than retail merchandising. For example, the merchandise, services, and store-design methods involved with fashion merchandising activities would not apply to used car dealers. The last component of the retail mix, visual merchandising, is another type of merchandising activity in the retailer’s tool belt.  

What Is Visual Merchandising in a Retail Store?

Visual merchandising guides the planning and activities responsible for how customers see your physical and digital stores, and the goods and services visible within. It helps create value by making the shopper journey memorable and motivates customers to purchase goods.

Visual merchandising includes everything from the store’s exterior to the entryway lighting, all the way through to well-placed furniture, fixtures, and promotional displays.

In today's omnichannel marketplace, e-commerce, retail stores, and mobile channels converge to shape the customer experience. Visual merchandising is responsible for creating the digital or physical environment that appeals to your target customer and aligns with your overall retail value proposition. The creative methods of visual merchandising stimulate customers to make purchases. Retailers can design a customer experience with the layout of store merchandise, the UX design of e-commerce landing pages, and the usability and imagery of a mobile app.

The Science of Visual Merchandising

With visual merchandising, retailers can influence how customers choose and what choices they make based on what those customers see in physical stores and online. Modern neuroscience studies suggest that the impact of messaging via optical stimulation is measurable and real. The field of neuro-marketing studies how customers make purchasing decisions and how retailers can influence customers. In the book Retail Marketing Strategy: Delivering Shopper Delight , author Constant Berkhout discusses how brain research is an appropriate retail marketing tool. For example, he cites a study in which researchers affixed smiley face stickers to merchandise price tags. These emojis gave shoppers the perception that the prices of the items displaying the stickers were lower than the prices of the items without the stickers. Berkhout explains that shoppers are “unconsciously attracted by pleasure and a feeling of reward.” A well-known and simple visual image — in the relatable and popular form of communication (emojis) preferred by highly sought-after millennials and Gen-Zers — had a powerful effect on customer value. 

Image Adapted from Source: Retail Marketing Strategy, Constant Berkhout

Visual Merchandising Tips from Neuro-Marketing Research

In Retail Marketing Strategy , Berkhout offers a summary of practical suggestions. He gleaned this information from his time with neuroscientists who were trying to understand the brain activity that accompanies the ideal shopping experience. He also cites research from The Buying Brain: Secrets for Selling to the Subconscious Mind , by Dr. A.K. Pradeep. Here is a list of the visual merchandising tips that Berkhout adapted from this neuro research. They include observations on how to turn insight into retail solutions:

• Signs Point the Way: Shoppers are scanners. They routinely look for changes in familiar retail environments (or on landing pages) and use visual stimuli closest to their point of entry. Place signs closest to the customer’s entry point, and guide the shopper journey with images rather than text to avoid overstimulation. 
• Display Images: The images retailers use for in-store displays or online stores should have a left-right orientation. (The picture should appear on the left, and the associated text should appear on the right.) The “shopper’s eye,” according to Pradeep, delivers observations more effectively in this way. It takes more effort for scanning shoppers if the text appears on the left, and the image appears on the right. 
• Aisle Attraction: Aisles that end with rounded gondola displays entice customers more often. These round-end caps should help the shopper navigate by providing clues to what they will find on the rest of the aisle. The ideal length of an aisle is approx. 20-22 ft., and, halfway down each aisle, there should be some “visual interruption,” such as special lighting or a floor display, to attract the shopper.  
• Show Off Consumption: Visual displays that show off consumption of goods and services prompt more action. If the display features people, it should always include imagery of smiling, happy customers. For example, if you wish to promote the breakfast items on your menu, it is better to show a person consuming said items rather than the product by itself. If your merchandise is apparel, it’s preferable to show that apparel in action. 
• Material Matters: Shoppers (and their brains) enjoy touching round, soft items. Place such items at eye level, and design merchandise displays with “touch moments” in mind. Also, the material of the shelving and displays matters to the customer’s visual perception of value. Wood gives the impression of “real, authentic, and organic,” but shoppers may perceive a higher price point for items displayed on natural wood shelves.
• Cross-Merchandising Solutions: Retailers should cross-promote solutions with visual merchandising. For example, position batteries next to electronic devices, stage merchandise kits next to core products (for example, socks, shoe laces, and shoe cleaner), and place unrelated (but logical) products on display with profitable merchandise.

The New Rules for Retail Merchandising

Studies cited by Shop: The International Magazine for Retailing and Shop Design indicate that conventional market research “is reaching the limit of its effectiveness.” The magazine cites the research of marketing expert Arndt Traindl (in partnership with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Functional Brain Topography). An investigation of brain activity during a “visual stimulation of goods” demonstrated the potential of neuro-marketing by finding that unconscious thought drives up to 80 percent of customer purchase behavior. The “rational customer” is a myth, and the point of sale itself can directly influence customers — especially if that customer fits the individual motives of the retailer’s target customer group. What does this mean for retail merchandising? A new set of retail merchandising rules must account for the emotional, irrational customer behavior discovered by scientific methods (such as neuro-marketing) and the customer experience demands of a digital era.

• The Rule of Three: Constant Berkhout writes about the challenges of “over-choice.” Behavioral economics and science indicate that too many choices does not work well for the shopper journey. The consequences include cart abandonment and order cancellation or, worse, choosing the competitor's environment that has fewer choices. According to findings cited by Berkhout, shopper happiness increases when retailers reduce choices. Consider three to be the magic retail merchandising number: Explore a category management strategy with three core products that you offer quarterly (every three months) to create demand and keep up with changing customer trends. 
• The Personalization Rule: Research suggests customers want to shop on their own terms. Using statistics from Malcolm Gladwell’s research, Berkhout writes that our contemporary life bombards shoppers with hundreds of daily messages in the form of TV, radio, and digital media ads. He uses the principle of availability to point out that people don’t have the time or capacity to process these messages and only pay attention to personal events that have occurred recently. Personalized service as well as a customer experience that matches the target customer’s lifestyle are more likely to create customer value. Leverage the segmentation capabilities of social media advertising platforms, and experiment with ads personalized for your customers. Make retail merchandise physically accessible to customers. 
• The Experience Rule: Products and services are two thirds of the equation now. An  outstanding customer experience is the final piece of the customer value puzzle. By using innovative in-store technology (and, thus, replicating the high-tech customer experience that makes digital retail channels so compelling), department store Neiman Marcus is combatting the shift of retail sales to digital channels. The company’s iLab project created a “Memory Mirror” for in-store customers trying on clothing. While the shopper spins around, the digital mirror records eight-second video clips, capturing multiple angles and building a library of different options side by side. Shoppers can then share the videos on Facebook or Instagram for feedback on different retail merchandise. The iLab project also rolled out Charge It Spot stations that allow customers to charge their mobile devices while shopping, simultaneously encouraging more time in the store and the digital discovery of retail merchandise. A retail merchandising strategy that successfully embraces the physical and digital customer experience doesn’t necessarily require the resources of a retail giants like Neiman Marcus - small, independent retailers can leverage retail management software that allows customers to reserve products online and pick them up in the store.

What Is a Merchandising Business?

Merchandising businesses provide expertise and resources for retailers of all sizes and industries to successfully plan and execute retail strategies. Retailers without the in-house resources to oversee merchandising budgets and activities rely on third-party solution providers.

According to their website, Umdasch Shopfitting provides international “consulting and value engineering experts” for the “development and planning of retail solutions.” The company calls the architects, graphic artists, interior decorators, designers, and marketing specialists “shop makers.” The shop makers work across four branches of expertise, including lifestyle retail, food retail, premium retail, and digital retail. According to Wikipedia, shopfitting is the “trade of fitting out” retail stores with equipment, fixtures, and fittings.” A shopfitting firm “typically incorporates professional expertise in interior design, the manufacturing of bespoke furniture, signage, fittings (with one’s own or outsourced facilities), and the purchasing of retail equipment.” 

Umdasch Shopfitting is an example of a traditional retail merchandising business operating and evolving in the digital era. The company provides general contracting and design services, and retail equipment specialization (shelving, furniture, lighting accessories, etc.). They also provide project management and digital retail professionals to implement advanced retail strategy and technology. Here’s a list of other prominent retail merchandising businesses and a snapshot of their advertised capabilities:

• ManagementONE: Management One provides international retail experts for merchandise planning and professional retail services, such as traffic and conversion management. The company offers turnarounds for retailers behind on expenses and a retail diagnostics program for financial analysis, industry benchmarking, and compensation review.  
• SPAR Group Retail Merchandising: SPAR Group is a publicly-traded international retail merchandising service provider. The company offers three categories of service: syndicated, project, and dedicated services based on the size of operation and the specific needs of the retailer. Within these categories, SPAR Group provides retailer directed in-store merchandising services dedicated to all manufacturers, new store set and remodel, events and demo management, audits, and assembly services.
• Advanced Retail Merchandising: ARM provides merchandising services, mystery shopper audits, planogram and presentation development, data collection, and market research for retailers located in the southeastern United States (Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina). The company uses an activity-based model to support each retailer partner and dedicates a team to the independent projects for tailored customer support and complete budget control.  
• Mi9 Retail: Named after the British military intelligence service (MI9), Mi9 Retail provides software solutions and professional retail services for merchandising, store operations, customer engagement, e-commerce, and business analytics across most retail categories. The company offers ERP integrations and retail management systems software implementation for a variety of proprietary software deployed as cloud-based SaaS or hosted on-premise. 
• Retail Merchandising Services: RMS is a privately held, family-owned company providing in-store visual merchandising and display solutions in the US. RMS employs retail merchandising service representatives, field coordinators, and management in geographic territories. The company lists a range of merchandising services including count updates, item corrections, instant rebate coupons, safety recalls, fixture/signage surveys, and endcap setup and maintenance. 

Choosing a Merchandising Solution

The decision to partner with professional merchandising solutions providers is largely an analysis of in-house merchandising management resources and capabilities. Retail merchandising strategy for small independents is distinctively different compared to omnichannel retailers or large multi-store retailers. Merchandising solutions businesses offer professional services for retailers or all sizes; however, many leverage their large workforce, proprietary technology solutions, and the expertise of various professions (architects, digital marketers, contractors, etc.) to solve complex retail merchandising challenges. Merchandising solution providers specialize in online retail stores and managing digital channels as well. If your IT capabilities or resources are limited, it is important to work with partners familiar with the complexities of online security, cloud-based software deployment and management, digital marketing, and web analytics.     

Joe Holley is the VP New Business Development - Displays/Merchandisers, for Frank Mayer and Associates, Inc . The company designs and manufactures point of purchase displays and kiosks for in-store environments. Holley has more than 20 years of experience in developing custom branded, in-store marketing solutions for retailers. He offers the following qualitative criteria for evaluating merchandising partners:

• Continuity: Holley recommends asking questions about the company’s longest-running retail merchandising client — a question you can pose to the company representatives partnering with you as well. How many clients partner with them on multiple projects? Can they provide real-world examples when a merchandising project was sidetracked and what the company felt was the positive, and negative, outcome? 
• Creativity: “Don’t tell me, show me,” is the adage Holley recommends applying to this criteria. Request physical samples of merchandise displays or a portfolio of digital media and pay attention to the small details. Review the merchandising solutions the company creates for their clients. Does their portfolio back up claims of creative capabilities and customer insights? What is the depth of creative resources on their team and how many designers work on a project on average? Concentrate on the design quality of graphics and use trade shows to scout how the company represents their craftsmanship for their own marketing and customer experience.
• Agility: Holley refers to this criteria in terms of in-house capabilities. “The greater the array of in-house capabilities, the more nimble an in-store merchandising partner can be,” writes Holley. It is important that your merchandising partners are willing to be flexible and modify solutions when challenges arise. Can they achieve the original plan on the agreed upon dates consistently? Ask questions to determine how nimbly the partner works around the challenges of the retail supply chain, involving multiple trade and category managers with a stake in the design and display of their products. 

Retail Supply Chain Merchandising

The retail industry relies on the cooperation of a supply chain made up of manufacturers, wholesale suppliers, distributors, transportation and logistics providers, and merchandising solutions providers. Supply chain merchandising is a partnership between merchandise managers and their network of suppliers, who use shared resources to stock products and displays for customers to access. This merchandising activity is done by the manufacturer, vendor, or wholesaler that provides the products to the retail store and in some scenarios, may include the partners who select the merchandise mix for retailers. Grocery retailers, for example, rely on the in-store merchandising services of their partners for activity such as shelf stocking, inventory management, and promotional display creation. Omnichannel retailers partner with suppliers and third party vendors on e-commerce merchandising activity such as implementing cart abandonment technology on a hosted website or managing dropshipping partners in the supply chain.

What Does It Take to Succeed in Merchandise Management?

Merchandise management is more than making sales. Managers must be skilled in retail management philosophy, planning, strategy, and the associated activities. Specialized roles in the field include specialty buyers, purchasing and vendor managers, sales trainers and consultants, professional service providers, and turnaround managers.

Retail merchandise management responsibilities include the following activities:

• Merchandising Planning: The expenses involved in running a retail business can make or break a retailer because of slim operating margins and strict competition. In fact, proper retail merchandise planning is so critical to profitability that the retail industry supports separate job categories for merchandise planners and the major retail management system software solutions providers design planning tools and technology for users. The planning responsibilities for merchandise managers include sales forecasting, inventory planning, customer trend analysis with vendors, visual merchandising design, and seasonal store layout.   
• Merchandise Budgeting: Managing and selling inventory is not an easy task, and retailers with large amounts of inventory or expensive merchandise rely on the accuracy of their merchandising budgets. The merchandise budgeting process requires projecting demand, projecting sales, determining which costs to attribute (cost of goods sold, marketing expenses, software cost, shipping) and estimating purchases and reduction (inventory theft or damage). The budget may be static or flexible, depending on the business history and retail category, and consists of projected sales, inventory cost, estimated reduction, and estimated purchases. 
• Inventory Planning: Merchandise managers are responsible for maintaining accurate inventory levels according to customer demand and operational capacity. The ultimate goal for retailers is profitability, and there are various methods used to manage a profitable inventory. For example, merchandise managers budget for real-time inventory expenses to identify how much capital is available at any given time. This portion of the merchandise budget is called open to buy (OTB). For more information on common retail formulas related to inventory planning methods, including average inventory, stock-to-sales ratio, sell-through rate, and stock turnover, visit the article How to Survive and Thrive in Retail Management .  
• Retail Assortment Strategies: Assortment strategy is the process of planning for the type and number of products a retailer carries. Merchandise managers plan for how many product variations of a particular product to carry, as well as how many types of products to carry overall. This requires determining trade-offs and savvy analysis of customer trends, operational capacity, and internal capabilities (such as sales staff experience). Merchandise managers may work for retailers known as category killers : A retailer using a deep assortment strategy of a limited number of products to dominate a category and make competition difficult (for example, Staples’ assortment of business supplies and services). A greater percentage of retail sales shifting to digital channels makes category killers less of a threat to smaller retailers leveraging narrow assortment strategies.  

The majority of merchandise managers have a bachelor’s degree (for BA/BS in Business, BS in Fashion Merchandising, and BA/BS in Marketing) or equivalent industry experience. The role is diverse, as merchandise management includes sales forecasting, creating merchandise plans and inventory budgets, evaluating market trends, and working with buyers to manage supply and demand. Merchandise Managers are often involved in the day-to-day activities in a variety of retail environments that include creating displays, stocking shelves, managing inventory, training sales staff, and working with information systems for inventory management and sales reporting. 

Job Hero is a comprehensive online resource for building resumes, cover letters, and career overviews. Here is a sample of highlights from the website’s merchandise management resumes:

• “Managed products through their lifecycle, from creation to disposition, vendor management, meetings, and negotiations, including minimum purchase quantities, rebates, and costs.”
• “Initiated a bridal registry system that increased registries by 33% and sales by $800 thousand and improved customer service in the first year.”
• “Managed team of product coordinators, analysts, event managers, and web merchandisers.”
• “Analyzed sales data in depth to optimize merchandise presentation and selection. Achieved consistent 4-5% comp growth in responsible departments.”
• “Successfully planned and executed substantial merchandise initiatives and relays, including new department rollouts, NOOK, and digital initiatives.”
• “Designed and launched new merchandise website with revenue doubling LY.”
• “Successfully reduced inventory 30% by implementing mark-down strategies and open to buy.”

Image source: Indeed.com

The Importance of Retail Category Management

At the center of retail merchandising management is the desire to understand customers in order to create customer value that leads to profitability. To do so, merchandise managers need to consider how every retail merchandising decision helps the customer. According to Berkhout, this is the core of category management. Professionals originally used the term category management to describe the joint business planning between retailer and supplier, writes Berkhout. Over time, the definition changed to include “the process of managing categories as strategic business units, producing advanced results by focusing on delivering consumer value.” He credits Brian Harris , at the time a University of Southern California Professor of Marketing and Procter & Gamble (P&G) consultant, for creating the term and the business model. The practice completely changed the way P&G and Walmart collaborated after the first-ever category management project between the two retail titans took off in the 1980s. Berkhout writes that the concept rests on four principles:

• Think category rather than brand or product.
• Include supply and demand retail activities as an integral part of your overall process. 
• Deliver customer value.
• Collaborate closely with suppliers.

Holistic, mutually beneficial collaboration between retailers and their supply chain partners is essential to surviving in the retail jungle. Category management is less dependent on customer behavior or motivations, and relies more heavily on strategic planning, understanding and analyzing data, and retail merchandising tactics. Merchandising strategy is what small, independent retailers need to understand in order to respond to the threat of retail giants, deep-assortment discounters, and digital disruption.

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The Ultimate Guide to Merchandising Planning

The aisles of physical stores like your neighborhood grocery store or retail store reveal a carefully orchestrated plan. Each product sits strategically on the shelves, placed to catch the shopper’s eye. Bright sale signs tout limited-time deals, tempting shoppers to drop an extra item or two into their carts. This is the work of the unseen hand of the merchandise planner, whose meticulous planning and data-driven optimization are designed to maximize sales and profits.

Through sophisticated forecasting, brands compete for prime-shelf real estate. Robust analytics inform pricing strategies and promotional calendars. It’s far more complex than just stocking shelves. Retail merchandising is a high-stakes game where inches matter and psychology rules.

Is your grocery store or retail store layout leaving money on the table? With the right merchandising plan, your store could increase sales without adding inventory.

What is Merchandise Planning?

By definition, it’s the strategic approach to managing a business’s inventory to ensure the right products are available to customers at the right time. Essentially, this process involves forecasting sales and consumer demand, planning for season merchandise, general assortment planning, and supply chain management.

It is integral to create a successful balance between supply and demand, preventing any situation that a store risks running out of inventory or sitting on excess stock. The results are an improved customer experience, greater profitability, and improved overall business performance. The goal it to meet consumer demand as efficiently and seamlessly as possible.

Definition and Importance of Merchandising

In detail, merchandising involves making informed predictions about what customers will want to buy, deciding how much stock a business should carry, and strategizing where, how, and when the products should be available. It involves a myriad of elements such as supply chain management, model stock plan, assortment planning, demand forecasting, and fulfillment operations.

Effective merchandising allows a business to meet customers’ needs and manage inventory volume, utilize data effectively, promote products strategically, drive sales of a specific product, all to make the maximum profit. Without robust planning of merchandise, businesses risk losing sales due to out-of-stock items, missing potential profits due to overstocking, and failing to deliver a good customer experience.

Key Objectives of Merchandising Planning

The foremost objective is to ensure that the right quantities of the right products are available at the right place, at the right time, and at the right price. Simply put, it’s all about striking the perfect balance. Other key objectives include increasing efficiency, reducing the cost of sales, improving customer satisfaction, and enhancing profitability.

For instance, a model stock plan can be effectively used to determine the right amount and types of products to stock based on factors such as past sales numbers, market trends, and customer preferences. This balance is critical for maintaining a successful business.

Steps to Merchandising Planning

Success in merchandising relies heavily on a well-executed plan. Some vital steps include market research and analysis, assortment planning, demand forecasting, and strategic sourcing – all of which will be discussed below.

Market Research and Analysis

The merchandising planning process begins with a thorough market analysis. It involves a detailed examination of the market, including competitive analysis, customer behavior, average demand, product availability, prevailing market trends, and even predicting future market trends.

Comprehensive market research is crucial to ensure the retail business stays competitive and meets customer demands in a timely manner.

Assortment Planning

Once you have a clear understanding of the market, it’s time to work out your product assortment. This step involves deciding which products to sell, in what quantities, and when they should be made available to the customers. A well-thought-out plan ensures that the products in your inventory appeal to your customers, boosting sales effectively.

Being effective relies heavily on data. It’s about understanding your customers’ needs, preferences, buying behaviors and matching these aspects with your product availability.

Demand Forecasting

Demand forecasting is another critical aspect of the merchandising planning process. It involves predicting the level of customer demand in the future, leveraging crucial factors such as past sales, average demand, current market trends, and customer preferences. Demand forecasting is crucial in determining how much inventory you need and when. Accurate demand predictions empower businesses to manage inventory efficiently, reduce costs, and maximize profits.

Mastering Merchandise Planning in Retail Business

Factors Influencing Merchandising Planning

In retail, optimizing your merchandise planning process is key to meeting consumer demands, managing inventory levels, and managing the entire supply chain. But multiple factors affect the process. Let’s look at some of these influential factors.

Seasonality and Trends

Seasonality and emerging trends are crucial to merchandising. Monitoring sales data can provide insights into seasonal trends, allowing the retail business to prepare beforehand and adjust their season merchandise levels in the fulfillment center.

Consumer Behavior and Preferences

Consumer behavior and preferences largely guide product assortment. To execute effective merchandise planning, it is important to understand what the customer wants and align your product availability accordingly.

Competitive Analysis

A thorough competitive analysis can steer merchandise planning in the right direction. By understanding competitive strategies, you can develop a unique approach to planning merchandise and set your business apart.

Merchandising Planning Strategies

Category management.

Incorporating category management into your merchandising plan allows you to manage the product categories as separate business units, focusing more effectively on their performance.

Product Grouping and Placement

Product grouping and placement are vital to forecasting sales. Having a strategic store layout can significantly influence customer behavior and increase the odds customers will make a positive purchase decision.

Pricing and Promotions

Formulate a pricing and promotional strategy that aligns with season merchandise, market trends, sales figures, and other key performance metrics to help maintain a healthy inventory and attract more customers.

Inventory Management

Proper inventory management implies keeping track of goods, ensuring there’s enough stock to meet demand. This reduces the chances of overstocking or understocking.

Merchandise Assortment Optimization

Balance your core and trending products when developing your product mix. A focused assortment of products tailored to specific customer segments improves customer satisfaction and boosts revenue.

Understanding Customer Segments

One of the cardinal rules of merchandising planning is understanding your customer segments. Different groups have varying needs and preferences. Tailor your inventory to meet these specific requirements.

Supplier Collaboration

Strengthening your relationship with suppliers can significantly improve your supply chain management and retail operations. Good supplier relationships can lead to better deals, consistent product quality, and on-time deliveries.

Visual Merchandising

Visual merchandising is a powerful tool for retail businesses. It involves visual presentation and product displays that naturally entice the customers toward buying a specific product or products.

Sales Staff Training

Properly trained sales staff can make your merchandise strategy sing. Make sure your sales reps understand your merchandise plan and can pitch the products convincingly to target customers.

Merchandising Planning: Tools, Technologies, and Challenges

Tools and technologies for merchandising planning.

The advancement of technology has drastically transformed merchandise planning in the retail space. From automated data analytics to highly accurate sales forecast tools, a wide range of innovations have helped retailers manage their inventory levels efficiently.

Here we delve into some pivotal tools and technologies utilized in merchandise planning – merchandise planning systems, data analytics and forecasting, and Point-of-Sale systems.

Merchandise Planning Systems

Merchandise planning systems create and maintain a product assortment that ensures the right mix of products is on hand to meet buyer demand. An effective system employs data collected from various channels and helps to optimize the inventory management process, thereby reducing the chances of stockouts or overstock.

A stock plan created using these systems provides a roadmap for managing inventory levels, planning merchandise, facilitating smoother operations, and ensuring efficient resource allocation.

Data Analytics and Forecasting Software

Data analytics tools play a crucial role in merchandise planning. They process vast amounts of data to provide valuable insights regarding customer behavior, buying patterns, seasonal trends, and more. This intelligence aids in making data-driven decisions, improving overall sales, and enhancing the customer experience.

Forecasting software, on the other hand, uses historical data to predict future sales trends, helping retailers plan their inventory and sales strategies in advance. A sound sales forecast directly influences retail management, impacting everything from procurement to logistics.

Point of Sale (POS) Systems

POS Systems are more than just cash registers. They accumulate crucial data at the transaction level, providing real-time input on inventory levels, sales trends, customer preferences, and more. This data is imperative, helping to ensure retailers don’t miss out on sales opportunities due to poor inventory management.

Common Challenges in Merchandising Planning

Despite the various tools and technologies available, challenges persist in merchandising planning and analysis . Retailers often grapple with inventory management, pricing strategies, and constantly evolving consumer preferences.

Inventory Management and Stockouts

An efficient inventory management system forms the backbone of managing supply and demand. However, balancing inventory can be challenging. Overstocks lead to increased holding costs, and stockouts result in lost sales and customer dissatisfaction. Therefore, understanding the optimal level of stock for each product becomes crucial.

Pricing and Discounting Strategies

Setting the right price for products is a key aspect of merchandising planning. With the increasing competition in the retail industry, discounting strategies can often make or break a business. Thus, it’s essential to analyze market trends and competitive pricing by leveraging historical data to build a pricing strategy that doesn’t just optimize raw sales but also accounts for revenue increases.

Adapting to Changing Consumer Preferences

The retail industry is heavily impacted by changing consumer preferences. From sustainability to fast fashion, customer preferences can significantly alter the merchandise planning process. Keeping a pulse on consumer trends will help retailers adapt their strategies quickly and effectively.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in Merchandise Planning

Merchandise planning plays a pivotal role in retail success. It’s the process that decides the ‘what, when, and how much’ in terms of product selection for retail stores. It’s this meticulous process that allows retailers to meet customer demands consistently, maintain optimal inventory, and maximize profits. However, making these important decisions requires a mixture of sales data, a model stock plan, and an assortment plan.

The crucial part of any merchandise planning process lies in the translation of strategic goals into actionable plans. Helping retailers in this translation are Key Performance Indicators or KPIs. One needs to consider these key metrics when planning merchandise to lay the foundation of a successful retail operation. Let’s delve into some of these important KPIs.

Sales and Revenue Analysis

Understanding sales performance is the backbone of merchandise planning. An in-depth sales and revenue analysis assists in formulating a precise sales forecast, which is essential for managing supply against demand. This sales information can be garnered across various channels, such as online sales, in-store sales, hybrid stores, and sales via other fulfillment centers.

Furthermore, a detailed revenue analysis can provide insights into customer preferences and shopping behaviors. This data proves useful in planning product assortment, indicating which specific products are performing well and which are underperforming. Consequently, retailers can make informed decisions, ensuring they carry the right stock that aligns with customer expectations and drives revenue.

Inventory Turnover Rate

Inventory turnover rate is another critical KPI in merchandise planning. This ratio indicates how many times inventory is sold and replaced during a given period. A high inventory turnover rate is usually a good sign that products are selling well. But, on the flip side, it could also mean that there isn’t enough stock to meet customer demand.

Understanding this KPI allows for effective inventory management. It enables retailers to strike the right balance in stocking inventory – not too much, leading to overstocks, or too little, resulting in stockouts. Combining insights from the inventory turnover rate with sales forecast data helps in maintaining optimal inventory, ensuring uninterrupted supply chain operations.

Gross Margin

The gross margin represents the total sales revenue minus the cost of goods sold. It’s a measure of profitability and is crucial to the merchandise planning process. Understanding the gross margin on products gives retailers an idea of the profits they can anticipate.

Through an effective assortment planning strategy, retailers can focus on products with higher gross margins, thus driving profitability. Bear in mind, though, a balanced plan must include a varying range of products, not just high-performing ones. It’s about ensuring that the merchandise mix caters to a wide variety of customer tastes and preferences, all while driving revenue and maintaining a healthy gross margin.

Understandably, the process of merchandise planning can seem overwhelming. However, by focusing on KPIs such as sales data, inventory turnover rate, and gross margin, retailers can decode the intricacies involved. These metrics provide significant insights, guiding the business toward sound decision-making and successful outcomes.

Drive Customer Satisfaction with T-ROC Global’s Merchandising Planning Solutions

Let T-ROC Global help you satisfy more customers with smarter merchandising planning decisions. Our strategic insights strengthen your store’s bottom line. Want to know how much revenue our merchandising plan could generate for your grocery business or retail stores? Contact T-ROC to discuss your growth opportunities today.

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7 Business Plan Examples to Inspire Your Own (2024)

Need support creating your business plan? Check out these business plan examples for inspiration.

Any aspiring entrepreneur researching how to start a business will likely be advised to write a business plan. But few resources provide business plan examples to really guide you through writing one of your own.

Here are some real-world and illustrative business plan examples to help you craft your business plan .

7 business plan examples: section by section

The business plan examples in this article follow this template:

• Executive summary.  An introductory overview of your business.
• Company description.  A more in-depth and detailed description of your business and why it exists.
• Market analysis.  Research-based information about the industry and your target market.
• Products and services.  What you plan to offer in exchange for money.
• Marketing plan.   The promotional strategy to introduce your business to the world and drive sales.
• Logistics and operations plan.  Everything that happens in the background to make your business function properly.
• Financial plan.  A breakdown of your numbers to show what you need to get started as well as to prove viability of profitability.
• Executive summary

Your  executive summary  is a page that gives a high-level overview of the rest of your business plan. It’s easiest to save this section for last.

In this  free business plan template , the executive summary is four paragraphs and takes a little over half a page:

• Company description

You might repurpose your company description elsewhere, like on your About page, social media profile pages, or other properties that require a boilerplate description of your small business.

Soap brand ORRIS  has a blurb on its About page that could easily be repurposed for the company description section of its business plan.

You can also go more in-depth with your company overview and include the following sections, like in the example for Paw Print Post:

• Business structure.  This section outlines how you  registered your business —as an  LLC , sole proprietorship, corporation, or other  business type . “Paw Print Post will operate as a sole proprietorship run by the owner, Jane Matthews.”
• Nature of the business.  “Paw Print Post sells unique, one-of-a-kind digitally printed cards that are customized with a pet’s unique paw prints.”
• Industry.  “Paw Print Post operates primarily in the pet industry and sells goods that could also be categorized as part of the greeting card industry.”
• Background information.  “Jane Matthews, the founder of Paw Print Post, has a long history in the pet industry and working with animals, and was recently trained as a graphic designer. She’s combining those two loves to capture a niche in the market: unique greeting cards customized with a pet’s paw prints, without needing to resort to the traditional (and messy) options of casting your pet’s prints in plaster or using pet-safe ink to have them stamp their ‘signature.’”
• Business objectives.  “Jane will have Paw Print Post ready to launch at the Big Important Pet Expo in Toronto to get the word out among industry players and consumers alike. After two years in business, Jane aims to drive $150,000 in annual revenue from the sale of Paw Print Post’s signature greeting cards and have expanded into two new product categories.”
• Team.  “Jane Matthews is the sole full-time employee of Paw Print Post but hires contractors as needed to support her workflow and fill gaps in her skill set. Notably, Paw Print Post has a standing contract for five hours a week of virtual assistant support with Virtual Assistants Pro.”

Your  mission statement  may also make an appearance here.  Passionfruit  shares its mission statement on its company website, and it would also work well in its example business plan.

• Market analysis

The market analysis consists of research about supply and demand, your target demographics, industry trends, and the competitive landscape. You might run a SWOT analysis and include that in your business plan. 

Here’s an example  SWOT analysis  for an online tailored-shirt business:

You’ll also want to do a  competitive analysis  as part of the market research component of your business plan. This will tell you who you’re up against and give you ideas on how to differentiate your brand. A broad competitive analysis might include:

• Target customers
• Unique value add  or what sets their products apart
• Sales pitch
• Price points  for products
• Shipping  policy
• Products and services

This section of your business plan describes your offerings—which products and services do you sell to your customers? Here’s an example for Paw Print Post:

• Marketing plan

It’s always a good idea to develop a marketing plan  before you launch your business. Your marketing plan shows how you’ll get the word out about your business, and it’s an essential component of your business plan as well.

The Paw Print Post focuses on four Ps: price, product, promotion, and place. However, you can take a different approach with your marketing plan. Maybe you can pull from your existing  marketing strategy , or maybe you break it down by the different marketing channels. Whatever approach you take, your marketing plan should describe how you intend to promote your business and offerings to potential customers.

• Logistics and operations plan

The Paw Print Post example considered suppliers, production, facilities, equipment, shipping and fulfillment, and inventory.

Financial plan

The financial plan provides a breakdown of sales, revenue, profit, expenses, and other relevant financial metrics related to funding and profiting from your business.

Ecommerce brand  Nature’s Candy’s financial plan  breaks down predicted revenue, expenses, and net profit in graphs.

It then dives deeper into the financials to include:

• Funding needs
• Projected profit-and-loss statement
• Projected balance sheet
• Projected cash-flow statement

You can use this financial plan spreadsheet to build your own financial statements, including income statement, balance sheet, and cash-flow statement.

Types of business plans, and what to include for each

A one-page business plan is meant to be high level and easy to understand at a glance. You’ll want to include all of the sections, but make sure they’re truncated and summarized:

• Executive summary: truncated
• Market analysis: summarized
• Products and services: summarized
• Marketing plan: summarized
• Logistics and operations plan: summarized
• Financials: summarized

A startup business plan is for a new business. Typically, these plans are developed and shared to secure  outside funding . As such, there’s a bigger focus on the financials, as well as on other sections that determine viability of your business idea—market research, for example.

• Market analysis: in-depth
• Financials: in-depth

Your internal business plan is meant to keep your team on the same page and aligned toward the same goal.

A strategic, or growth, business plan is a bigger picture, more-long-term look at your business. As such, the forecasts tend to look further into the future, and growth and revenue goals may be higher. Essentially, you want to use all the sections you would in a normal business plan and build upon each.

• Market analysis: comprehensive outlook
• Products and services: for launch and expansion
• Marketing plan: comprehensive outlook
• Logistics and operations plan: comprehensive outlook
• Financials: comprehensive outlook

Feasibility

Your feasibility business plan is sort of a pre-business plan—many refer to it as simply a feasibility study. This plan essentially lays the groundwork and validates that it’s worth the effort to make a full business plan for your idea. As such, it’s mostly centered around research.

Set yourself up for success as a business owner

Building a good business plan serves as a roadmap you can use for your ecommerce business at launch and as you reach each of your business goals. Business plans create accountability for entrepreneurs and synergy among teams, regardless of your  business model .

Kickstart your ecommerce business and set yourself up for success with an intentional business planning process—and with the sample business plans above to guide your own path.

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Business plan examples FAQ

How do i write a simple business plan, what is the best format to write a business plan, what are the 4 key elements of a business plan.

• Executive summary: A concise overview of the company's mission, goals, target audience, and financial objectives.
• Business description: A description of the company's purpose, operations, products and services, target markets, and competitive landscape.
• Market analysis: An analysis of the industry, market trends, potential customers, and competitors.
• Financial plan: A detailed description of the company's financial forecasts and strategies.

What are the 3 main points of a business plan?

• Concept: Your concept should explain the purpose of your business and provide an overall summary of what you intend to accomplish.
• Contents: Your content should include details about the products and services you provide, your target market, and your competition.
• Cashflow: Your cash flow section should include information about your expected cash inflows and outflows, such as capital investments, operating costs, and revenue projections.

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What Is Merchandising?

Understanding merchandising, special considerations, u.s. retail cycles.

• Merchandising vs. Service Company

Merchandising Strategies

Benefits of merchandising.

• Types of Merchandising Companies

What Does Merchandising Entail?

• Merchandising vs. Service Company?
• Four Types of Retail Merchandise
• Marketing Essentials

Merchandising: How Companies Entice Customers To Spend

Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and behavioral finance. Adam received his master's in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology. He is a CFA charterholder as well as holding FINRA Series 7, 55 & 63 licenses. He currently researches and teaches economic sociology and the social studies of finance at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Yarilet Perez is an experienced multimedia journalist and fact-checker with a Master of Science in Journalism. She has worked in multiple cities covering breaking news, politics, education, and more. Her expertise is in personal finance and investing, and real estate.

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Merchandising is the presentation and promotion of goods that are available for purchase for both wholesale and retail sales . This includes marketing strategies, display design, and competitive pricing, including discounting. Merchandising is important for retailers looking to cultivate their brand, improve the experience of customers, compete with others in the sector, and ultimately, drive sales.

Key Takeaway

• Merchandising refers to the marketing and sales of products.
• Merchandising is most often synonymous with retail sales, where businesses sell products to consumers.
• Merchandising, more narrowly, may refer to the marketing, promotion, and advertising of products intended for retail sale.
• Technology is changing the face of merchandising, with electronic point-of-sale terminals to targeted and personalized mobile ads.
• Categories of merchandising include product, visual, retail, digital, and omnichannel.

Merchandising includes the determination of quantities, setting prices for goods, creating display designs, developing marketing strategies, and establishing discounts or coupons. More broadly, merchandising may refer to retail sales itself: the provision of goods to end-user consumers.

Cycles of merchandising are specific to cultures and climates. These cycles may accommodate school schedules and incorporate regional and seasonal holidays, as well as the predicted impact of weather.

Merchandising can take on different and more specific definitions in regard to different aspects of retail sales. For example, in marketing, merchandising can refer to the use of one product, image, or brand to sell another product, image, or brand.

The word merchandise comes from the Old French word  marchandise, from  marchand, which means "merchant."

Since retailers may or may not be producers of the goods they sell, measuring the gross value of all sales provides insight into the company’s performance. This is especially true in the customer-to-customer market, where the retailer serves as a third-party mechanism for connecting buyers and sellers without actually participating as either.

Merchandising may also provide value to retailers in the consignment sector. In this sector, retailers never officially purchase their inventory. Even though the items are often housed within a company’s retail location, the business functions as the authorized reseller, often for a fee, of another person’s or entity’s merchandise or property. Generally, they are never the true owner of the item because the person or entity that placed the item on consignment may return and claim the item if they so choose.

Gross merchandise value is the total value of merchandise sold over a given period of time through a customer-to-customer exchange site. It is a measure of the growth of the business.

All around the world, but most notably in the United States, the reality of merchandising is getting an update. The roles and rules of merchandising are experiencing an evolution. Chief merchants, formerly concerned mainly with the selection and presentation of products, now have broader accountability and a heavier hand in customer experience, as well as the development of design and talent related to display and marketing design.

Because consumer savvy is broadening, and technology is playing such a massive role in merchandising, companies need to stay ahead of consumers’ expectations. Innovation and experimentation have a central role in retailers' merchandising strategies.

In the United States, the routine retail cycle starts at the beginning of January. During this time, merchandising includes the promotion of Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day products and related items. Shortly following this, Presidents' Day is represented through special sales and discounts.

The next major holiday in the United States is Easter. During this time, not only is the holiday promoted but so is springtime and the associated warmer weather. Most promoted products at that time of year include clothing items appropriate for warmer weather, in addition to tools and other items suited for outdoor activities, such as gardening and picnics. These items are typically made available mid-winter and heavily marketed and promoted to move such items from shelves to make room for the next batch of products.

The cycle continues through the rest of the year in the same manner, accounting for Mother's Day, Memorial Day, graduation season, Father's Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Retail is the largest private-sector employer in the United States, responsible for one out of every four jobs, or 52 million American workers.

Merchandising typically varies within retail chains but will vary greatly depending upon the region of the country (and within states themselves).

Merchandising Company vs. Service Company

As the name suggests, a merchandising company engages in the sale of tangible goods to consumers. These businesses incur costs, such as labor and materials, to present and ultimately sell products.

Service companies do not sell tangible goods to produce income; rather, they provide services to customers or clients who value their innovation and expertise. Examples of service companies include consultants, accountants,  financial planners , and insurance providers.

Merchandisers employ a number of different strategies to attract buyers to make purchases, including window and in-store displays, strategic grouping of products, well-stocked shelves that have clear signage, the highlighting of certain promotional products, samples and other freebies, in-store demonstrations, and other in-store advertisements. Cleanliness and neatness are also important, as they are synonymous with professionalism. A business's online store should also use merchandising strategies to appeal to online shoppers.

Merchandising is critical for a retailer, as it can directly impact sales and customer retention. Whether a store has a physical presence, and/or an online presence, how the store presents itself and its products is crucial. In a physical store, cleanliness, organization, ease of accessibility, and the strategic use of discounts and offers can be the difference between a customer that casually browses once and one that becomes a repeat purchaser.

Effective merchandising can help a retailer grow its brand, compete with others in its same category, and stay competitive even when the economy is struggling.

What Are the Types of Merchandising Companies?

Merchandising, broadly speaking, refers to any entity that engages in selling a product. Under this definition, there are two types of merchandising companies, namely retail and wholesale. Retailers sell their products directly to consumers, while wholesalers buy from manufacturers and sell to retailers.

Essentially, merchandising is the promotion and sale of products. It often is used to mean retail sales itself in that its goal is to influence the buying decisions of consumers. However, it should not be confused with the sale itself. It is the process leading up to a sale. It includes the determination of quantities, setting prices for goods and services, creating display designs, developing marketing strategies, and establishing discounts or coupons.

What Is the Difference Between a Merchandising and a Service Company?

A merchandising company, both wholesale and retail, sells tangible goods to its consumer. These companies incur costs, such as labor and materials, to present and ultimately sell products. Service companies do not sell tangible goods to produce income. Instead, they provide their expertise as a service to their clients. Examples of service companies include consultants, accountants, and financial planners.

What Are the Four Main Categories of Retail Merchandise?

There are essentially four types of retail merchandise, and most retailers specialize in one of the four classes. However, especially savvy retailers merchandise their stores with products from all four categories. Shopping products are the main class of retail merchandise, comprising products consumers want, are willing to research and comparison shop for, and are generally in demand for either a consumer or business audience.

Convenience products that consumers can't live without, such as food, health, and hygiene products and basic household goods comprise the second category. The third category constitutes impulse purchases , such as candy, magazines, or drinks; these products are usually near the checkout aisle in supermarkets or so-called big-box retailers. Finally, there are specialty products, or unique, personalized, or otherwise more individualized products that are also available.

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How to improve your merchandising Plan

In today’s challenging retail environment, retailers are facing increasingly complex challenges to ensure their business stays relevant and profitable while satisfying their customers. Merchandise Planning sets strategic merchandise and financial objectives while Buying teams aim to meet these goals head-on. Here are three strategies you can apply to improve your merchandise planning.

1. Omni Channel Planning

Gone are the days of one size fits all. Brick and Mortar stores and eCommerce do not have the same selling patterns. Your e-commerce business may be bringing in double-digit sales, while your bricks and Mortar stores are staying relatively flat.

Yet a margin eroding factor is that the merchandise return rate in eCommerce is likely higher than that of your stores. You are not alone in this. Last year, eCommerce returns were at 30% of sales, whereas Bricks and Mortar stores were between 8% and 10%. The high return rate on E-commerce significantly impacts your bottom line.

It is also essential to consider the difference in product depth and breadth. Your eCommerce channel can carry product lines not available in stores. eCommerce gives retailers endless showing isles and the luxury of testing new lines before a more significant inventory investment.

See also: Omnichannel Merchandising Strategy

2. Multiple versions of a plan

Planning is never a done-and-out exercise. Instead, it is an iterative process throughout the year. In pre-season planning, the team creates the company’s financial roadmap to determine your annual Inventory spend. This Inventory Spend or Open to buy is often committed to an Original plan version the retailer commits to the board or company owners.

As you move into In-Season, your plan will likely change based on over or under-producing categories, shipment changes from Vendors, and even the weather. As a result, you will examine, replan, and change your Buyers’ open-to-buy for the coming months to reflect these changes. You’ll likely want to keep your original plan intact and maintain a separate revised version of your in-season planning so you can keep an eye on both plan versions.

3. Using BI and Planning Assist

Anyone who has ever created a merchandise financial plan knows how data-intensive it is.   Let’s do the math:

• Year-to-week plan (71)
• Dollars, units, cost plus variances (10)
• The company has three channels (3)
• Department to class level products (15)
• Metrics such as Inventory, sales, receipts, markdowns, performance metrics, gross margin, etc. (60)

That is over 1.9 Million data points. Imagine making one mistake in one cell – a needle in a haystack! Planners are constantly being asked to do more with less. We need to equip them with the technology that allows them to be more productive. Getting out of Excel is a start. Getting into Merchandise planning software   with built-in intelligence to review cells for errors will significantly improve the quality of your merchandise plan and, by extension, your gross margin

See also: Merchant Team productivity impact

In summary, your merchandise planning process might have been working and served you well in the past, but new pressures and market changes are increasingly challenging all of us to examine the way we think about the planning and buying process.

Take your planning to the next level by using new tools that will help you automate your current process, give you the granularity you need to plan your different businesses, track your plans with multiple versions, and leverage innovative tools, and demand forecasting to improve the accuracy and quality of your merchandise plans.

Related Product

Davinci merchandise financial planning.

daVinci Retail’s merchandise planning solution enables retailers to build strategic financial plans which guide buy decision-making to deliver sales and margin goals.

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Item Planning is for basic products where weekly sales and inventory levels require active planning and monitoring. It is sometimes also referred to as Key Item Planning.

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Omnichannel merchandising strategy.

Assortment planning touches many processes and is a critical success factor to the strategic initiatives your management team identified.

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Imagine you have unique retail locations around the world. How do you decide how much each buyer should spend? That’s merchandise financial planning.

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More From Forbes

Cultivating connections: sharing your company culture on social media.

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Jackie Nance Sons is the CEO and Founder of Native Wildflowers Nursery . She is a master gardener and loves to travel.

Social media has become an indispensable tool for businesses of all sizes. Companies leverage platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok to engage with prospects and customers and drive website traffic.

But while I see posts often advertising and selling the products and services, exciting and educational posts can frequently do more for a company's long-term success. Industry news stories, inspirational content, instructional articles and other information-based posts can build your business' brand and reputation, strengthen customer relationships, foster community engagement and attract new visitors to a website.

Build Your Brand

People have reputations, whereas businesses have brands. You can think of a brand as how you visually recognize a company. A brand can be represented by a logo, tagline, color scheme and even audio, like jingles. But I find what people associate with those visual representations is what's often most important. Ultimately, the reputation behind your audio and visuals is your brand.

Social media posts can help a business establish and reinforce people's ideas about it. Social media branding strategies include highlighting the unique characteristics that can differentiate your company from the competition. What does your company value? What do you specialize in? How do you fit in the community?

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For example, my nursery publishes helpful articles about everything from holiday decorating to winterizing your garden. Customers enjoy and learn from the social media posts. By regularly posting new and valuable content, you can establish yourself as a go-to expert in your sector. For a nursery, this might include an audience of homeowners interested in planting regionally native plants or looking for creative plant-based home decorating ideas.

Strengthen Relationships With Customers

Social media is great for establishing an authentic connection with your target audience. If customers regularly read social media posts that interest and help them, they tend to then turn to the sponsoring business when they need a product or service or have an appropriate question or problem.

That certainly means a stronger bond between the company and the customer. Any relationship is stronger if communication goes both ways. Posts with a consistent brand encourage readers to interact. They like, comment on and repost relevant content, which is their side of the marketing conversation.

In other words, social media has social in its name for a reason; it's all about relationship building. A regular social media consumer feels or wants to feel a connection to the posting business or writer. I've found that establishing solid relationships with customers can exponentially grow your client base. For instance, if a friend seeks a gardening supplier recommendation from someone who regularly consumes my company's content, that individual is likely to feel more inclined to share my company's information.

Engage With The Community

A great way you can grow your company's reputation is by publicizing its community engagement. A company that allows a school to plant trees or a community to build homes for those in need can quickly and effectively inform everyone about their good deeds on social media.

When employees participate in a charity fun run or bike race, make sure to post about it to rightfully boost your organization's place in the community. When a company does more than sell products and services—when it is part of a community, and people know about it through social media—people see your company in a different light.

Many businesses sell to more than their geographic areas, but I believe that local connection matters even when a company is national or global. If I lived in California and saw that the Iowa company I buy from helped build homes in their area, I would likely feel more positive toward that organization.

If I see pictures of the team members I know riding in a charity bicycle race, I connect with them on a human level. I will care more about the company and its people. Reading an inspirational article about ways to help humanity can also boost my opinion of the company that posted it.

Go Beyond The Sell

So, as can be seen, social media directly helps businesses in several ways. It obviously helps sell their goods and services. For example, when an organization publishes a post about a new product or technology, that's important and can bring in new business.

However, I find that social media can accomplish much more when a marketing plan includes informational and company culture content. Your marketing can become more sophisticated when you publish a variety of content types across your various social media platforms. More informative or inspirational posts can build connections, establish your brand and engage with customers and potential customers.

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Stock market today: US stocks close mixed but gain for the week as the AI trade stumbles

• US stocks finished the week higher even as the AI trade showed signs of exhaustion.
• The Dow Jones led with a 1.5% gain this week, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were up about 0.5%.
• Some economists are calling on the Fed to cut interest rates in July as the risk of a recession grows.

US stocks closed mixed on Friday but finished the week higher even as the artificial intelligence trade showed signs of stumbling.

Leading the market higher this week was the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was up nearly 2%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 finished the week higher by about one-half of a percent.

The meteoric rise of Nvidia stock took a breather on Thursday and Friday, with the stock down about 10% from its intra-day high of $140.76.

Other hot-AI stocks like Broadcom , Dell , and Super Micro Computer also fell between 1% and 3% in Friday's trading session.

Investors are paying close attention to new economic data, as murmurs grow of a potential interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve in July following a spike in weekly jobless claims.

A July interest rate cut currently has a likelihood of just a 10%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, though one economist sees the odds of a cut at the July policy meeting closer to 60%.

Such a move by the Federal Reserve would be to ensure that an economic recession doesn't happen as inflation shows continued progress in falling.

Economist Claudia Sahm told CNBC on Friday that the Fed was "playing with fire" by keeping interest rates higher for longer.

"My baseline is not recession," Sahm said. "But it's a real risk, and I do not understand why the Fed is pushing that risk. I'm not sure what they're waiting for."

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Friday:

• S&P 500 : 5,464.63, down 0.16%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average : 39,149.64, up 0.04% (+15.87 points)
• Nasdaq composite : 17,689.36, down 0.18%

Here's what else happened today:

• America's 'cardboard-box recession' is finally over, according to Bank of America.
• These four US regions will likely see big electricity bill increases this summer, according to the EIA.
• The US debt will soar to $56 trillion in the next 10 years as government spending continues to outpace revenues, according to the CBO.
• Apple stock received two price target increases to $240 per share on Friday, representing potential upside of 14% from current levels.
• A combination of AI and robotics will help catapult Tesla to a $1 trillion valuation, according to Wedbush.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 0.78% to $80.66 a barrel. Brent crude , the international benchmark, was lower by 0.60% to $85.20 a barrel.
• Gold declined by 1.46% to $2,334.50 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield was flat at 4.26%.
• Bitcoin dropped 1.25% to $64,034.

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Lead Generation in 2024: The Ultimate Guide 

Written by: Masooma Memon

Up to 61% of marketers say generating leads and traffic is their biggest challenge. 

If you’re among these marketers, you’re in the right place. Because in this guide, we’ll walk you through 12 proven lead generation strategies that are sure to drive leads your way. 

The one thing you need to be mindful of though is being consistent. 

Once you shortlist some lead generation tactics, stick with them. 

Most of the time, the problem isn’t in the tactic like the majority of us assume. Instead, it’s in the inconsistency — the haste to see results and, when failing to do so, giving up way too soon. 

With that, let’s dig into the nuts and bolts of your biggest challenge, lead generation. 

Here’s a short selection of 8 easy-to-edit lead generation templates you can edit, share and download with Visme. View more templates below:

Table of Contents

• What Is Lead Generation

The Lead Generation Process

12 lead generation strategies for 2024, lead generation best practices.

• Lead Generation FAQs
• Lead generation, or lead gathering, attracts interested customers to your business, nurturing them and converting them into paying customers. A lead is a potential customer who shows interest in your product/service and may end up buying from you.
• First, you generate a lead by collecting a contact email; then, you nurture it through the lead generation cycle until they convert.
• The three industry-standard lead generation types are Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLSs), Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) and Product Qualified Leads (PQLs).
• Lead generation helps brands target the right people, build brand loyalty, increase business awareness and create a pipeline of qualified leads.
• Some creative lead generation ideas include writing problem-solving blog posts, hosting podcasts and webinars, launching well-timed popups, email marketing, referral programs and much more.
• Follow these lead generation best practices for optimal results: segment your email lists, craft killer copy and retarget hesitant leads.
• Incorporate Visme Forms into your strategy to collect qualified leads from your landing pages, blogs and digital content.

What is Lead Generation? 

Lead generation is the process of attracting interested customers to your business, nurturing them and converting them into paying customers. 

So you aren’t only going to focus on attracting leads but also nurturing and converting them. But first: 

What is a lead?

A lead is a potential customer—a stranger who shows interest in your product/service and may end up buying from you. 

Not all leads are created equal, though. 

Some leads come from the marketing team and are therefore, called Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLSs) . Other leads come from the sales teams and are called Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) . S till, others are generated from the free product trials that you may offer. These are Product Qualified Leads (PQLs) . 

Similarly, not all leads show an equal level of interest in your business. It’s why you have: 

• Cold leads or leads with next to no interest in your product/service 
• Warm leads or leads with some interest in your product/service 
• Hot leads or ready-to-convert leads 

Warm leads need nurturing (engaging with value) to convert. Hot leads, on the other hand, need the right push with the right offer to convert. 

Cold leads, however, won’t convert—no matter what you do. It’s best to leave them be and focus on attracting and engaging interested leads. 

Types of Lead Generation

Some leads come from the marketing team, while others come from the sales team. And still, others are generated from the free product trials that you may offer. That said, not all leads show an equal level of interest in your business.

These are the best and most common types of leads.

• Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLSs)
• Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs)
• Product Qualified Leads (PQLs)
• Cold leads or leads with next to no interest in your product/service
• Warm leads or leads with some interest in your product/service
• Hot leads or ready-to-convert leads
• In-person vs. online lead generation

Hey marketers! Need to create scroll-stopping visual content fast?

• Transform your visual content with Visme’s easy-to-use content creation platform
• Produce beautiful, effective marketing content quickly even without an extensive design skillset
• Inspire your sales team to create their own content with branded templates for easy customization

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Lead Generation vs. Lead Nurturing

Lead generation and lead nurturing are sequential; first, you must generate the lead to be nurtured. Nurturing a lead means that you, as a brand, must use value to engage with the lead in order to convince them to convert.

Looking at the types of leads, for example, warm leads need nurturing to convert, while hot leads need the right push with the right offer to convert. The amount of nurturing differs and depends on how warm or hot the lead is.

Why Is Lead Generation Important for Brands?

Without lead generation, you’re never going to have a pipeline of customers interested in your product/service. 

You may buy some leads and call it a day. 

But be warned: those leads are likely not your target buyers and they’ve never heard of you before. 

So any attempt at reaching out to them will feel like an invasion of their privacy since they never gave you explicit permission to cold contact them.

The question now is: what’s the right way to reach out to leads aligned to your buyer persona? Lead generation.

The process helps you: 

Target the right people 

Valued-focused lead generation that’s designed to resonate with your target audience helps you attract qualified leads . 

These leads are also more likely to share their contact information with you, therefore, giving you permission to reach them. 

Build brand loyalty 

The right leads who find your marketing valuable are not only going to convert into paying customers but also loyal customers. The reason? You’ve reached them out only after they gave you permission. 

Plus, you’ve nurtured them by providing value. This way, they can tell you’re focused on their success — not just making sales. 

Improve brand impact on your lead magnets by applying your branding guidelines. Use the Visme Brand Wizard to not only create branded lead magnets but all sorts of content for every aspect of your business.

Increase business awareness 

Even if strangers don’t convert into leads, seeing your value-centered lead generation tactics can make them aware of your brand. 

As a result, they’re likely to recommend you to others or buy from you down the line whenever they’re ready. 

Create a full pipeline of leads

With the correct lead generation marketing strategy in place, you’ll keep generating new leads, nurturing them and converting them regularly. This helps you develop a healthy pipeline of customers, keeping your business afloat.

When you share lead magnets made with Visme you have the ability not only to track opens and reads but also to capture emails. Add a lead capture form to the lead magnet where readers can input their email before reading the content. All collected emails will be available inside your Visme analytics window.

Opportunity to personalize your messaging 

As leads share their contact information with you, you can use it to personalize your marketing materials . This helps you learn more about your target buyer and nurture them better. 

Personalizing lead magnets is easy when you use Visme’s dynamic fields feature . Create a dynamic field for the target’s name and personalization mentions. Then simply change that in the dynamic fields window instead of having to skim through every lead magnet every time.

Create any type of marketing content with Visme!

• Choose from dozens of professionally designed templates
• Add and alter icons, colors, fonts, images and more
• Customize anything to fit your brand image and content needs

Following a process with your lead generation efforts will help your team do it repeatedly and effectively every time. Over time, you'll be able to build a solid lead generation system that drives consistent success.

Made with Visme Infographic Maker

Here is an 8-step cyclical process:

• Analyze and plan a lead generation goal.
• Research the market and conduct a gap analysis.
• Craft your message following brand guidelines.
• Promote lead magnets at the top of the funnel with TOFU lead generation strategies.
• Design and launch lead generation landing pages to collect emails in exchange for valuable content.
• Send emails or make phone calls mid-funnel to potential leads. These outreach efforts are part of your sales lead generation strategy.
• Score leads and add them to a nurture sequence.
• Evaluate results to create reports to use as a reference in the future.
• Analyze, Iterate and improve the process.

On to the meaty part now: the 12 lead generation ideas. These proven lead generation tips will fuel will your success in 2024.

1. Write problem-solving blog posts.

In-depth, SEO-optimized content is an effective way to attract your target leads by providing the answers to the questions they have. 

With each blog post though, make sure you add a call-to-action (CTA). This could be anything from trying your SaaS tool for free or downloading a related checklist in exchange for their contact information. Your CTAs can be visuals that break up the text or popups with a signup form. The trick is to not overwhelm the reader but instead pique their interest.

Image Source

The goal? Get your readers’ contact information (in exchange for value) and add them to your lead nurturing pipeline. 

2. Launch a podcast.

This could be in collaboration with a teammate or you could invite guest hosts. 

Either way, use the podcast to build relationships in the industry and with your target audience. 

For example, at the end of an episode, you can tell listeners you’ve a guide on the topic that they can download using a specific URL shared in the show notes. In doing so, you can encourage them to share their contact details with you, generating leads the right way. 

For successful lead generation with podcasting though, aim to take the same approach as blogging: answering the questions your target listeners have. 

You can even ask them to email their questions to you as Michael Stelzner, host of the Social Media Marketing Podcast does. 

Use a template like the one below to share teasers for upcoming episodes.

3. Try email marketing.

Email marketing showcases an impressive ROI of $44 for every $1 spent . 

Build your email list organically using social media and collaborations with other newsletter creators. 

Remember that people are always conscious about sharing their email addresses. However, the good news is that only interested ones are open to sharing their contact information. 

Meaning: chances of building an email list of interested leads are high. 

Once people share their email though, it’s essential you make subscribing to your newsletter worth their time. Offer them: 

• Helpful content such as quick tips 
• Interviews with industry-leading experts
• Subscriber-only content resources and discount codes 

Whatever the format you finalize for your emails, make sure you consistently message your list on a set day and time. This helps set your audience’s expectations who start anticipating your emails (provided the content is good). 

Also, note that the key to leads-winning email marketing is a non-salesy approach. 

The form template below is a newsletter sign up form which you can add as a popup to your website, inside blog content or inside a digital document.

4. Host webinars.

Webinars are a great lead generation tool. The reason? 

Unlike blogging, your audience gets to meet you live (or recorded) and ask questions. This helps double the amount of value you offer, earn more trust, and build better connections. 

What’s more, you can leverage webinars not just to attract leads, but also to slowly introduce your product to the viewers. This way, you can show (not just talk about) your product benefits .

Use a customizable template like this one to create your own webinar slides.

5. Create value-packed lead magnets.

Lead magnets such as white papers , research reports, ebooks, and more are great lead generation tools . 

And, they come with a ton of benefits. 

Case in point: ebooks . These are easy to create. Simply repurpose written content. For example, expanding on it where needed to make it more in-depth. 

Plus, use a Visme ebook template like the one below for designing it and you’re done. 

The same is true about white papers . However, you’d need a subject matter expert to write the content. As for designing: again pull a template from Visme’s bank and design your lead magnet in no time. 

Similarly, research reports can help you build links — not just leads. Plus, you can use the findings from your report to inform more of your content. 

Don’t forget to create a landing page for your research report so interested leads can easily share their email and get the report in exchange. 

6. Take time to network.

Networking with your target audience is the best way to build a reputation and strong relationships. 

With this tactic though, it can be challenging to prove the ROI to relevant stakeholders. Even so, networking opens doors to not just new leads but other opportunities too. 

For example, your target buyers start seeing you as an authority in your field — based on the conversations you have with them. 

Targeted lead generation increases brand awareness and also brings you more referrals. 

You can use Visme's AI writer to help you with copyy for your lead generation content. It can generate content ideas, proofread and edit your text and even create first drafts for you. All you have to do is explain to the tool what you want it to write and watch the magic happen.

7. Launch well-timed popups.

Often, popups earn a negative reputation as they hinder site visitors’ experience on your page. 

However, well-timed popups with relevant messages can skyrocket your conversion rate — whether that’s converting site visitors into leads or leads into customers. 

For example, instead of having a popup surface as soon as a visitor lands on your page, time it to show after they’ve scrolled to a point. 

At the same time, make your offer hyper-relevant to the visitor. 

For example, if they’re reading a blog post on how to live stream, create a scroll-point popup that offers readers a checklist for setting up their first live stream. 

One last point, it’s important you design clutter-free popups with a clear CTA button and exit option.

Visme's popup form builder is an excellent tool for creating effective, well-timed popups. It allows you to customize the forms based on user actions and site interaction, significantly boosting conversion rates. The 3D animated characters and interactive elements not only leave a lasting impression on visitors but double your conversion rates.

8. Create a referral program.

Referral programs encourage your customers to send more leads your way provided you give them a good incentive to do so. 

For instance, you can offer customers a discount for referring your service or product to others. 

However, for a referral program to succeed, it’s essential you make it easy for customers to share your business. By giving them unique referral links, you can make referral marketing work in your favor.

9. Tap into video marketing.

Although it may seem like creating videos takes a lot of work, the right tools can make everything easy. 

But first, make sure video is your audience’s preferred content format. Then, use Visme’s video templates to create bite-size videos for lead generation. 

You can also record yourself or your screen to create quick explainer videos . 

Want to start a YouTube channel for leveraging video marketing for lead generation? Repurpose your blog content into videos. This way, you won’t run out of ideas for videos to create.  

10. Try social media for lead generation.

66% of marketers say they’ve generated leads via social media after spending only six hours per week on social media marketing. 

So how can you start attracting leads with social media lead generation? 

First, figure out which channels your audience uses the most. For B2B marketers selling to professionals , for instance, LinkedIn is a great platform for lead generation. 

For those targeting millennials, TikTok is a better option while marketers trying to reach seniors should give Facebook a shot. 

Second, develop an engaged presence on the network(s) you decide to use for attracting customers. 

It’s important you contribute with value and focus on building relationships. At the same time, share helpful content — complete with custom-designed social media graphics for positioning yourself as the expert in your vertical. 

Choose if you’ll concentrate on organic lead generation techniques or paid ads to create content accordingly.

Here are some must-follow tips for designing the graphics: 

Lastly, share discount codes with your social followers. This way, you can get them to buy from you directly via social. 

But, remember, never take a sales-first approach — always provide value first to win leads’ trust. 

11. Create a community.

Community marketing has become an important part of several businesses’ marketing plans lately. 

The reason it helps generate leads ? Building a community helps you work with your target audience to help them solve their problem (related to your product space) for free. 

It’s when community members see that you’re an authority in your field and are laser-focused on their success that they start trusting you. The result? Not only will they buy from you (when ready) but also refer others your way. 

Want to double the value you provide to your community? Try this: 

• Invite industry thought leaders for AMA (ask me anything) sessions 
• Provide free (and paid) resources such as templates, cheatsheets, and short courses 
• Host community-wide discussion sessions on topics of your community choice 

Do you love Visme and would like to get first access to new features? Are you a Visme power user and want to share your experience with others? Join the Visme community !

12. Tap into visual marketing.

Finally, design custom visuals such as infographics to generate leads. 

You can also submit infographics to guest sites, therefore, attracting leads from other high-traffic websites. 

Essentially, the idea behind creating branded visuals is spreading brand awareness and driving referrals. 

It works well because branded visuals help you stand out from your competitors and leave a memorable impression on your audience. Take advantage of all the design tools inside your Visme editor; from animated illustrations to your very own AI-generated images .

Use a template like the one below to create your own infographic.

Are you looking for more lead generation strategies? Our guide on timeless lead generation strategies is just what you need. And if you want to discover specific B2B lead generation strategies read our guide with 13 ways to maximize your lead generation efforts .

Lead generation is critical for your business, but most importantly, it’s critical to do it right. Otherwise, why all the effort?

If you're wondering how to generate more leads, here are five lead generation best practices to optimize your lead gen strategies:

Make it Easy For People to Give You Their Email

To grab a lead, you need their contact email first. Don’t make it complicated or annoying for people; make it simple.

Instead of lengthy forms, ask only for an email and name. Instead of three popups, use only one powerful one.

Simply the process of collecting contact information using Visme's lead generation forms . The user-friendly form builder allows you to easily create forms and customize the form fields according to your needs.

Write Powerful Calls to Action

The copy in your calls to action must grab the interest of readers and visitors quickly and effectively. Don’t use vague and superficial words that everybody else uses like “the best.” Write calls to action that speak directly to your ideal customer profile (ICP) .

Segment Your Email Contact Lists

Segmenting email lists helps personalize communication with your leads, especially if you have several ICPs. Use different styles of segments like the lead’s industry, location, or interest. You can gain this information with surveys and simple questionnaires.

Retarget Hesitant Leads

Hesitant leads are the ones that seem like they might convert but haven’t yet. They’re also called warm leads and will need more nurturing than other types of leads. You can retarget them by sending segmented emails, calling them on the phone or offering free trials or gifts.

Use Lead Scoring Systems

Knowing if a lead is good or not isn’t simple. You can’t always rely on a hunch to know if a lead is qualified or not. A scoring system can help tag leads according to specific characteristics. Using the score, you can create a list to show you the best leads to contact first.

Frequently Asked Questions About Lead Generation

Still unsure about some things related to lead generation? Don’t worry, these FAQs will surely help.

Q. How Do You Know If a Lead Is Good?

To know if a lead is good, or qualified, ensure that it checks off all these characteristics:

• You can tell they’re a real person. Look for them on LinkedIn or online to find their name and work position.
• They have decision power. These can be business owners or managers with buying power.
• They engage with your content regularly. Find them on social media and see if they interact with your posts.
• Their characteristics match your user personas. You’ll need to have some type of lead scoring system to really know.

Q. What Are the Benefits of Lead Generation?

Lead generation has many positive benefits for all types of businesses. Here are the most impactful:

• It helps expand your market and grow your following.
• Lead generation can boost your revenue.
• It generates more business opportunities.
• Generating leads reduces cold calling and is more cost-effective.

Q. What Are Common Lead Generation Challenges?

Like everything in business, there are some challenges to lead generation, but nothing you can’t overcome with good strategies.

These are the most challenging setbacks, each with a tip on how to overcome it:

• Pinpointing the ideal strategy for your business. Fix this by doing market research and fostering communication between marketing and sales teams.
• Nurturing leads quickly and effectively. Nurturing the wrong leads or not knowing how to do it properly won’t get results. use lead scoring systems and use sales processes to nurture leads positively.
• Always having valuable content to offer as an opt-in. If you don’t have time to create new content every time, use repurposing techniques with content you already have. Simply add more value to the version you offer as an opt-in.
• Not being able to reach the right people. This is another challenge you can overcome with market research and a user persona profile .

Here’s a user persona profile you can use to set yours up.

Q. What Tools Can You Use for Lead Generation?

For optimal lead generation strategies, you need a combination of tools that do different things. Here’s a list of the essentials:

• A content-authoring tool like Visme creates all the valuable content you’ll use in opt-ins and nurturing sequences. Plus, all you need to create lead generation plans, user personas and process flowcharts.
• An email provider to create lead nurturing sequences and send out emails to hesitant leads.
• Landing pages to promote opt-in campaigns for ebooks, downloadable guides and courses.
• Email popups grab people’s attention and entice them to sign up for a webinar, an event or a special offer.
• Sales battlecards empower your sales team to talk to leads on the phone and convert to sales.

Here’s a sales battlecard template you can start using immediately with Visme.

If you want to explore effective B2B lead generation tools and strategies, read our guide about B2B lead generators . It explores how leveraging the right tools, including Visme for content creation, can significantly enhance your lead generation efforts.

Q. What Is a Qualified Lead?

Qualified leads are the best types of leads. They are the ones that will most likely convert with the right amount of effort from your sales team. For a lead to be considered qualified, they must be real people, have decision making power and be honestly interested in your business.

Q. What Is a Lead Gen Lifecycle?

The lead generation lifecycle starts when a person becomes a lead and ends when they buy from you. The process differs for every lead. Some need a lot of nurturing, while others need none at all.

Q. What are the Best Lead Generation Tools?

There's a wide range of tools to help you streamline your lead generation process. Here are the five most popular options:

• Visme : A comprehensive design platform for creating visually engaging lead magnets , landing pages, social media graphics and more. It also offers built-in forms for collecting leads.
• HubSpot : A popular CRM and marketing automation suite with tools for email marketing, landing page creation and lead tracking.
• OptinMonster : A lead generation toolkit specializing in popups, slide-ins and other attention-grabbing forms to capture leads.
• LinkedIn Sales Navigator: An invaluable tool for identifying and connecting with qualified leads on LinkedIn.
• Mailchimp : A popular email marketing platform that includes features for landing page creation, audience segmentation and lead nurturing campaigns.

Q. How Do You Qualify a Lead?

Lead qualification helps you determine if a potential customer fits your product or service well.

Here's a common approach:

• Ideal Customer Profile (ICP): Define your ideal customer's characteristics, such as company size, industry, job title and pain points. Leads that closely match your ICP are more likely to be qualified.
• Lead Scoring: Assign points to leads based on their actions like website visits, content downloads and email engagement. Higher scores indicate stronger potential.
• BANT Framework: This is a classic model to assess leads based on:
• Budget: Do they have the resources to buy?
• Authority: Do they have decision-making power?
• Need: Do they have a problem your solution addresses?
• Timeline: How soon are they looking to purchase?

Q. What Are the Different Types of Lead Generation?

There are countless lead generation strategies, but some common types include:

• Content Marketing: Creating valuable content, such as blog posts, videos and ebooks, to attract and engage potential customers.
• Email Marketing: Building an email list and sending targeted messages to nurture leads.
• Social Media Marketing: Using social platforms to connect with potential leads and promote lead-generating content.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimizing your website and content to rank higher in search engine results.
• Paid Advertising: Using online advertisements to expand your audience reach and increase website traffic.

Q. What’s the difference Between Lead Generation and Demand Generation?

Lead generation and demand generation are often used interchangeably, but there's a key difference:

Lead generation focuses on capturing the contact information of potential customers interested in your product or service.

On the other hand, demand generation is a broader strategy for creating awareness, interest and desire for your product or service among a wider audience.

In other words, a well-designed demand generation strategy creates the initial interest to fill the top of your demand generation funnel. In contrast, lead generation focuses on converting that interest into identifiable leads for your sales team to pursue.

Level Up Your Lead Generation Today

With these 12 lead generation tactics, you can attract, nurture and convert leads the right way. 

Remember to pick a few of these ideas for lead generation and stick with them. Give them time to deliver results instead of assuming that they aren’t working.

As for your leads-attracting designs, learn more about how your marketing team can use Visme  and start creating today. 

What Are Sales Leads? Types, Best Practices & Tools

Easily design powerful lead magnets that drive results with Visme

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About the Author

Masooma Memon is a pizza-loving freelance writer by day and a novel nerd by night. She crafts research-backed, actionable blog posts for SaaS and marketing brands who aim to employ quality content to educate and engage with their audience.

The 34 most innovative CMOs of 2024

• CMOs are under increased pressure to grow their brands while reaching new audiences.
• They're experimenting with new technology like generative AI and cookieless advertising.
• Meet Business Insider's "Most Innovative CMOs" of 2024.

The role of chief marketing officers is only getting harder.

They're increasingly responsible for proving growth at their companies by boosting consumer spending, reaching new audiences like Gen Z, and using emerging technologies like generative AI and cookieless tools.

Business Insider's annual list of the "Most Innovative CMOs" spotlights CMOS rising to these challenges. This year's 34 CMOs came from nearly 80 nominations from their peers and industry experts.

This year's CMOs include executives from big brands like Disney, Chipotle, and PepsiCo; direct-to-consumer names like Bobbie; and tech companies like Workday and Kraken Digital Asset Exchange.

Here are Business Insider's 2024 "Most Innovative CMOs," listed in alphabetical order by last name.

Asad Ayaz, chief brand officer, The Walt Disney Company and president, marketing, The Walt Disney Studios, Disney+, and The Walt Disney Company

Last April, Ayaz was named as The Walt Disney Company's first-ever chief brand officer, an expansion of his role as president of marketing for Walt Disney Studios and Disney+, responsibilities he still holds. He oversees marketing strategy, creative advertising, media, research, special events, promotions, and global publicity.

Not long after Ayaz was announced into his new role, the entertainment industry was faced with multiple strikes impacting film and TV production. Ayaz helped the company navigate these challenges while also driving the global campaign to celebrate Disney's 100th anniversary, which had kicked off with a Super Bowl commercial in 2023 and the introduction of a new logo. 

Elsewhere, Ayaz pioneered new partnerships and social campaigns to bring the effort to a diverse set of audiences. Ayaz led a collaboration with TikTok, for example, to introduce a Disney100 hub experience, featuring interactive challenges and games, as well as music and sounds. The hub drove a significant increase in the popularity of Disney's songs, with some entering the Billboard Top 50 .

Ayaz is also preparing to create a host of new consumer touchpoints as part of The Walt Disney Company's $60 billion investment to expand its theme parks worldwide. And Walt Disney Studios is set to release movies like "Deadpool and Wolverine," which became the most-watched trailer of all time during this year's Super Bowl.

Francisco Bram, VP of marketing and business development, Albertsons Companies

"Customers for life" is part of Albertsons Companies' corporate mission. With that in mind, Bram last year harnessed health and wellness to try to transform customer relationships across its 22 supermarket brands, including Acme, Safeway, and Pavilions. 

Sincerely Health, the app he launched in collaboration with healthcare providers and insurance companies, positions Albertsons as a wellness partner ­― and could fuel loyalty by rewarding healthful choices. The app integrates with Albertsons' e-commerce sites, serving up personalized health and nutrition tips based on purchases and buying history.

At a time when some customers are cutting back on discretionary spending ― and online grocery outlets grab larger market shares ― the app has helped generate a 46% jump in brand awareness for Albertsons Companies stores, the company said.

Bram also broadened Albertsons' potential revenue streams by launching the company's first B2B marketing organization. Albertsons now offers customized pharmacy and grocery services to corporate clients, including vaccine clinics, pharmacy services, and grocery delivery.

Bram's approach is ringing up results. In April, Albertsons reported same-store sales increased 1% year over year, digital sales increased 22%, and loyalty members increased 16% to 39.8 million; the numbers stand out in a year when online grocery sales dipped 1.2% year over year, according to one industry report .

Chris Brandt, CMO, Chipotle

Brandt, an early adopter who embraced gaming and esports for Chipotle in 2018, saw an opening last year among the Fighting Game Community (FGC)­, a gaming subculture largely untargeted­ by non-endemic brands. Chipotle gave away free entrée cards at the largest live FGC events, and used a promo code based on fan lingo to grant in-game currency to Street Fighter 6 players. 

Both IRL and online, results were a win. At Evo Las Vegas, North America's largest FGC event, a crowd of 10,000 fans cheered ads from Chipotle, the first non-endemic brand to host one of the largest team tournaments in Street Fighter history. Through the campaign, Chipotle's brand sentiment score among US esports fans aged 18 to 44 rose from 29% to 41%, according to YouGov BrandIndex. The brand's FGC activations generated more than 1.5 billion impressions and 185 earned media placements.

Menu innovations, a key to consumer engagement, have been another platform for Brandt. 

In early 2023, Chipotle introduced the Fajita Quesadilla, a permanent menu item inspired by a viral TikTok hack; its launch nearly doubled the company's quesadilla business. Its success led Brandt to create Chipotle's own hack­­s, like a sour cream/Chipotle Tomatillo-Red Chili Sauce combination. 

The results have been promising. The company's same-store sales rose 8.4% in the fourth quarter of 2023. And foot traffic rose 7.4% in the quarter while giants like McDonald's and Starbucks saw declines, Chipotle said. 

Brandt's newest challenge : a wave of videos from TikTokers who claim Chipotle's portion sizes have been shrinking. "There have been no changes in our portion sizes, and we have reinforced proper portioning with our employees," a Chipotle executive told The New York Times in a statement.

Andrea Brimmer, CMO and public relations officer, Ally Financial

Brimmer has been instrumental in getting brand growth for Ally Financial, while pioneering new approaches to marketing and sponsorship that move the industry forward.

Since around 2022, Brimmer has been driving positive change across the investment of brands in women's sports. This year marks the two-year anniversary of Ally's 50/50 pledge, with the aim of spending equally on women's and men's sports by 2027. She continued these efforts in 2023 with a first-of-its-kind media deal with Disney and ESPN, which included spending more than 90% on women's sports. In 2024, Ally became the official banking partner of the USGA, and both US Open golf tournaments, sponsored several women-funded and women-owned media sports properties, and worked with the Sports Innovation Lab to create the largest women's sports networking group.

The Ally logo is recognized by around three-quarters of sports fans, and women's sports fans, in particular, have a 71% higher likeability rate and 82% higher preference for the Ally brand, the company said.

Elsewhere, Brimmer has led Ally's streaming strategy. This included the March launch of the "Side Hustlers" reality series, which spotlights women entrepreneurs and successful investors. The Roku Channel series exceeded viewership projections and boosted visits to Ally.com by up to 17%. Ally also ran a streaming-only Super Bowl ad this year — when a 30-second linear TV spot cost upwards of $7 million — to emphasize the brand's marketing messages around saving money.

Brimmer's marketing team is also testing generative AI to make marketing productivity gains and cost savings. Using the Ally.AI platform's large language model chat and prompt functionality, a group of its marketers was able to reduce the time required to create content by up to two to three weeks and reported average time savings of up to 34%.

Ally says that overall, its brand value, as measured by Brand Finance, jumped by 30% this year, while its trust score grew by 10%, a testament to Brimmer's efforts.

Jonnie Cahill, CMO, Heineken USA

Cahill is on a mission to "make moderation cool."

Heineken 0.0 debuted in the US in 2019 and rose to become the country's top-selling nonalcoholic beer, with sales of $77.45 million last year, according to Statista data.

Heineken 0.0 represents around 7% of the total Heineken franchise in the US and was the focus of many of the brewer's biggest marketing activations, like the Coachella music festival and major esports tournaments. Sampling was key at these events last year .

Last year, Heineken also debuted the lower-carb, lower-calorie 4% ABV Heineken Silver, to appeal to drinkers looking for a lighter alternative to traditional lagers. It launched with a campaign dubbed "All the Taste, No Bitter Endings" and was the title sponsor of the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November. As part of the Las Vegas Grand Prix activation, Heineken Silver became the first beer brand to advertise on the Las Vegas Sphere.

Overall, Heineken devotes 10% of its global media spending to messaging around drinking responsibility. 

"We can make moderation cool, and that will have a massive societal impact," Cahill told Business Insider last year.

Lisa Caputo, EVP and chief marketing, communications, and customer experience officer, Travelers Insurance

Caputo uses data and new platforms to keep the insurance company ahead of the curve. She helped launch the brand's first TikTok account that posts clips and player videos about the annual Travelers Championship PGA event. The account is currently promoting this year's upcoming event. Travelers also works with social and gaming creators to market the event to a younger audience than golf traditionally focuses on. For example, a six-hour Twitch livestream event raised about $50,000 for The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. The livestream had 41,000 concurrent viewers, according to Travelers. Last summer, Caputo launched a campaign aimed at tackling polarization and divisiveness called "Who cares?" The campaign showed how many people care about issues like forest fires, hunger, and natural disasters. And it targeted people like public officials, CEOs, influencers, and independent insurance agents. Caputo's team is also using AI and machine learning to create content, including drafting articles, identifying audience groups, and conducting research. The team has developed tools that sales teams use to track marketing materials and monitor brand reputation on digital platforms and social media. Caputo has been in the role since 2011 and previously worked in marketing at Citi. She was also previously a Deputy Assistant to former President Clinton and Press Secretary to former First Lady Hilary Rodham Clinton during Clinton's first term in office.

Marcus Casey, CMO, BMW North America

At the center of much of BMW North America's marketing success this year has been the "data spine" Casey helped engineer. It connects customer data across platforms and has become a central source for BMW's marketing and agency teams to access insights and real-time analytics to see what's working.

BMW's 2024 Super Bowl spot, "Talkin' Like Walken," was based on the insight that its "Ultimate Driving Machine" positioning had been imitated many times, but still remained the ultimate. The ad showed stars Usher and Ashley Park imitating Christopher Walken's voice and cadence but ultimately proving there's no one else like the original.

The New York Times, Esquire, and iSpot ranked it a top Super Bowl ad of 2024. The continuing digital marketing campaign after the big game helped drive a 267% increase in people visiting the automaker's website to design their own BMW i5. Other programs included event and sponsorship integrations and the return of BMW's Ultimate Driving Experience tour, which lets consumers test-drive its EVs around a track. Sales of BMW EVs grew 27.9% in the first three months of 2024 to 82,700.

Casey and his team are also investing in AI. They use Unreal Engine and creative automation to create personalized content at scale. The team is also using AI for tasks like predictive analytics, driving efficiency across the organization.

Emma Chalwin, CMO, Workday

Chalwin joined Workday last year after working in marketing roles at Salesforce and Adobe.

She's tasked with explaining the cloud company to its enterprise clients, who use the technology to manage human resources and finances. She's used big branding campaigns on TV to reach B2B marketers.

Following Workday's Super Bowl campaign last year that starred rock stars like Ozzy Osbourne and Joan Jett, Chalwin helped launch two commercials in April with a similar theme that featured Gwen Stefani, Billy Idol, and Travis Barker. The ads premiered during The Masters, a key time for reaching business executives. Within one month of launching, the ads drove 50% more visits year-over-year to Workday's website, according to the company.

And this summer, Workday is going on a bus tour in 15 cities to promote its products and clients.

Internally, Chalwin created a program called "CMO School" that includes a learning curriculum and training for skills like upskilling to help marketers grow their careers.

Chalwin is also focused on AI. Chalwin uses AI to cut out time-consuming tasks like creating templates for campaigns and data analysis.

Kim Gebbia Chappell, chief brand officer, Bobbie

By focusing on parents, not just products, this direct-to-consumer baby formula brand has become the fastest-growing player in its category, claiming to feed more than 4.5% of babies born in the US. 

Chappell, chief brand officer since November 2023 and a four-year Bobbie veteran, has made advocacy a key brand plank, positioning Bobbie as a force on issues including federal support for new parents. The company advised legislators on drafting the 2024 Infant Formula Made in America Act, addressing issues behind 2022's infant formula shortage.

Overseen by Chappell, an early 2024 partnership with tennis star Naomi Osaka brightened the brand's halo, launching a grant for working parents while campaigning for federal paid leave. Because Osaka had been public about her decision not to breastfeed daughter Shai, her choice as spokesperson both elevated Bobbie's brand and aligned it with mothers facing similar challenges. More than 11,000 parents applied for grants.

Chappell's brand vision is getting results. With 72% revenue growth from 2022 to 2023, Bobbie has exceeded $100 million in revenue and won a $70 million investment. But Bobbie may have been too successful, too fast; in mid-May, the company paused online sales and new subscriptions until it opens a new manufacturing facility this summer.

Lee Anne Grant, chief growth officer, Babylist

Grant's job is to give soon-to-be and new parents all the information that they need.

Babylist's main offering is a registry program for managing shopping for baby products, but the site has also expanded into content such as guides for the best products and health content.

Since Grant joined in 2020, Babylist's website traffic has increased 25% and reaches about 10 million unique users per month. 

Grant's role combines the CMO job with head of sales for Babylist's media business. She helped develop a content studio called The Push, where the company's editors, designers, and social-media team work with brands like Nike and Wayfair to run campaigns targeting Babylist's audience.

One of the challenges for parents is sifting through endless amounts of advice and information. Grant has developed new ways to reach this audience through platforms like TikTok and a physical showroom in Los Angeles. The showroom features more than 35 brands, including Gap and Etsy.

Last year, Grant helped expand Babylist into health content with the acquisition and relaunch of Expectful. She also spearheaded a program that offers free breast pumps through insurance plans, and more than 80,000 breast pumps have been shipped.

Under Grant's leadership, Babylist had more than $400 million in revenue during 2023 — a 40% year-over-year increase, according to the company. 

Grant previously worked in brand and business development roles at The Assembly, Brandless, and PopSugar.

Mayur Gupta, CMO, Kraken Digital Asset Exchange

Gupta has the tough job of getting consumers to trust crypto after the sector's quick boom and bust — and subsequent resurgence — over the past couple of years.

Since joining in 2022, he has used his background as CMO of brands like Gannett and Freshly to convey that Kraken Digital Asset Exchange is not only stable but ahead of innovation in the space. 

In October, he spearheaded Kraken's first marketing campaign, which targeted people new to crypto. A commercial depicts crypto as inspirational within the financial world. The campaign appeared on LinkedIn, X, and out-of-home ads in places including London.

Gupta has also landed deals with creators like YouTuber and Twitch streamer Kitboga, crypto media company Bankless, and Williams Racing to make Kraken more of a household name. With Williams Racing, Kraken sponsors areas of F1 races called Fan Zones, where the brand aims to educate people about crypto.

Brad Hiranaga, chief brand officer, Cotopaxi

Sustainable outdoor apparel brand Cotopaxi has described 2023 as "the year of collaboration for good" at the company, in which it partnered with like-minded organizations that share its commitment to social and environmental responsibility.

It teamed up with HOKA on a sneaker and hip-pack collab. Later in the year, purchasers of the limited edition Headspace x Cotopaxi hip pack or T-shirt received a two-month Headspace membership and other exclusive mindfulness content. It also joined other brands as part of the Outdoor Industry Association to work with suppliers to reduce their emissions and advance research in this area.

Such efforts helped boost brand awareness from 28% in 2022 to 39.2% last year, the company said. The company grew 35% and surpassed $140 million in sales in 2023. What's more, the company said it kept 2.75 million fabric yards out of landfills, "which, if laid out, would stretch from Miami to Boston."

Continuing the partnership theme, Cotopaxi launched the Más Vida trade-in program earlier this year, working with Trove and Tersus Solutions, to encourage people to swap and buy used outdoor gear and apparel. It also became a sponsor of the Sundance Film Festival , providing coats to jurors and filmmakers.

Jill Kramer, chief marketing and communications officer, Accenture

Kramer has led an effort to transform Accenture's marketing and communications function. She temporarily paused the team's output to thoroughly measure the impact, reach, and engagement rates for every asset and function it was producing using the same SynOps technology Accenture uses externally with clients. 

The result was huge efficiency gains. After reducing the content on Accenture.com by 50% and the number of pages on the site by 45%, users spent 32% more time on it. Accenture decreased social posts by 33%, which led to a 55% increase in engagement. And, by implementing a universal content system in collaboration with Adobe, the company reduced manual tasks by 55%, saving $1.4 million and boosting campaign performance by more than 50%. 

Kramer and her team also worked to position Accenture as a catalyst for change with its "Reinvented with Accenture" global marketing campaign, which highlighted the company's work with clients.

This year, she's been a champion of disability inclusion , having become cochair of a new coalition designed to advance disability inclusion in the marketing and communications industry. Accenture and Disability:IN released a joint report that found companies that excel in their disability inclusion efforts generate more profit and revenue and are more productive.

Kramer has picked up various industry honors in the past year, including Adweek's B2B Innovation Lifetime Achievement Award.

Marian Lee, CMO, Netflix

Lee is the marketing force behind Netflix's shows and experiences. She's responsible for taking individual Netflix shows and plugging them into culture to get consumers' attention. She's also tasked with building Netflix's brand amid big changes to the streamer, like the clampdown on password sharing, an ad-supported tier, and growing competition from other streamers. Within the past year, Lee has spearheaded some of Netflix's biggest campaigns — many of which are offline with activations and billboards. Most recently, Lee has been touting the third season of the hit "Bridgerton" show with fan events, products from brands like International Delight and Williams-Sonoma, and sneak peeks of the show leading up to its premiere. For "Squid Game," she launched an experience in Los Angeles where fans can compete in games inspired by the show. And for Jerry Seinfeld's "Unfrosted," billboards in high-traffic areas like New York and Los Angeles oozed Pop-Tart filling with crumbs falling on cars. "Unfrosted's" ad campaign also included scratch-and-sniff magazine ads. 

The hit "Wednesday" show, a spinoff of the "Addams Family" franchise, went viral with moments including actress Jenna Ortega's TikTok dance. Season two of the series is currently filming and is sure to get a marketing push from Lee behind it. Lee joined Netflix in 2021 and was promoted to CMO in 2022, having previously worked at Spotify and Condé Nast.

Greg Lyons, CMO, PepsiCo Beverages North America

Lyons wants to grow newer drink brands like Starry and Bubly Burst while also keeping bigger brands like Pepsi and Mountain Dew leaders.

He handles marketing for PepsiCo's $28 billion portfolio of beverage brands in the US.

One of PepsiCo's newest products that Lyons has worked on is Starry, a lemon-lime soda that ran its first Super Bowl ad starring Ice Spice this year. And to tap into the sparkling water craze, he helped launch Bubly Burst — a line of products slightly sweeter than sparkling water with no added sugar. The launch of the product included a social, TV, and digital ad that played up Bubly Burst's fruit flavors.

For Mountain Dew, Lyons created a Super Bowl ad starring actor Aubrey Plaza to promote Baja Blast. Baja Blast started rolling out nationwide this year after only being available for limited periods of time or at Taco Bell restaurants. 

And for Pepsi, Lyons rolled out a new logo and packaging for the brand's 125th birthday last year, including an experiential pop-up diner in New York where people could order food like Pepsi-infused pulled pork, and chicken and waffles with Pepsi butter and maple syrup.

Since taking on the CMO role of Pepsi's beverages in North America in 2017, annual sales have grown 30%, according to PepsiCo.

Kory Marchisotto, CMO, E.l.f. Beauty and president, Keys Soulcare

Marchisotto has used standout marketing and nascent media platforms to put E.l.f. Beauty on the map in an incredibly competitive makeup field. 

E.l.f. returned to the Super Bowl this year with a star-studded cast — including "Judge Judy" Sheindlin, "Suits" star Gina Torres, and Meghan Trainor, among others — to showcase its bestselling $14 Halo Glow Liquid Filter. The ad came together in just seven weeks. Marchisotto said in an interview with Glossy earlier this year that this kind of speedy approach means E.l.f. consistently stays culturally relevant in its marketing.

E.l.f. has grown a reputation for creating buzzy products that go viral on social media. Its unlikely collaboration with the canned water brand Liquid Death this March was no exception. The pair's limited edition $34 metal-inspired "Corpse Paint" coffin-shaped makeup set sold out in 45 minutes and delivered 12 billion media impressions within two weeks of its launch.

E.l.f. has leaned into newer platforms like Roblox and TikTok to capture the attention of younger consumers. Its Roblox game E.l.f. UP! has surpassed 10 million visits and is one of the top-rated branded experiences on the platform. E.l.f. was also the first brand partner for a TikTok Shop Super Brand Day, which turbocharged its followers and sales.

Under Marchisotto's leadership, E.l.f.'s marketing budget has grown to 22% of net sales, which rose 77% last year. E.l.f. was the No. 2 brand in the color cosmetics category in the US in March, according to Nielsen, and it's the top cosmetic brand among teens, according to the Piper Sandler Spring 2024 survey.

Samantha Maltin, EVP, chief marketing & brand officer, Sesame Workshop

By leveraging social channels, live activations, cause marketing, and brand partnerships, Maltin is helping make 54-year-old Sesame Workshop, its characters, and its IP as relevant as ever.

With a Sesame-Warner Bros. Discovery streaming deal set to expire next year, Maltin has aggressively amplified Sesame's profile. With 5.6 billion global views annually, Sesame Street's YouTube channel is in the top 0.02% of all channels in its category, the company said. Sesame's TikTok videos have drawn 99 million views. On Instagram, Oscar the Grouch launched in February 2024 and already has 48,500 followers; Cookie Monster launched in November 2023 and has 153,000. Sesame's own Instagram Reels presence has seen 3,400% surge in follower growth year-over-year, a rep told Business Insider.  

In January, Maltin's team leveraged a single X post from Elmo into a social-media phenomenon. With children's mental health in mind, "Elmo is just checking in. How is everybody doing?" became X's No. 1 trending topic, reaching 218 million people. President Biden and brands like Target joined the conversation; more than 850 media outlets covered the moment.

Brand partnerships included Oscar the Grouch's appearance in a United Airlines campaign introducing lower-carbon sustainable aviation fuel, giving Sesame IP a values-aligned promotional platform. And this summer, in partnership with NBC, Sesame characters will broadcast live from the Olympic Village in Paris.

Stephanie McCarty, chief marketing and communications officer, Taylor Morrison

Through influencer marketing, partnerships, and social-impact efforts, McCarty has helped make the home-building brand Taylor Morrison top of mind among millennial and Gen-Z homebuyers.

Last year, Taylor Morrison formed a partnership with The Home Edit cofounders Clea Shearer and Joanna Tepin from the Netflix Series "Get Organized with the Home Edit." The "New Homes, New Zones" content series saw Tepin and Shearer share tips for homeowners looking to organize their new homes. Taylor Morrison homeowners also receive a book with tips specific to their property's floorplans as part of their closing gift. Taylor Morrison and The Home Edit are also set to feature in ABC's reboot of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," which is currently in development.

Elsewhere, Taylor Morrison has updated its website to become an all-in-one transaction tool for customers to shop for, reserve, and design their dream homes. And it's begun embracing TikTok with its "Real Talk" series to help answer questions about home ownership.

On the social-impact front, Taylor Morrison partnered with Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center's "Home Away from Home" program. It's helping build 16 new homes in Gilbert, Arizona, that will provide free lodging for patients receiving long-term treatment or recovering from surgery.

Last year, sales conversions hit an all-time high with a rate of more than 50%, while brand awareness has increased by more than 15% since 2022.

Lisa McKnight, EVP and chief brand officer, Mattel

2023 was a record-breaking year for Mattel, thanks in no small part to the "Barbie" movie, which brought in more than $1.4 billion in box office sales worldwide. Barbie and the distinctive pink brand asset became a cultural phenomenon last summer, which extended to events like the Oscars that included brand activations and a memorable Ryan Gosling performance of "I'm Just Ken."

The movie followed years of work by McKnight's team to position Barbie as the ultimate girl empowerment brand. This May, for instance, Barbie honored nine women athletes, including tennis star Venus Williams and Canadian soccer player Christine Sinclair, with dolls made in their likenesses.

Partnerships were a big theme of Mattel's marketing last year. McKnight's team helped Mattel collaborate with the NFL to launch official products like a Fisher-Price Little People Collector NFL series, American Girl NFL cheer uniforms, and a UNO deck featuring the 32 teams.

Looking ahead, McKnight will turn her marketing team toward bringing the power of Grayskull to movie theaters in 2026, when Amazon MGM Studios is set to release the "Master of the Universe."

Vineet Mehra, CMO, Chime

Mehra is working to make the financial tech company a more mainstream name. The firm offers banking services with no monthly fees. Under his leadership, Mehra requires that 80% of Chime's ads feature members to make the ads feel authentic to consumers. The brand's ads also don't use stock images or jargon about the banking industry and instead feature quick stories from users about how they use Chime's products. One ad highlights how direct deposits arrive early and a feature that lets people find nearby fee-free ATMs. The casting calls for these ads have generated more than 56,000 written and 6,000 video testimonials since Mehra joined, according to the company. Another campaign, "Paying Progress Forward," featured entertainer Wayne Brady and explored Brady's financial journey. It generated 368 million impressions and 115 million video views. Chime has also worked with former NFL player Marshawn Lynch. Mehra's team also helped develop a card game called Dollars & Sense, which asks questions about money. The game was sold at Walgreens, Amazon, and TikTok. Mehra has worked at Chime since 2022 and previously worked in marketing roles at companies like Good Eggs, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Johnson & Johnson, and Ancestry.com. Some of his previous campaigns addressed issues like genetic testing at Ancestry and reassuring people it was safe to shop during the pandemic at Walgreens Boots Alliance.

Aila Morin, CMO, Merit Beauty

Just three years since its launch, Merit Beauty's "clean beauty and minimalist makeup" has exceeded $100 million in sales. At launch, its Solo Shadow eye shadow reached a coveted No. 1 position among eye shadows at Sephora. Morin's marketing initiatives have bridged digital, retail, and direct-to-consumer to propel the brand's growth.

Morin herself voiced frustrations with eyeshadow brands in a Solo Shadow pre-launch TikTok post whose 1.5 million views helped fuel a 12,000-person product waitlist. As a retention tool on Merit Beauty's direct-to-consumer site, Morin created the Signature Bag, a free, reusable makeup bag whose limited editions ― including a collab with New York designer Proenza Schouler ― have become coveted collectibles. Merit Beauty's sales are now split evenly between DTC and retail – a notable benchmark, considering that only 17% of US adults have purchased cosmetics or makeup products online directly from a brand or manufacturer, according to Forrester. The mix is key to Merit Beauty's "high levels of profitability," a rep said.

While the beauty business often focuses on Gen-Z consumers, Morin has led Merit Beauty to embrace older fans, who tend to be more loyal and higher-spending. Half the brand's website visitors are between the ages of 25 and 45, with an equal share over 55 as under 25, positioning Merit Beauty as a cross-generational brand.

Morin's now leading Merit Beauty's global expansion. To promote its February 2023 launch in the UK, Morin relied solely on owned channels; at launch, one product sold every 30 seconds and averaged a nearly 6% conversion rate — nearly triple the 1.9% industry average for 2023.

Manu Orssaud, CMO, Duolingo

In the staid language-instruction category, Orssaud has elevated Duolingo with a cheeky brand identity that feeds off social-media notoriety and pop-culture hacking. 

Duolingo's rotund brand mascot, Duo the Owl, has soared from TikTok fame to IRL stardom under Orssaud's creative direction, inserting itself into events like the Barbie movie premiere and Taylor Swift concert tailgates ― and gaining enormous visibility across platforms. 

This year, the avian influencer also starred in Duolingo's first Super Bowl ad, overseen by Orssaud. Themed around the owl's posterior, it racked up more than 84 million impressions. Likewise, an April Fool's campaign featuring an ersatz "Duolingo on Ice" musical scored more than 80 million impressions. Across the board, Duolingo's social-media impressions grew to 3 billion in 2023, up 170% year-over-year ― and correlating with business growth, the company said.

Orssaud has also tapped unconventional partners to give Duolingo an edge. For its Japanese-language course, Duolingo aligned with Japanese streamer Crunchyroll to incorporate phrases from popular anime shows. Along with global press coverage, the partnership generated more than 40 million impressions across social platforms, Duolingo said.

While marketers grapple with AI's practical applications, Orssaud has applied the technology strategically. His team uses an AI-powered data scraper, built in-house, to identify trends from social comments. Orssaud has also encouraged Duolingo's brand group to apply ChatGPT to help predict cultural moments for the brand to leverage.

Ryan Ostrom, CMO, Jack in the Box

Under Ostrom, Jack in the Box has married pop culture with consumer research and segmentation to help challenge the fast-food status quo.

Last year, Jack in the Box partnered with rapper Snoop Dogg to launch a new "Late Night Munchie Meal." The limited edition launch was also supported by a pop-up "Dogg in tha box" restaurant in Los Angeles. It became one of the brand's most successful campaigns, delivering a 13.4% year-over-year increase in late-night sales — with the Munchie Meal making up 20.3% of the total. It's planning a follow-up this year with Ice Cube with a Chicken-Tater Melt to continue to promote the late-night eating occasion.

Continuing the brand's theme of supporting the underdog, Jack in the Box looked to support its California community impacted by the history WGA writers' strike. The brand brought on board out-of-work horror screenwriters to create "Feeding Time," a short film to promote the return of the brand's Monster Tacos. The campaign amassed more than 1 billion media impressions and helped to sell 8.5 million tacos.

New product development has been key to the marketing strategy this year. Ostrom has also spearheaded the launch of the Smashed Jack, the chain's first new burger in eight years. In just one day, the chain sold 70,000 Smashed Jacks, and in two weeks, the burger was sold out everywhere. Ostrom helped drive one of Jack in the Box's strongest-ever transaction weeks with the Mint Mobile shake, in partnership with Ryan Reynolds, which was timed with St Patrick's Day. And last year, Jack in the Box became one of the first quick-service restaurants to begin selling a Boba tea drink.

Jessica Padula, VP of marketing and head of sustainability, Nespresso USA

Padula wants to make the coffee brand relevant to audiences beyond coffee lovers. In October, she spearheaded a live sports partnership with Netflix around the "Netflix Cup," a golf tournament that featured players from Netflix's golf show "Full Swing" and the racing show "Formula 1: Drive to Survive." Nespresso's branding and products were integrated into the tournament, which increased awareness by 35% and increased messaging association by 10%, according to Nespresso. She also helped develop a campaign aimed at gamers with Twitch streamers. Nespresso worked with influencers to show how a small coffee machine fits into Twitch's growing lifestyle content. One video from the campaign generated more than 3.3 million impressions and was watched until the end by 88% of viewers. Targeting Gen Z is particularly important to Padula. To promote iced coffee, her team designed a series of mini café events in places like an elevator at One World Trade Center in New York and Santa Monica's Pacific Wheel that equipped a small coffee machine to give out coffee and create content. She also runs Nespresso's sustainability efforts, reflecting how younger audiences like Gen Z value social issues. Padula oversaw the expansion of Nespresso's recycling program from New York City to Jersey City, New Jersey. In recent months, participation in the program has increased by 2%, according to Nespresso. Padula has worked at Nespresso for eight years and was elevated to the role of VP of marketing and head of sustainability last year. She was previously director of brand and communications and social media marketing manager, and has also worked in marketing roles at Swarovski and Famous Brands.

Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer, Mastercard

"We need to be Leonardo Da Vinci marketers … embracing the art and the science," Rajamannar exhorted in an October op-ed for Business Insider. Rajamannar himself has exemplified that approach, amplifying Mastercard's far-flung creative activations with advanced AI and other technology.

With the support of small businesses as a major brand objective, Rajamannar partnered with the social-impact tech company Create Labs to launch Mastercard Small Business AI, an online mentorship tool aimed at minority-owned businesses. Within Mastercard, Rajamannar oversaw the creation of Mastercard Digital Engine, which merges millions of data and brand content points into marcomms content­ ― and generates its own media buying. Campaigns run on the platform have outperformed benchmarks by up to 90% on CPM [cost per thousand impressions] and seven times on engagement, Mastercard said.

Rajamannar also foresaw the post-COVID craving for experiences among consumers, dedicating 70% of Mastercard's recent marketing budgets to experiential activations. During the 2024 Grammys, multiplatinum-selling artist SZA debuted a new song, "Saturn," during a Mastercard commercial. The Grammys initiative also integrated Mastercard's Priceless Planet Coalition tree-restoration initiative, a SZA-related sweepstakes, and a Fortnite activation dubbed Restore the Forest Speedrun. The integrated campaign generated 440 million media impressions, Mastercard said.

A proponent of purpose-driven marketing, Rajamannar also led Where to Settle, an AI-powered platform that offered Ukrainian refugees guidance on work opportunities and home listings across Poland. The platform tailored recommendations based on data points like job experience.

Andy Rebhun, chief experience officer, Cava

Rebhun is turning Instagram and TikTok posts into content that elevates the fast-casual chain.

He is the former CMO of El Pollo Loco, who joined Cava in 2023 — shortly before the restaurant chain went public on the New York Stock Exchange. Over the past year, he has spearheaded Cava's social-media presence to capitalize on memes, humor, and ingredient-focused videos. He's specifically focused on highlighting user-generated content, including a contest in April that awarded three customers $5,000 in credit for sharing the ingredients of their bowls on TikTok. The winners also had their bowl featured on Cava's digital and app menu as a limited-time product.

Rebhun has also improved Cava's digital-ordering platform with features like "click to claim" emails for customers to receive loyalty points and a feature that allows people to visualize building their food when placing an order.

Cava plans to relaunch its loyalty program this year. The program allows customers to collect points that can be redeemed for products. As third-party cookies disappear, the loyalty program will also give Cava more first-party data used for marketing. 

Rebhun is also in charge of Cava's innovation and works with the company's culinary team to create new ingredients for its Mediterranean products. In one example, Cava tested grilled steak in the Dallas and Boston markets before rolling it out nationally this summer. Cava generated $717 million in revenue in 2023, up 60% year-over-year, and opened 72 net-new restaurants last year.

Natalie Sunderland, chief marketing and communications officer, BNY

Sunderland has transformed marcomms for BNY  — a financial-services giant that recently marked its 240th anniversary — in just three years. Internally, she consolidated disparate teams into a central department, enabling more cohesive marketing strategies across divisions. Externally, Sunderland is breaking boundaries. She aligned BNY with community-level initiatives, making it first among the world's 29 G-SIBs (Globally Systemic Important Banks) to designate minority-, veteran-, and woman-owned firms as bookrunners for bank-note offerings, roles typically taken on by large global financial institutions.

Sunderland helped BNY partner with New York bank MoCaFi to underwrite a $500 million debt offering with minority-owned firms. The firm also tapped BNY's Vaia platform to partner with MoCaFi on broadening payment options for unbanked people. To address gender issues in financial awareness, Sunderland forged an alliance with Poker Power, a women-led organization that uses poker to teach women confidence, decision-making skills, and risk assessment. Sunderland also helped launch SPARK Shares, which lets clients donate investment proceeds to nonprofits.

Along with reputational benefits, Sunderland's work has reaped results. Brand equity has jumped eight points within 18 months, BNY said.

Dara Treseder, CMO, Autodesk

Since joining Autodesk in 2022, Treseder has been instrumental in driving brand awareness for the design industry software company, boosting new business, and increasing customer satisfaction scores. Her efforts have helped Autodesk exceed its marketing-contributed pipeline targets by 41% and increase campaign conversion rates by 30%, the company said.

In 2023, Treseder led five attention-grabbing brand activations that reached 178 million people, improved brand reach by 4%, and boosted web traffic referrals from social media by 44%. Those included a campaign during the Oscars, a takeover of the Sphere in Las Vegas in partnership with Marvel, and turning every ad on The New York Times homepage into error messages that led to its State of Design and Make report. 

Treseder has also been shepherding the launch of Autodesk's generative AI 3D-modeling technology. That's included Autodesk's marketing department launching its own internal generative AI tool that has reduced video content development time to minutes from weeks and from thousands of dollars to just a few. 

Treseder has been particularly successful in driving growth for Autodesk's education business, with users increasing by 20 million since she joined the company. Autodesk provides students and educators with its software for free as part of an effort to expand careers and the diversity of the talent pool in professions like architecture, engineering, and video-game design. The company also recently donated $5 million to Howard University as part of an effort to increase diversity in industries like mechanical engineering, where just 3% of engineers in the US are Black. 

Treseder continues to champion public health, women's issues, and diversity outside her work at Autodesk as the chair of the Public Health Institute and her position on the board of financial services firm Robinhood. She also serves on the board of the Autodesk Foundation and, since joining, has helped it invest in eight organizations and startups that tackle problems ranging from labor shortages in South Africa to the decarbonization of building materials.

Massimiliano Tirocchi, cofounder and CMO, Trafilea

In eight years, 31-year-old Tirocchi has built a billion-dollar brand group with more than 10 million customers worldwide from Montevideo, Uruguay. The rare founder who doubles as CMO, Tirocchi has made AI and data cornerstones of Trafilea's growth plan, harnessing analytics to fuel both media buying and creative.

To maximize a $70 million annual ad budget for Trafilea's e-commerce brands, including intimates store Shapermint, skincare brand The Spa Dr., and adaptogenic beauty line Revel Beauty, Tirocchi built his own AI platforms. One, dubbed Antares, automates ad budget allocation and optimization of over 500 campaigns and 10,000 ads annually. Altair, a second, generates ads tailored to countries, local slang, and channels. Trafilea claims the platforms have slashed creative process times by 80% and delivered 10 times the output.

Tirocchi's data-driven approach to marketing has helped propel intimates brand Shapermint to over $800 million in revenue and 10 million customers since its 2018 launch, making it a serious contender against legacy brands in a fiercely competitive category. Three of its products are No. 1 in their respective categories; Macy's and Walmart stores now carry the brand.

Tirocchi expects more marketing milestones for Trafilea brands this year. On tap: AI-generated TV spots and out-of-home ads, with Antares optimizing their budget and targeting. 

Kyle Watson, CMO, Celsius Holdings

Under Watson's leadership, Celsius, an energy drink brand, has grown from its fitness roots to become a broader lifestyle brand.

Music has become a cornerstone of this strategy. This year, the company expanded its Celsius Essential Vibes Tour to become the presenting sponsor of the Breakway multi-stop music festival. The activation includes on-site workouts, sampling, meet-and-greets, and branded giveaways. The beverage brand also held a "Cosmic Desert party" at Coachella to launch its new Space Vibe drink flavors, welcoming celebrities like Megan Fox, Barry Keoghan, and Halle Berry.

Celsius is still very much embedded in the fitness and sports category. Last year, under Watson's marketing leadership, Celsius became the official sponsor of Major League Soccer in the US and the Inter Miami CF team. She also expanded the brand's multi-year partnership with the Scuderia-Ferrari Formula 1 team to help support Celsius's international launches in new markets like Canada, the UK, and France.

Celsius achieved record sales last year, doubling revenue and surpassing $1 billion for the first time. Watson's marketing and key moves in new product development — such as introducing new flavors in the fizz-free range, and launching the larger-volume Celsius Essentials line for performance athletes — helped it grow to become the No. 3 energy drink in the US, with an 11.5% market share, according to Circana.

Ben Webley, CMO, Scopely

Webley helps drive awareness and play for mobile games like "Star Trek Fleet Command" and "Monopoly Go!" He's a video-gaming marketer who previously worked at Meta, Zynga, and Electronic Arts before joining Scopely in 2021. Webley launched a marketing campaign for last year's hit game "Monopoly Go!" that generated $2 billion in revenue 10 months after launching — a rare feat for a mobile game. He studied initial player activity to see what parts of the game resonated the most with people, depending on their location and demographic. These insights were then used to create hyperlocal campaigns targeted by the language and cultures of individual countries. This approach helped Webley develop an audience that is highly loyal and engaged with games. "Monopoly Go!" has more than 150 million downloads, and eight million daily players. He has also worked on campaigns for Scopely's "Star Trek Fleet Command" and "Stumble Guys" through big acquisition platforms like Meta and emerging platforms like TikTok and Discord. For "Stumble Guys," Webley spearheaded a partnership that incorporated the social-media star MrBeast through challenges, stunts, and characters within the game. The campaign reached more than 380 million views on social media, and the game has more than 50 million monthly players. 100 million people play Scopely's games every month, according to the company.

Sherry Weiss, CMO, Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal

Weiss is responsible for all the media organization's marketing that spans The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, and Barron's. She's tasked with promoting the media group to advertisers and clients, as well as consumers. Last year, she hired three new agencies — Mother, Mediahub, and TBWA Worldwide — to shake up its advertising. In one example, a campaign called "Missing Articles" featured a blank front page of The Wall Street Journal to remind the public about reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained by Russia since 2023. Her marketing efforts have also helped increase news subscribers from 2.43 million in 2019 to 5.7 million as of the fiscal third quarter. She also oversees marketing for the professional services arm, which includes Dow Jones Risk & Compliance, Dow Jones Energy, and Factiva. She most recently rolled out a multimillion-dollar brand campaign promoting The Wall Street Journal's strategy under editor-in-chief Emma Tucker. The campaign aims to broaden the publisher's business readership. Weiss joined in 2022 and previously worked in marketing at Citi.

William White, CMO and SVP, Walmart US

White's job is to make the largest retailer in the US more digital. He led a campaign last year called "Welcome to your Walmart" that used celebrities like Becky G, Patrick Mahomes, and Barbie to help people find and buy specific types of products, such as beauty, sporting, and home items. White also developed a presence for Walmart on Roblox called Walmart Discovered, where players can save virtual items and play games. Since launching in September, Walmart Discovered has more than 20 million visitors, according to Walmart. During last year's holiday shopping, White created a series called "Add to Heart" based on the growingly popular holiday romcoms. The 23-part series ran across TikTok, YouTube, and Roku and allowed people to buy 230 products. White also spearheaded a Black Friday campaign inspired by the original "Mean Girls" movie that promoted holiday deals.

Andrea Zaretsky, CMO, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and E*Trade

Banks have adopted AI for tasks including compliance and credit decisions. Zaretsky embraced it further, leveraging a partnership with OpenAI "to deliver relevant content and insights into the hands of financial advisors in seconds," according to Morgan Stanley. Zaretsky has also encouraged experimentation with OpenAI in marcomms, fueling content creation, curation, and amplification, the firm said.

Internally, Zaretsky has harnessed metaverse and hologram technology. At Morgan Stanley's annual sales meeting, she launched a metaverse art gallery themed around helping sales associates work with clients to visualize retirement dreams. And at the firm's annual BtoB conference, Zaretsky oversaw a program allowing attendees to meet financial advisors via hologram.

Along with social platforms like TikTok, Zaretsky has used traditional media and live activations to elevate E*Trade's brand at a challenging time for investors. She extended the lifespan of E*Trade's "Babies" Super Bowl commercial with a post-game campaign dubbed "Money Monday," which rewarded consumers for investing with Morgan Stanley. Events, including financial-education sessions, saw "record attendance," Morgan Stanley said; new accounts saw double-digit growth. 

Zaretsky's results have gone beyond the bottom line, though. When Morgan Stanley acquired E*Trade in 2020, skepticism about the relationship "were in double digits," a Morgan Stanley rep told Business Insider. "They now sit at a de minimus amount."

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Kate Abnett covers EU climate and energy policy in Brussels, reporting on Europe’s green transition and how climate change is affecting people and ecosystems across the EU. Other areas of coverage include international climate diplomacy. Before joining Reuters, Kate covered emissions and energy markets for Argus Media in London. She is part of the teams whose reporting on Europe’s energy crisis won two Reuters journalist of the year awards in 2022.

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