The Ernst & Young Business Plan Guide, Third Edition

Chapter Nine. Marketing Plan

The marketing section is one of the most important parts of a business plan because it communicates most directly the nature of the intended business and the manner in which that business will be able to succeed. Specifically, the purpose of the marketing section is to explain how a prospective business intends to manipulate and react to market conditions in order to generate sales.

The entrepreneur must prepare a marketing plan that is both interesting and thought provoking. The plan cannot simply explain a concept; it must sell a prospective business as an attractive investment opportunity, a good credit risk, or a valued vendor of a product or service.

In addition, this section must be written in a manner that is meaningful to a wide variety of people, from management teams to board members, and from venture capitalists to bankers.

History has shown that the marketing challenge is one of the most critical to a company’s success. Many companies with a desirable product have failed because of their marketing strategy or lack of one, and their implementation program.

Therefore, reviewers give a great deal of attention to this section when evaluating a business plan. Many venture capitalists feel that some of the most important criteria for predicting the success of a new company are those factors that establish the demand for the product or service. If a real market need is not presented, all of the talent and financing in the world will not make a company ...