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First Steps: Writing the Industry Section of Your Business Plan This quick guide offers tips that will help you create the industry section for your business plan.

By Teresa Ciulla Jan 4, 2015

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

In their book Write Your Business Plan , the staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc. offer an in-depth understanding of what's essential to any business plan, what's appropriate for your venture, and what it takes to ensure success. In this edited excerpt, the authors outline what type of details you should include in the industry section of your business plan.

It isn't enough to just work hard. If you're in the wrong industry at the wrong time, making your business grow is going to be difficult. The investment community tends to believe that any business can be buoyed by an industry on the rise and that the opposite is true in an industry whose tide is ebbing. This means it's important for you to include an industry analysis in your business plan.

Readers of your business plan may want to see an industry on a fast-growth track with few established competitors and great potential. Or they may be more interested in a big, if somewhat slower-growing, market with competitors who have lost touch with the market, leaving the door open for rivals.

Whatever the facts are, you'll need to support them with a snapshot analysis of the state of your industry and any trends taking place. This can't be mere off-the-cuff thinking. You need to support your opinions with market research that identifies specific competitors and outlines their weaknesses and strengths and any barriers to entry into the market. You need to describe why your industry is valuable and how it will continue to be important. Finally, and perhaps most important, you'll have to convincingly describe what makes you better and destined to succeed.

When preparing the state of the industry section, instead of looking at your business as a self-contained system, you'll describe the whole industry in which you operate and point to your position in that universe. You then zero in on your country, your state and your local community, deepening on how far your business stretches.

This part of your plan may take a little more legwork than other sections because you'll be drawing together information from a number of outside sources. You may also be reporting on or even conducting your own original research into industry affairs.

To start preparing your industry analysis and outlook, dig up the following facts about your field:

1. What is your total industry-wide sales volume? In dollars? In units?

2. What are the trends in sales volumes within your industry?

3. Who are the major players and your key competitors? What are they like?

4. What does it take to compete? What are the barriers to entry?

5. What technological trends affect your industry?

6. What are the main modes of marketing?

7. How does government regulation affect the industry?

8. In what ways are changing consumer tastes affecting your industry?

9. Identify recent demographic trends affecting the industry.

10. How sensitive is the industry to seasons and economic cycles?

11. What are key financial measures in your industry (average profit margins, sales commissions, etc.)?

If your business addresses a trend before it's been widely recognized, you need to include this information in your business plan. Providing some statistics in the trends section of your plan can make it more convincing.

Barriers to Entry

If you want to become a semiconductor manufacturer, you'll need a billion-dollar factory or two. If you want to have a TV network, you'll need programming and cable carriage in the major markets. These problems are called barriers to entry, and they exist to some extent in all industries. The barriers may be monetary, technological, distribution or market-related, or they may simply be a matter of ownership of prime real estate.

An important part of analyzing your market is determining what the barriers to entry are and how high they stretch. If the barriers are high, as is the case with automobile manufacturing, you can be assured new competitors are likely to be slow in springing up. If the barriers are low, such as opening a nail salon, which doesn't have a huge overhead, you have more opportunity to get into the game.

Be alert for innovative competitors when writing the section of your plan in which you analyze barriers to entry. Clearly some markets are also more saturated than others, and today some are dominated by the McDonald's of their industry. For example, it's hard to open a bookstore today with Amazon changing the way people buy books. In that industry, you need to be creative and explore entry into specialty books, mystery books or another niche within the larger market. Exploring entry points in the marketplace carefully will save you from a disastrous error and will certainly demonstrate to investors that you've thought your plan through and aren't jumping to conclusions.

Identifying Competitors

You're not alone, even if you have a one-person business. You also have your competition to worry about, and your backers will worry about competition, too. Even if you're truly in the rare position of addressing a brand-new market where no competition exists, most experienced people reading your plan will have questions about companies they suspect may be competitors. For these reasons, you should devote a special section of your plan to identifying competitors.

If you had to name two competitors in the athletic shoe market, you'd quickly come up with Nike and Reebok. But these by far aren't the only competitors in the sneaker business. They're just two of the main ones, and depending on the business you're in, the other ones may be more important. If you sell soccer shoes, for instance, Adidas is a bigger player than either of the two American firms. And smaller firms such as Etonic, New Balance and Saucony also have niches where they are comparatively powerful.

You can develop a list of competitors by talking to customers and suppliers, checking with industry groups, and reading trade journals. But it's not enough to simply name your competitors. You need to know their manner of operation, how they compete.

Does a competitor stress a selective, low-volume, high-margin business, or does she emphasize sales growth at any cost, taking every job that comes along, whether or not it fits any coherent scheme or offers an attractive profit? Knowing this kind of information about competitors can help you identify their weaknesses as well as their names.

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How to Write the Market Analysis Section of a Business Plan

Written by Dave Lavinsky

industry description and target market analysis

What is the Market Analysis in a Business Plan?

The market analysis section of your business plan is where you discuss the size of the market in which you’re competing and market trends that might affect your future potential such as economic, political, social and/or technological shifts.

This helps you and readers understand if your market is big enough to support your business’ growth, and whether future conditions will help or hurt your business. For example, stating that your market size is $56 billion, has been growing by 10% for the last 10 years, and that trends are expected to further increase the market size bodes well for your company’s success.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here

What Should a Market Analysis Include?

You’ll want to address these issues in your market analysis:

Size of Industry – How big is the overall industry?
Projected Growth Rate of Industry – Is the industry growing or shrinking? How fast?
Target Market – Who are you targeting with this product or service?
Competition – How many businesses are currently in the same industry?

Learn how to write the full market analysis below.

How to Write a Market Analysis

Here’s how to write the market analysis section of a business plan.

Describe each industry that you are competing in or will be targeting.
Identify direct competition, but don’t forget about indirect competition – this may include companies selling different products to the same potential customer segments.
Highlight strengths and weaknesses for both direct and indirect competitors, along with how your company stacks up against them based on what makes your company uniquely positioned to succeed.
Include specific data, statistics, graphs, or charts if possible to make the market analysis more convincing to investors or lenders.

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Industry overview.

In your industry overview, you will define the market in which you are competing (e.g., restaurant, medical devices, etc.).

You will then detail the sub-segment or niche of that market if applicable (e.g., within restaurants there are fast food restaurants, fine dining, etc.).

Next, you will describe the key characteristics of your industry. For example, discuss how big the market is in terms of units and revenues. Let the reader know if the market is growing or declining (and at what rate), and what key industry trends are facing your market.

Use third-party market research as much as possible to validate the discussion of your industry.

Here is a list of additional items you may analyze for a complete industry overview:

An overview of the current state of the industry . How big is it, how much does it produce or sell? What are its key differentiators from competitors? What is its target customer base like – demographic information and psychographics? How has the industry performed over time (global, domestic)?
Analyze the macro-economic factors impacting your industry . This includes items such as economic growth opportunities, inflation, exchange rates, interest rates, labor market trends, and technological improvements. You want to make sure that all of these are trending in a positive direction for you while also being realistic about them. For example, if the economy is in shambles you might want to wait before entering the particular market.
Analyze the political factors impacting your industry . This is an often-overlooked section of any business plan, but it can be important depending on what type of company you are starting. If you’re in a highly regulated industry (such as medical devices), this is something that you’ll want to include.
Analyze the social factors impacting your industry . This includes analyzing society’s interest in your product or service, historical trends in buying patterns in your industry, and any effects on the industry due to changes in culture. For example, if there is a growing counter-culture trend against big oil companies you might want to position yourself differently than a company in this industry.
Analyze the technological factors impacting your industry . This includes analyzing new technologies being developed in software, hardware, or applications that can be used to improve your product or service. It also includes emerging consumer trends and will be highly dependent on your business type. In a technology-related venture, you would analyze how these changes are impacting consumers. For an educational-related venture, you would analyze how these changes are impacting students, teachers, and/or administrators.

For each of these items, you want to provide some detail about them including their current state as well as what external factors have played a role in the recent past. You can also include many other important factors if they apply to your business including demographic trends, legal issues, environmental concerns, and sustainability issues.

When you are done analyzing all of these factors, wrap it up by summing them up in a statement that includes your view on the future of the industry. This should be positive to attract investors, potential customers, and partners.

If you’re having trouble thinking about all of these factors then it might be helpful to first develop a SWOT analysis for your business.

Once you have an understanding of the market, you’ll need to think about how you will position yourself within that potential market.

Picking Your Niche

You want to think about how large your market is for this venture. You also want to consider whether you’d like to pick a niche within the overall industry or launch yourself into the mainstream.

If you have an innovative product it can be easier to enter the mainstream market – but at the same time, you might face some additional competition if there are similar products available.

You can choose to specialize in a niche market where you’ll face less competition – but might be able to sell your services at a higher price point (this could make it easier for you to get potential customers).

Of course, if your product or service is unique then there should be no competition. But, what happens if it isn’t unique? Will you be able to differentiate yourself enough to create a competitive advantage or edge?

If you are planning on entering the mainstream market, think about whether there are different sub-niches within your specific market. For example, within the technology industry, you can choose to specialize in laptops or smartphones or tablets, or other categories. While it will be more difficult to be unique in a mainstream market, you will still be able to focus on one type or category of products.

How Will You Stand Out?

Many companies are able to stand out – whether by offering a product that is unique or by marketing their products in a way that consumers notice. For example, Steve Jobs was able to take a business idea like the iPhone and make it into something that people talked about (while competitors struggled to play catch up).

You want your venture to stand out – whether with an innovative product or service or through marketing strategies. This might include a unique brand, name, or logo. It might also include packaging that stands out from competitors.

Write down how you will achieve this goal of standing out in the marketplace. If it’s a product, then what features do you have that other products don’t? If it’s a service, then what is it about this service that will make people want to use your company rather than your competition?

You also need to think about marketing. How are you going to promote yourself or sell your product or service? You’ll need a marketing plan for this – which might include writing copy, creating an advertisement, setting up a website, and several other activities. This should include a description of each of these strategies.

If you’re struggling with the details of any of these sections, it might be helpful to research what other companies in your market are doing and how they’ve been successful. You can use this business information to inform your own strategies and plans.

Relevant Market Size & Competition

In the second stage of your analysis, you must determine the size and competition in your specific market.

Target Market Section

Your company’s relevant market size is the amount of money it could make each year if it owned a complete market share.

It’s simple.

To begin, estimate how many consumers you expect to be interested in purchasing your products or services each year.

To generate a more precise estimate, enter the monetary amount these potential customers may be ready to spend on your goods or services each year.

The size of your market is the product of these two figures. Calculate this market value here so that your readers can see how big your market opportunity is (particularly if you are seeking debt or equity funding).

You’ll also want to include an analysis of your market conditions. Is this a growing or declining market? How fast is it growing (or declining)? What are the general trends in the market? How has your market shifted over time?

Include all of this information in your own business plan to give your readers a clear understanding of the market landscape you’re competing in.

The Competition

Next, you’ll need to create a comprehensive list of the competitors in your market. This competitive analysis includes:

Direct Competitors – Companies that offer a similar product or service
Indirect Competitors – Companies that sell products or services that are complementary to yours but not directly related

To show how large each competitor is, you can use metrics such as revenue, employees, number of locations, etc. If you have limited information about the company on hand then you may want to do some additional research or contact them directly for more information. You should also include their website so readers can learn more if they desire (along with social media profiles).

Once you complete this list, take a step back and try to determine how much market share each competitor has. You can use different methods to do this such as market research, surveys, or conduct focus groups or interviews with target customers.

You should also take into account the barriers to entry that exist in your market. What would it take for a new company to enter the market and start competing with you? This could be anything from capital requirements to licensing and permits.

When you have all of this information, you’ll want to create a table like the one below:

Once you have this data, you can start developing strategies to compete with the other companies which will be used again later to help you develop your marketing strategy and plan.

Writing a Market Analysis Tips

Include an explanation of how you determined the size of the market and how much share competitors have.
Include tables like the one above that show competitor size, barriers to entry, etc.
Decide where you’re going to place this section in your business plan – before or after your SWOT analysis. You can use other sections as well such as your company summary or product/service description. Make sure you consider which information should come first for the reader to make the most sense.
Brainstorm how you’re going to stand out in this competitive market.

Formatting the Market Analysis Section of Your Business Plan

Now that you understand the different components of the market analysis, let’s take a look at how you should structure this section in your business plan.

Your market analysis should be divided into two sections: the industry overview and market size & competition.

Each section should include detailed information about the topic and supporting evidence to back up your claims.

You’ll also want to make sure that all of your data is up-to-date. Be sure to include the date of the analysis in your business plan so readers know when it was conducted and if there have been any major changes since then.

In addition, you should also provide a short summary of what this section covers at the beginning of each paragraph or page. You can do this by using a title such as “Industry Overview” or another descriptive phrase that is easy to follow.

As with all sections in a business plan, make sure your market analysis is concise and includes only the most relevant information to keep your audience engaged until they reach your conclusion.

A strong market analysis can give your company a competitive edge over other businesses in its industry, which is why it’s essential to include this section in your business plan. By providing detailed information about the market you’re competing in, you can show your readers that you understand the industry and know how to capitalize on current and future trends.

Business Plan Market Analysis Examples

The following are examples of how to write the market analysis section of a business plan:

Business Plan Market Analysis Example #1 – Hosmer Sunglasses, a sunglasses manufacturer based in California

According to the Sunglass Association of America, the retail sales volume of Plano (non-prescription) sunglasses, clip-on sunglasses, and children’s sunglasses (hereinafter collectively referred to as “Sunwear”) totaled $2.9 billion last year. Premium-priced sunglasses are driving the Plano Sunwear market. Plano sunglasses priced at $100 or more accounted for more than 49% of all Sunwear sales among independent retail locations last year.

The Sunglass Association of America has projected that the dollar volume for retail sales of Plano Sunwear will grow 1.7% next year. Plano sunglass vendors are also bullish about sales in this year and beyond as a result of the growth of technology, particularly the growth of laser surgery and e-commerce.

Business Plan Market Analysis Example #2 – Nailed It!, a family-owned restaurant in Omaha, NE

According to the Nebraska Restaurant Association, last year total restaurant sales in Nebraska grew by 4.3%, reaching a record high of $2.8 billion. Sales at full-service restaurants were particularly strong, growing 7% over 2012 figures. This steady increase is being driven by population growth throughout the state. The Average Annual Growth Rate (AGR) since 2009 is 2.89%.

This fast growth has also encouraged the opening of new restaurants, with 3,035 operating statewide as of this year. The restaurant industry employs more than 41,000 workers in Nebraska and contributes nearly $3 billion to the state economy every year.

Nebraska’s population continues to increase – reaching 1.9 million in 2012, a 1.5% growth rate. In addition to population, the state has experienced record low unemployment every year since 2009 – with an average of 4.7% in 2013 and 2014.

Business Plan Market Analysis Example #3 – American Insurance Company (AIC), a chain of insurance agencies in Maine

American Insurance Company (AIC) offers high-quality insurance at low prices through its chain of retail outlets in the state of Maine. Since its inception, AIC has created an extensive network of agents and brokers across the country with expanding online, call center and retail business operations.

AIC is entering a market that will more than double in size over the next 50 years according to some industry forecasts. The insurance industry is enjoying low inflation rates, steady income growth, and improving standards of living for most Americans during what has been a difficult period for much of American business. This makes this a good time to enter the insurance industry as it enjoys higher margins because customers are purchasing more coverage due to increased costs from medical care and higher liability claims.

American Insurance Company provides affordable homeowners, auto, and business insurance through high-quality fulfillment centers across America that have earned a reputation for top-notch customer service.

AIC will face significant competition from both direct and indirect competitors. The indirect competition will come from a variety of businesses, including banks, other insurance companies, and online retailers. The direct competition will come from other well-funded start-ups as well as incumbents in the industry. AIC’s competitive advantages include its low prices, high quality, and excellent customer service.

AIC plans to grow at a rate that is above average for the industry as a whole. The company has identified a market that is expected to grow by more than 100% in the next decade. This growth is due to several factors: the increase in the number of two-income households, the aging population, and the impending retirement of many baby boomers will lead to an increase in the number of people who are purchasing insurance.

AIC projects revenues of $20M in year one, which is equivalent to 100% growth over the previous year. AIC forecasts revenue growth of 40%-60% each year on average for 10 years. After that, revenue growth is expected to slow down significantly due to market saturation.

The following table illustrates these projections:

Competitive Landscape

Direct Competition: P&C Insurance Market Leaders

Indirect Competition: Banks, Other Insurance Companies, Retailers

Market Analysis Conclusion

When writing the market analysis section, it is important to provide specific data and forecasts about the industry that your company operates in. This information can help make your business plan more convincing to potential investors.

If it’s helpful, you should also discuss how your company stacks up against its competitors based on what makes it unique. In addition, you can identify any strengths or weaknesses that your company has compared to its competitors.

Based on this data, provide projections for how much revenue your company expects to generate over the next few years. Providing this information early on in the business plan will help convince investors that you know what you are talking about and your company is well-positioned to succeed.

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Other Resources for Writing Your Business Plan

How to Write a Great Business Plan Executive Summary How to Expertly Write the Company Description in Your Business Plan The Customer Analysis Section of Your Business Plan Completing the Competitive Analysis Section of Your Business Plan The Management Team Section of Your Business Plan Financial Assumptions and Your Business Plan How to Create Financial Projections for Your Business Plan Everything You Need to Know about the Business Plan Appendix Best Business Plan Software Business Plan Conclusion: Summary & Recap

What Is a Business Plan?

Understanding business plans, how to write a business plan, common elements of a business plan, the bottom line, business plan: what it is, what's included, and how to write one.

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.

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A business plan is a document that outlines a company's goals and the strategies to achieve them. It's valuable for both startups and established companies. For startups, a well-crafted business plan is crucial for attracting potential lenders and investors. Established businesses use business plans to stay on track and aligned with their growth objectives. This article will explain the key components of an effective business plan and guidance on how to write one.

Key Takeaways

A business plan is a document detailing a company's business activities and strategies for achieving its goals.
Startup companies use business plans to launch their venture and to attract outside investors.
For established companies, a business plan helps keep the executive team focused on short- and long-term objectives.
There's no single required format for a business plan, but certain key elements are essential for most companies.

Investopedia / Ryan Oakley

Any new business should have a business plan in place before beginning operations. Banks and venture capital firms often want to see a business plan before considering making a loan or providing capital to new businesses.

Even if a company doesn't need additional funding, having a business plan helps it stay focused on its goals. Research from the University of Oregon shows that businesses with a plan are significantly more likely to secure funding than those without one. Moreover, companies with a business plan grow 30% faster than those that don't plan. According to a Harvard Business Review article, entrepreneurs who write formal plans are 16% more likely to achieve viability than those who don't.

A business plan should ideally be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect achieved goals or changes in direction. An established business moving in a new direction might even create an entirely new plan.

There are numerous benefits to creating (and sticking to) a well-conceived business plan. It allows for careful consideration of ideas before significant investment, highlights potential obstacles to success, and provides a tool for seeking objective feedback from trusted outsiders. A business plan may also help ensure that a company’s executive team remains aligned on strategic action items and priorities.

While business plans vary widely, even among competitors in the same industry, they often share basic elements detailed below.

A well-crafted business plan is essential for attracting investors and guiding a company's strategic growth. It should address market needs and investor requirements and provide clear financial projections.

While there are any number of templates that you can use to write a business plan, it's best to try to avoid producing a generic-looking one. Let your plan reflect the unique personality of your business.

Many business plans use some combination of the sections below, with varying levels of detail, depending on the company.

The length of a business plan can vary greatly from business to business. Regardless, gathering the basic information into a 15- to 25-page document is best. Any additional crucial elements, such as patent applications, can be referenced in the main document and included as appendices.

Common elements in many business plans include:

Executive summary : This section introduces the company and includes its mission statement along with relevant information about the company's leadership, employees, operations, and locations.
Products and services : Describe the products and services the company offers or plans to introduce. Include details on pricing, product lifespan, and unique consumer benefits. Mention production and manufacturing processes, relevant patents , proprietary technology , and research and development (R&D) information.
Market analysis : Explain the current state of the industry and the competition. Detail where the company fits in, the types of customers it plans to target, and how it plans to capture market share from competitors.
Marketing strategy : Outline the company's plans to attract and retain customers, including anticipated advertising and marketing campaigns. Describe the distribution channels that will be used to deliver products or services to consumers.
Financial plans and projections : Established businesses should include financial statements, balance sheets, and other relevant financial information. New businesses should provide financial targets and estimates for the first few years. This section may also include any funding requests.

Investors want to see a clear exit strategy, expected returns, and a timeline for cashing out. It's likely a good idea to provide five-year profitability forecasts and realistic financial estimates.

2 Types of Business Plans

Business plans can vary in format, often categorized into traditional and lean startup plans. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) , the traditional business plan is the more common of the two.

Traditional business plans : These are detailed and lengthy, requiring more effort to create but offering comprehensive information that can be persuasive to potential investors.
Lean startup business plans : These are concise, sometimes just one page, and focus on key elements. While they save time, companies should be ready to provide additional details if requested by investors or lenders.

Why Do Business Plans Fail?

A business plan isn't a surefire recipe for success. The plan may have been unrealistic in its assumptions and projections. Markets and the economy might change in ways that couldn't have been foreseen. A competitor might introduce a revolutionary new product or service. All this calls for building flexibility into your plan, so you can pivot to a new course if needed.

How Often Should a Business Plan Be Updated?

How frequently a business plan needs to be revised will depend on its nature. Updating your business plan is crucial due to changes in external factors (market trends, competition, and regulations) and internal developments (like employee growth and new products). While a well-established business might want to review its plan once a year and make changes if necessary, a new or fast-growing business in a fiercely competitive market might want to revise it more often, such as quarterly.

What Does a Lean Startup Business Plan Include?

The lean startup business plan is ideal for quickly explaining a business, especially for new companies that don't have much information yet. Key sections may include a value proposition , major activities and advantages, resources (staff, intellectual property, and capital), partnerships, customer segments, and revenue sources.

A well-crafted business plan is crucial for any company, whether it's a startup looking for investment or an established business wanting to stay on course. It outlines goals and strategies, boosting a company's chances of securing funding and achieving growth.

As your business and the market change, update your business plan regularly. This keeps it relevant and aligned with your current goals and conditions. Think of your business plan as a living document that evolves with your company, not something carved in stone.

University of Oregon Department of Economics. " Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Business Planning Using Palo Alto's Business Plan Pro ." Eason Ding & Tim Hursey.

Bplans. " Do You Need a Business Plan? Scientific Research Says Yes ."

Harvard Business Review. " Research: Writing a Business Plan Makes Your Startup More Likely to Succeed ."

Harvard Business Review. " How to Write a Winning Business Plan ."

U.S. Small Business Administration. " Write Your Business Plan ."

SCORE. " When and Why Should You Review Your Business Plan? "

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How to Conduct an Industry Analysis? Steps, Template, Examples

Appinio Research · 16.11.2023 · 41min read

Are you ready to unlock the secrets of Industry Analysis, equipping yourself with the knowledge to navigate markets and make informed strategic decisions? Dive into this guide, where we unravel the significance, objectives, and methods of Industry Analysis.

Whether you're an entrepreneur seeking growth opportunities or a seasoned executive navigating industry shifts, this guide will be your compass in understanding the ever-evolving business terrain.

What is Industry Analysis?

Industry analysis is the process of examining and evaluating the dynamics, trends, and competitive forces within a specific industry or market sector. It involves a comprehensive assessment of the factors that impact the performance and prospects of businesses operating within that industry. Industry analysis serves as a vital tool for businesses and decision-makers to gain a deep understanding of the environment in which they operate.

Key components of industry analysis include:

Market Size and Growth: Determining the overall size of the market, including factors such as revenue, sales volume, and customer base. Analyzing historical and projected growth rates provides insights into market trends and opportunities.
Competitive Landscape: Identifying and analyzing competitors within the industry. This includes assessing their market share , strengths, weaknesses, and strategies. Understanding the competitive landscape helps businesses position themselves effectively.
Customer Behavior and Preferences: Examining consumer behavior , preferences, and purchasing patterns within the industry. This information aids in tailoring products or services to meet customer needs.
Regulatory and Legal Environment: Assessing the impact of government regulations, policies, and legal requirements on industry operations. Compliance and adaptation to these factors are crucial for business success.
Technological Trends: Exploring technological advancements and innovations that affect the industry. Staying up-to-date with technology trends can be essential for competitiveness and growth.
Economic Factors: Considering economic conditions, such as inflation rates, interest rates, and economic cycles, that influence the industry's performance.
Social and Cultural Trends: Examining societal and cultural shifts, including changing consumer values and lifestyle trends that can impact demand and preferences.
Environmental and Sustainability Factors: Evaluating environmental concerns and sustainability issues that affect the industry. Industries are increasingly required to address environmental responsibility.
Supplier and Distribution Networks: Analyzing the availability of suppliers, distribution channels, and supply chain complexities within the industry.
Risk Factors: Identifying potential risks and uncertainties that could affect industry stability and profitability.

Objectives of Industry Analysis

Industry analysis serves several critical objectives for businesses and decision-makers:

Understanding Market Dynamics: The primary objective is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the industry's dynamics, including its size, growth prospects, and competitive landscape. This knowledge forms the basis for strategic planning.
Identifying Growth Opportunities: Industry analysis helps identify growth opportunities within the market. This includes recognizing emerging trends, niche markets, and underserved customer segments.
Assessing Competitor Strategies: By examining competitors' strengths, weaknesses, and strategies, businesses can formulate effective competitive strategies. This involves positioning the company to capitalize on its strengths and exploit competitors' weaknesses.
Risk Assessment and Mitigation: Identifying potential risks and vulnerabilities specific to the industry allows businesses to develop risk mitigation strategies and contingency plans. This proactive approach minimizes the impact of adverse events.
Strategic Decision-Making: Industry analysis provides the data and insights necessary for informed strategic decision-making. It guides decisions related to market entry, product development, pricing strategies, and resource allocation.
Resource Allocation: By understanding industry dynamics, businesses can allocate resources efficiently. This includes optimizing marketing budgets, supply chain investments, and talent recruitment efforts.
Innovation and Adaptation: Staying updated on technological trends and shifts in customer preferences enables businesses to innovate and adapt their offerings effectively.

Importance of Industry Analysis in Business

Industry analysis holds immense importance in the business world for several reasons:

Strategic Planning: It forms the foundation for strategic planning by providing a comprehensive view of the industry's landscape. Businesses can align their goals, objectives, and strategies with industry trends and opportunities.
Risk Management: Identifying and assessing industry-specific risks allows businesses to manage and mitigate potential threats proactively. This reduces the likelihood of unexpected disruptions.
Competitive Advantage: In-depth industry analysis helps businesses identify opportunities for gaining a competitive advantage. This could involve product differentiation, cost leadership, or niche market targeting .
Resource Optimization: Efficient allocation of resources, both financial and human, is possible when businesses have a clear understanding of industry dynamics. It prevents wastage and enhances resource utilization.
Informed Investment: Industry analysis assists investors in making informed decisions about allocating capital. It provides insights into the growth potential and risk profiles of specific industry sectors.
Adaptation to Change: As industries evolve, businesses must adapt to changing market conditions. Industry analysis facilitates timely adaptation to new technologies, market shifts, and consumer preferences .
Market Entry and Expansion: For businesses looking to enter new markets or expand existing operations, industry analysis guides decision-making by evaluating the feasibility and opportunities in target markets.
Regulatory Compliance: Understanding the regulatory environment is critical for compliance and risk avoidance. Industry analysis helps businesses stay compliant with relevant laws and regulations.

In summary, industry analysis is a fundamental process that empowers businesses to make informed decisions, stay competitive, and navigate the complexities of their respective markets. It is an invaluable tool for strategic planning and long-term success.

How to Prepare for Industry Analysis?

Let's start by going through the crucial preparatory steps for conducting a comprehensive industry analysis.

1. Data Collection and Research

Primary Research: When embarking on an industry analysis, consider conducting primary research . This involves gathering data directly from industry sources, stakeholders, and potential customers. Methods may include surveys , interviews, focus groups , and observations. Primary research provides firsthand insights and can help validate secondary research findings.
Secondary Research: Secondary research involves analyzing existing literature, reports, and publications related to your industry. Sources may include academic journals, industry-specific magazines, government publications, and market research reports. Secondary research provides a foundation of knowledge and can help identify gaps in information that require further investigation.
Data Sources: Explore various data sources to collect valuable industry information. These sources may include industry-specific associations, government agencies, trade publications, and reputable market research firms. Make sure to cross-reference data from multiple sources to ensure accuracy and reliability.

2. Identifying Relevant Industry Metrics

Understanding and identifying the right industry metrics is essential for meaningful analysis. Here, we'll discuss key metrics that can provide valuable insights:

Market Size: Determining the market's size, whether in terms of revenue, units sold, or customer base, is a fundamental metric. It offers a snapshot of the industry's scale and potential.
Market Growth Rate: Assessing historical and projected growth rates is crucial for identifying trends and opportunities. Understanding how the market has evolved over time can guide strategic decisions.
Market Share Analysis: Analyzing market share among industry players can help you identify dominant competitors and their respective positions. This metric also assists in gauging your own company's market presence.
Market Segmentation : Segmenting the market based on demographics, geography, behavior, or other criteria can provide deeper insights. Understanding the specific needs and preferences of various market segments can inform targeted strategies.

3. Gathering Competitive Intelligence

Competitive intelligence is the cornerstone of effective industry analysis. To gather and utilize information about your competitors:

Competitor Identification: Begin by creating a comprehensive list of your primary and potential competitors. Consider businesses that offer similar products or services within your target market. It's essential to cast a wide net to capture all relevant competitors.
SWOT Analysis : Conduct a thorough SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis for each competitor. This analysis helps you identify their internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats they face.
Market Share Analysis: Determine the market share held by each competitor and how it has evolved over time. Analyzing changes in market share can reveal shifts in competitive dynamics.
Product and Pricing Analysis: Evaluate your competitors' product offerings and pricing strategies . Identify any unique features or innovations they offer and consider how your own products or services compare.
Marketing and Branding Strategies: Examine the marketing and branding strategies employed by competitors. This includes their messaging, advertising channels, and customer engagement tactics. Assess how your marketing efforts stack up.

Industry Analysis Frameworks and Models

Now, let's explore essential frameworks and models commonly used in industry analysis, providing you with practical insights and examples to help you effectively apply these tools.

Porter's Five Forces Model

Porter's Five Forces is a powerful framework developed by Michael Porter to assess the competitive forces within an industry. This model helps you understand the industry's attractiveness and competitive dynamics.

How to Conduct an Industry Analysis Template Examples Porters Five Forces Analysis Appinio

It consists of five key forces:

Threat of New Entrants: This force evaluates how easy or difficult it is for new companies to enter the industry. Factors that increase barriers to entry include high capital requirements, strong brand loyalty among existing players, and complex regulatory hurdles. For example, the airline industry has significant barriers to entry due to the need for large capital investments in aircraft, airport facilities, and regulatory approvals.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers: This force examines the influence suppliers have on the industry's profitability. Powerful suppliers can demand higher prices or impose unfavorable terms. For instance, in the automotive industry, suppliers of critical components like microchips can wield significant bargaining power if they are few in number or if their products are highly specialized.
Bargaining Power of Buyers: The bargaining power of buyers assesses how much influence customers have in negotiating prices and terms. In industries where buyers have many alternatives, such as the smartphone market, they can demand lower prices and better features, putting pressure on manufacturers to innovate and compete.
Threat of Substitutes: This force considers the availability of substitute products or services that could potentially replace what the industry offers. For example, the rise of electric vehicles represents a significant threat to the traditional gasoline-powered automotive industry as consumers seek eco-friendly alternatives.
Competitive Rivalry: Competitive rivalry assesses the intensity of competition among existing firms in the industry. A highly competitive industry, such as the smartphone market, often leads to price wars and aggressive marketing strategies as companies vie for market share.

Example: Let's consider the coffee shop industry . New entrants face relatively low barriers, as they can set up a small shop with limited capital. However, the bargaining power of suppliers, such as coffee bean producers, can vary depending on the region and the coffee's rarity. Bargaining power with buyers is moderate, as customers often have several coffee shops to choose from. Threats of substitutes may include energy drinks or homemade coffee, while competitive rivalry is high, with numerous coffee chains and independent cafes competing for customers.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis is a versatile tool used to assess an organization's internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats. By conducting a SWOT analysis, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of your industry and formulate effective strategies.

Strengths: These are the internal attributes and capabilities that give your business a competitive advantage. For instance, if you're a tech company, having a talented and innovative team can be considered a strength.
Weaknesses: Weaknesses are internal factors that hinder your business's performance. For example, a lack of financial resources or outdated technology can be weaknesses that need to be addressed.
Opportunities: Opportunities are external factors that your business can capitalize on. This could be a growing market segment, emerging technologies, or changing consumer trends.
Threats: Threats are external factors that can potentially harm your business. Examples of threats might include aggressive competition, economic downturns, or regulatory changes.

Example: Let's say you're analyzing the fast-food industry. Strengths could include a well-established brand, a wide menu variety, and efficient supply chain management. Weaknesses may involve a limited focus on healthy options and potential labor issues. Opportunities could include the growing trend toward healthier eating, while threats might encompass health-conscious consumer preferences and increased competition from delivery apps.

PESTEL Analysis

PESTEL Analysis examines the external macro-environmental factors that can impact your industry. The acronym stands for:

Political: Political factors encompass government policies, stability, and regulations. For example, changes in tax laws or trade agreements can affect industries like international manufacturing.
Economic: Economic factors include economic growth, inflation rates, and exchange rates. A fluctuating currency exchange rate can influence export-oriented industries like tourism.
Social: Social factors encompass demographics, cultural trends, and social attitudes. An aging population can lead to increased demand for healthcare services and products.
Technological: Technological factors involve advancements and innovations. Industries like telecommunications are highly influenced by technological developments, such as the rollout of 5G networks.
Environmental: Environmental factors cover sustainability, climate change, and ecological concerns. Industries such as renewable energy are directly impacted by environmental regulations and consumer preferences.
Legal: Legal factors encompass laws, regulations, and compliance requirements. The pharmaceutical industry, for instance, faces stringent regulatory oversight and patent protection laws.

Example: Consider the automobile manufacturing industry. Political factors may include government incentives for electric vehicles. Economic factors can involve fluctuations in fuel prices affecting consumer preferences for fuel-efficient cars. Social factors might encompass the growing interest in eco-friendly transportation options. Technological factors could relate to advancements in autonomous driving technology. Environmental factors may involve emissions regulations, while legal factors could pertain to safety standards and recalls.

Industry Life Cycle Analysis

Industry Life Cycle Analysis categorizes industries into various stages based on their growth and maturity. Understanding where your industry stands in its life cycle can help shape your strategies.

Introduction: In the introduction stage, the industry is characterized by slow growth, limited competition, and a focus on product development. New players enter the market, and consumers become aware of the product or service. For instance, electric scooters were introduced as a new mode of transportation in recent years.
Growth: The growth stage is marked by rapid market expansion, increased competition, and rising demand. Companies focus on gaining market share, and innovation is vital. The ride-sharing industry, exemplified by companies like Uber and Lyft, experienced significant growth in this stage.
Maturity: In the maturity stage, the market stabilizes, and competition intensifies. Companies strive to maintain market share and differentiate themselves through branding and customer loyalty programs. The smartphone industry reached maturity with multiple established players.
Decline: In the decline stage, the market saturates, and demand decreases. Companies must adapt or diversify to survive. The decline of traditional print media is a well-known example.

Example: Let's analyze the video streaming industry . The introduction stage saw the emergence of streaming services like Netflix. In the growth stage, more players entered the market, and the industry saw rapid expansion. The industry is currently in the maturity stage, with established platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ competing for market share. However, with continued innovation and changing consumer preferences, the decline stage may eventually follow.

Value Chain Analysis

Value Chain Analysis dissects a company's activities into primary and support activities to identify areas of competitive advantage. Primary activities directly contribute to creating and delivering a product or service, while support activities facilitate primary activities.

Primary Activities: These activities include inbound logistics (receiving and storing materials), operations (manufacturing or service delivery), outbound logistics (distribution), marketing and sales, and customer service.
Support Activities: Support activities include procurement (acquiring materials and resources), technology development (R&D and innovation), human resource management (recruitment and training), and infrastructure (administrative and support functions).

Example: Let's take the example of a smartphone manufacturer. Inbound logistics involve sourcing components, such as processors and displays. Operations include assembly and quality control. Outbound logistics cover shipping and distribution. Marketing and sales involve advertising and retail partnerships. Customer service handles warranty and support.

Procurement ensures a stable supply chain for components. Technology development focuses on research and development of new features. Human resource management includes hiring and training skilled engineers. Infrastructure supports the company's administrative functions.

By applying these frameworks and models effectively, you can better understand your industry, identify strategic opportunities and threats, and develop a solid foundation for informed decision-making.

Data Interpretation and Analysis

Once you have your data, it's time to start interpreting and analyzing the data you've collected during your industry analysis.

You can unlock the full potential of your data with Appinio 's comprehensive research platform. Beyond aiding in data collection, Appinio simplifies the intricate process of data interpretation and analysis. Our intuitive tools empower you to effortlessly transform raw data into actionable insights, giving you a competitive edge in understanding your industry.

Whether it's assessing market trends, evaluating the competitive landscape, or understanding customer behavior, Appinio offers a holistic solution to uncover valuable findings. With our platform, you can make informed decisions, strategize effectively, and stay ahead of industry shifts.

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1. Analyze Market Size and Growth

Analyzing the market's size and growth is essential for understanding its dynamics and potential. Here's how to conduct a robust analysis:

Market Size Calculation: Determine the total market size in terms of revenue, units sold, or the number of customers. This figure serves as a baseline for evaluating the industry's scale.
Historical Growth Analysis: Examine historical data to identify growth trends. This includes looking at past year-over-year growth rates and understanding the factors that influenced them.
Projected Growth Assessment: Explore industry forecasts and projections to gain insights into the expected future growth of the market. Consider factors such as emerging technologies, changing consumer preferences, and economic conditions.
Segmentation Analysis: If applicable, analyze market segmentation data to identify growth opportunities in specific market segments. Understand which segments are experiencing the most significant growth and why.

2. Assess Market Trends

Stay ahead of the curve by closely monitoring and assessing market trends. Here's how to effectively evaluate trends within your industry.

Consumer Behavior Analysis: Dive into consumer behavior data to uncover shifts in preferences, buying patterns, and shopping habits. Understand how technological advancements and cultural changes influence consumer choices.
Technological Advancements: Keep a keen eye on technological developments that impact your industry. Assess how innovations such as AI, IoT, blockchain, or automation are changing the competitive landscape.
Regulatory Changes: Stay informed about regulatory shifts and their potential consequences for your industry. Regulations can significantly affect product development, manufacturing processes, and market entry strategies.
Sustainability and Environmental Trends: Consider the growing importance of sustainability and environmental concerns. Evaluate how your industry is adapting to eco-friendly practices and how these trends affect consumer choices.

3. Evaluate Competitive Landscape

Understanding the competitive landscape is critical for positioning your business effectively. To perform a comprehensive evaluation:

Competitive Positioning: Determine where your company stands in comparison to competitors. Identify your unique selling propositions and areas where you excel.
Market Share Analysis: Continuously monitor market share among industry players. Identify trends in market share shifts and assess the strategies that lead to such changes.
Competitive Advantages and Weaknesses: Analyze your competitors' strengths and weaknesses. Identify areas where you can capitalize on their weaknesses and where you need to fortify your own strengths.

4. Identify Key Success Factors

Recognizing and prioritizing key success factors is crucial for developing effective strategies. To identify and leverage these factors:

Customer Satisfaction: Prioritize customer satisfaction as a critical success factor. Satisfied customers are more likely to become loyal advocates and contribute to long-term success.
Quality and Innovation: Focus on product or service quality and continuous innovation. Meeting and exceeding customer expectations can set your business apart from competitors.
Cost Efficiency: Strive for cost efficiency in your operations. Identifying cost-saving opportunities can lead to improved profitability.
Marketing and Branding Excellence: Invest in effective marketing and branding strategies to create a strong market presence. Building a recognizable brand can drive customer loyalty and growth.

5. Analyze Customer Behavior and Preferences

Understanding your target audience is central to success. Here's how to analyze customer behavior and preferences:

Market Segmentation: Use market segmentation to categorize customers based on demographics, psychographics , and behavior. This allows for more personalized marketing and product/service offerings.
Customer Surveys and Feedback: Gather customer feedback through surveys and feedback mechanisms. Understand their pain points, preferences, and expectations to tailor your offerings.
Consumer Journey Mapping: Map the customer journey to identify touchpoints where you can improve engagement and satisfaction. Optimize the customer experience to build brand loyalty.

By delving deep into data interpretation and analysis, you can gain valuable insights into your industry, uncover growth opportunities, and refine your strategic approach.

How to Conduct Competitor Analysis?

Competitor analysis is a critical component of industry analysis as it provides valuable insights into your rivals, helping you identify opportunities, threats, and areas for improvement.

1. Identify Competitors

Identifying your competitors is the first step in conducting a thorough competitor analysis. Competitors can be classified into several categories:

Direct Competitors: These are companies that offer similar products or services to the same target audience. They are your most immediate competitors and often compete directly with you for market share.
Indirect Competitors: Indirect competitors offer products or services that are related but not identical to yours. They may target a slightly different customer segment or provide an alternative solution to the same problem.
Potential Competitors: These companies could enter your market in the future. Identifying potential competitors early allows you to anticipate and prepare for new entrants.
Substitute Products or Services: While not traditional competitors, substitute products or services can fulfill the same customer needs or desires. Understanding these alternatives is crucial to your competitive strategy.

2. Analyze Competitor Strengths and Weaknesses

Once you've identified your competitors, you need to analyze their strengths and weaknesses. This analysis helps you understand how to position your business effectively and identify areas where you can gain a competitive edge.

Strengths: Consider what your competitors excel at. This could include factors such as brand recognition, innovative products, a large customer base, efficient operations, or strong financial resources.
Weaknesses: Identify areas where your competitors may be lacking. Weaknesses could involve limited product offerings, poor customer service, outdated technology, or financial instability.

3. Competitive Positioning

Competitive positioning involves defining how you want your business to be perceived relative to your competitors. It's about finding a unique position in the market that sets you apart. Consider the following strategies:

Cost Leadership: Strive to be the low-cost provider in your industry. This positioning appeals to price-conscious consumers.
Differentiation: Focus on offering unique features or attributes that make your products or services stand out. This can justify premium pricing.
Niche Market: Target a specific niche or segment of the market that may be underserved by larger competitors. Tailor your offerings to meet their unique needs.
Innovation and Technology: Emphasize innovation and technology to position your business as a leader in product or service quality.
Customer-Centric: Prioritize exceptional customer service and customer experience to build loyalty and a positive reputation.

4. Benchmarking and Gap Analysis

Benchmarking involves comparing your business's performance and practices with those of your competitors or industry leaders. Gap analysis helps identify areas where your business falls short and where improvements are needed.

Performance Benchmarking: Compare key performance metrics, such as revenue, profitability, market share, and customer satisfaction, with those of your competitors. Identify areas where your performance lags behind or exceeds industry standards.
Operational Benchmarking: Analyze your operational processes, supply chain, and cost structures compared to your competitors. Look for opportunities to streamline operations and reduce costs.
Product or Service Benchmarking: Evaluate the features, quality, and pricing of your products or services relative to competitors. Identify gaps and areas for improvement.
Marketing and Sales Benchmarking: Assess your marketing strategies, customer acquisition costs, and sales effectiveness compared to competitors. Determine whether your marketing efforts are performing at a competitive level.

Market Entry and Expansion Strategies

Market entry and expansion strategies are crucial for businesses looking to enter new markets or expand their presence within existing ones. These strategies can help you effectively target and penetrate your chosen markets.

Market Segmentation and Targeting

Market Segmentation: Begin by segmenting your target market into distinct groups based on demographics , psychographics, behavior, or other relevant criteria. This helps you understand the diverse needs and preferences of different customer segments.
Targeting: Once you've segmented the market, select specific target segments that align with your business goals and capabilities. Tailor your marketing and product/service offerings to appeal to these chosen segments.

Market Entry Modes

Selecting the proper market entry mode is crucial for a successful expansion strategy. Entry modes include:

Exporting: Sell your products or services in international markets through exporting. This is a low-risk approach, but it may limit your market reach.
Licensing and Franchising: License your brand, technology, or intellectual property to local partners or franchisees. This allows for rapid expansion while sharing the risk and control.
Joint Ventures and Alliances: Partner with local companies through joint ventures or strategic alliances. This approach leverages local expertise and resources.
Direct Investment: Establish a physical presence in the target market through subsidiaries, branches, or wholly-owned operations. This offers full control but comes with higher risk and investment.

Competitive Strategy Formulation

Your competitive strategy defines how you will compete effectively in the target market.

Cost Leadership: Strive to offer products or services at lower prices than competitors while maintaining quality. This strategy appeals to price-sensitive consumers.
Product Differentiation: Focus on offering unique and innovative products or services that stand out in the market. This strategy justifies premium pricing.
Market Niche: Target a specific niche or segment within the market that is underserved or has particular needs. Tailor your offerings to meet the unique demands of this niche.
Market Expansion : Expand your product or service offerings to capture a broader share of the market. This strategy involves diversifying your offerings to appeal to a broader audience.
Global Expansion: Consider expanding internationally to tap into new markets and diversify your customer base. This strategy involves thorough market research and adaptation to local cultures and regulations.

International Expansion Considerations

If your expansion strategy involves international markets, there are several additional considerations to keep in mind.

Market Research: Conduct in-depth market research to understand the target country's cultural, economic, and legal differences.
Regulatory Compliance: Ensure compliance with international trade regulations, customs, and import/export laws.
Cultural Sensitivity: Adapt your marketing and business practices to align with the cultural norms and preferences of the target market.
Localization: Consider adapting your products, services, and marketing materials to cater to local tastes and languages.
Risk Assessment: Evaluate the political, economic, and legal risks associated with operating in the target country. Develop risk mitigation strategies.

By carefully analyzing your competitors and crafting effective market entry and expansion strategies, you can position your business for success in both domestic and international markets.

Risk Assessment and Mitigation

Risk assessment and mitigation are crucial aspects of industry analysis and strategic planning. Identifying potential risks, assessing vulnerabilities, and implementing effective risk management strategies are essential for business continuity and success.

1. Identify Industry Risks

Market Risks: These risks pertain to factors such as changes in market demand, economic downturns, shifts in consumer preferences, and fluctuations in market prices. For example, the hospitality industry faced significant market risks during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in decreased travel and tourism .
Regulatory and Compliance Risks: Regulatory changes, compliance requirements, and government policies can pose risks to businesses. Industries like healthcare are particularly susceptible to regulatory changes that impact operations and reimbursement.
Technological Risks: Rapid technological advancements can disrupt industries and render existing products or services obsolete. Companies that fail to adapt to technological shifts may face obsolescence.
Operational Risks: These risks encompass internal factors that can disrupt operations, such as supply chain disruptions, equipment failures, or cybersecurity breaches.
Financial Risks: Financial risks include factors like liquidity issues, credit risk , and market volatility. Industries with high capital requirements, such as real estate development, are particularly vulnerable to financial risks.
Competitive Risks: Intense competition and market saturation can pose challenges to businesses. Failing to respond to competitive threats can result in loss of market share.
Global Risks: Industries with a worldwide presence face geopolitical risks, currency fluctuations, and international trade uncertainties. For instance, the automotive industry is susceptible to trade disputes affecting the supply chain.

2. Assess Business Vulnerabilities

SWOT Analysis: Revisit your SWOT analysis to identify internal weaknesses and threats. Assess how these weaknesses may exacerbate industry risks.
Financial Health: Evaluate your company's financial stability, debt levels, and cash flow. Identify vulnerabilities related to financial health that could hinder your ability to withstand industry-specific challenges.
Operational Resilience: Assess the robustness of your operational processes and supply chain. Identify areas where disruptions could occur and develop mitigation strategies.
Market Positioning: Analyze your competitive positioning and market share. Recognize vulnerabilities in your market position that could be exploited by competitors.
Compliance and Regulatory Adherence: Ensure that your business complies with relevant regulations and standards. Identify vulnerabilities related to non-compliance or regulatory changes.

3. Risk Management Strategies

Risk Avoidance: In some cases, the best strategy is to avoid high-risk ventures or markets altogether. This may involve refraining from entering certain markets or discontinuing products or services with excessive risk.
Risk Reduction: Implement measures to reduce identified risks. For example, diversifying your product offerings or customer base can reduce dependence on a single revenue source.
Risk Transfer: Transfer some risks through methods such as insurance or outsourcing. For instance, businesses can mitigate cybersecurity risks by purchasing cyber insurance.
Risk Acceptance: In cases where risks cannot be entirely mitigated, it may be necessary to accept a certain level of risk and have contingency plans in place to address potential issues.
Continuous Monitoring: Establish a system for continuous risk monitoring. Regularly assess the changing landscape and adjust risk management strategies accordingly.

4. Contingency Planning

Contingency planning involves developing strategies and action plans to respond effectively to unforeseen events or crises. It ensures that your business can maintain operations and minimize disruptions in the face of adverse circumstances. Key elements of contingency planning include:

Risk Scenarios: Identify potential risk scenarios specific to your industry and business. These scenarios should encompass a range of possibilities, from minor disruptions to major crises.
Response Teams: Establish response teams with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. Ensure that team members are trained and ready to act in the event of a crisis.
Communication Plans: Develop communication plans that outline how you will communicate with employees, customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders during a crisis. Transparency and timely communication are critical.
Resource Allocation: Determine how resources, including personnel, finances, and equipment, will be allocated in response to various scenarios.
Testing and Simulation: Regularly conduct tests and simulations of your contingency plans to identify weaknesses and areas for improvement. Ensure your response teams are well-practiced and ready to execute the plans effectively.
Documentation and Record Keeping: Maintain comprehensive documentation of contingency plans, response procedures, and communication protocols. This documentation should be easily accessible to relevant personnel.
Review and Update: Continuously review and update your contingency plans to reflect changing industry dynamics and evolving risks. Regularly seek feedback from response teams to make improvements.

By identifying industry risks, assessing vulnerabilities, implementing risk management strategies, and developing robust contingency plans, your business can navigate the complexities of the industry landscape with greater resilience and preparedness.

Industry Analysis Template

When embarking on the journey of Industry Analysis, having a well-structured template is akin to having a reliable map for your exploration. It provides a systematic framework to ensure you cover all essential aspects of the analysis. Here's a breakdown of an industry analysis template with insights into each section.

Industry Overview

Objective: Provide a broad perspective of the industry.
Market Definition: Define the scope and boundaries of the industry, including its products, services, and target audience.
Market Size and Growth: Present current market size, historical growth trends, and future projections.
Key Players: Identify major competitors and their market share.
Market Trends: Highlight significant trends impacting the industry.

Competitive Analysis

Objective: Understand the competitive landscape within the industry.
Competitor Identification: List direct and indirect competitors.
Competitor Profiles: Provide detailed profiles of major competitors, including their strengths, weaknesses, strategies, and market positioning.
SWOT Analysis: Conduct a SWOT analysis for each major competitor.
Market Share Analysis: Analyze market share distribution among competitors.

Market Analysis

Objective: Explore the characteristics and dynamics of the market.
Customer Segmentation: Define customer segments and their demographics, behavior, and preferences.
Demand Analysis: Examine factors driving demand and customer buying behavior.
Supply Chain Analysis: Map out the supply chain, identifying key suppliers and distribution channels.
Regulatory Environment: Discuss relevant regulations, policies, and compliance requirements.

Technological Analysis

Objective: Evaluate the technological landscape impacting the industry.
Technological Trends: Identify emerging technologies and innovations relevant to the industry.
Digital Transformation: Assess the level of digitalization within the industry and its impact on operations and customer engagement.
Innovation Opportunities: Explore opportunities for leveraging technology to gain a competitive edge.

Financial Analysis

Objective: Analyze the financial health of the industry and key players.
Revenue and Profitability: Review industry-wide revenue trends and profitability ratios.
Financial Stability: Assess financial stability by examining debt levels and cash flow.
Investment Patterns: Analyze capital expenditure and investment trends within the industry.

Consumer Insights

Objective: Understand consumer behavior and preferences.
Consumer Surveys: Conduct surveys or gather data on consumer preferences, buying habits , and satisfaction levels.
Market Perception: Gauge consumer perception of brands and products in the industry.
Consumer Feedback: Collect and analyze customer feedback and reviews.

SWOT Analysis for Your Business

Objective: Assess your own business within the industry context.
Strengths: Identify internal strengths that give your business a competitive advantage.
Weaknesses: Recognize internal weaknesses that may hinder your performance.
Opportunities: Explore external opportunities that your business can capitalize on.
Threats: Recognize external threats that may impact your business.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Objective: Summarize key findings and provide actionable recommendations.
Summary: Recap the most critical insights from the analysis.
Recommendations: Offer strategic recommendations for your business based on the analysis.
Future Outlook: Discuss potential future developments in the industry.

While this template provides a structured approach, adapt it to the specific needs and objectives of your Industry Analysis. It serves as your guide, helping you navigate through the complex landscape of your chosen industry, uncovering opportunities, and mitigating risks along the way.

Remember that the depth and complexity of your industry analysis may vary depending on your specific goals and the industry you are assessing. You can adapt this template to focus on the most relevant aspects and conduct thorough research to gather accurate data and insights. Additionally, consider using industry-specific data sources, reports, and expert opinions to enhance the quality of your analysis.

Industry Analysis Examples

To grasp the practical application of industry analysis, let's delve into a few diverse examples across different sectors. These real-world scenarios demonstrate how industry analysis can guide strategic decision-making.

Tech Industry - Smartphone Segment

Scenario: Imagine you are a product manager at a tech company planning to enter the smartphone market. Industry analysis reveals that the market is highly competitive, dominated by established players like Apple and Samsung.

Use of Industry Analysis:

Competitive Landscape: Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of competitors, identifying areas where they excel (e.g., Apple's brand loyalty ) and where they might have vulnerabilities (e.g., consumer demand for more affordable options).
Market Trends: Identify trends like the growing demand for sustainable technology and 5G connectivity, guiding product development and marketing strategies.
Regulatory Factors: Consider regulatory factors related to intellectual property rights, patents, and international trade agreements that can impact market entry and operations.
Outcome: Armed with insights from industry analysis, you decide to focus on innovation, emphasizing features like eco-friendliness and affordability. This niche approach helps your company gain a foothold in the competitive market.

Healthcare Industry - Telehealth Services

Scenario: You are a healthcare entrepreneur exploring opportunities in the telehealth sector, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Industry analysis is critical due to rapid market changes.

Market Size and Growth: Evaluate the growing demand for telehealth services, driven by the need for remote healthcare during the pandemic and convenience factors.
Regulatory Environment: Understand the evolving regulatory landscape, including changes in telemedicine reimbursement policies and licensing requirements.
Technological Trends: Explore emerging technologies such as AI-powered diagnosis and remote monitoring that can enhance service offerings.
Outcome: Industry analysis underscores the potential for telehealth growth. You adapt your business model to align with regulatory changes, invest in cutting-edge technology, and focus on patient-centric care, positioning your telehealth service for success.

Food Industry - Plant-Based Foods

Scenario: As a food industry entrepreneur , you are considering entering the plant-based foods market, driven by increasing consumer interest in health and sustainability.

Market Trends: Analyze the trend toward plant-based diets and sustainability, reflecting changing consumer preferences.
Competitive Landscape: Assess the competitive landscape, understanding that established companies and startups are vying for market share.
Consumer Behavior: Study consumer behavior, recognizing that health-conscious consumers seek plant-based alternatives.
Outcome: Informed by industry analysis, you launch a line of plant-based products emphasizing both health benefits and sustainability. Effective marketing and product quality gain traction among health-conscious consumers, making your brand a success in the plant-based food industry.

These examples illustrate how industry analysis can guide strategic decisions, whether entering competitive tech markets, navigating dynamic healthcare regulations, or capitalizing on shifting consumer preferences in the food industry. By applying industry analysis effectively, businesses can adapt, innovate, and thrive in their respective sectors.

Conclusion for Industry Analysis

Industry Analysis is the compass that helps businesses chart their course in the vast sea of markets. By understanding the industry's dynamics, risks, and opportunities, you gain a strategic advantage that can steer your business towards success. From identifying competitors to mitigating risks and formulating competitive strategies, this guide has equipped you with the tools and knowledge needed to navigate the complexities of the business world.

Remember, Industry Analysis is not a one-time task; it's an ongoing journey. Keep monitoring market trends, adapting to changes, and staying ahead of the curve. With a solid foundation in industry analysis, you're well-prepared to tackle challenges, seize opportunities, and make well-informed decisions that drive your business toward prosperity. So, set sail with confidence and let industry analysis be your guiding star on the path to success.

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What Is an Industry Analysis and Trends Business Plan?

An industry analysis and trends business plan is a component of a business plan that provides a comprehensive insight into industry conditions and trends. 3 min read updated on September 19, 2022

An industry analysis and trends business plan is a component of a business plan that provides a comprehensive insight into industry conditions and trends that can impact a company's success and growth. A thorough analysis of your industry and its trends can give you and other people a clearer idea of the feasibility and relevance of your business idea or goals.

Elements of a Business Plan

There are many different types of business plans. When you are creating your business plan, the information you choose to include will depend on your audience and personal preferences, as well as the questions you wish to answer and problems you seek to solve. While business plans may vary greatly, most of them contain the following elements:

Executive summary
Business description
Analysis of business environment analysis
Industry analysis
Market analysis
Competitive analysis
Marketing plan
Management plan
Operations plan
Financial projections
What Is an Industry Analysis?

An industry analysis enables you to gain a better understanding of the industry and market in which you will be conducting business. By conducting an industry analysis before you start writing your business plan , you will be able to:

Identify industry trends, such as potentially problematic aspects of the industry
Identify trends and opportunities in products and services
Calculate capital requirements
Determine business risks and find ways to reduce them

An industry analysis must be specific to the industry in which you are conducting or are planning to conduct business. With the information you obtain from the analysis, you can devise a long-term strategy to mitigate risks and take full advantage of growth opportunities.

It is important not to confuse an industry analysis with a competitor or market analysis. An industry analysis seeks to describe the products or services offered in a specific industry and the boundaries of the marketplace in relation to economic, political, and regulatory issues. In other words, it defines the scope of the marketplace. A market analysis , on the other hand, helps you determine whether or not a market within your industry will be profitable for your products or services.

Conducting an Industry Analysis

The most widely used method for evaluating any industry was devised by Michael E. Porter from Harvard University. This method can help you create an effective strategy for competing in your industry. According to Porter, all industries and markets are influenced by five forces, which include:

Ease of entry — Companies that are already operating in an industry will enjoy a competitive advantage over newcomers. However, their profits will be reduced unless they find a way to slow down or block the new entries. As for new businesses, they will face a variety of barriers, including government regulations, patents and copyrights, and customer loyalty.
Suppliers' power — Suppliers of materials, products, or services can have a significant impact on a business' ability to compete. In the event that there are few suppliers offering the products or materials or few alternative products, the suppliers have the power to dictate quantities, prices, and delivery times for companies that have no choice but to buy from them.
Buyers' power — In an industry where buyers can choose from many competing products, consumers will have strong bargaining power. This can affect the ability of a company to price its products or services without being afraid of losing customers.
Availability of alternative products — In the situation where two businesses with similar products are competing within an industry, both of them will benefit as their marketing efforts will generally increase demand for their products. However, their market share will be reduced if there is another company selling a different kind of products that can serve as a substitute for theirs.
Competitive rivalry — Competitive rivalry takes into account the number of competitors present in a particular industry, as well as their relative strength. In an industry where many companies are selling similar products, there is little opportunity for one company to control consumers' or suppliers' tendency to go elsewhere.

There are many free industry analysis tools and resources available to business owners who are preparing to create a business plan, such as:

Securities and Exchange Commission
U.S. Census Bureau
Hoover's Online
Thomas Register
Library of Congress Legislative Information
Websites of trade associations and companies

If you need help creating an industry analysis and trends business plan, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.

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Published: June 28, 2024

Years ago, I had an idea to launch a line of region-specific board games. I knew there was a market for games that celebrated local culture and heritage. I was so excited about the concept and couldn't wait to get started.

Business plan graphic with business owner, lightbulb, and pens to symbolize coming up with ideas and writing a business plan.

But my idea never took off. Why? Because I didn‘t have a plan. I lacked direction, missed opportunities, and ultimately, the venture never got off the ground.

And that’s exactly why a business plan is important. It cements your vision, gives you clarity, and outlines your next step.

In this post, I‘ll explain what a business plan is, the reasons why you’d need one, identify different types of business plans, and what you should include in yours.

Table of Contents

What is a business plan?

What is a business plan used for.

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Purposes of a Business Plan

What does a business plan need to include, types of business plans.

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A business plan is a comprehensive document that outlines a company's goals, strategies, and financial projections. It provides a detailed description of the business, including its products or services, target market, competitive landscape, and marketing and sales strategies. The plan also includes a financial section that forecasts revenue, expenses, and cash flow, as well as a funding request if the business is seeking investment.

The business plan is an undeniably critical component to getting any company off the ground. It's key to securing financing, documenting your business model, outlining your financial projections, and turning that nugget of a business idea into a reality.

The purpose of a business plan is three-fold: It summarizes the organization’s strategy in order to execute it long term, secures financing from investors, and helps forecast future business demands.

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Industry Analysis In A Business Plan

Industry Analysis In A Business Plan –

Some decisions require a lot of thinking. You cannot just adopt “Rocks, Scissors, and Paper” to decide in such cases. Many reviews, analyses, and debates are behind such vital decisions. The same is the situation of Luke and his wife, Daisy. They have made this big decision to buy a new home. They have analyzed various areas and bungalows and buildings, and flats. Finally, they have shortlisted a small house and are about to do the paperwork. Luke has analyzed all the positives of that area and nearby amenities. Daisy, on the other hand, is having a hard time. Since it is the most significant decision for her after her marriage, she has been going nuts. She is having nightmares of all the possible things that can go wrong with the house and the new place.

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But nothing went wrong in their case, and they lived happily in the new home. As an intelligent person, Luke had done some proper analysis and predictions. He made calculations of the possibilities and prospects of that area and came up with a positive outlook. Impressive right? But do you want to know a little secret?

Luke has some fantastic analytical skills . So the question is, from where did he get such skills? Is it hereditary? Or has he developed it over time?

How do you think Luke was able to buy such a magnificent new home? The answer is that Luke is a big fan of Warren Buffet. He has been investing in the stock market for a long time and doing well. Before investing in any company, Luke analyzed that sector and industry well. He came up with his industry analysis report and decided whether to invest in that sector or the company. So let’s use Luke’s analytical skills and get insights into what industry analysis is in a business plan and how to perform the same. So let’s learn the basics of Industry analysis.

What is Industry Analysis In A Business Plan?

Before starting with the actual meaning of the industry analysis in a business plan, first, let’s understand what an Industry is.

The industry is a collection of Competitors producing a similar product or offering similar services to their customers.

So the next question is, why are we studying that industry?

To ensure it is the best or worst industry to enter or invest in.

Industry analysis in a business plan is a tool that enables a company to understand its position relative to other companies that produce similar products or services like it. While considering the strategic planning process, a company must understand the overall industry’s forces. Thus, industry analysis techniques in a business plan enable businesses to identify threats and opportunities. It helps them focus their resources on developing unique capabilities to gain a competitive advantage .

Understanding the industry and forecasting its trends and directions, they need to react and control their portion in the industry.

Major elements

1. Understanding the underlying forces at work

Competition intensifying
Changing customers’ needs and taste
Technological innovation
Globalization
Entry of major competitors
Sudden regulation or deregulation

2. Understanding the attractiveness of the industry

Whether it is feasible to enter or invest in that industry.

3. Understanding the critical industry analysis factors that determine success within the industry.

Importance

It is an important element of any investment that one wants to make.
To succeed, business owners need to analyze that industry.
Important for positioning the company in the niche market
It aids the companies in identifying potential opportunities.
It helps in analyzing the threats.
Assists in analyzing the fit between internal management preferences and the business environment.
Facilitates mitigating the risk of entering an extremely competitive business.

Ways to perform

One way to perform the industry analysis in a business plan is to do the ratio analysis and comparisons. Ratios are ascertained by dividing one business variable by another. By comparing the company ratio with that of the industry, a business owner can understand where his business stands concerning the industry average.

Michael E. Porter developed another model for analyzing the industry in his classic book Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors (1980). His model shows that rivalry among the firms in an industry depends upon the following five forces:

The Threat of New Entry

The threat of new entrants refers to the entry of new competitors in the industry. Naturally, a profitable industry will attract more competitors looking to achieve profits. If the entry barriers in the industry are low, it may pose a significant threat to the firms already competing in that market.

Bargaining power of the Supplier

Supplier power refers to the pressure suppliers can exert on businesses by raising prices, lowering quality, or reducing product availability to intimidate buyers. All of these things directly cost the buyer.

Bargaining power of the Buyer

It refers to the pressure the buyers can exert on businesses to ensure higher quality products, better customer service, and lower prices. Strong buyers can make the industry more competitive, thus decreasing the profit for the seller.

Competitive Rivalry

It is the extent to which the competitive firms within an industry can bully each other, thus decreasing profits. Fierce competition may lead to stealing profits and market share amongst competitors.

Threat of Substitution

It is the availability of a substitute product that the buyers can find instead of a core selling product.

Industry Analysis 3 Steps

# Gathering the Data

The Scope of the Research

Define the industry where you would like to perform industry analysis research activities. It can be a broad industry or a niche industry.

Research your industry

Information sources that will help you conduct your industry analysis in a business plan are different for every business. For example, you might need local information, which you can get from your local chamber of commerce. Or you can find your industry analysis information on government websites. You can also find out government statistics or other commercial statistics. You may have to conduct some internet searches to track down the information.

If the information is difficult to obtain at one particular site, you’ll have to extrapolate information from different sources to get the information you’re seeking. Start finding the data from the government or other websites where accurate data is available. Check academic databases for any published information on your area of interest.

Compile relevant data using the sources above.

Make notes of annual revenues, the number of companies involved, and workforce statistics of the desired industry. Find statistics about the size of the customer base and buying trends.

Description of the Industry

Start your industry analysis report with a general description of the industry. Include one or two paragraphs about the industry’s size, products, and geographic concentration.

Describe the company

Include information about the company that you may want to research. Fill in all the general and relevant information about the company.

Competitor Analysis

Understand the competitors and mention relevant statistical information about their revenues, profit, etc. Describe their product range if possible. Mention their strategies and forth-coming products.

GDP and Inflation effects

Mention how much the sector has been contributing to the GDP and how it has been affected by the rising inflation. Give an outlook on the same.

Try to understand the answers to the following industry analysis questions.

What are the industry’s foremost economic characteristics?

To answer this question, you can acquire data about the industry from governmental census data or sites such as Yahoo.com or other data-intensive web locations.

What kinds of competitive forces are industry members facing?

Understand the interrelationships among companies in the industry and their suppliers and buyers. Also, understand the ease of entry and exit from the industry.

What is the Change driving factors and their impacts?

Understand the industry analysis characteristics of the industry, unlike changing social trends, demographics, regulatory issues, etc.

What do market positions rivals occupy?

Analyze whether a firm is smartly positioned or not. Many industry analysis websites list the company’s key competitors and information about them.

Finally, you should get a positive response to the following question.

Points to Stress in Industry Analysis in a Business Plan

1. Industry attractiveness and industry success factors

Industry attractiveness is the presence or absence of threats exhibited by industry forces. Thus a more significant threat posed by any of the industry forces lessens the attractiveness of the industry.
Success factors are the elements that play a significant role in determining whether a company will succeed or fail in a given industry. Some industry analysis examples of success factors are- quick response to market changes, product line, reasonable and fair prices, product quality, sales support, a good record for deliveries, financial position and a management team.

2. Analyzing the future

One of the crucial factors in industry analysis in a business plan is analyzing the sector’s future. Here one can see how the industry has performed historically. Explore how the sector will perform by looking at historical trends.
However, the sector’s future is also affected by the significant changes or regulations related to that industry. Hence it is necessary to analyze these factors for the same.

3. Demand and Supply Analysis

Demand and Supply Analysis also plays a major role here. The following factors of demand and supply may affect the industry-

If demand increases and supply remains unchanged, it leads to a shortage of goods, and the prices increase.
If demand decreases and supply remains intact, it leads to surplus goods and a decrease in the price.

4. Effect of Inflation on the Industry

Inflation has affected some major economies of the world over the past years. Hence analyzing the effect of inflation on a particular sector becomes extremely important in the industry analysis of a business plan process.
Savings, as well as investments, are affected by the high rate of inflation . Hence most companies are affected adversely due to lesser demand for their products and services.

5. Other important factors that can be considered for Industry Analysis in a business plan are

Size of the industry
What sectors does it include?
Major players in this industry
Markets and customers
Estimated sales for the industry (This year? Last year? The year before?)
National/economic trends affecting the industry?
National/economic trends that might affect it in the future
Long-term outlook
Competitor analysis
The competitive advantage of the business
Target Market analysis
Market growth rate
Market profitability
Industry cost structure
Distribution channels
Success factors
Success Details

Considerations for Industry Analysis in a business plan

While carrying out an industry analysis in a business plan, one should consider which forces pose the greatest threat to the business.
Companies may then undertake careful strategic planning to mitigate these threats.
Managers should also consider their own preferences and internal capabilities before undertaking a strategy developed from an industry analysis.

Business Cycle Analysis

Try to classify the industries according to their growth cycle.

Growth industries

The earnings in such industries are significantly above the average of all sectors. Growth stocks suffer less during a recession.

Defensive industries

Such industries are least affected by recessions and economic adversity.

Cyclical industries

Such industries are most affected by recessions and economic adversity.

Benefits of Industry Analysis in a Business Plan

The benefits of completing an industry analysis in a business plan help company managers to gain a better understanding of their business in the industry.
Allows companies to position themselves carefully in their industry.
It helps companies to respond better to any changes in the industry.

Example of Industry Analysis In A Business Plan (FMCG Sector)

So having known the importance and ways to carry out an industry analysis in a business plan, let us now analyze the Indian FMCG sector.

Industry Overview

Currently, the FMCG sector is the fourth largest sector in India, with a market size of USD 12000 Billion.
It is to grow to a USD 18000 Billion industry by 2031.

Major Segments in the FMCG Sector

Major Players

SWOT Analysis of the FMCG Sector

1. Low operational costs 2. Established distribution networks in both urban and rural areas 3. Presence of well-known brands in the FMCG sector

1. Lower scope of investing in technology and achieving economies of scale, especially in small sectors 2. Low exports levels 3. Copy products narrow the scope of FMCG products in the rural and semi-urban markets.

Opportunities

1. Rural market is mostly untapped 2. The increased purchasing power of consumers 3. Large domestic market- population of over one billion. 4. Export potential

1. Removal of import restrictions resulting in replacing of domestic brands 2. Tax and regulatory structure.

Porters five forces model for FMCG Sector

Key Challenges

Consolidation
Product innovation
Lifestyle products
Backward integration
Third-party manufacturing
Increased hiring from Tier 1 & 2 cities
Reducing carbon footprint
The government approved an investment of up to 100 % foreign equity for NRI & overseas corporate bodies.
India has allowed 51 % FDI in multi-brand retail
Relaxation of license rules

The above industry analysis of the Indian FMCG sector is brief to give a gist of what industry analysis in a business plan should include. The actual industry analysis report may be exhaustive detailing all the essential factors.

Hope that the above article has added some value to your learning. Share this with your friends who might find this article interesting.

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Business Plan Example: The Industry Overview

Susan Ward wrote about small businesses for The Balance for 18 years. She has run an IT consulting firm and designed and presented courses on how to promote small businesses.

Wondering how to approach the industry overview section of your business plan? Having an example might help. Let's look at the industry overview for Pet Grandma, a fictional pet-based business invented for this business plan sample.

The Pet Industry

According to the American Pet Products Association, pet expenditures in the U.S. totaled slightly over $72.5 billion in 2018, up from $48 billion in 2010, an increase of 51% in eight years. This includes:

Food: $30.32 billion
Supplies/OTC Medicine: $16.01 billion
Vet Care: $18.11 billion
Live animal purchases: $2.01 billion
Pet Services: grooming & boarding: $6.11 billion

These figures reflect the increasing humanization of pets, a trend that is showing no signs of waning. More and more people consider their pets to be people too and treat them accordingly. Karen McCullough, then director of marketing (2000-2010) for Winnipeg-based Petland Canada, which operates both company-owned and franchise stores across the country, says, "People are looking for more these days—absolutely. We see a lot now in higher-end products, people are demanding more for their pets, from treats to grooming supplies to brand-name toys and even clothing."

And, because people want the best for their pets, there is also an increasing demand for pet-care services. Across North America, the pet care business has seen an explosion of growth over the last ten years.

Our Position in the Industry

West Vancouver is an affluent area with a high pet density, an ideal market for a pet-sitting business such as Pet Grandma. People in this area not only have pets but can afford to spend money on them and are willing to do so.

Our market research has shown that nine out of 10 pet owners polled in West Vancouver would prefer to have their pets cared for in their own homes when they travel rather than be kenneled, and six out of 10 would consider having a pet sitter provide company for their dog when they were at work.

The Competition

While there are currently eight businesses offering pet sitting in West Vancouver, only three of these offer on-site pet care and none offers pet visit services for working pet owners.

Currently, there is no single company dominating the market. This may be because all of the pet-sitting businesses are relatively new; the oldest, Paula's Pet Sitting, has only been in business five years. However, half of the existing pet-sitting businesses control the majority of the market—Paula's Pet Sitting, Doggie Care Services Inc., Pet Petters, and Pet Sitters on Demand together make up 65% of the market.

Save your full competitive analysis for section four of your business plan , but briefly share competitor insights here as it relates to your industry and your unique position in it.

What Makes Pet Grandma Unique

Pet Grandma's marketing strategy is to emphasize the quality of pet care we provide. As our slogan, "A Grandma for your pet!" says, we treat people's pets as family members and strive to give them the same loving, personal care that their owners would give. In our marketing , we will be emphasizing the quality and personalized service we provide.

We will also offer some services that are currently unique, such as our pet visit services, where one of our trained staff will go to a person's home while they're at work and feed, exercise, and play with their pet, allowing dog owners who work to come home to happy, friendly companions rather than demanding, whiny animals.

Your Business Plan

That's a basic example of an industry overview for your business plan. It provides an look at your business's industry and highlights your place within it. Your plan should present well-researched information to display that you understand the industry well.

Once you have yours written, you can move on to the next section of the business plan, the market analysis .

American Pet Products Association. " Pet Industry Market Size & Ownership Statistics ." Accessed Jan. 8, 2020.

Business Plan Example and Template

Learn how to create a business plan

What is a Business Plan?

A business plan is a document that contains the operational and financial plan of a business, and details how its objectives will be achieved. It serves as a road map for the business and can be used when pitching investors or financial institutions for debt or equity financing .

Business Plan - Document with the words Business Plan on the title

A business plan should follow a standard format and contain all the important business plan elements. Typically, it should present whatever information an investor or financial institution expects to see before providing financing to a business.

Contents of a Business Plan

A business plan should be structured in a way that it contains all the important information that investors are looking for. Here are the main sections of a business plan:

1. Title Page

The title page captures the legal information of the business, which includes the registered business name, physical address, phone number, email address, date, and the company logo.

2. Executive Summary

The executive summary is the most important section because it is the first section that investors and bankers see when they open the business plan. It provides a summary of the entire business plan. It should be written last to ensure that you don’t leave any details out. It must be short and to the point, and it should capture the reader’s attention. The executive summary should not exceed two pages.

3. Industry Overview

The industry overview section provides information about the specific industry that the business operates in. Some of the information provided in this section includes major competitors, industry trends, and estimated revenues. It also shows the company’s position in the industry and how it will compete in the market against other major players.

4. Market Analysis and Competition

The market analysis section details the target market for the company’s product offerings. This section confirms that the company understands the market and that it has already analyzed the existing market to determine that there is adequate demand to support its proposed business model.

Market analysis includes information about the target market’s demographics , geographical location, consumer behavior, and market needs. The company can present numbers and sources to give an overview of the target market size.

A business can choose to consolidate the market analysis and competition analysis into one section or present them as two separate sections.

5. Sales and Marketing Plan

The sales and marketing plan details how the company plans to sell its products to the target market. It attempts to present the business’s unique selling proposition and the channels it will use to sell its goods and services. It details the company’s advertising and promotion activities, pricing strategy, sales and distribution methods, and after-sales support.

6. Management Plan

The management plan provides an outline of the company’s legal structure, its management team, and internal and external human resource requirements. It should list the number of employees that will be needed and the remuneration to be paid to each of the employees.

Any external professionals, such as lawyers, valuers, architects, and consultants, that the company will need should also be included. If the company intends to use the business plan to source funding from investors, it should list the members of the executive team, as well as the members of the advisory board.

7. Operating Plan

The operating plan provides an overview of the company’s physical requirements, such as office space, machinery, labor, supplies, and inventory . For a business that requires custom warehouses and specialized equipment, the operating plan will be more detailed, as compared to, say, a home-based consulting business. If the business plan is for a manufacturing company, it will include information on raw material requirements and the supply chain.

8. Financial Plan

The financial plan is an important section that will often determine whether the business will obtain required financing from financial institutions, investors, or venture capitalists. It should demonstrate that the proposed business is viable and will return enough revenues to be able to meet its financial obligations. Some of the information contained in the financial plan includes a projected income statement , balance sheet, and cash flow.

9. Appendices and Exhibits

The appendices and exhibits part is the last section of a business plan. It includes any additional information that banks and investors may be interested in or that adds credibility to the business. Some of the information that may be included in the appendices section includes office/building plans, detailed market research , products/services offering information, marketing brochures, and credit histories of the promoters.

Business Plan Template

Here is a basic template that any business can use when developing its business plan:

Section 1: Executive Summary

Present the company’s mission.
Describe the company’s product and/or service offerings.
Give a summary of the target market and its demographics.
Summarize the industry competition and how the company will capture a share of the available market.
Give a summary of the operational plan, such as inventory, office and labor, and equipment requirements.

Section 2: Industry Overview

Describe the company’s position in the industry.
Describe the existing competition and the major players in the industry.
Provide information about the industry that the business will operate in, estimated revenues, industry trends, government influences, as well as the demographics of the target market.

Section 3: Market Analysis and Competition

Define your target market, their needs, and their geographical location.
Describe the size of the market, the units of the company’s products that potential customers may buy, and the market changes that may occur due to overall economic changes.
Give an overview of the estimated sales volume vis-à-vis what competitors sell.
Give a plan on how the company plans to combat the existing competition to gain and retain market share.

Section 4: Sales and Marketing Plan

Describe the products that the company will offer for sale and its unique selling proposition.
List the different advertising platforms that the business will use to get its message to customers.
Describe how the business plans to price its products in a way that allows it to make a profit.
Give details on how the company’s products will be distributed to the target market and the shipping method.

Section 5: Management Plan

Describe the organizational structure of the company.
List the owners of the company and their ownership percentages.
List the key executives, their roles, and remuneration.
List any internal and external professionals that the company plans to hire, and how they will be compensated.
Include a list of the members of the advisory board, if available.

Section 6: Operating Plan

Describe the location of the business, including office and warehouse requirements.
Describe the labor requirement of the company. Outline the number of staff that the company needs, their roles, skills training needed, and employee tenures (full-time or part-time).
Describe the manufacturing process, and the time it will take to produce one unit of a product.
Describe the equipment and machinery requirements, and if the company will lease or purchase equipment and machinery, and the related costs that the company estimates it will incur.
Provide a list of raw material requirements, how they will be sourced, and the main suppliers that will supply the required inputs.

Section 7: Financial Plan

Describe the financial projections of the company, by including the projected income statement, projected cash flow statement, and the balance sheet projection.

Section 8: Appendices and Exhibits

Quotes of building and machinery leases
Proposed office and warehouse plan
Market research and a summary of the target market
Credit information of the owners
List of product and/or services

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12 Key Elements of a Business Plan (Top Components Explained)

Starting and running a successful business requires proper planning and execution of effective business tactics and strategies .

You need to prepare many essential business documents when starting a business for maximum success; the business plan is one such document.

When creating a business, you want to achieve business objectives and financial goals like productivity, profitability, and business growth. You need an effective business plan to help you get to your desired business destination.

Even if you are already running a business, the proper understanding and review of the key elements of a business plan help you navigate potential crises and obstacles.

This article will teach you why the business document is at the core of any successful business and its key elements you can not avoid.

Let’s get started.

Why Are Business Plans Important?

Business plans are practical steps or guidelines that usually outline what companies need to do to reach their goals. They are essential documents for any business wanting to grow and thrive in a highly-competitive business environment .

1. Proves Your Business Viability

A business plan gives companies an idea of how viable they are and what actions they need to take to grow and reach their financial targets. With a well-written and clearly defined business plan, your business is better positioned to meet its goals.

2. Guides You Throughout the Business Cycle

A business plan is not just important at the start of a business. As a business owner, you must draw up a business plan to remain relevant throughout the business cycle .

During the starting phase of your business, a business plan helps bring your ideas into reality. A solid business plan can secure funding from lenders and investors.

After successfully setting up your business, the next phase is management. Your business plan still has a role to play in this phase, as it assists in communicating your business vision to employees and external partners.

Essentially, your business plan needs to be flexible enough to adapt to changes in the needs of your business.

3. Helps You Make Better Business Decisions

As a business owner, you are involved in an endless decision-making cycle. Your business plan helps you find answers to your most crucial business decisions.

A robust business plan helps you settle your major business components before you launch your product, such as your marketing and sales strategy and competitive advantage.

4. Eliminates Big Mistakes

Many small businesses fail within their first five years for several reasons: lack of financing, stiff competition, low market need, inadequate teams, and inefficient pricing strategy.

Creating an effective plan helps you eliminate these big mistakes that lead to businesses' decline. Every business plan element is crucial for helping you avoid potential mistakes before they happen.

5. Secures Financing and Attracts Top Talents

Having an effective plan increases your chances of securing business loans. One of the essential requirements many lenders ask for to grant your loan request is your business plan.

A business plan helps investors feel confident that your business can attract a significant return on investments ( ROI ).

You can attract and retain top-quality talents with a clear business plan. It inspires your employees and keeps them aligned to achieve your strategic business goals.

Key Elements of Business Plan

Starting and running a successful business requires well-laid actions and supporting documents that better position a company to achieve its business goals and maximize success.

A business plan is a written document with relevant information detailing business objectives and how it intends to achieve its goals.

With an effective business plan, investors, lenders, and potential partners understand your organizational structure and goals, usually around profitability, productivity, and growth.

Every successful business plan is made up of key components that help solidify the efficacy of the business plan in delivering on what it was created to do.

Here are some of the components of an effective business plan.

1. Executive Summary

One of the key elements of a business plan is the executive summary. Write the executive summary as part of the concluding topics in the business plan. Creating an executive summary with all the facts and information available is easier.

In the overall business plan document, the executive summary should be at the forefront of the business plan. It helps set the tone for readers on what to expect from the business plan.

A well-written executive summary includes all vital information about the organization's operations, making it easy for a reader to understand.

The key points that need to be acted upon are highlighted in the executive summary. They should be well spelled out to make decisions easy for the management team.

A good and compelling executive summary points out a company's mission statement and a brief description of its products and services.

An executive summary summarizes a business's expected value proposition to distinct customer segments. It highlights the other key elements to be discussed during the rest of the business plan.

Including your prior experiences as an entrepreneur is a good idea in drawing up an executive summary for your business. A brief but detailed explanation of why you decided to start the business in the first place is essential.

Adding your company's mission statement in your executive summary cannot be overemphasized. It creates a culture that defines how employees and all individuals associated with your company abide when carrying out its related processes and operations.

Your executive summary should be brief and detailed to catch readers' attention and encourage them to learn more about your company.

Components of an Executive Summary

Here are some of the information that makes up an executive summary:

The name and location of your company
Products and services offered by your company
Mission and vision statements
Success factors of your business plan

2. Business Description

Your business description needs to be exciting and captivating as it is the formal introduction a reader gets about your company.

What your company aims to provide, its products and services, goals and objectives, target audience , and potential customers it plans to serve need to be highlighted in your business description.

A company description helps point out notable qualities that make your company stand out from other businesses in the industry. It details its unique strengths and the competitive advantages that give it an edge to succeed over its direct and indirect competitors.

Spell out how your business aims to deliver on the particular needs and wants of identified customers in your company description, as well as the particular industry and target market of the particular focus of the company.

Include trends and significant competitors within your particular industry in your company description. Your business description should contain what sets your company apart from other businesses and provides it with the needed competitive advantage.

In essence, if there is any area in your business plan where you need to brag about your business, your company description provides that unique opportunity as readers look to get a high-level overview.

Components of a Business Description

Your business description needs to contain these categories of information.

Business location
The legal structure of your business
Summary of your business’s short and long-term goals

3. Market Analysis

The market analysis section should be solely based on analytical research as it details trends particular to the market you want to penetrate.

Graphs, spreadsheets, and histograms are handy data and statistical tools you need to utilize in your market analysis. They make it easy to understand the relationship between your current ideas and the future goals you have for the business.

All details about the target customers you plan to sell products or services should be in the market analysis section. It helps readers with a helpful overview of the market.

In your market analysis, you provide the needed data and statistics about industry and market share, the identified strengths in your company description, and compare them against other businesses in the same industry.

The market analysis section aims to define your target audience and estimate how your product or service would fare with these identified audiences.

Market analysis helps visualize a target market by researching and identifying the primary target audience of your company and detailing steps and plans based on your audience location.

Obtaining this information through market research is essential as it helps shape how your business achieves its short-term and long-term goals.

Market Analysis Factors

Here are some of the factors to be included in your market analysis.

The geographical location of your target market
Needs of your target market and how your products and services can meet those needs
Demographics of your target audience

Components of the Market Analysis Section

Here is some of the information to be included in your market analysis.

Industry description and statistics
Demographics and profile of target customers
Marketing data for your products and services
Detailed evaluation of your competitors

4. Marketing Plan

A marketing plan defines how your business aims to reach its target customers, generate sales leads, and, ultimately, make sales.

Promotion is at the center of any successful marketing plan. It is a series of steps to pitch a product or service to a larger audience to generate engagement. Note that the marketing strategy for a business should not be stagnant and must evolve depending on its outcome.

Include the budgetary requirement for successfully implementing your marketing plan in this section to make it easy for readers to measure your marketing plan's impact in terms of numbers.

The information to include in your marketing plan includes marketing and promotion strategies, pricing plans and strategies , and sales proposals. You need to include how you intend to get customers to return and make repeat purchases in your business plan.

5. Sales Strategy

Sales strategy defines how you intend to get your product or service to your target customers and works hand in hand with your business marketing strategy.

Your sales strategy approach should not be complex. Break it down into simple and understandable steps to promote your product or service to target customers.

Apart from the steps to promote your product or service, define the budget you need to implement your sales strategies and the number of sales reps needed to help the business assist in direct sales.

Your sales strategy should be specific on what you need and how you intend to deliver on your sales targets, where numbers are reflected to make it easier for readers to understand and relate better.

6. Competitive Analysis

Providing transparent and honest information, even with direct and indirect competitors, defines a good business plan. Provide the reader with a clear picture of your rank against major competitors.

Identifying your competitors' weaknesses and strengths is useful in drawing up a market analysis. It is one information investors look out for when assessing business plans.

The competitive analysis section clearly defines the notable differences between your company and your competitors as measured against their strengths and weaknesses.

This section should define the following:

Your competitors' identified advantages in the market
How do you plan to set up your company to challenge your competitors’ advantage and gain grounds from them?
The standout qualities that distinguish you from other companies
Potential bottlenecks you have identified that have plagued competitors in the same industry and how you intend to overcome these bottlenecks

In your business plan, you need to prove your industry knowledge to anyone who reads your business plan. The competitive analysis section is designed for that purpose.

7. Management and Organization

Management and organization are key components of a business plan. They define its structure and how it is positioned to run.

Whether you intend to run a sole proprietorship, general or limited partnership, or corporation, the legal structure of your business needs to be clearly defined in your business plan.

Use an organizational chart that illustrates the hierarchy of operations of your company and spells out separate departments and their roles and functions in this business plan section.

The management and organization section includes profiles of advisors, board of directors, and executive team members and their roles and responsibilities in guaranteeing the company's success.

Apparent factors that influence your company's corporate culture, such as human resources requirements and legal structure, should be well defined in the management and organization section.

Defining the business's chain of command if you are not a sole proprietor is necessary. It leaves room for little or no confusion about who is in charge or responsible during business operations.

This section provides relevant information on how the management team intends to help employees maximize their strengths and address their identified weaknesses to help all quarters improve for the business's success.

8. Products and Services

This business plan section describes what a company has to offer regarding products and services to the maximum benefit and satisfaction of its target market.

Boldly spell out pending patents or copyright products and intellectual property in this section alongside costs, expected sales revenue, research and development, and competitors' advantage as an overview.

At this stage of your business plan, the reader needs to know what your business plans to produce and sell and the benefits these products offer in meeting customers' needs.

The supply network of your business product, production costs, and how you intend to sell the products are crucial components of the products and services section.

Investors are always keen on this information to help them reach a balanced assessment of if investing in your business is risky or offer benefits to them.

You need to create a link in this section on how your products or services are designed to meet the market's needs and how you intend to keep those customers and carve out a market share for your company.

Repeat purchases are the backing that a successful business relies on and measure how much customers are into what your company is offering.

This section is more like an expansion of the executive summary section. You need to analyze each product or service under the business.

9. Operating Plan

An operations plan describes how you plan to carry out your business operations and processes.

The operating plan for your business should include:

Information about how your company plans to carry out its operations.
The base location from which your company intends to operate.
The number of employees to be utilized and other information about your company's operations.
Key business processes.

This section should highlight how your organization is set up to run. You can also introduce your company's management team in this section, alongside their skills, roles, and responsibilities in the company.

The best way to introduce the company team is by drawing up an organizational chart that effectively maps out an organization's rank and chain of command.

What should be spelled out to readers when they come across this business plan section is how the business plans to operate day-in and day-out successfully.

10. Financial Projections and Assumptions

Bringing your great business ideas into reality is why business plans are important. They help create a sustainable and viable business.

The financial section of your business plan offers significant value. A business uses a financial plan to solve all its financial concerns, which usually involves startup costs, labor expenses, financial projections, and funding and investor pitches.

All key assumptions about the business finances need to be listed alongside the business financial projection, and changes to be made on the assumptions side until it balances with the projection for the business.

The financial plan should also include how the business plans to generate income and the capital expenditure budgets that tend to eat into the budget to arrive at an accurate cash flow projection for the business.

Base your financial goals and expectations on extensive market research backed with relevant financial statements for the relevant period.

Examples of financial statements you can include in the financial projections and assumptions section of your business plan include:

Projected income statements
Cash flow statements
Balance sheets
Income statements

Revealing the financial goals and potentials of the business is what the financial projection and assumption section of your business plan is all about. It needs to be purely based on facts that can be measurable and attainable.

11. Request For Funding

The request for funding section focuses on the amount of money needed to set up your business and underlying plans for raising the money required. This section includes plans for utilizing the funds for your business's operational and manufacturing processes.

When seeking funding, a reasonable timeline is required alongside it. If the need arises for additional funding to complete other business-related projects, you are not left scampering and desperate for funds.

If you do not have the funds to start up your business, then you should devote a whole section of your business plan to explaining the amount of money you need and how you plan to utilize every penny of the funds. You need to explain it in detail for a future funding request.

When an investor picks up your business plan to analyze it, with all your plans for the funds well spelled out, they are motivated to invest as they have gotten a backing guarantee from your funding request section.

Include timelines and plans for how you intend to repay the loans received in your funding request section. This addition keeps investors assured that they could recoup their investment in the business.

12. Exhibits and Appendices

Exhibits and appendices comprise the final section of your business plan and contain all supporting documents for other sections of the business plan.

Some of the documents that comprise the exhibits and appendices section includes:

Legal documents
Licenses and permits
Credit histories
Customer lists

The choice of what additional document to include in your business plan to support your statements depends mainly on the intended audience of your business plan. Hence, it is better to play it safe and not leave anything out when drawing up the appendix and exhibit section.

Supporting documentation is particularly helpful when you need funding or support for your business. This section provides investors with a clearer understanding of the research that backs the claims made in your business plan.

There are key points to include in the appendix and exhibits section of your business plan.

The management team and other stakeholders resume
Marketing research
Permits and relevant legal documents
Financial documents

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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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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:

A four-paragraph long executive summary for a business.

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:

A SWOT analysis table showing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

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:

An example products and services section from a business plan

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.

A sample bar chart showing business expenses by month

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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More From Forbes

Digital transformation in banking: how to make the change.

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Vladimir Lugovsky is the Co-Founder of digital product development agency Akveo and low-code SaaS startup UI Bakery.

Digital transformation remained an important trend in banking in 2021. Similar to its impact on other business domains, technology is gradually reshaping the financial services industry in every aspect. However, the industry has a long way to go, and banks are still dipping their toes in the digital water, with 27% only launching a digital transformation strategy in 2021.

Meanwhile, customers have changed too. Gen-Z and Millennials expect traditional financial organizations to act in a technology-driven way, like Google or Apple do. As a result, traditional players feel the urge to introduce innovative and competitive digital solutions to ensure long-term market survival.

What Is Digital Transformation?

Digital transformation in banking is a cultural, organizational and operational change through technologies. In its most basic sense, digital transformation is the transition to digital customer services via the internet. In a broader sense, digital transformation means improvements in a wide range of areas related to offerings, process automation, customer experience, data integration, organizational flexibility and sales.

This technological trend determines the direction the industry is taking, and banks need to consider technological advances in their strategies. The pandemic-driven crisis is only increasing the urgency. According to Gartner, 69% of boards of directors say the pandemic and the economic crisis are accelerating their digital initiatives.

So how do you start the clock on your digital journey? First, it’s important to determine what effect you expect from digitization. It's not enough to hope for “good things” to happen. Let's get specific: Digital transformation in banking means introducing customer-centricity, integration and inclusivity . With technology, the customer journey gets personal, automated and cohesive within a single ecosystem.

The ultimate goal of digital transformation is to understand and fulfill customers' needs — e.g., a mobile application becomes a universal tool whether clients need to pay their bills, transfer money online, apply for a loan or receive information at the touch of a button.

This level of convenience helps banks maintain a reliable customer retention strategy, reduce costs associated with attracting new customers, facilitate onboarding and thus increase revenue.

Preparation

Secondly, you have to be aware of the volume of investments required to achieve the desired results. As said earlier, technology plays a critical role in all business operations. However, their effectiveness depends on how the business uses these technologies. That is why coming up with a clearly articulated strategy is crucial to digital transformation success.

Businesses must correctly assess and manage the risks associated with digital transformation, most notably possible data leakage, unauthorized access to data and other cybersecurity-related risks. Therefore, before drawing up a step-by-step plan for digital transformation, it is necessary to revise current business processes and IT infrastructure across the board. Departmental managers have to analyze the security gaps at the company level and find out how they can be eliminated using digital solutions.

But don’t get me wrong: digital transformation is not solely about the technology itself. While developing and improving customer experience, financial institutions also establish a culture of innovation for employees. Work processes automation implies radical shifts in employee behavior, so the training of employees should be at the top of the digital agenda.

Digital transformation initiatives won’t come cheap. The customer-centric mindset requires constant improvement of technologies. But is there a price tag on innovation? After all, you invest in your organization’s future via robust IT platforms. If you aspire to provide first-rate financial services and outperform competitors, giving a green light is a costly yet necessary decision.

Here are the results you can expect from digital transformation. First, the unprecedented level of convenience, when clients have easy access to easy-to-use mobile applications and services. Second, the connectivity that lets users stay in touch with their bank 24/7. Finally, the innovation that helps bank institutions keep up with digital trends.

The sector's transformation means that banks are beginning to offer fully digital services, minimize direct interaction with clients and introduce powerful and agile banking IT products and systems. This means bank institutions are becoming technology companies in their own right. The synergy of IT and marketing departments within a bank creates the opportunity to deliver digital products internally and externally.

This level of technological agility, with flexible services, new business models and faster time-to-market is the essence of digital transformation.

Ultimately, digital strategy initiatives by banks result in:

• Elimination of paperwork.

• Less time spent servicing clients, conducting transactions and settlements.

• Increased productivity.

• Organizational transparency.

• Effective teamwork.

• Lower operational costs.

• Risk reduction in core activities.

• More revenue.

As tech-savvy fintechs enter the market, big banks are beginning to reap the benefits of adopting technology. For instance, Bank of America now receives more deposits via mobile than its brick-and-mortar branches. Banks must use technology to transform products, attract customers, empower employees and optimize operations. Technologies can shape the future only when they permeate all internal and external levels of a bank's activities.

Contrary to common misconceptions, the digital transformation won't make traditional banking institutions go extinct. Instead, it is an opportunity to reimagine financial services, making banks customer-centric, innovation-driven and future-ready.

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7 Different Types of Business Plans Explained

Apples and oranges. Representing different business plan types and how they are similar and different at the same time.

11 min. read

Updated April 10, 2024

Download Now: Free Business Plan Template →

Business plans go by many names: Strategic plans, traditional plans , operational plans, feasibility plans, internal plans, growth plans, and more.

Different situations call for different types of plans.

But what makes each type of plan unique? And why should you consider one type over another?

In this article, we’ll uncover a quick process to find the right type of business plan, along with an overview of each option.

Let’s help you find the right planning format.

What type of business plan do you need?

The short answer is… it depends.

Your current business stage, intended audience, and how you’ll use the plan will all impact what format works best.

Remember, just the act of planning will improve your chances of success . It’s important to land on an option that will support your needs. Don’t get too hung up on making the right choice and delay writing your plan.

So, how do you choose?

1. Know why you need a business plan

What are you creating a business plan for ? Are you pitching to potential investors? Applying for a loan? Trying to understand if your business idea is feasible?

You may need a business plan for one or multiple reasons. What you intend to do with it will inform what type of plan you need.

For example: A more robust and detailed plan may be necessary if you seek investment . But a shorter format could be more useful and less time-consuming if you’re just testing an idea.

2. Become familiar with your options

You don’t need to become a planning expert and understand every detail about every type of plan. You just need to know the basics:

What makes this type of plan unique?
What are its benefits?
What are its drawbacks?
Which types of businesses typically use it?

By taking the time to review, you’ll understand what you’re getting into and be more likely to complete your plan. Plus, you’ll come away with a document built with your use case(s) in mind—meaning you won’t have to restart to make it a valuable tool.

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3. Start small and grow

When choosing a business plan format, a good tactic is to opt for a shorter option and build from there. You’ll save time and effort and still come away with a working business plan.

Plus, you’ll better understand what further planning you may need to do. And you won’t be starting from scratch.

Read More: How to identify the right type of plan for your business

Again, the type of business plan you need fully depends on your situation and use case. But running through this quick exercise will help you narrow down your options.

Now let’s look at the common business plan types you can choose from.

Types of business plans include internal, traditional, one-page plan, 5-year business plan, growth plan, and lean plan.

Traditional business plan

The traditional (or standard) business plan is an in-depth document covering every aspect of your business. It’s the most common plan type you’ll come across.

A traditional business plan is broken up into 10 sections:

Executive summary
Description of products and services
Market analysis
Competitive analysis
Marketing and sales plan
Business operations
Key milestones and metrics
Organization and management team
Financial plan
Appendix

Why use this type of plan?

A traditional business plan is best for anyone approaching specific business planning events—such as presenting a business plan to a bank or investor for funding.

A traditional plan can also be useful if you need to add more details around specific business areas.

For example: You start as a solopreneur and don’t immediately need to define your team structure. But eventually you hit a threshold where you need more staff in order to keep growing. A great way to explore which roles you need and how they will function is by fleshing out the organization and management section .

That’s the unseen value of a more detailed plan like this. While you can follow the structure outlined above and create an in-depth plan ready for funding, you can also choose which sections to prioritize.

Read More: How to write a traditional business plan

One-page plan

The one-page business plan is a simplified (but just as useful) version of a traditional business plan. It follows the same structure, but is far easier to create. It can even be used as a pitch document.

Here’s how you’ll organize information when using a one-page plan:

Value proposition
Market need
Your solution
Competition
Target market
Sales and marketing
Budget and sales goals
Team summary
Key partners
Funding needs

A one-page plan is faster and easier to assemble than a traditional plan. You can write a one-page plan in as little as 30 minutes .

You’ll still cover the crucial details found in a traditional plan, but in a more manageable format.

So, if you’re exploring a business idea for the first time or updating your strategy—a one-page plan is ideal. You can review and update your entire plan in just a few minutes.

Applying for a loan with this type of plan probably wouldn’t make sense. Lenders typically want to see a more detailed plan to accurately assess potential risk.

However, it is a great option to send to investors.

“Investors these days are much less likely to look at a detailed plan,” says Palo Alto Software COO Noah Parsons. “An executive summary or one-page plan, pitch presentation, and financials are all a VC is likely to look at.”

Creating a more detailed plan is as much about being prepared as anything else. If you don’t dig into everything a traditional plan covers, you’ll struggle to land your pitch .

If you don’t intend to seek funding, a one-page plan is often all you need. The key is regularly revisiting it to stay on top of your business.

Let’s explore two unique processes to help you do that:

Read More: How to write a one-page business plan

Lean planning process

Lean planning is a process that uses your one-page plan as a testing tool. The goal is to create a plan and immediately put it into action to see if your ideas actually work. You’ll typically be focusing on one (or all) of the following areas:

Strategy – What you will do
Tactics – How you will do it
Business Model – How you make money
Schedule – Who is responsible and when will it happen

Why use this process?

Lean planning is best for businesses that need to move fast, test assumptions, revise, and get moving again. It’s short and simple, and meant to get everyone on the same page as quickly as possible.

That’s why it’s so popular for startups. They don’t necessarily need a detailed plan, since they’re mostly focused on determining whether or not they have a viable business idea .

The only drawback is that this planning process is built primarily around early-stage businesses. It can be a useful tool for established businesses looking to test a strategy, but it may not be as helpful for ongoing management.

Read More: The fundamentals of lean planning

Growth planning

Growth planning is a financials-focused planning process designed to help you make quick and strategic decisions.

Again, it starts with a one-page plan outlining your strategy, tactics, business model, and schedule. The next step is to create a working financial forecast that includes projected sales, expenses, and cash flows.

From there, you run your business.

As you go, track your actual financial performance and carve out time to compare it to your forecasts . If you spot any differences, these discrepancies may indicate problems or opportunities that call for adjusting your current strategy.

Growth planning combines the simplicity of the one-page plan and the speed of lean planning, with the power of financial forecasting.

This makes the process useful for every business stage and even allows you to skip to the forecasting step if you already have a plan.

With growth planning, you’ll:

Regularly revisit your financials
Better understand how your business operates
Make quick and confident decisions

This process focuses on growing your business. If diving into your financials isn’t a priority right now, that’s okay. Start with a one-page plan instead, and revisit growth planning when you’re ready.

Read More: How to write a growth-oriented business plan

Internal plan

Sometimes you just need a business plan that works as an internal management tool.

Something to help you:

Set business goals
Provide a high-level overview of operations
Prepare to create budgets and financial projections

You don’t need an overly long and detailed business plan for this. Just a document that is easy to create, useful for developing or revisiting your strategy, and able to get everyone up to speed.

The internal plan is a great option if you’re not planning to present your plan to anyone outside your business. Especially if you’re an up-and-running business that may have created a plan previously. You might just need something simple for day-to-day use.

Read More: 8 steps to write a useful internal business plan

5-year business plan

Some investors or stakeholders may request a long-term plan stretching up to five years. They typically want to understand your vision for the future and see your long-term goals or milestones.

To be honest, creating a detailed long-term business plan is typically a waste of time. There are a few exceptions:

A long-term plan is specifically asked for
You want to outline your long-term vision
Real estate development
Medical product manufacturing
Transportation, automotive, aviation, or aerospace development

The reality is, you can’t predict what will happen in the next month, let alone the next one, three, or five years.

So, when creating a long-term plan, don’t dig too deep into the details. Focus on establishing long-term goals , annual growth targets, and aspirational milestones you’d like to hit.

Then supplement these with a more focused one-page plan that actually describes your current business, which you can use in your business right now.

Read More: How to write a five-year business plan

Nonprofit business plan

A nonprofit business plan is not too different from a traditional plan. You should still cover all of the sections I listed above to help you build a sustainable business.

The main differences in a nonprofit plan are tied to funding and awareness. You need to account for:

Fundraising sources and activities.
Alliances and partnerships.
Promotion and outreach strategies.

You also need to set goals, track performance, and demonstrate that you have the right team to run a fiscally healthy organization. You’re just not pursuing profits, you’re trying to fulfill a mission. But you cannot serve your community if your organization isn’t financially stable.

If you can use your business plan to show that you’re a well-organized nonprofit organization, you are more likely to attract donors and convince investors to provide funding.

Read More: How to write a nonprofit business plan

Resources to help write your business plan

Don’t get too hung up on the type of business plan you choose. Remember, you can always start small and expand if you need to.

To help you do that, I recommend downloading our free one-page business plan template . It’s especially useful if you’re exploring an idea and need a quick way to document how your business will operate.

If you know you’ll pursue funding, download our free traditional business plan template . It’s already in an SBA-lender-approved format and provides detailed instructions for each section. And if you want to explore other options, check out our roundup of the 8 best business plan templates you can download for free.

Lastly, check out our library of over 550 sample business plans if you need inspiration. These can provide specific insight into what you should focus on in a given industry.

Remember, just by deciding to write a business plan, you are increasing your likelihood of success. Pick a format and start writing!

Types of business plans FAQ

Which type of planning should be done for a business?

The type of planning fully depends on your business stage and how you intend to use the plan. Generally, whatever format you choose should help you outline your strategy, business model, tactics, and timeline.

How many types of business plans are there?

There are seven common types of business plans, including: traditional, one-page, lean, growth, internal, 5-year, and nonprofit plans.

Tim Berry is the founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software , a co-founder of Borland International, and a recognized expert in business planning. He has an MBA from Stanford and degrees with honors from the University of Oregon and the University of Notre Dame. Today, Tim dedicates most of his time to blogging, teaching and evangelizing for business planning.

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E-commerce firms' predatory pricing matter of concern: Piyush Goyal

'underlying story' in amazon's commitment to india is that a billion dollars is not coming in for any 'great service or investment', he says.

Goyal did not agree with the report, saying that there's a need for policies that protect local businesses and ensure fair competition in e-commerce | (Photo: PTI)

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Wait, what does 'price gouging' mean? How Harris plans to control it in the grocery aisle

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is expected to announce plans to fight food inflation with a federal ban on price gouging on groceries , but how much this would help Americans is debatable, economists say.

Over the past few years, President Joe Biden’s administration has blamed corporate greed for the surge in inflation, and Harris is expected to take up that torch in a speech Friday in North Carolina's capital city of Raleigh. Corporations raised prices when snarled supply chains during the pandemic created shortages of nearly everything, and just never stopped or lowered prices again after supply chains stabilized, they argue.

“Some companies are keeping prices high even though input costs are falling, and supply chains are back to normal,” the White House said in a news release in March.

If higher grocery prices are the result of potential mergers between larger supermarkets and food producers and corporate greed, Americans may benefit from Harris' approach. However, many economists have doubts such a policy would be effective for various reasons, including whether price gouging is the root of inflation at all.

Michael Ashton, managing principal at Enduring Investments LLC, who specializes in inflation analysis, questioned the existence of price gouging "in an industry as competitive as grocery."

“Why did the price gouging just start in 2021-22?" he asked. "Did grocers just not realize they had this power before then or did they not get greedy until 2021?”

Profit margins in the food industry already tend to be among the lowest. Net profit margin in 2023 in the grocery industry hit 1.6%, the lowest level since 2019, according to FMI, The Food Industry Association.

What caused food prices to spike?

During the pandemic, economists generally agreed supply chain shortages initially caused price increases.

After supply chains were ironed out, the dispute began. Researchers from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke separately said last year that fast-rising wages when the economy reopened was a major contributor to rising grocery prices.

However, left-leaning government watchdog Accountable.US and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich say companies have been raising prices on Americans to reward stockholders with dividends and stock buybacks.

“Consumers are getting shafted, as corporations tell Wall Street they expect to be able to keep their prices and profits in the stratosphere,” Reich wrote in June .

The Groundwork Collaborative, a nonprofit that earlier this year said "climate change, corporate consolidation, and profiteering" are reasons grocery prices remain high, even quantified in January how much corporate greed contributed to inflation. In the middle of 2023, corporate profit margins accounted for roughly half of inflation and more than a third since the pandemic began, it estimated.

“The industry keeps pushing the envelope to pad profits and bring in enough money for shareholder giveaways, but Americans are fed up,” said Liz Zelnick, director of the economic security & corporate power program at Accountable.US, in a news release.

Inflation's down but prices are high?: Prices don't drop when inflation eases. Why your wallet will be hurting for a while.

Could Harris’ plan work to lower food prices?

Opinions are mixed.

Reich, who sees corporate greed as the root of soaring inflation, advocated for a policy like what Harris is expected to announce.

“Put blame for high prices squarely where it belongs: on big corporations with monopoly power to keep prices high,” he wrote. “And take those corporations on: Condemn them for price gouging. Threaten them with antitrust lawsuits, price-gouging lawsuits, even price controls. Criticize them for making huge profits and giving their top executives record pay while shafting consumers.”

Others, like Sen. Rick Scott , R-Fla . , call the plan “federal price controls,” which he says don’t work.

Harris’ solution to fighting inflation “is big government on steroids – where Washington bureaucrats stick their hands into American businesses and say what they can and can’t sell a product for,” he said in a news release on Thursday. “It never works because it causes companies to make much less of something – destroying supply and causing a mass shortage of goods.”

Such a policy could also be difficult to implement because calculating an appropriate profit margin might be tricky, said James Knightley, Dutch bank ING’s chief international economist.

“It’s critical that we get the economic facts right and avoid political rhetoric," said Sarah Gallo, senior vice president of product policy and federal affairs at the Consumer Brands Association trade group. "The reality is that there are complex economic factors at play."

Is food inflation still even a thing?

Three in 5 Americans said corporate greed was a “major cause” of inflation, according to a poll by left-leaning polling and research group Navigator Research of 1,000 registered voters. However, that was in January when annual inflation was running at a 3.1% pace . Since then, inflation has eased further.

"When looking at the inflation story, it's good now but the perception among consumers is different because prices are still elevated," Knightley said. "We're not returning to 2019 prices," which is what consumers are comparing to.

Since inflation only measures the pace at which prices are changing, actual sticker prices remain high from climbing over the past couple of years. Inflation in the 12 months through July was 2.9%, sharply down from its 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022 and the lowest since March 2021. Overall, annual food inflation rose a smaller 2.2%, with grocery prices rising at an even slower 1.1% pace.

“Why intervene?” Knightley said. “From an economics perspective, it’s looking like a pretty good place right now. This may be good messaging for the election, but it (inflation) may be falling by the wayside.”

Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.

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Form Number	Form Name & Type of Payment	5-Digit Tax Type Code
1040	US Individual Income Tax Return
1040	Payment for amended return	10400
1040	Extension filed	10402
1040	Advance payment of deficiency	10404
1040	Estimated tax payment	10406
1040	Subsequent Payment (on return or IRS Notice)	10407

Tax type codes for businesses:

Form Number	Form Name (Type of Payment)	5-Digit Tax Type Code
720	Quarterly Excise Tax Return Deposit	72005
720	Payment due on return or IRS notice	72007
940	Employer’s Annual Unemployment Tax (FUTA) Deposit	09405
940	Payment due on return or IRS notice	09407
941	Employer’s Quarterly Employment Tax (FICA) Deposit	94105
941	Payment due on return or IRS notice	94107
941	Deficiency assessed by IRS	94104
944	Employer’s Annual Employment Tax Deposit	94405
944	Payment due on return or IRS notice	94407
945	Withheld Federal Income Tax Deposit	09455
945	Payment due on return or IRS notice	09457
990T	Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Deposit	99046
990T	Payment with return or IRS notice	99047
990T	Payment due on extension	99042
1041	Fiduciary Income Tax Return Payment due on return or IRS notice	10417
1041	Estimated return payment	10416
1041	Payment on extension	10412
1042	Annual Withholding Tax Return for U.S. Source Income for Foreign Persons Deposit	10425
1042	Payment due on return or IRS Notice	10427
1120	US Corporate Income Tax Deposit	11206
1120	Payment due on return or IRS Notice	11207
1120	Payment due on extension	11202
1120	Amended return	11200
2290	Heavy Vehicle Use Tax	22907
8804	Annual Return of Partnership Withholding Tax (Section 1446)	88047
8489	Civil Penalty	84894

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IMAGES

How to Write a Business Plan in 2023 [Examples Included]
How to Write a Business Plan Outline [Examples + Templates]
How Important It Is to Use Industry Analysis In A Business Plan?
The #1 Manufacturing Business Plan Template & Guidebook
Industry business types
39 Free Industry Analysis Examples & Templates ᐅ TemplateLab

COMMENTS

First Steps: Writing the Industry Section of Your Business Plan
In this edited excerpt, the authors outline what type of details you should include in the industry section of your business plan. It isn't enough to just work hard.
How to Conduct an Industry Analysis
Although all business owners need to know their industry, the documented details and explanations are mainly for when you're writing a business plan you need to show to outsiders, like bank lenders or investors. You'll need to do some industry analysis so you're able to explain the general state of your industry, its growth potential, and ...
Industry Analysis in a Business Plan
An example of the industry analysis in a business plan of an Indian soap company: Market overview: The market is estimated to be at INR 195 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at 7% annually ...
How to Write a Business Plan for Your Industry
When writing a business plan there are sections you should include no matter your business type. However, there may be additional industry-specific information to research and include to make your plan useful. Check out our growing list of industry business planning guides for tips on curating your plan to succeed in your chosen industry.
How to Write the Market Analysis Section of a Business Plan
Here's how to write the market analysis section of a business plan. Describe each industry that you are competing in or will be targeting. Identify direct competition, but don't forget about indirect competition - this may include companies selling different products to the same potential customer segments.
How To Write A Business Plan (2024 Guide)
Describe Your Services or Products. The business plan should have a section that explains the services or products that you're offering. This is the part where you can also describe how they fit ...
How to Write a Business Plan: Guide + Examples
This type of business plan follows the outline above and can be anywhere from 10-50 pages depending on the amount of detail included, the complexity of your business, and what you include in your appendix. Business model canvas: The business model canvas is a one-page template designed to demystify the business planning process.
Write your business plan
A good business plan guides you through each stage of starting and managing your business. You'll use your business plan as a roadmap for how to structure, run, and grow your new business. It's a way to think through the key elements of your business. Business plans can help you get funding or bring on new business partners.
How to Write a Business Plan in 9 Steps (+ Template and Examples)
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.
Business Plan: What It Is, What's Included, and How to Write One
Business Plan: A business plan is a written document that describes in detail how a business, usually a new one, is going to achieve its goals. A business plan lays out a written plan from a ...
How to Conduct an Industry Analysis? Steps, Template, Examples
Here's how to conduct a robust analysis: Market Size Calculation: Determine the total market size in terms of revenue, units sold, or the number of customers. This figure serves as a baseline for evaluating the industry's scale. Historical Growth Analysis: Examine historical data to identify growth trends.
What Is an Industry Analysis and Trends Business Plan?
An industry analysis and trends business plan is a component of a business plan that provides a comprehensive insight into industry conditions and trends that can impact a company's success and growth. A thorough analysis of your industry and its trends can give you and other people a clearer idea of the feasibility and relevance of your ...
What is a Business Plan? Definition, Tips, and Templates
2. Feasibility Business Plan. This type of business plan focuses on a single essential aspect of the business — the product or service. It may be part of a startup business plan or a standalone plan for an existing organization. This comprehensive plan may include: A detailed product description. Market analysis. Technology needs. Production ...
Industry Analysis In A Business Plan
Industry analysis in a business plan is a tool that enables a company to understand its position relative to other companies that produce similar products or services like it. While considering the strategic planning process, a company must understand the overall industry's forces. Thus, industry analysis techniques in a business plan enable ...
Industry Overview—Business Plan Example
Let's look at the industry overview for Pet Grandma, a fictional pet-based business invented for this business plan sample. The Pet Industry According to the American Pet Products Association, pet expenditures in the U.S. totaled slightly over $72.5 billion in 2018, up from $48 billion in 2010, an increase of 51% in eight years.
Business Plan
Here is a basic template that any business can use when developing its business plan: Section 1: Executive Summary. Present the company's mission. Describe the company's product and/or service offerings. Give a summary of the target market and its demographics.
12 Key Elements of a Business Plan (Top Components Explained)
Here are some of the components of an effective business plan. 1. Executive Summary. One of the key elements of a business plan is the executive summary. Write the executive summary as part of the concluding topics in the business plan. Creating an executive summary with all the facts and information available is easier.
7 Business Plan Examples to Inspire Your Own (2024)
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.
The Different Types Of Business Plans
In my experience, some of the more common types of plans include: Startup Plan. • Audience: External. • Depth: Standard. • Purpose: Development of a blueprint for building a successful ...
7 Types of Business Plans
Value proposition. Strategic marketing plan. Market evaluations. Projected startup costs. Cash flow projections and income and profit expectations. Within the financial section, a business also needs to explain the exit strategy for investors and how specifically the company plans to use investor money.
Digital Transformation In Banking: How To Make The Change
Digital transformation remained an important trend in banking in 2021. Similar to its impact on other business domains, technology is gradually reshaping the financial services industry in every ...
Healthcare Technology & Industry Solutions
Healthcare is on the precipice of a high-speed, interconnected, intelligent future, with the industry becoming more proactive and preventive. This shift is being driven by digitally enabled technologies that keep patients, providers, pharmacists, and plans connected, informed, and engaged in real-time.
7 Types of Business Plans Explained
7 Different Types of Business Plans Explained. Business plans go by many names: Strategic plans, traditional plans, operational plans, feasibility plans, internal plans, growth plans, and more. Different situations call for different types of plans. But what makes each type of plan unique?
Food industry hits back at Kamala Harris over grocery 'price gouging' plan
Code red. Kamala Harris' plan for American-style communism is a $1.7 trillion giveaway, when our budget deficit this year is $1.9 trillion, and our national debt is already $35 trillion.
Goyal raises concerns about predatory pricing by e ...
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday raised concerns about predatory pricing by e-commerce platforms and the potential loss of employment in the traditional retail sector. While the minister acknowledged the crucial role of e-commerce, he emphasised the need to 'think ...
Licensed to Care: A Training Program to Start or Expand a Childcare
Training Will Take Place In Three Phases: Phase 1: Every Tuesday October 1st - October 29th Introduction to owning and operating a licensed in-home childcare business. Participants will complete this step with knowledge of in-home childcare industry needs, education and licensing requirements, and a workable business plan.
Harris' plan to stop price gouging could create more problems ...
On Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris said she has a solution: a federal ban on price gouging across the food industry. "My plan will include new penalties for opportunistic companies that ...
Inside Kamala Harris' economic plan to fight 'price gouging'
Net profit margin in 2023 in the grocery industry hit 1.6%, the lowest level since 2019, according to FMI, The Food Industry Association. What caused food prices to spike?
Foreign electronic payments
Form Name (Type of Payment) 5-Digit Tax Type Code; 720: Quarterly Excise Tax Return Deposit. 72005. 720: Payment due on return or IRS notice. 72007. 940: Employer's Annual Unemployment Tax (FUTA) Deposit. 09405. 940: Payment due on return or IRS notice. 09407. 941: Employer's Quarterly Employment Tax (FICA) Deposit. 94105. 941: Payment due ...
The Harris Plan to Lower Your Wages
The Harris Plan to Lower Your Wages. ... The Business Roundtable estimates that some $2.5 trillion in income earned abroad returned to the U.S. as a result of Mr. Trump's 2017 reform.

First Steps: Writing the Industry Section of Your Business Plan This quick guide offers tips that will help you create the industry section for your business plan.

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How to Write the Market Analysis Section of a Business Plan

What is the Market Analysis in a Business Plan?

What Should a Market Analysis Include?

How to Write a Market Analysis

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

Picking Your Niche

How Will You Stand Out?

Relevant Market Size & Competition

Target Market Section

The Competition

Writing a Market Analysis Tips

Formatting the Market Analysis Section of Your Business Plan

Business Plan Market Analysis Examples

Business Plan Market Analysis Example #1 – Hosmer Sunglasses, a sunglasses manufacturer based in California

Business Plan Market Analysis Example #2 – Nailed It!, a family-owned restaurant in Omaha, NE

Business Plan Market Analysis Example #3 – American Insurance Company (AIC), a chain of insurance agencies in Maine

Market Analysis Conclusion

How to Finish Your Business Plan in 1 Day!

Other Resources for Writing Your Business Plan

Other Helpful Business Planning Articles & Templates

What Is a Business Plan?

Key Takeaways

2 Types of Business Plans

Why Do Business Plans Fail?

How Often Should a Business Plan Be Updated?

What Does a Lean Startup Business Plan Include?

How to Conduct an Industry Analysis? Steps, Template, Examples

What is Industry Analysis?

Objectives of Industry Analysis

Importance of Industry Analysis in Business

How to Prepare for Industry Analysis?

1. Data Collection and Research

2. Identifying Relevant Industry Metrics

3. Gathering Competitive Intelligence

Industry Analysis Frameworks and Models

Porter's Five Forces Model

SWOT Analysis

PESTEL Analysis

Industry Life Cycle Analysis

Value Chain Analysis

Data Interpretation and Analysis

1. Analyze Market Size and Growth

2. Assess Market Trends

3. Evaluate Competitive Landscape

4. Identify Key Success Factors

5. Analyze Customer Behavior and Preferences

How to Conduct Competitor Analysis?

1. Identify Competitors

2. Analyze Competitor Strengths and Weaknesses

3. Competitive Positioning

4. Benchmarking and Gap Analysis

Market Entry and Expansion Strategies

Market Segmentation and Targeting

Market Entry Modes

Competitive Strategy Formulation

International Expansion Considerations

Risk Assessment and Mitigation

1. Identify Industry Risks

2. Assess Business Vulnerabilities

3. Risk Management Strategies

4. Contingency Planning

Industry Analysis Template

Industry Overview

Competitive Analysis

Market Analysis

Technological Analysis

Financial Analysis

Consumer Insights

SWOT Analysis for Your Business

Conclusion and Recommendations