Business Plan vs Marketing Plan: What’s the Difference?

You can’t expect the win the confidence of investors unless you prepare the right documents. Investors are highly selective when choosing businesses in which to invest. If they believe your business is poised to grow and succeed, they may offer to purchase an ownership stake in it. You’ll have an easier time winning investors’ confidence by providing them with a business plan and marketing plan. What’s the difference between these two documents exactly?

Business Plan vs Marketing Plan: What’s the Difference?

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan is a comprehensive, multi-part document that outlines your business’s entire strategy. It’s designed to reveal your business’s goals — both short-term and long-term goals — as well as how you intend to achieve those goals.

Many investors will require you to provide a business plan when seeking financing for them. Some banks require a business plan for financing as well. Whether you’re trying to obtain equity financing from an investor or debt financing from a bank, you’ll probably need to prepare a business plan.

What Is a Marketing Plan?

A marketing plan, on the other hand, is a smaller and more specific document that focuses strictly on your business’s marketing activities. Marketing, of course, is the promotion of your business and its goods or services. While different businesses sell different types of goods and services, they all engage in marketing activities to attract customers. In a marketing plan, you can explain how your business intends to attract new customers through marketing activities.

You can include your marketing plan in your business plan. Alternatively, you create a separate marketing plan that’s distinguished from your business plan. Most business plans have a section for marketing. After creating a marketing plan, you can either place it in this section or use it as a separate and independent document.

Differences Between Business Plans and Marketing Plans

Business plans and marketing plans aren’t the same. Business plans consist of multiple parts, each of which covers a specific aspect of your business. Most of them contain an executive summary, business description, goods and services and marketing section. In comparison, marketing plans only cover your business’s marketing activities.

A business plan is an essential document that you’ll need to prepare when seeking financing for your business. Investors and banks will scrutinize it when determining whether to approve your application for financing.

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