1.04 – Identifying Your Key Messages
Your business plan serves as the blueprint for achieving your business goals. To focus your efforts effectively, consider which groups of people will have the greatest impact on your success. These groups will be the primary audiences for your business plan. For example, if you need capital investment, investors will be your primary audience. If you need to build strategic alliances, your plan should address potential business partners. You and your team are also key audiences for the plan, as it will serve as your guide.
After identifying your target audiences, you can focus on what they need to know and the messages you want to convey. The following sections help you define your audience and key messages before you begin to assemble your plan.
Your Audience
All the people who have an interest in or can help you succeed in your business venture represent audiences for your business plan. Depending on your situation and what you want to achieve, certain audiences will be more important than others:
- Investors: If your company seeks investment capital, your target audience includes potential investors.
- Employees and Stakeholders: If your plan includes stock options (possibly in lieu of higher salaries), current and prospective employees and stakeholders are primary targets.
- Major Customers: If you’re launching a business that needs clients to get up and running quickly, major customers may be a primary audience.
- Self-employed Individuals: If you’re self-employed, your plan may focus on you alone as you chart your course and anticipate problems.
The following is a checklist of the most common audiences for a business plan:
- You and Your Close Circle: To focus and gain support for your efforts, establish your goals, chart your course, anticipate problems, reduce distractions, build on strengths, and stay on track to success.
- Board of Directors or Advisors: To share growth plans and strategies for achieving them.
- Investors and Lenders: To provide proof of good long-term financial prospects, positive and growing revenue and profit projections, and strong strategies and financial management. For investors, also to convince them that your business is positioned for strong and rapid growth.
- Senior Management Team: To present growth plans and how each manager’s area contributes to success.
- Current Employees: To present a business overview with emphasis on growth plans and how team members can participate and benefit from business changes, growth, and profitability.
- New Hires: To present a business overview with emphasis on brand and business culture, growth plans, and how team members can participate and benefit from business changes, growth, and profitability.
- Independent Contractors: To present a business overview with emphasis on brand and business culture, quality, growth plans, and how remote team members collaborate and contribute.
- Vendors and Suppliers: To present a business overview that describes what your company is and does, its distinctions and value proposition, and how its capabilities, operations, and finances position it as a strong business partner in business alliances.
- Customers or Clients: To present a business overview that describes what your company is and does, its distinctions and value proposition, and how its capabilities, operations, and finances position it for long-term strength.
- Donors (for Nonprofits): To present the organization’s goals, operations, the importance of its work, the extent of its volunteer and client network, and how it uses funds and ensures financial accountability.
- Distributors: To present a business overview with emphasis on brand strength, product lines, competitive advantage, market area, growth plans, and financial strength.
- Regulators: To present a business overview with emphasis on operational, financial, and legal issues.
- Advocacy Groups: To share key strategies for addressing the interests or requirements of each group and how your business has the operational and financial strength to succeed.
Your message
After targeting the audiences for your plan, the next step is to focus on the key messages you want each group to receive. For example:
- Investors: Want to know your growth plans and financial projections.
- Bankers: Considering a loan request want to see proof of strong revenue and profit prospects.
- Employees: Want to see how they’ll benefit from the company’s growth and profits.
- Regulators: Focus on operational and financial issues.
Take time to clarify the primary messages you need to convey to your key audiences. Refer to the preceding section for examples of messages that various audiences are likely to consider important. Then, identify the three most important audiences you intend to address with your business plan and the key points you want to convey to each.
By carefully identifying your key audiences and crafting clear, targeted messages for each, you can create a business plan that effectively communicates your goals, strategies, and vision, setting the stage for success.
