A business is only as successful as the foresight of its business blueprint. If you don’t have a good business plan drawn up, you are already putting yourself at a disadvantage. Whether your business idea is set for the local scale or a global corporation, all great businesses start with a well thought-out plan. Today, we will look at what a business blueprint is, what should be included in the plan, and why you need one.
Why is a Business Blueprint Important?
Think about it this way: Once you have scaled your business and you have several minds working on the project, don’t you want everybody to be on the same page? Shouldn’t decisions be made with the same goals in mind?
A business is only as successful as the foresight of its business blueprint. If you don’t have a good business plan drawn up, you are already putting yourself at a disadvantage. Whether your business idea is set for the local scale or a global corporation, all great businesses start with a well thought-out plan. Today, we will look at what a business blueprint is, what should be included in the plan, and why you need one.
Let’s look at some of the things your business blueprint should include:
Who is Your Market(s)?
Once you have an overarching idea -- either a product or service you would like to provide -- the next step is to define your customer.
For this, you must define demographics. Answer questions like these first: How old is your customer? How does your customer base communicate? Where does your customer stand on the financial ladder?
Once you have a better idea and can imagine your exact customer, move onto more intricate details of your target market. You can never define your customer too far. The more you understand about your target audience, the more personal your message and services become.
Diving into the mindset of your customer can be challenging, which is why I created this Business Blueprint as a guide for you to identify the deeper emotions, thought processes, hopes, and dreams of your clients so to reach out to them in the best possible way.
What is Your Mission and Vision for Your Business?
Without getting too far into your near-term checklists, you might want to consider writing a mission statement. This is to ensure your goal at the start remains your goal until the end.
A mission statement is a short statement as to why your business matters. Usually, only a sentence or short paragraph.
Ask yourself: What do you see from your business? Why does your organization exist? What is the overarching goal?
Try to answer all these questions as concisely as possible. But don’t stop there. Consider further down the line. Put your business on a timeline -- what does your business look like five years from now? Ten? 40? Seeing this far into the future isn’t a ridiculous task if your vision is clear.
There are plenty of resources to help you formulate a mission statement, and it is uber important to craft from the get-go. Your mission statement should be timeless -- it should rock and roll through any changing environment.
What is Your Marketing Bridge?
Simply put; your marketing bridge is one of the most important concepts of your business plan. This is connecting what your advertisements say about your product or service to your customers’ actual experience.
If there is a negative disconnect there, you’ll find yourself in a hole as a business. To ensure you get it right, make your marketing message as consistent as possible. This goes from what is listed on your website to what is painted on your store’s front window. What your customer sees is what should be reflected in their experience.
Your marketing bridge will consist of four major elements:
Accessibility
Value
Merchandising
Branding
If you can align those four parts of your business with your customer’s experience, you have successfully navigated the marketing bridge. This won’t happen overnight, but should be something you set from the start in your business blueprint.
What Do You Offer?
As a business owner, your idea shouldn’t focus solely on the product. Your business is more than that. You want to give your customer the total package. Make it an experience for them; from the moment they see your advertisement or walk into your store to the moment they get home to use their purchase.
With this in mind, you have to think about what you offer in terms of a dinner party.
Sure, the main entree -- or your product -- might be a hit. But if your hospitality (customer care) is sub-par, the experience won’t sit well with your guests (customers).
Make sure you deliver the full dinner party experience in your business. Additionally, you want to ensure that you have an “AAA Player” as a client. Not sure what that means? Learn what it means and how to identify it with my Business Blueprint Guide.
What Does Your Client Want and Need?
This question is crucial to ask yourself before the product development stage. What problem are you trying to fix for your customer? If you cannot clearly define what will help your customer, you cannot sell to them. It is as simple as that.
Start by putting yourself in their shoes. Perhaps you are running a daycare center for single mothers who simply don’t have enough time in the day. What extra customer service attribute can you provide to give them peace of mind? A child pick-up and drop-off service?
Once you start thinking about how your product services your customer, you are bound to develop the extra sauce for your business.
The Secret to a Great Business Blueprint
Everybody wants to know the secret recipe for a great business plan. The truth is -- besides what we’ve already mentioned above -- there is no secret sauce. The key is thoroughness. Be patient when crafting your blueprints. Try to lay everything out ahead of time and cover any and all gaps in the plan.
You want to make sure your plan is clear, concise, and adaptable. However, making it not so flexible that it can easily erode. Just keep in mind: All great businesses can maneuver with the times, ebb and flow with trends, and do the most to please their customers. If you keep that in mind while planning, your blueprint will be able to withstand the test of time!
If defining your business plan seems daunting, that is because it can be. Often, it takes an outside perspective to find holes in the masterplan. That’s where a business coach comes in! I can provide you with the direction, motivation, and tools you need to create a successful business blueprint. I encourage you to check out my business course here!