Starting your planning engine: Part Two - Audiences

Target Audience

A business plan is the blueprint that will help to build a successful enterprise. It is a document that covers a wide territory and addresses all sorts of issues. To keep in focus our efforts we consider to build a list with the groups of people where the plan will have the impact of our success. Those groups will be the primary audiences for the business plan.

A good example is when we need capital investment then investors will be our first audience. If we need to build alliances then addressing potential business partners should be our concern. Remember, set the goals for the target audiences so you can focus on those readers of your business plan.

All people interested in your business – from investors to your employees, costumers and suppliers, represents different audiences for your business plan and depending on the situation of your business, certain audiences will have more priority than others.

-If your company seeks investment capital, your all-important target audience is likely to be filled with potential investors.

_ If your plan includes the introduction of stock options (possibly in lieu of high salaries), your current and prospective employees will be a primary target audience.

If you’re launching a business that needs clients, not cash, to get up and running — the sooner the better — potential customers will comprise your plan’s primary audience.

_ If you’re a self-employed freelancer, your plan may be for you and you alone to focus your efforts, chart your course, and anticipate problems before they arise.

Key Messages

After setting the business plan to our audiences, the next step is to focus in the key messages you want each group receive. People will read your business plan with different interests.

Some examples:

-An investor or a business partner that owns shares in a company will want to know about growth plans.

-Employees want to see how they will benefit from the company growth and profits.

To reach you audience using key messages, we must know how to talk to each audience. Remember, each audience needs a different key message because their interests.

Here a list of common business plans audiences:

• Yourself
• Your board directors (if any)
• Investors
• Management Team
• Employees
• New hires
• Independent contractors
• Vendors and suppliers
• Customers
• Advocacy groups