marketing consultant business plan pdf

How to Develop a Marketing Plan for Your Consulting Company

Your marketing plan can be the difference between the success and failure of your consulting company. With the right plan, you can gain new clients on an ongoing basis. With the wrong plan, not only will your firm struggle to generate sales, but you will waste valuable time in misguided marketing efforts.

This article will show you how to develop a winning marketing plan for your consulting firm.

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What is a Marketing Plan?

A marketing plan is a document that outlines your  consulting marketing strategies  and goals. It includes information on who your target audience is, how you will reach them, what you will offer them, and how you will measure your success.

Why Do You Need a Marketing Plan?

A well-crafted marketing plan can help you achieve the following:

• Attract more clients
• Increase sales
• Differentiate your business from the competition
• Stand out in a crowded market
• Improve your bottom line

If you need to raise money from investors, a detailed marketing plan will also demonstrate that you have a solid understanding of the market and how your business can succeed in it.

How To Write a Consulting Marketing Plan

The marketing plan for a consulting business should include the following components:

Executive Summary

Target market segments, unique selling proposition (usp), pricing and positioning strategy, distribution strategy, marketing materials, promotions strategy, digital marketing plan, conversion, referral, and retention strategy, financial projections.

Each component will be discussed in detail below.

Executive Summary 

The executive summary is a brief overview of your marketing plan. It should include the following:

• Who you are and what you do
• What is your target market
• How you will reach your potential customers
• Your unique selling proposition (USP)
• What you will offer your target audience
• How you will measure success
• The financial projections for your business

This section should be no more than 2-3 pages long and is generally the last section you will actually write.

Your target market is the group of people you are selling to. In order to create an effective marketing plan, you need to understand who they are and what they want. You need to consider the following:

• Location – where is your potential client base located?
• Gender – is your target market male or female?
• Age – what is the age range of your target market?
• Income – what is the income range of your target market?
• Education level – what is the education level of your target market?
• Interests – what are the interests of your target market?
• Business Details – If/when serving B2B (business to business) clients, you need to know what size of companies you will serve and what functions within these companies (e.g., HR managers) are your ideal audience. 

When selecting your customer base, it is important to choose a group that is large enough to generate significant sales, but small enough that you can reach them effectively.

Your target market should also be a group that you can afford to serve. It is not cost-effective to try and market to everyone. You need to identify a specific group of people that you can focus your efforts.

Once you have identified your target audience, you need to understand their needs and wants. What are they looking for in a consultant? What problem are they trying to solve? What are their biggest concerns? The more you know about your potential customers, the better you can position your business to meet their needs.

Your unique selling proposition (USP) is what makes your company different from the competition. It is what sets you apart and makes people want to do business with you. When developing your USP, you need to consider the following:

• What do you do better than anyone else?
• What are your unique qualifications or experience?
• What do you offer that is not available from the competition?
• Why should someone do business with you instead of someone else?

Your USP should be something that is relevant to your potential clients. It should be something that they care about and that is important to them.

As an example, FedEx’s initial USP was “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.”

When setting your prices, you need to consider the following:

• What is the market value of your specific services?
• What are your costs?
• How much do you want to make per hour?
• What are your competitors charging?

It is important to price your services appropriately. If you charge too much, you may lose customers. If you charge too little, you may not be able to cover your costs and earn healthy profits. You also need to consider how you want to position your business. Do you want to be seen as a premium consulting service or a more affordable option?

How you distribute your service offerings is important. You need to consider the following:

• Are you going to offer in-person consultations?
• Are you going to offer online consultations?
• Are you going to offer phone consultations?
• What countries are you going to target?
• What language will your consultations be offered in?
• Will you offer your services through partners?

When developing your marketing plan, you need to consider the types of offers you will make to your potential clients. Will you offer a free consultation? A discount for first-time customers? A package deal?

It is important to create offers that are attractive to your potential customers.

Your marketing materials are the tools you use to promote your business. They should be designed to attract attention and generate interest in your professional services. Some of the most common marketing materials include:

• Business cards
• Press releases
• Email newsletters

It is important to design your marketing materials in a way that is visually appealing and easy to read. It is critical that your materials match the branding (e.g., premium) you are trying to achieve.

This section should include the mix of marketing activities that will generate interest in your professional services. Some of the most common promotions include:

• Newspaper Ads
• Digital Marketing (see below)
• Public Relations
• Teleseminars
• Trade shows
• Networking events

It is important to consider your target audience when developing your promotions. What type of activities will they find appealing?

In today’s digital age, it is important to have a strong online presence. This includes having a website, establishing a social media presence, doing online advertising, conducting email marketing, and using search engine optimization (SEO) techniques. When developing your digital marketing plan, you need to consider the following:

• Branding : How will you create a website that reflects your company’s brand? How will this be reflected on your social media profiles?
• Content Marketing : What type of content will you post on your website and social media pages? How often will you post new content?
• Online Marketing Strategy : What are the best online marketing techniques for your consulting company? What types of digital marketing campaigns will you run? For example, will you use pay-per-click advertising? Cold email? Direct outreach on LinkedIn, etc.?

In order to be successful, you need to have a strategy for converting leads into customers, getting referrals from current customers, and retaining new clients for future consultancy services. When developing your conversion, referral, and retention strategy, you need to consider the following:

• How will you track conversions?
• What will you do to try to maximize your conversion rates (e.g., offer bonuses to new clients)?
• How will you encourage referrals from current customers?
• What are the best methods for retaining customers?
• How often will you review your conversion, referral, and retention strategy?

When developing your marketing plan, it is important to project your income and expenses for the next year. This will help you determine if your marketing efforts are generating a profit. You should also track your progress over time to see if your marketing plan is effective.

Marketing Plan Examples for a Consulting Business

Below are sample marketing plans for consulting firms.

Example #1 – CloudNet, an IT Consulting Business

CloudNet offers quality IT consulting services that will help your business grow. We have over 10 years of experience in the industry and our team of experts is ready to help you achieve your goals.

As a leading IT consulting business, CloudNet offers quality services and solutions that will help your business grow. Our team of experts has over 10 years of experience in the industry, and we are dedicated to providing each client with the best possible solution for their needs.

Our pricing strategy is to offer quality services at a fair price, and we are positioning ourselves as a premium IT consulting business. We partner with several local business associations and chambers of commerce, as well as attend trade shows and networking events. We offer a free consultation to any businesses who are interested in our services. We also provide a variety of marketing materials to our potential customers which are available for download on our website and include an overview of our services, case studies, brochures, flyers, presentations, and more.

Outside of our traditional marketing efforts, we also plan to engage in SEO, paid search, social media marketing, and email marketing to help attract new customers as well as retain our existing clientele. All conversions and referrals will be tracked through the use of our CRM in coordination with Google Analytics. In order to be successful, our conversion, referral, and retention strategy will be implemented on an ongoing basis. With an advertising budget of $2,500/month, our financial projections show that we will remain profitable thanks to our marketing efforts.

CloudNet specializes in providing IT consulting services to mid-sized businesses and large enterprises. Our goal is to provide each client with the best possible solution for their needs. We focus on serving IT managers who have limited internal staffing.

Unique Selling Proposition (USP) 

CloudNet’s pricing strategy is to offer quality services at a fair price. We believe that our clients should receive the best possible value for their money. We are also positioning ourselves as a premium IT consulting business. This means that we offer the highest quality services and solutions in the industry.

CloudNet’s distribution strategy is to partner with local business associations and chambers of commerce to reach small and mid-sized businesses. We will also be attending trade shows and networking events to reach larger businesses.

Offers 

CloudNet is currently offering a free consultation to all businesses who are interested in our services. We believe that this is the best way to determine if our services are a good fit for the client’s needs.

CloudNet has a variety of marketing materials available for download on our website. These materials include:

• An overview of our services
• Case studies
• Presentations

CloudNet is currently running a promotion for all businesses that are interested in our services. We are offering a free consultation to all businesses who are interested in our services.

CloudNet’s digital marketing plan includes the following components:

• Paid search
• Social media
• Email marketing

In order to be successful, CloudNet needs to implement a variety of marketing strategies on an ongoing basis to encourage customers to convert, refer and remain loyal customers. We will be tracking conversions, referrals, and retention through the use of a CRM system. We also have a number of methods for encouraging referrals and retaining customers, including:

• Offering discounts to current customers
• Encouraging word-of-mouth marketing
• Offering loyalty programs
• Sending out customer surveys

In order to remain profitable, CloudNet’s marketing efforts will need to generate an annual revenue of $150,000. Our financial projections show that we will be able to achieve this goal with an advertising budget of $30,000. We anticipate that our largest source of revenue will come from our IT consulting services, which account for 85% of our total sales. The remaining 15% of our sales will come from our other services.

We anticipate that our gross margin will be 50%, which means that we will earn a profit of $75,000 after covering our expenses. We expect to have a net income of $50,000 after paying taxes. This will allow us to maintain a healthy cash flow and increase our equity.

Example #2 – Fund Your Future, a Personal Finance Consulting Business

Fund Your Future is a personal finance consulting business that offers a comprehensive suite of services tailored to meet the needs of families with children, single parents, retirees, and college students. We are committed to helping our clients achieve their financial goals, and we believe that our high level of customer service will set us apart from our competition.

Our unique selling proposition is that we offer a comprehensive suite of services that are tailored to meet the needs of our target customer segments. We provide our clients with personalized service, which means that they can rely on us to help them make sound financial decisions. Our pricing and positioning strategy is to offer our services at a competitive price while positioning ourselves as an affordable alternative to larger financial institutions.

We plan to distribute our services through a combination of direct marketing, referrals, and online marketing. We will be attending local events and networking with key influencers in our target customer segments to generate leads. We will also be running a series of radio ads and online ads to promote our services.

Our goal is to earn a total of $120,000 in revenue during the first year of operations. This will allow us to cover our expenses and generate a profit of $25,000.

Fund Your Future is a personal finance consulting business that specializes in helping individuals and families save money and improve their financial situation. Our target customer segments are:

• Families with children
• Single parents
• College students

We are committed to helping each and every one of our clients achieve their financial goals.

Our unique selling proposition is that we offer a comprehensive suite of services that are tailored to meet the needs of our potential clients. We provide our clients with personalized service, which means that they can rely on us to help them make sound financial decisions.

Fund Your Future is priced competitively, and we are positioning ourselves as an affordable provider of personal finance consulting services. We believe that our high level of customer service will set us apart from our competition.

Our distribution strategy is to partner with local business associations and chambers of commerce to reach small and mid-sized businesses. We will also be attending trade shows and networking events to reach larger businesses.

We are currently offering a free consultation to all families who are interested in our services. We believe that this is the best way to determine if our services are a good fit for the client’s needs.

We also offer a monthly webinar series geared towards helping retirees, low-income and single-parent families, and college students save money and improve their financial situation. This webinar directly ties in with our unique selling proposition, and we are confident that it will be a valuable resource for our customer segments.

We have a number of marketing materials that we will be using to promote our services, including:

• A website that is designed to appeal to our target customer segments
• A series of brochures that highlight the services that we offer
• A PowerPoint presentation that can be used for presentations and as a sales tool

To generate leads, we will be running a series of radio ads and online ads. We will also be distributing promotional materials at local businesses and events.

We are currently in the process of designing a website that will be launched in the near future. The website will be designed to appeal to our target customer segments, and it will include a section where clients can download our brochures and PowerPoint presentation.

We are also in the process of setting up a social media profile on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. We will use these profiles to promote our services and to connect with potential clients.

In order to increase our conversion rate, we plan to offer a free consultation to all prospective clients. We will also follow up with all of our clients to ensure that they are satisfied with our services and that they would be willing to refer us to their friends and family.

We expect to earn a total of $120,000 in revenue during the first year of operations. This will allow us to cover our expenses and generate a profit of $25,000.

As you can see, there are a number of things that need to be considered when developing a marketing plan for a consulting firm. By taking the time to create a detailed plan, you can be sure that your business will reach its target customer segments and generate a healthy profit.

The Consultant’s Marketing Plan and Business Plan

These two interactive plans epitomize your consultancy. While both plans portray your vision and outline your path to success, these two critical plans have different purposes.

In the marketing plan, the consultant articulates the company vision and establishes a marketing path to accomplish that vision. The business plan lays out the financial and operational structure that accomplishes the consultant’s mission statement. Most investors will expect an accurate and updated consulting business plan . Consultants should maintain accurate plans that depict short and long term projections and profitability overviews.

The marketing plan sets the company vision and articulates the consultant’s mission. Like the business plan, the marketing plan should include short and long term goals. The marketing plan focuses on the strategy that will result in the achievement of the vision. As the consulting practice emerges, the path may require adjustment, but the long-term vision should not deviate. That vision is the passion that drives the consulting practice and is at the core of the consulting firm’s culture.

Developing your Marketing Plan Determining and identifying your consultancy’s USP and vision will take time. The plan should be impressive, well thought out and must reflect your passion for your consulting practice. Remember that as your practice expands, new employees will be reading and most likely scrutinizing your marketing plan. Deliver your vision articulately and concisely. Make sure you have created a consultancy culture and environment that would appeal to you if you were applying for a consulting job.

Begin structuring your marketing plan by defining your impassioned vision. From that end zone, look back and envision the field you must cross to reach the goal line. This exercise will help the consultancy anticipate some, but not all, of the obstacles that will come into play. Build the plan backwards from the goal line to your own one yard line.

Six Tips to Help Develop Your Marketing Game Plan

• Determine and state the types of servics you will provide
• Explain the need for these services
• Analyze the competitive structure of your market
• Explain why you are the preferred competitor and why your service is unique to the marketplace
• Explain the benefits the client will receive from your consultancy
• Identify the profiles of clients that will benefit from your consulting practice.

After you develop your marketing plan and have foreseen some of the obstacles on the playing field, you should also identify certain first down markers along way. Your short term goal is to make first downs. Your long term goal is to build upon that record of first downs and cross the goal line. You may miss a few first downs but you may also make some long gains en route to the goal line. Be prepared to adjust your strategy, but never lose sight of the end zone.

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Marketing Consulting Business Plan

Start your own marketing consulting business plan

Executive Summary executive summary is a brief introduction to your business plan. It describes your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial highlights.">

MarketCamp is a Mexico City based start-up business that provides local businesses with world-class qualified traffic generation and lead closures for Internet businesses. MarketCamp will offer a wide range of services including: detailed research, internet targeting, mini-site development, search engine submissions, and statistical reporting.

Mexico City’s business community will be the primary market for our company. The business size that we service can be relatively small because the cost per month is only $1,000, but services can be scaled up to meet the needs of huge clients due to the focus and expertise of the business. Internet connectivity in Mexico, in comparison with the U.S., is currently low, but interest is growing. Though far behind the major industrial countries, Mexico maintains one of the fastest growth rates on the Internet with thousands of users and thousands of WWW sites. Mexican WWW sites have been growing at the rate of 200-300 per month this year. CompuServe Mexico, the largest commercial Internet service provider in Mexico has 30,000 subscribers, while Spin Internet has 28,000 Mexican members.

Competitive Edge

MarketCamp has the competitive edge of experience and market expertise in a complicated field. This is truly an advantage as the founder and principal Paul Berry has spent the last five years in the United States honing his e-business skills. Paul received his MBA from the University of Oregon in 1992 and worked at a local software company for a few years. Wanting to see the East Coast, Paul moved to Boston and worked at Forrester Research, the premier Internet marketing research company. It was Paul’s work at Forrester Research that provided him with the experience and insight that he will leverage for MarketCamp.

MarketCamp has conservatively forecasted sales for year onewith sales more than doubling in year three. Profitability will be reached by year one. MarketCamp’s profit margin will steadily increase from year one to year three.

1.1 Objectives

The following are the objectives for the company:

• To be self sufficient within three months.
• Healthy sales in Year 1, steadily growing in Year 2 and Year 3.

1.2 Mission

MarketCamp will provide full-service Internet marketing campaigns, focusing directly on keyword combination search results, targeted advertising and mini-sites that deliver an offer in a clean, statistically monitored environment.

1.3 Keys to Success

• Keeping existing clients to develop repeat business.
• Clients must make money, and know it.
• Start with easily-demonstratable simple module, and build up from there.

Company Summary company overview ) is an overview of the most important points about your company—your history, management team, location, mission statement and legal structure.">

MarketCamp is a Web marketing business based in Mexico City. The company will start up as a simple consulting business billing directly in the founder’s name.

2.1 Company Ownership

This company is owned 100% by its founder, Paul Berry.

2.2 Start-up Summary

Start-up costs are detailed in the chart and table below.

2.3 Company Locations and Facilities

MarketCamp will begin as a home-office business in the founder’s apartment in Mexico City. After six months of operation it will expand to a formal office space in Mexico City.

• Detailed Research.
• Internet Targeting Proposal.
• Focused Mini-Site Development.
• Top Search Results on Keywords.
• Advertising Creative Design.
• Monthly Statistical Reporting.
• Campaign Maintenance.

3.1 Service Description

** Details and a description of services have been omitted from this published plan because they were strategic and proprietary.

3.2 Competitive Comparison

Competition isn’t the most important factor at this time, there is plenty of need and potential customers out there.

3.3 Sales Literature

Our website will serve as sales literature.

3.4 Fulfillment

For the present time, until there is real growth, services will be delivered by the founder.

3.5 Technology

**Details have been omitted from this published plan because they were strategic and proprietary.

3.6 Future Services

Market analysis summary how to do a market analysis for your business plan.">.

Mexico City’s business community will be the primary market for our company. We will attempt to work with business models that attract customers and sign contracts. The business size can be relatively small because the cost per month is only $1,000, but services can be scaled up to meet the needs of huge clients due to the focus and expertise of the business.

Internet connectivity in Mexico, in comparison with the U.S., is currently low, but interest is growing. Though far behind the major industrial countries, Mexico maintains one of the fastest growth rates on the Internet with thousands of users and thousands of WWW sites. Mexican WWW sites have been growing at the rate of 200-300 per month this year. CompuServe Mexico, the largest commercial Internet service provider in Mexico has 30,000 subscribers, while Spin Internet has 28,000 Mexican members. Microsoft Mexico, a division of Microsoft’s recently-launched online service named Microsoft Network, will charge $4.95 per month (about one half of CompuServe’s $9.95 per month rate) and will offer local telephone access in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and three other cities. The service will be English-only and U.S.-oriented for at least the first six months, but will eventually include local content.

Many companies in Mexico City currently have Internet access and more are realizing the importance of presence on the Web in order to attract international business. For this reason, our Market Analysis table predicts rapid growth amongst potential small businesses and marketing managers for medium-sized businesses to grow in-line with the growth of Internet usage.

We will try to work with other more established marketing companies, giving up some of the margin in order to get access to more clients more quickly.

We will need to make a decision on pricing, whether to keep rates at an attractive sign-up rate or focus on the more successful clients and raise rates.

Strategy and Implementation Summary

We will obtain our first clients through word-of-mouth from the board of directors and board of advisors as well as the previous connections of Paul Berry’s freelance business. Each mini-site will contain a small “powered by MarketCamp” logo which will lead to information about us. Because of the quality of our work, and the desirability of our expertise, we expect to add a number of clients in the near future.

5.1 Competitive Edge

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5.2 Sales Strategy

The beauty of this business is in the subscription model and the commissions based earnings. Once we sign a client, most will stay for a long period of time, possibly for the lifetime of the business. We feel 30% to 60% growth rates are very modest, therefore we could potentially sign many clients more quickly.

5.3 Sales Forecast

We expect that a 30% to 60% growth rate throughout the first year is very modest. If we find more clients signing up we can scale the team quickly to reach those expectations. The back-end of the business will be built by the founder and a network of top programmers.

5.4 Milestones

The specific milestones are shown in the following chart and table.

Management Summary management summary will include information about who's on your team and why they're the right people for the job, as well as your future hiring plans.">

Paul Berry will be president, responsible for decisions on all hires and expenses. Paul will also do the work behind the scenes, structuring a system that will enable other future employees to scale the business as clients are added.

Carlos Silva will be an initial investor, possibly also a co-founder and part of the board of directors.

Gabriela Lopez will be one of the first employees, contracted part-time for her expertise in design and knowledge of the Web.

Raul Garcia will be another of the first employees, contracted part-time for his expertise as a sales person and junior executive in Mexico City.

6.1 Personnel Plan

Paul will be paid somewhere between $3,000 and $5,000 in the initial months, depending on the amount of clients signed, and the nature of those contracts.

Gabriela Lopez will be contracted for $1,000 to $2,000 depending on the load of work and her availability. She will be responsible for the corporate identity and all stationery and brochures.

Raul Garcia will be contracted for $1,000 to $2,000 depending on his involvement with the company and he will also receive a commission structure for additional clients beyond the expected ones.

6.2 Management Team

6.3 management team gaps, financial plan investor-ready personnel plan .">.

MarketCamp will finance growth mainly through cash flow. We recognize that this means we will have to grow more slowly than we might like.

The most important factor to our success is collection days. We can’t push our clients hard on collection days, because they are in larger companies and will normally have marketing authority, not financial authority. Therefore, we need to develop a permanent system of receivables financing, using one of the established financial companies in that business.

We are also assuming start-up capital which will be more than enough to cover salaries, artwork and other expenses while the business begins to produce more cash.

We may take more financing than we originally planned to be able to bring in some very key investors as equity partners, more for their connections to potential clients in Mexico City than for the investment itself.

7.1 Important Assumptions

The Financial Plan depends on important assumptions, most of which are shown in the following table as annual assumptions. The monthly assumptions are included in the appendix. From the beginning, we recognize that collection days are critical, but are not a factor we can influence easily. Interest rates, tax rates, and personnel burden are based on conservative assumptions.

Some of the more important underlying assumptions are:

• We assume an economy slightly crippled by the George W. Bush administration in the U.S. and by the skepticism caused by the fall of the dot-coms with terrible business models.
• We assume that we can communicate the service to Mexican business owners.

7.2 Key Financial Indicators

The Benchmarks chart shows our projections on an index basis for key financial indicators.

7.3 Break-even Analysis

The following chart and table summarize our Break-even Analysis showing fixed costs in U.S. dollars per month at the outset (a bare minimum), and what we need to bill to cover our costs. We don’t really expect to reach break-even until a few months into the business operation.

7.4 Projected Profit and Loss

Projected Profit and Loss is presented in the following table and charts.

7.5 Projected Cash Flow

Cash flow is going to rely on the time to collect from account receivables. Carlos Silva, Raul Garcia and others who have more experience working with Mexican businesses will be able to help us estimate both the collection and payment times. We are working on an assumption of 30 days to collect. Clients will pay at the beginning of each month except when this is impossible for them.

The present cash flow projection assumes sacrificed salaries taken as equity contribution for the first few months. The inputs for capital input are actually “sweat equity” contributions from the founder.

7.6 Projected Balance Sheet

The Balance Sheet in the following table shows managed but sufficient growth of net worth, and a sufficiently healthy financial position. The monthly estimates are included in the appendix.

7.7 Business Ratios

Business Ratios for the years of this plan are shown below. Industry profile ratios based on the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code 8742, Management Consulting Services, are shown for comparison.

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Free PDF Business Plan Templates and Samples

By Joe Weller | September 9, 2020

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We’ve gathered the most useful collection of business plan PDF templates and samples, including options for organizations of any size and type.

On this page, you’ll find free PDF templates for a simple business plan , small business plan , startup business plan , and more.

Simple Business Plan PDF Templates

These simple business plan PDF templates are ready to use and customizable to fit the needs of any organization.

Simple Business Plan Template PDF

This template contains a traditional business plan layout to help you map out each aspect, from a company overview to sales projections and a marketing strategy. This template includes a table of contents, as well as space for financing details that startups looking for funding may need to provide. 

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Lean Business Plan Template PDF

This scannable business plan template allows you to easily identify the most important elements of your plan. Use this template to outline key details pertaining to your business and industry, product or service offerings, target customer segments (and channels to reach them), and to identify sources of revenue. There is also space to include key performance metrics and a timeline of activities. 

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Simple 30-60-90 Day Business Plan Template PDF

This template is designed to help you develop and implement a 90-day business plan by breaking it down into manageable chunks of time. Use the space provided to detail your main goals and deliverables for each timeframe, and then add the steps necessary to achieve your objectives. Assign task ownership and enter deadlines to ensure your plan stays on track every step of the way.

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PDF | Smartsheet

One-Page Business Plan PDF Templates

The following single page business plan templates are designed to help you download your key ideas on paper, and can be used to create a pitch document to gain buy-in from partners, investors, and stakeholders.

One-Page Business Plan Template PDF

Use this one-page template to summarize each aspect of your business concept in a clear and concise manner. Define the who, what, why, and how of your idea, and use the space at the bottom to create a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) for your business. 

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If you’re looking for a specific type of analysis, check out our collection of SWOT templates .

One-Page Lean Business Plan PDF

This one-page business plan template employs the Lean management concept, and encourages you to focus on the key assumptions of your business idea. A Lean plan is not stagnant, so update it as goals and objectives change — the visual timeline at the bottom is ideal for detailing milestones. 

Download One-Page Lean Business Plan Template - PDF

One-Page 30-60-90 Day Business Plan Template

Use this business plan template to identify main goals and outline the necessary activities to achieve those goals in 30, 60, and 90-day increments. Easily customize this template to fit your needs while you track the status of each task and goal to keep your business plan on target. 

Download One-Page 30-60-90 Day Business Plan Template

For additional single page plans, including an example of a one-page business plan , visit " One-Page Business Plan Templates with a Quick How-To Guide ."

Small Business Plan PDF Templates

These business plan templates are useful for small businesses that want to map out a way to meet organizational objectives, including how to structure, operate, and expand their business.

Simple Small Business Plan Template PDF

A small business can use this template to outline each critical component of a business plan. There is space to provide details about product or service offerings, target audience, customer reach strategy, competitive advantage, and more. Plus, there is space at the bottom of the document to include a SWOT analysis. Once complete, you can use the template as a basis to build out a more elaborate plan. 

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Fill-In-the-Blank Small Business Plan Template PDF

This fill-in-the-blank template walks you through each section of a business plan. Build upon the fill-in-the-blank content provided in each section to add information about your company, business idea, market analysis, implementation plan, timeline of milestones, and much more.

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One-Page Small Business Plan Template PDF

Use this one-page template to create a scannable business plan that highlights the most essential parts of your organization’s strategy. Provide your business overview and management team details at the top, and then outline the target market, market size, competitive offerings, key objectives and success metrics, financial plan, and more.

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Startup Business Plan PDF Templates

Startups can use these business plan templates to check the feasibility of their idea, and articulate their vision to potential investors.

Startup Business Plan Template

Use this business plan template to organize and prepare each essential component of your startup plan. Outline key details relevant to your concept and organization, including your mission and vision statement, product or services offered, pricing structure, marketing strategy, financial plan, and more.

‌Download Startup Business Plan Template

Sample 30-60-90 Day Business Plan for Startup

Startups can use this sample 30-60-90 day plan to establish main goals and deliverables spanning a 90-day period. Customize the sample goals, deliverables, and activities provided on this template according to the needs of your business. Then, assign task owners and set due dates to help ensure your 90-day plan stays on track.

‌Download Sample 30-60-90 Day Business Plan for Startup Template 

For additional resources to create your plan, visit “ Free Startup Business Plan Templates and Examples .”

Nonprofit Business Plan PDF Templates

Use these business plan PDF templates to outline your organization’s mission, your plan to make a positive impact in your community, and the steps you will take to achieve your nonprofit’s goals.

Nonprofit Business Plan Template PDF

Use this customizable PDF template to develop a plan that details your organization’s purpose, objectives, and strategy. This template features a table of contents, with room to include your nonprofit’s mission and vision, key team and board members, program offerings, a market and industry analysis, promotional plan, financial plan, and more. This template also contains a visual timeline to display historic and future milestones.

Download Nonprofit Business Plan Template - PDF

One-Page Business Plan for Nonprofit Organization PDF 

This one-page plan serves as a good starting point for established and startup nonprofit organizations to jot down their fundamental goals and objectives. This template contains all the essential aspects of a business plan in a concise and scannable format, including the organizational overview, purpose, promotional plan, key objectives and success metrics, fundraising goals, and more.

Download One-Page Business Plan for Nonprofit Organization Template - PDF

Fill-In-the-Blank Business Plan PDF Templates

Use these fill-in-the-blank templates as a foundation for creating a comprehensive roadmap that aligns your business strategy with your marketing, sales, and financial goals.

Simple Fill-In-the-Blank Business Plan PDF

The fill-in-the-blank template contains all the vital parts of a business plan, with sample content that you can customize to fit your needs. There is room to include an executive summary, business description, market analysis, marketing plan, operations plan, financial statements, and more. 

Download Simple Fill-In-the-Blank Business Plan Template - PDF

Lean Fill-In-the-Blank Business Plan PDF

This business plan is designed with a Lean approach that encourages you to clarify and communicate your business idea in a clear and concise manner. This single page fill-in-the-blank template includes space to provide details about your management team, the problem you're solving, the solution, target customers, cost structure, and revenue streams. Use the timeline at the bottom to produce a visual illustration of key milestones. 

Download Fill-In-the-Blank Lean Business Plan Template - PDF

For additional resources, take a look at " Free Fill-In-the-Blank Business Plan Templates ."

Sample Business Plan PDF Templates

These sample business plan PDF templates can help you to develop an organized, thorough, and professional business plan.

Business Plan Sample 

This business plan example demonstrates a plan for a fictional food truck company. The sample includes all of the elements in a traditional business plan, which makes it a useful starting point for developing a plan specific to your business needs.

Download Basic Business Plan Sample - PDF

Sample Business Plan Outline Template

Use this sample outline as a starting point for your business plan. Shorten or expand the outline depending on your organization’s needs, and use it to develop a table of contents for your finalized plan.

Download Sample Business Plan Outline Template - PDF

Sample Business Financial Plan Template

Use this sample template to develop the financial portion of your business plan. The template provides space to include a financial overview, key assumptions, financial indicators, and business ratios. Complete the break-even analysis and add your financial statements to help prove the viability of your organization’s business plan.

Download Business Financial Plan Template

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For more free, downloadable templates for all aspects of your business, check out “ Free Business Templates for Organizations of All Sizes .”

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Marketing Consulting Business Plan

Marketing plays an essential part to a company’s success in a competitive industry. Business leaders could have the most promising ideas for their companies, but without a stern marketing strategy in place, the business may fall flat with its target audience. Though you may have a team of professionals to do the work for you, it wouldn’t hurt to gain some expert advice from an outside party. This is where a consultant comes in. You may also see  business consulting business plan examples .

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Business Consultant Marketing Plan Template

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Business Consulting Business Plan Template

Business Plan for Marketing Consulting Services Example

Companies hire consultants for many reasons. This usually depends on their field of expertise and the skills that they possess to meet the specific needs of a client. That being said, let’s take a closer look at how a consultant can serve as an asset to a company and its marketing efforts. You may also see  financial consulting business plan examples .

Consulting Business Plan Example

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Consulting Business Plan for Marketing Example

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The Role of a Marketing Consultant in the World of Business

A marketing consultant is a skilled professional who possesses a deep level of understanding in terms of what motivates a consumer and which efforts can generate the best results. They usually work with companies to develop and implement various strategies that can help improve the company’s performance in the market. These strategies are usually centered on the core values of the business, along with the products and/or services they offer. You may also see  social media consulting business plan examples .

People often confuse marketing consultants with advertising agencies due to their complementary functions. But there’s an obvious difference between the two that not many people seem to recognize. For one, if you have a message you want to advertise, you would hire an advertising agency to convey this message through the promotional ads they create. These agencies have creative teams comprised of art directors, copywriters, and graphic designers who can deliver your advertising message in a fresh and exciting way that would keep viewers engaged. You may also see  engineering consulting business plan examples .

On the contrary, a marketing consultant is someone who can help you decide how to best keep existing clients and customers engaged through various  marketing strategies . They can also help expand your consumer base by determining who else might benefit from your product and service offers. The great thing about marketing consultants is that they’re always ready to provide you with an unbiased opinion. This way, you can gain a wider perspective of your consumer market that goes beyond your common knowledge.

Key Responsibilities

As a marketing consultant, you have to be knowledgeable in consumer behavior along with the different marketing processes. This includes the ability to identify the company’s target market and to position their product or service offerings in such a way that will interest consumers and prompt a sale. You may also see  security consulting business plan examples .

Not only should you think creatively but analytically as well. It’s about being able to generate profitable results from the creative efforts you pursue. And since marketing can be rather broad, marketing consultants are required to specialize in specific areas of the craft, such as online marketing, social media marketing, nonprofit marketing, and direct response marketing, in order to deliver the best results for clients.

One of the benefits of working as a consultant is your freedom to work flexibly. You don’t have to render a full shift at the office during regular workdays, nor will you be forced to sit through meetings that you play no part of. Instead, you can run your business and work independently or with your own marketing team. Though finding work may seem like a challenge, considering you’re only hired according to an as-needed basis, there are many companies that choose to outsource to marketing consultants to make it easier for them to focus on product development as well as their overall operations. You may also see restaurant consulting business plan examples .

Listed below are some of the responsibilities performed by a marketing consultant:

• Identify fresh marketing opportunities to entice new clients and keep existing clients engaged.
• Evaluate and determine how existing marketing materials, social media, and advertising campaigns are able to target customers and generate sales. You may also see  management consulting business plan examples .
• Shape the company’s identity and branding efforts according to the preferences of its desired demographic.
• Conduct damage control if the company’s reputation is harmed.
• Increase lifetime customer value by getting former customers to return more often through new product offers or service opportunities. You may also see  accounting firm marketing plan examples .
• Improve client engagement by launching innovative campaigns on various online and offline platforms.
• Develop content that is mindful of Search Engine Optimization keywords to produce organic search engine rankings.
• Monitor analytics and conversions to benchmark success and obtain optimal outcomes.

By formulating strategies based on an external viewpoint and expert advice, you can test out every option available to generate the best results for your business. You may also see  lawn care business plan examples .

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International Marketing Consulting Business Plan Example

Creating a Business Plan

As a consultant, you’re also running a business that requires you to sell your time, skills, knowledge, and abilities to prospects who are in need of your services. But like all small businesses, you’ll have to start with a plan.

A consulting business plan is no different from a regular business plan . Here, you need to concentrate on what you want to achieve at the end of the day, not just for your own welfare but also for the benefit of your clients.

When writing a business plan, be sure to consider the following points:

1. Reasons for being a consultant

Before anything else, contemplate on your reason for becoming a consultant. You have to be completely honest with your answer, even if it means making more money or venturing toward a career that you’re good at. If they sound convincing enough to keep you motivated despite the downfalls along the way, then you’re probably on the right track. You may also see  tutoring business plan examples .

If you want to become a full-time consultant, you have to consider the fact that you won’t have a steady income for the first couple months of starting. Some days you might be busy, other days you’d be staring at your computer screen waiting for time to pass. It only makes sense to maintain a savings account, just in case you have any extra bills to settle at the end of the year. You may also see  one page marketing plan examples .

3. Relationship risks

Although you may be granted flexible working hours by your client, there will always be days when your services will be much needed. You could be spending your Sundays at the office, or be forced to attend to your clients even while on vacation in another state.

4. Training and certification

While you may be extending your services as a marketing consultant, you have to remember that your clients are likely to come from different industries. Say for instance, in the IT field, keeping your skills up to date is extremely important. You can take a training course; attend online classes, conferences, and conventions; or you may even study various journals and forums to learn more about a particular industry. You may also see  self-catering business plan examples .

5. Personal goals

The great thing about having a personal goal is that it allows you to be selfish with your choices. Perhaps you plan to be a consultant for the rest of your life, or maybe you want to hire other employees and form a consulting agency at some point. Whatever it is, be sure to write them down and bear them in mind when making serious business decisions.

Marketing Consulting Business Plan Example

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Marketing Consulting Services Business Plan Example

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Professional Marketing Consulting Business Plan Example

5 Reasons to Hire a Marketing Consultant

Consultants aren’t magicians who could solve all your problems in a blink of an eye. You can’t expect a consultant to swoop in and save the day. It’s a joint effort that requires your cooperation and understanding to arrive at a common goal. You may also see  convenience store business plan examples .

But if you’re on the fence about hiring a marketing consultant for your business, here are a few reasons that might just convince you:

1. To establish a solid strategy

Marketing consultants tend to be brutally honest and straightforward. They will demand that you spend your time and resources building a firm foundation for your company through a series of tactics that can help increase traffic. They won’t tell you things you want to hear rather, they’ll let you know what your ideal customers really think of your company and your product or service offers. They’ll also show you what your competitors have been doing while you were too busy looking at the greener side of the grass. You may also see  hotel operational business plan examples .

2. To narrow down your objectives

While there’s nothing wrong about being goal-oriented and seemingly ambitious, you still have to be practical about what you want to achieve after a certain period of time. A good marketing consultant will help cut down your objectives to a more realistic few, based on where you want to be in a year, in three years, or in five years. This can also help you prioritize your objectives based on what’s best for the business in the long run.

3. To recognize resource gaps

Some business leaders assume they can accomplish everything without much help from the outside. This makes it difficult for one to discover their weak points that require improvements. So instead of spending too much of your time on the little things that are better off handled by others, a good consultant will keep you focused on being an actual leader, and not an all-around man. You may also see  remodeling business plan examples .

4. To fix conversions

Though website traffic and likes seem like a great way to generate sales, not many business owners seem to recognize the importance of conversions. The key is to figure out how you can get visitors to your website and encourage prospects to respond to your sales presentation in order for you to strike a significant business deal.

5. To stay focused

Marketing consultants are often hard to crack. They aren’t scared of you, because they’re likely to know about the industry than you do. Sometimes, consultants are merely your right-hand assistants who can hold you accountable for your actions. They can whack you with a stick if you start drifting off course, and offer you market data and statistics to keep you on track .You may also see  real estate investor marketing plan examples .

Oftentimes, the only way for to stay focused is to have someone who could tell you if you’re doing something wrong, or simply someone who could keep you on your feet when your business takes a fall.

Sample Marketing Consulting Business Plan

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Simple Marketing Consulting Business Plan Example

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Tips for Writing a Successful Consulting Business Plan

Business plans can be difficult to write. If you’ve never done it before, you’re probably going to spend the next hour or so staring at a blank sheet of paper. Thinking clearly and logically about your strategy isn’t exactly the easiest thing to do. So to help you succeed, here are a few tips to take note of:

1. Prepare the first draft.

It’s always a good idea to start off with a draft. This way, you wouldn’t have to worry about grammar, structure, or neatness. Whatever thought runs through your mind may be put onto paper. It’s best to work on your draft at a place where you’re most comfortable in, like a café, library, or even your own bedroom. You may also see  transition plan examples .

2. Understand your market.

Do your research. It’s best to gain an in-depth understanding of the market you’re going to be working in. Gather details about the market, such as its nature, behavior, and demographics. The data collected from your research will help you construct a more market-centered consulting business plan. You may also see  procurement management plans .

3. Identify your selling proposition.

Having a unique selling proposition will set you apart from leading competitors. It has to be innovative and creative, yet relevant to the demands of your clients. This is why it’s important to think carefully about what you’re good at, as this would serve as a basis for marketing yourself. You may also see  strategic action plan examples .

4. Gather feedback.

Getting a second, third, or even fourth opinion wouldn’t hurt your image. Tell people about your proposed plan and listen to what they have to say about it. Constructive criticisms may be hard to hear, but they can also help shape you into becoming something better. You can reach out to your peers, friends, former business associates, and potential customers to gain feedback. You may also see  business financial plan examples .

5. Keep it simple.

A good business plan doesn’t need to be lengthy, so don’t waste too much of your time trying to make a plan that’s well over a dozen pages long. This will only bore investors and keep you off their wait list. Stick to important matters instead.

So if you ever find yourself in need of a simple business plan , these guidelines and examples are sure to come in handy. With a comprehensive and clear business plan in place, you can start your marketing consulting business on the right foot.

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How to Write a Digital Marketing Agency Business Plan (with PDF Template)

SEOptimer now serves over 2,000 digital agencies around the world and through the years we've had the chance to connect with many of our agency customers to understand their early days in starting their agency. This is incredibly interesting to us because it helps us understand where and how they plan to grow so we can help build the features they need in SEOptimer.

This article is the 3rd in our series focused on starting a new digital agency. For some useful prior reading be sure to check out our previous articles:

• How to Start a Digital Marketing Agency : a comprehensive guide covering typical agency business models, services, hiring, training, new business, day to day management and more!
• Digital Agency Lean Canvas : a digital agency business model on a single page! The lean canvas is a popular documentation methodology borrowed from the tech startup world.

Don't be dismayed if it feels like there's a lot of other competing digital agencies in your city. This is perfectly normal. Digital marketing services like local SEO, for example, are dominated by small agencies. Search Engine Land reported that over 50% of local SEO agencies have 10 or fewer clients. Forbes Council Member Jon Hall says, this keeps the industry "weird" - aka diverse as its not dominated by a small handful of big agencies.

The first step in launching a new digital marketing agency is to write a plan. In this guide, we'll cover two of the more traditional ways to define a business plan document with handy downloadable templates:

• Digital Marketing Agency Business Plan Document (DOCX & PDF) Template
• Creative Agency Business Plan Deck (PPTX) Template

Why do you need a Digital Marketing Agency Business Plan?

The days of mandatory 50+ page business plans are long gone. The choice is now yours as to whether you define your digital agency business plan in an in-depth strategic document or not. Some agency founders find it useful to brainstorm this way and document their thought process in a long-form fashion across many pages. Other founders prefer creating shorter slide decks, others opt for a 1-page lean canvas version or some even write their plan in a wiki or business planning tool.

There is no right or wrong way to document your plan. You need to find the documentation method that suits you best. If you're unsure what suits you best, the following factors may help you decide:

Consideration #1: Who is the audience?

Think about who this document is for. Who will read it? In some cases it will just be you and the founding team. If you are raising money, obviously your investors will be a key audience.

You might also have business partners or board members who may be an audience too. When thnking through all these different groups, work backwards from the most optimal presentation format.

Consideration #2: Seek an unbiased third-party opinion

Devin Schumacher is the Founder of SEO agency SERP and says it's easy to get swept up in your own overly optimistic projections.

"Ask an experienced agency founder you trust or admire to sanity-check your plan. Seeking an objective opinion from a third-party detached from your new business is vital."

Devin makes a great point. This type of peer review methodology is commonplace in other industries but sometimes lacking amongst agency founders. Make sure you get at least 1 other unbiased opinion from someone who has already achieved success in your niche.

Don't fall into the trap of asking a friend or your accountant or someone you know personally to review your plan. Doing so will give you a biased opinion. You need an unbiased opinion from someone willing to give you objective feedback.

Consideration #3: Stand your ground

The whole point of a business plan is to take the time and effort to research the market, your competitors and potential clients. This document will distill all your insights into a strategic plan you can operationalize. As is always the case, unexpected distractions masquerading as opportunities (rightly or wrongly) will pop up in your field of view demanding your attention.

Perhaps it's a new client opportunity with a project slightly adjacent to your niche. Perhpas a hiring opportunity for a role you didn't plan to hire yet. Sometimes the hardest thing is to say no, when you're in the mindset of taking every opportunity for growth.

During these situations, revisit your agency business plan and remind yourself of your focus area niche and how you planned to grow within that niche.

Consideration #4: But, be ok with change

In fact this balance between sticking to the plan and pivoting the plan needs to be navigated by every digital agency founder. It's not easy and often you will be second-guessing yourself.

"Every agency owner I know has had to massively adjust their target audience, pricing structure, competitor analysis, and service offerings based on the way they grow over the first 2-5 years."

Rebekah says that founders need to be prepared for change, afterall, digital marketing is in constant flux and evolution, so change is the norm and we need to write business plans with flexibility in mind.

Trust your performance metrics and continue to do the things that have the biggest quantifiable business impact.

Typical Business Plan structures

We mentioned previously that there's no right or wrong way to document your business plan. So with that said, let's look at some typical marketing agency business plan templates that you can use. After considering all the factors above, choose the structure that works for you and your stakeholders best. We've outlined six of the more common options below:

Option #1: Written business document

This is the more traditional (and still valid) way to describe your business. A written business plan document in MS Word or Google Docs is still the most common way to document your digital marketing agency business plan.

This type of business plan is considered "long-form", ie: longer in length and suited to more descriptive language. Expect to write longer rationales, longer explanations with plenty of space for evidence, research, insights and strategy. This type of plan will likely be 30+ pages and feel comprehensive. This comprehensiveness is especially needed if external investors or business partners are involved who need to be convinced of the robustness of your plan.

Option #2: Slide deck

The PowerPoint Presentation (or Google Slides or Keynote) has become the go-to corporate communication format. Digital agency founders spend most of their time communicating to staff, clients and stakeholders in PowerPoint so it makes sense to use this format for the purposes of communicating the agency's overall business plan.

The fundamental difference between this option and the written document, is that a slide deck is a presentable format. So typically you might be in the room with your business partners, walking through the presentation on the screen. Whereas in option #1, a written document is not a compelling way to present an idea. It's much more suited as a sent document to be consumed in isolation. That's not to say that a slide deck can't be utilized this way, it's just more common that you would be presenting and talking through your plan with the slides serving as a visual backup to what you say.

There's also a good argument for doing both (ie written document AND slide deck). It comes down to who all the stakeholders are (eg investors, business partners or just you) and whether you intend to present your plan or just document your plan.

Option #3: Lean canvas

The Lean Canvas developed by leanstack.com is a business plan on a page split into 10 boxes. This planning document has become very popular in the tech/startup world and has since been adopted in many other industries, including digital agencies. Be sure to check out our previous article explaining how to use a Lean Canvas for your agency .

The entire business plan fits on a single page which means you obviously need to sweat on every single world and ensure only the most important details are included. We are big supporters of this format because this helps you prioritize and focus your efforts down to the fundamental aspects of your new business.

Option #4: Wiki

In the context of a business, a Wiki is usually an internal website with multiple interlinking articles. The biggest Wiki in the world is Wikipedia and if you want to get really meta, check out Wikipedia's wiki about wikis :

"A wiki (/wɪki/ WIK-ee) is a hypertext publication collaboratively edited and managed by its own audience directly using a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages for the subjects or scope of the project."

Wiki's are generally perceived as internal knowledge bases so if your business plan has executional detail, this might be a good format for documenting processes and methodologies for staff.

Option #5: General Planning tool

Tools like Notion and Trello have grown massively in recent years as more people are working remotely and more work in general is being done collaboratively online.

These types of planning tools are designed to be multi-purpose and fall somewhere between a wiki and a specialized business planning tool.

How to construct the business plan

Now that we've covered the typical business plan structures let's look at the specifics of how you actually go about constructing the business plan and each of the main tasks you need to perform and sections of the business plan.

Market research data gathering

Customer/client research.

Rebekah Edwards, who we spoke to previously stresses the importance of market research with as many potential clients as you can. She interviewed several businesses in their target market when developing their service offerings and pricing. Some of the questions she thought were most helpful included:

• With no other information, what do you think X would cost from an agency? (X being the service in question.)
• What is the biggest roadblock for you to accomplish X in-house? (X being basic content/SEO projects, such as article creation/editing/uploading or strategizing new keywords.)
• How would you typically search for a digital marketing agency? (Referrals, social media, Google search, etc. — this helped us understand how to best market our services)
• If you already work with a digital marketing agency of any kind, what stood out? Why did you sign on the dotted line?
• Have there been digital marketing agencies you've specifically decided not to work with for any particular reason? What were the red flags or the issues with a fit that led you to say no?
• What matters most to you when working with a digital marketing agency? (Examples: data/analytics, frequent communication, hitting deadlines every time, price, niche of expertise, etc.)

Answers to these questions are invaluable as they help you position and market your new digital agency based on customer insight.

Competitor research

The importance of competitor research goes without saying. It's vital you have a good understanding of how your competitors are going to market, how they sell, who they target and what their rough price points are. If you have a friend who owns a small business, ask them to mystery shop at a competitor so they can report back to you what the sales process was like.

The way you position and sell your services should be informed by a combination of both customer insights and competitor insights. Addressing client needs whilst maintaining a unique selling proposition will set your new digital agency up for success!

Building out the business plan

Download our template: digital marketing agency business plan document.

To make edits to the document make sure to download our DOCX template which you can edit directly in Microsoft Word. However if you would prefer a printable PDF, we also provide this option too. Use these templates as a starting point to help you draft your digital marketing business plan:

Below are some of the highlight areas of the plan:

Market Research Findings

We suggest conducting three types of research to inform your marketing agency business plan:

• Qualitative research like one-on-one interviews, focus groups and meetings with prospective clients
• Quantitative reserach like online surveys, mass emails and multivariate testing
• Competitor analysis to determine their strengths and weaknesses

Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and Service Offering

Nailing your USP will be tough especially if you are in a competitive industry / city. Use the previous market research tasks to discover where the gaps are in the market and leverage these insights to position your new agency to be competitive AND different. Perform a SWOT analysis based on your new USP. Then you can determine your actual service offerings and pricing strategy.

Go-To-Market (GTM) Plan and Org Structure

Define your target market - the exact client types who you want to sell to and list the marketing and advertising activities that you will perform that would be most effective in reaching these types of people.

Also list your people (this might not be many on day 1!), sources of advice and support as well as the strategies you'll use to retain your staff and build their skills and knowledge.

Goals Sales Forecasting

This marketing agency business plan template includes goal setting for the next year and goal setting for the next 3 years. This page is structured to help you set SMART goals.

SMART goals are:

• Specific : In the '[Enter a goal]' section describe your goal clearly and ensure you attach a person responsible in the 'Who's responsible' section.
• Measureable : Ensure the actions you list in the 'Actions to achieve goal' have an objective outcome
• Achievable : Ensure you sense-check your goals with your team and all agree that they are attainable
• Relevant : Ensure this is a priority goal and will help your new agency grow
• Time-bound : Enter a due date to ensure the goal doesn't get forgotten

Use the Cash flow forecast table as a simple way to visualize cash-on-hand in your first 12 months. Add rows to estimate your monthly expenses like payroll, rent, utilities, subscriptions, insurance, fees and other ongoing costs.

Tools and Tech

Finally, list out all the tools and technology your new agency will likely need to run an efficient operation. We've listed SEOptimer for you already because it's one of the best, low-cost lead generation tools for your agency. Over 2,000 digital agencies use SEOptimer to generate white label site audits and embed an audit form on their agency website to capture new lead details.

Creative Agency Business Plan Slide Deck PPTX Template

If you prefer a slide deck template, use this creative agency business plan example in PowerPoint format:

Tim's background is in digital marketing working for both large and small digital agencies and diverse client types. He has a passion for tech, software and staying up to date on the latest search engine news.

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What Is a Consulting Business Plan?

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How to Write a Business Plan for Consulting?

Consulting business plan template.

• General Business Forms
• Starting a Business
• Business Plan Template

A Consulting Business Plan is a type of business plan that individuals can use when they would like to start or improve their consulting business. The purpose of the document is to set in written form all of the necessary information about a consulting business, which can include its goals, strategies, management structure, and more. A Consulting Business Plan template can be downloaded below .

Alternate Name:

• Consulting Services Business Plan.

The largest part of your business plan content will depend on the type of consulting you are planning on providing to your clients. For example, an IT Consulting Business Plan is supposed to state specific IT goals that the business is supposed to achieve, describe particular services that will be provided for the clients, state what kind of specialists shall be hired to perform these services, etc.

There are no particular regulations applicable to a business plan, which is why it is up to you to understand how long your business plan should be and what should be there. You can compile or modify it to your convenience and it will be acceptable, as long as your plan serves the purpose you make for it.

You can start writing your business plan with a draft where you will decide what kind of information you would like to include in it. If your company provides services related to business consulting, your business consulting plan should contain parts that will indicate it. Generally, there are several sections that can be included in your plan:

• Consulting Company Details . You can start your business plan with an introduction where you can describe your consulting business by stating its mission, vision, what problems it will be solving, what is its uniqueness, etc. After reading this paragraph, an individual should have a clear understanding of what your operation is about (or will be about).
• Offered Services And Marketing Plan . Here you can list what kind of services you are willing to offer your clients and how you will be promoting them. Additionally, you can describe sales strategies that you are going to apply to the services your enterprise will perform.
• Market And Competitive Analysis . Individuals can use this section to analyze market tendencies and show how high is the demand for the services they are going to provide. Here you can also state your main competitors, which strategies they use to promote services, what are their strengths, and what place they take on the market. In your market analysis , you can also add a forecast of how you think the market will be developing in the future.
• Financial Background . One of the most important aspects of a business plan is how the company is going to get financing, and what will be its main expenses. It all can be compiled in a financial forecast where you will describe projected profits and losses, balance, cash flow, and other figures.
• Management Structure . In this part of the plan, you can present a scheme that will show how your consulting company will be managed. It can include information about who will be CEO, if there will be any VPs, how many managers will be hired (or already hired), which departments the company will have (or has). In some cases, individuals find it more convenient to attach a Business Organizational Chart to their business plan to give a more precise picture of the management situation.

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Consulting Firm Marketing Plan Template

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Running a successful consulting firm requires more than just expertise and knowledge. It requires a well-crafted marketing plan that effectively communicates your unique value proposition and captures the attention of your target clients. That's where ClickUp's Consulting Firm Marketing Plan Template comes in.

With this template, you can:

• Define your target audience and create buyer personas to tailor your messaging and strategies
• Develop a comprehensive marketing strategy that includes content marketing, social media, SEO, and more
• Track and analyze your marketing efforts to measure the success of your campaigns and make data-driven decisions

Don't miss out on potential clients! Use ClickUp's Consulting Firm Marketing Plan Template to create a winning strategy that will elevate your consulting firm to new heights.

Benefits of Consulting Firm Marketing Plan Template

A well-crafted marketing plan is essential for any consulting firm looking to stand out in a crowded market. The Consulting Firm Marketing Plan Template offers a variety of benefits, including:

• Streamlining your marketing efforts by providing a clear roadmap and actionable steps
• Identifying and targeting your ideal clients to maximize lead generation and conversion
• Showcasing your expertise, value proposition, and unique solutions to differentiate yourself from competitors
• Creating a consistent and cohesive brand message across all marketing channels
• Tracking and measuring the success of your marketing initiatives to optimize future campaigns and increase ROI.

Main Elements of Consulting Firm Marketing Plan Template

ClickUp's Consulting Firm Marketing Plan template is designed to help you effectively manage and track your marketing initiatives. Here are the main elements of this List template:

• Custom Statuses: Keep track of the progress of your marketing tasks with 6 different statuses, including Cancelled, Complete, In Progress, Needs Input, Planned, and To Do.
• Custom Fields: Utilize 6 custom fields such as Quarter, Task Type, Impact, Progress, Percent Completion, and Effort to capture and analyze important data related to your marketing plan.
• Custom Views: Access 5 different views, including Key Results, Timeline, Getting Started Guide, Objectives, and Progress Board to gain a comprehensive overview of your marketing plan and easily monitor progress.
• Project Management: Enhance your marketing plan with ClickUp's robust project management features, including task dependencies, time tracking, collaboration tools, and integrations with popular marketing tools.

How to Use Marketing Plan for Consulting Firm

If you're a consulting firm looking to create a comprehensive marketing plan, follow these steps to make the most out of our Consulting Firm Marketing Plan Template:

1. Define your target audience

Start by clearly identifying your target audience. Who are the ideal clients for your consulting services? Consider factors such as industry, company size, geographic location, and specific challenges they may be facing. Understanding your target audience is crucial for creating effective marketing strategies.

Use custom fields in ClickUp to define and categorize your target audience based on key criteria.

2. Set marketing goals

Determine what you want to achieve with your marketing efforts. Are you aiming to increase brand awareness, generate more leads, or establish thought leadership in your industry? Setting specific, measurable goals will help you track your progress and stay focused.

Create Goals in ClickUp to set and track your marketing objectives, ensuring alignment with your overall business goals.

3. Develop your marketing strategies

Now that you know your target audience and goals, it's time to brainstorm and develop marketing strategies that will help you reach them. Consider a mix of online and offline tactics such as content marketing, social media campaigns, email marketing, webinars, networking events, and partnerships.

Use the Board view in ClickUp to organize and prioritize your marketing strategies, assigning tasks to team members responsible for each tactic.

4. Implement and track your marketing activities

Once you have your strategies in place, it's time to put them into action. Start executing your marketing plan and closely monitor the results. Track metrics such as website traffic, lead generation, social media engagement, and conversion rates to measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

Use Automations in ClickUp to automate repetitive marketing tasks, such as sending out email campaigns or scheduling social media posts. Additionally, utilize Dashboards to track and visualize your marketing performance in real-time.

By following these steps and utilizing the Consulting Firm Marketing Plan Template in ClickUp, you'll be well-equipped to create and execute a successful marketing plan that drives growth and success for your consulting firm.

Get Started with ClickUp’s Consulting Firm Marketing Plan Template

Consulting firms can use this Marketing Plan Template to create a comprehensive strategy that effectively promotes their services and attracts new clients.

First, hit “Add Template” to sign up for ClickUp and add the template to your Workspace. Make sure you designate which Space or location in your Workspace you’d like this template applied.

Next, invite relevant members or guests to your Workspace to start collaborating.

Now you can take advantage of the full potential of this template to create a successful marketing plan:

• Use the Key Results View to set and track specific goals and metrics for your marketing efforts
• The Timeline View will help you visualize and manage the duration and deadlines of your marketing activities
• Use the Getting Started Guide View to find step-by-step instructions and resources to kickstart your marketing plan
• The Objectives View will allow you to define and align your marketing objectives with the overall business goals
• Use the Progress Board View to track the progress of each marketing task and ensure timely completion
• Organize tasks into six different statuses: Cancelled, Complete, In Progress, Needs Input, Planned, To Do, to keep track of progress
• Update statuses as you progress through tasks to keep team members informed of progress
• Monitor and analyze the marketing plan to ensure maximum effectiveness and ROI

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FREE 8+ Consultant Business Plan Samples in PDF | MS Word

In starting a business, such as a consultant business, there are several things that you have to obtain and comply with to get started. A  business plan  is among them. Since you are here, it is safe to assume that you are looking for a business plan for your consulting business, or you want to create one. If that is the case, you are in the right place. In this article, we have gathered a set of  consulting business plan templates  and examples. Additionally, we have collated the things that you need to know in creating this type of document.

Consultant Business Plan

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Whether it is a startup company or big corporate, a business needs a  roadmap  that will direct a business towards its goals. To do it, a business owner has to obtain a business plan. A business plan is a type of document that contains an overview of the goals of a business and the methods involved to attain these goals, making this document the most crucial part of a consultant  business development .

Just like creating a  consultant contract agreement , if you are planning to develop a written consultant business plan, it would help if you know who your target audience is. For example, the reason you are creating a business plan is to support your  business loan proposal  that you are going to submit to a bank. You have to develop the document in a way that will appeal to the bank. To do it, you can include items such as target market analysis, business goals, expenses, marketing strategy, budget, business growth strategy, and sales forecasts. Including the mentioned contents can also help in attracting new clients.

Let’s take a look at how consultant business plans look like. Just download the following business plan examples and templates.

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Creating a consultant business plan can be tough, especially if you build it for the first time. That is why we have included the following tips in this article. Use these pointers to create a strategic business plan.

One of the mistakes that people do in  professional writing , including writing a consultant business plan, is focusing on all the things in mind at once. This habit will make you end up confused with what to write. To avoid this situation, we recommend you to concentrate on the ideas that you have when writing your first draft. Checking the grammar and structuring the contents should come after you write everything in the paper. By doing it, you can efficiently structure the raw information that you have in mind.

You may have an idea in your head, but writing a wedding consultant business plan or any consultant business plan will need specific information to complete. Thus, you will have to gather the necessary information through research.  Target market analysis  and  cost analysis  are a few of the research methods that you may have to conduct.

Several consultants are assisting businesses in any field. In the cosmetics industry, they have beauty consultants. In the wedding industry, they have wedding coordinators. The question is, which area are you good at? Don’t just settle in that question. Ask yourself why your potential clients should choose you over your competitors? Know your strengths and use them as your marketing edge.

Just like an  interior design business plan , you will need feedback from certain people to determine if your consultancy business plan is durable enough for implementation. By doing it, you may discover the flaws that you have not noticed before. To get the necessary feedback, you can start by talking to your friends, family, and people in the business.

Nobody wants to read a 12-page business plan, so if you want your potential client to take a look at your consulting business plan, write it in a way that will catch their interest. Do it by making a clear and on point plan. In this way, you can put all the necessary information in fewer pages. If you need to create a long explanation, you may want to set a meeting with the person or include a separate document for further clarification.

Creating a business plan is crucial in starting a consultant business. However, it does not mean that you will not need it anymore once you have established your business. In fact, you will rely on this plan to grow your business. Therefore, you must regularly check your business plan and make necessary improvements from time to time. It will ensure that your firm can overcome the obstacles that it encounters due to its affecting factors that are continually changing throughout the lifespan of your business.

One of the factors that influence the consultancy industry is the change in client demands. This trend is impacting the  internal operations of consulting firms . According to Deltek’s survey, fifty-two percent of the leaders in the consulting industry believe that a few years from now, effective response to client demands will become the most prioritized business development in the industry.

As one of the essential items that you have to obtain in developing a consulting business, you have to create this type of document seriously. With the information that we have provided in this article, you should have an idea on how to make it happen. You may also check our article about the other item that you will need in developing your business, which is the consultant marketing plan .

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Business Consultant Marketing Plan Template

Download this Business Consultant Marketing Plan Template Design in Word, Google Docs, Apple Pages Format. Easily Editable, Printable, Downloadable.

Having a tough time creating a business plan on how you can market your consulting business? Why don’t you take a look at our Business consultant Marketing Plan Template which is suitable for your business? This template can be used if you’re planning to open your consulting business or if you want to improve your existing one. It has ready-made content that you can simply personalize to fit your distinctive business needs. To ensure effective content, we’ve chosen the right professionals to craft this business document. You have the option to choose a device where you want to download and edit this user-friendly template. Avail today!

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