سه شنبه ۲۳ اردیبهشت ۰۴

Why do we need a business plan?

A business plan is a document that explains the business, the company's strategy, and the earnings prospects. Necessary for raising funds necessary for the start-up and continuation of business.
Sources of funds procured by companies are divided into “loans (borrowing)” with obligation to repay and “investment / investment” without obligation to repay.
In the case of loans, candidates include public financial institutions from local governments and the Japan Finance Corporation, private financial institutions such as banks and credit unions, and social lending.
In the case of investments and investments that do not require repayment, funds are raised in exchange for handing over shares to venture capital and individual investors (angel investors).
In any case, without a convincing business plan, you cannot withdraw funds. This is because no one lends money to businesses that are supposed to be unable to repay, and no one invests in companies that do not feel the potential for future growth.
Gain confidence from financial institutions and investors by showing the future profitability of your business in the business plan.
Do you have a business plan? I do not need?
A business plan is also a document that can be used as a hint to objectively review and improve your business. Even if you don't have any recent funding plans, you might want to create one.
Some of you may think that you don't need a business plan. Increase your sales as much as possible and keep your expenses low.
However, you can also plan tax savings by predicting sales, and if you have an unsuccessful company trying to gather human resources, you can tell the appeal if you have a business plan.
If you are starting a new business, you should make it.
This is the format of the “Foundation Plan” provided by the Japan Finance Corporation, which provides start-up loans at low interest rates. Only one A3 size sheet. In addition to downloading the format of the founding plan, you can view examples of various projects on the website of the Japan Finance Corporation.
after-found-plan_1.png
Source: Japan Finance Corporation
If there is a format provided by the funding side, you can try to make a business plan using it first.
What should I write in the business plan?
To create a business plan, first write the purpose, content, and strategy of the business. Basically it is necessary to explain in text, but it can be effectively explained by using figures.
After that, we will make sales and profit forecasts and cash flow forecasts in spreadsheets. Based on this prediction, we will consider how much money is required at the time of opening the business and whether it is possible to invest money by yourself.
If you need to borrow money or receive investment, based on this business plan, explain your business to banks and investors and ask them to make money. It is important to explain that “I can make profits in the year, return money, pay dividends”.
Contents to be included in the business plan
Here are some examples of what should be included in the business plan. It is not necessary to include all of these, so please select and use them.
・ Profile of founder (including founding members)
Let's make it a profile that understands why this person (this member) can succeed in this business. Even if you spell out the past that is not directly related to your business, it will be counterproductive, so you should be careful.
・ Vision / Philosophy / Purpose
Even if you have little business experience, you can approach the realization of financing if you can convey your passion and ambitions to “make customers happy like this” and “want to be a society like this”.
・ Business Overview
Objectively and concretely convey the business model to realize the vision.
・ Strengths and characteristics of our services and products
Even if you enter the same business as your competitors, it may seem that the prospects for growth and social implications are weak. Research your rivals, tell them about the product value that only your company can offer, and understand the uniqueness of your business.
・ Market environment and competition We
will briefly communicate the environment surrounding our business, such as market needs, policy trends related to business, and the existence of competitors.
・ Sales and marketing strategies No
matter how good products and services are, if you can not find the demand of the world and acquire customers, it will not be established as a business. This is an element that tends to be overlooked in new businesses that focus on ideas. It tells the public about the existence and merits of the company's services through the route, and tells how much personnel and budget it will spend on marketing.
・ Production methods, suppliers, etc.
No matter how good a product is, you can't go without the basics of making cheaply (stocking) and selling high. If you have secured a supplier in the pre-opening stage, you can communicate the seriousness of your business to financial institutions and investors. In addition, products that can affect the human body, such as food and cosmetics, must have production methods that ensure safety in a clean environment.
・ Sales forecasts Based on
the characteristics of our products and services, the market environment, and the status of competition, we will make a forecast and make numbers.
Profit and loss statement forecast Let's make a profit and loss statement for the first one to several years, that is, forecast profit. In addition to the sales forecast, it is necessary to make a prediction that it will cost so much depending on the organization and purchasing method of the company.
・ Opening funds
Calculate how much money is required to execute this business plan.

Web marketing = not advertising! Basic knowledge to attract customers on the web

The world of web marketing where various methods and concepts exist. When you want to achieve your goals through the website, there are not a few web staff who are worried about the measures they should take now, such as "SEO? Web advertising? SNS? Owned media?" The
In this article, we will introduce information that can be used as a hint by those troubled Web staffs who "determine what measures should be taken now". By all means, "or company that for what goals you want to achieve through the Web site?" Please read while confirming once again.
After reading this article, you will find the following:
○ Overview of web marketing and the most important thing
○ Types and usage of web customers ○
Specific examples of content marketing
1. What is Web marketing?
First about web marketing. The overall picture of web marketing can be explained as follows.
When the goal that the company wants to achieve on the website is set as the “purpose” (assuming inquiries and purchases in the diagram below), the series of actions to achieve that goal is called “Web marketing”. First, user data is collected and analyzed using tools such as Google Analytics. Based on the results of the analysis, measures are taken for the purpose, attracting customers on the Web and returning to data collection ...
Data collection and data analysis to achieve the goal is of course important, but data cannot be collected and analyzed without attracting customers. For example, if you say, “You can't analyze data on a website that is viewed by only one person a day (= you can't achieve the goal),” it is quite natural. In any case, “collecting customers, that is, getting many users to access their website” is the most important issue in web marketing.
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2. How to attract customers to the website
In the previous chapter, we explained the importance of attracting customers in web marketing. There are three main types of attracting customers.
(1) Paid media: Paid advertising in general: Wide spread (
2) Owned media: In-house managed media: Spread to customer base (
3) Earned media: SNS, etc .: Spread to fan base
Web ads such as Google ads are effective as a way to earn a lot of access at once (= attract customers), but it is not very suitable as a method for attracting customers to the company's own site over the medium to long term. As you know, web ads can expect a certain number of access increases while they are running, but if you stop the ads, the normal access will almost always drop at once. In other words, since advertisements are generally “expenditure” and not “assets”, it is recommended to build a mechanism for attracting customers using owned and earned media as a measure that can be implemented for a long time at a low cost. is. Nonetheless, I want the explosive power of Web advertising to spread new articles and trending content.
It would be good to aim to operate a system that can attract customers without relying on advertisements, while also utilizing advertisements as needed .
▽ Thorough explanation on how to use Google Ads
3. What is content marketing?
Now that we understand how to attract customers, the next topic is “content” for attracting customers. In the above, “② Owned media” was mentioned, but one of the materials for attracting customers to the website is in-house media (blog).
As shown in the diagram below, content marketing refers to marketing activities that aim to achieve the goals of the company by distributing content such as blogs and providing value to users. One image of web marketing is content marketing.
Content marketing is a very useful method for attracting customers in the modern society where it has become commonplace to find the information you want from the vast amount of information on the Internet. This is because, if you usually try to remember that when searching on the Internet, it is rare to click a URL that says "advertising" in the top of the page, "in addition to advertising, towards the top I think there are many cases where you click on a page that seems to be close to the information you want to see . This is where content comes to life.
[Example]
Goal you want to achieve on the website of a used car dealership website:
Keywords you may search for inquiries / visit reservations from the website : "Used car cheap" "Used car assessment criteria"
article: "Used car assessment criteria "Three tricks for high-value appraisal"
Path to achieve the goal: Search → Article → LP → Inquiry
As shown in the example above, `` Rather than aiming to achieve the goal directly (= inquiry), provide the information that the user wants to know '' to `` find '' your site and lead the article to the goal at the entrance This is a specific example of content marketing.
In addition to the articles listed here, there are various types of content such as quiz pages, videos, and white papers. Let's find the fusion point of the theme that the user may be interested in and the information that the company is likely to provide, and first aim to create content that can be found by the user.
Finally
Up to this point, I have introduced web marketing and content marketing, though it is simple.
The goals you want to achieve on the website, such as product purchases, e-mail magazine registration, and inquiries, vary depending on your company's services and business. It ’s important to identify that your site is n’t enough to meet that goal. Is there a problem with the ability to attract customers? Is it possible to attract customers but not reach the goal? I would like you to decide the next move after correctly understanding the current situation.

Fusion of marketing and technology

In addition to IT, AI has come to be used in the marketing field.
Going back to the past, “database marketing” flourished in the 1980s. Store customer information and purchase history in a database, quickly and efficiently target segmentation and approach potential customers through direct mail (DM) and other reactions.
"Relationship marketing" and "One to One marketing" are derived from database marketing. Emphasizing relationships with customers, nurture customers as fans and retain them as repeaters. RFM analysis was used as the analysis method. RFM is an acronym for Recency (Last Purchase Date), Frequency (Purchase Frequency), and Monetary (Purchase Amount), which segments customers by this data.
The difference between these methods and conventional marketing is that the emphasis is on the development of “lifetime customers” who can continue to buy for a long time using a database. The value provided by lifetime customers is called LTV (Life Time Value).
Recently, digital marketing via the Internet is the mainstream. The advantage is that CPI (Cost Per Inquiry) and CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) can be visualized. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the basis for attracting customers on websites, and the use of social media and influencers is also popular.
In light of such a current situation, digital marketing that will attract attention in the future is listed.
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Web marketers watch every day. Recommended sites for collecting IT information
Content marketing
The number of companies that set up owned media and simultaneously send information via SNS has increased. Considering the advent of the next-generation communication standard 5G, mobile media content and rich media content such as video distribution will be emphasized. There is also the possibility of interactive content using AR and VR.
Account-based marketing (ABM)
This method is mainly a BtoB concept of focusing resources on specific corporate accounts and implementing personalized campaigns. Unlike campaigns aimed at the general public, the target is clearly defined. Marketing automation (MA) leads are a completely different approach.
Omni Channel
This is a technique for seamless (seamless) sales by integrating online EC sites and offline stores. In the promotion, paper media such as mass media, DM and catalogs are linked to the website. There was also the concept of OtoO (Online to Offline), but the feature is that it enables consistent purchases on mobile devices rather than using coupons.
Summary: What is selling
Frankly, there is no “selling without doing anything”. Therefore, it is necessary to consider and implement strategies and methods for “selling” and “mechanism”. That is marketing.
“Sellable” is based on 4P, and there are items to consider such as whether it is a great product, attractive price, topical promotion, or developing a new distribution channel. It is also important to seize the target and differentiate from competitors. Regarding “structure”, there is one way to actively introduce digital marketing, such as content, ABM, and omnichannel. If you establish a method of gaining trust that allows customers to refer you to other customers, that can be said to be a mechanism.
The ultimate marketing is to establish a strategy and method, and that the system can be properly rotated to “sell even if not sold”.
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