To understand the relationship between business plan and marketing plan, think of them in terms of a pizza. A business plan is the whole pie. A marketing plan is a slice of the pie, but a very important slice. The difference between business plan and marketing plan is that a company's business plan provides an overview of every aspect of a company while its marketing plan focuses on strategies and efforts to generate sales and revenue.

Tip

A marketing plan is part of a business plan; a business plan is an organization-wide plan that covers every aspect of a company's operation.

Business Plan Examples

A business plan typically includes the following:

  • An overview of the business
  • A description of products or services and how they are produced
  • A description of the business model for the company
  • Identification of the executive leadership and management team
  • Cash flow statements
  • Charts and graphs on financial projections related to sales, costs, expenditures and more.

In short, a business plan sets out the company's future objectives and strategies for achieving them in the the medium- and long-term. One aspect of the business plan may be a summary of how the company is going to market its products and services, and who it is going to market them to. This is the marketing summary; a high-level view of the marketing plan.

As a basic example, a business plan for a pizza shop would state the location of the business along with all related expenses like monthly rent and utilities, a description of the types of pizza and other foods to be produced and the costs associated with these like ingredient and labor costs, projected monthly gross and net profits based on financial data from other pizza shops in the area and a basic run-down of the company's day-to-day operation.

Parts of a Marketing Summary

An organization's marketing plan is included in the overall business plan; however, it is written in summary format. Included in a marketing summary are the marketing objectives, and the strategies and tactics the company will utilize to generate sales and revenue. The marketing summary section of the business plan also gives a general overview of advertising plans that will be implemented to achieve marketing objectives and goals.

Detailed Marketing Plan Example

The complete marketing plan is a separate, comprehensive document that goes into more detail about objectives, goals and tactics. This document guides the implementation of efforts by the company's marketing, sales and advertising departments.

One marketing plan example for a pizza shop could be an effort to attract tourists during the summer vacation season. After identifying the marketing goal, the plan details the ideal consumer persona, the shop's competitors, the marketing campaign's cost and the type of marketing the pizza shop will employ to attract its ideal consumers, such as offering an order of wings with every large pie sold.

The marketing department uses the plan to align how products and services are to be positioned in the marketplace in terms of distribution channels and pricing. The plan describes in detail monthly, quarterly and annual sales volume goals that need to be reached by the sales team.

The plan also includes a section that sets forth the communications platform for the advertising team and/or outside advertising agency to use to develop advertising, promotions and events that align with the communications messaging strategy to reach customers and clients in the marketplace.

Business Plan Audience

Generally speaking, the business plan is shared only with key executives within the company and external members of the financial community. It is typically written to target potential investors, stockholders and accountants. It is most often used to generate funds to provide working capital to execute the plans and programs the company has identified as necessary to maintain a competitive position and sustainable success in the marketplace.

When a business plan is shared with these individuals and groups, it may be presented with one or more marketing plan examples and the presentation may even illustrate the relationship between business plan and marketing plan in an effort to sell the idea more effectively.

Marketing Plan Audience

The marketing plan is not shared with consumers and clients, but the contents are aimed at them. The complete plan is an internal document that is usually shared only with those responsible for marketing, sales and advertising efforts. The marketing plan includes results from research that help identify tactics to communicate with customers to get them to purchase products.

The plan includes strategies on pricing and incentives to gain new clients for a service-oriented business and increase sales volume with retail distributors. The marketing plan is an internal strategic document developed to win customers, clients, achieve sales and distribution goals, compete with other businesses and increase the company’s market share.