product description of business plan

How to describe your product and service in a business plan like a pro

It’s deceiving.

You’d think that this part of a business plan does exactly what it says on the tin–describe your product & service offering– right ?

And yes, you are partially right. 

But there’s a very specific way in which this description should be written to make sure that your business has the best chance of succeeding – in real life and under the eagle eye of a potential backer (if you’re preparing a business plan for external financing purposes).

Keep reading to find out the secret sauce to writing a winning product and service description:

WHAT is the Product and Service Description in a Business Plan?

This business plan section is also known as:

• Product and/or Service Overview

HOW Do You Write a Product and Service Description in a Business Plan?

So, what should a good product/service overview contain?

Here are some items to consider including into this section:

1.     Portfolio:

The range of products and/or services that a business offers to potential and current customers.

2.     Features and benefits (value proposition):

Explain what the product/service does and how it works.

3.     Problem and solution (value proposition cont.):

The problem(s) the product or service solves. Every business needs to solve a problem that its customers face. Explain what the problem is and how the product or service solves it.

4.     Innovation:

If the company is doing something new and different, explain why the world needs the innovation.

5.     Proprietary advantages:

Any proprietary features that contribute to a competitive advantage. This could include: intellectual property (e.g., copyright, trademark, patent filings, trade secret), exclusive agreements with suppliers or vendors, exclusive licenses (e.g., for a product, service or technology), company’s own research and development activities.

6.     Development stage:

Current stage of development of the product / service (e.g., idea, development, testing, prototype, already on the market).

7.     Product life-cycle:

Estimate the life span of the product or service.

Specify whether the product or service under consideration is a short-lived fad or has a long-term potential.

8.     Future:

Mention plans for changes and new additions to the current portfolio of products / services.

Describe any plans to move into new markets in the future (e.g., serving different types or sizes of customers, industries, geographic areas).

Make your best guess at when the business will be ready to address these markets and what it needs to do first to be ready.

9.     Limitations:

If applicable, explain any risks or limitations associated with the product (e.g., liability issues like guarantees or returns), along with any legal advice received regarding these issues.

10.  Visual aids:

Use photos, images, diagrams and other graphics to help the reader visualize and learn about the products / services.

If the business is tackling several distinct problems through different products / services, describe the solutions individually .

However, for a large line of products / services, there is no need to list each one, just identifying the general categories will suffice.

How LONG Is the Product and Service Chapter of a Business Plan?

This part of a business plan can be very short, just a couple of paragraphs, or it can spread over multiple pages, depending on how many products/services you offer and how much explanation they require.

If your products or services are particularly complex , technical , innovative , or proprietary , you will want to provide more information and spend considerable time describing them.

This is especially true if you are seeking funding for a new product or service, particularly one that is not immediately understandable to the business plan readers, and if potential funders are likely to be motivated by the specifics.

In any case, when describing a product or service, provide just enough information to paint a clear picture of what it is and does . A brief explanation of what you will be making, selling or doing is appropriate here.

Excessive detail makes this section cumbersome for a reader to wade through. Reserve detailed descriptions (e.g., production processes) for the Appendix.

In any case, it is a good idea to first summarize the value proposition of each product or service into a one short sentence, and only then continue with a more detailed description of the product or service.

If any images or graphics are available that would contribute to the understanding of the product or service, the writers of a business plan should use them.

Otherwise, include any product or service details , such as technical specifications, drawings, photos, patent documents and other support information, in the Appendix section of the business plan document.

TOP 4 TIPS for Writing a Product and Service Overview

Tip #1: features v. benefits.

Don’t just list the features of the product / service.

Instead, describe the specific benefits it will offer to customers – from their perspective.

Make it clear what your customers will gain through buying your product or service. Include information about the specific benefits of your product or service – from your customers’ perspective.

Features are not the same thing as benefits. And you need to understand both.

Confused? Let’s clarify:

What Is the Difference Between Features and Benefits?

Tip #2: problem v. solution.

If at all possible, present the information in the Problem >> Solution format.

Start by describing the key problem that your customers have, immediately followed by the solution with which you will address this need for your target market.

Tip #3: Competitive Advantage

You should also comment on your ability to meet consumers’ key problems or unmet needs in a way that brings your product or service advantages over the competition.

For example:

• If you have a common business, such as a restaurant:

Explain why your customers need your particular restaurant. Do you offer lower prices? More convenient hours? A better location? A different concept, such as a vegan ice-cream pop up store? A specialty that is not otherwise available in your area, such as a Peruvian ceviche or Hungarian goulash?

• If your company is doing something new and innovative :

What is it about the existing solutions that is subpar? Maybe you are improving on a mediocre product category, such as creating better medical uniforms for healthcare workers (e.g., more flattering cut, trendy designs, sustainable materials). Or perhaps your new blockchain solution has the potential to entirely eliminate the middle-men in an entire industry.

Although the subject of competitive advantage regarding the business as a whole will be fully explored in the Market and Competitor Analysis part of a business plan, it is advisable to touch on it here also – in the context of the company’s products and service.

Tip #4: Validating the Problem and Solution

Speaking of which, when you are doing market research and analysis for your business plan, remember to validate the problem and solution your product or service is addressing.

There is a plethora of minor issues out there that people are perfectly fine with just tolerating. To build a solid business, though, you need a problem that a sufficient number of people are motivated to solve. That is, that they recognize it as a problem that’s worth paying you to solve. Even if they didn’t realize it was solvable until they were presented with your solution.

So, how do you get evidence that prospects are willing to pay for your solution?

Validation of Problem

Describe what you’ve done so far to confirm that the problem you are focused on is a real problem for your customers.

• Existing Business:

For an established business, this is probably just a matter of recapping your success in the marketplace. Your customers have already voted with their wallets.

• New Business:

For a startup, it is important to survey and have conversations with as many potential customers as possible about where they are having problems, how they solve them today, and validate that they are interested enough in addressing those problems to pay for a good solution.

Validation of Solution

Describe how you have tested your ideas with existing or potential customers to confirm that there is a good market for the products or services you plan to offer. Summarize the positive customer feedback or market traction that you have achieved with your solution so far.

For an established business, the answers probably lie in your paying customer base – their existence itself, combined with their repeat business, word-of-mouth referrals, follow-up customer surveys, and other indicators of customer satisfaction.

For a new business, you can start validating your solution immediately by trying it out with potential customers, even informally or at no charge, to get their opinion. If your product or service does not exist yet, talk to prospects about what you plan to offer and measure their feedback.

In summary, this section should answer the million dollar question:

What makes you think that people will buy, be satisfied with, and recommend your products or services?

Related Questions

What are products and services.

Products and services are items that businesses offer for sale to a market. While services are intangible, meaning that they do not exist in a physical form, products are of tangible nature, in other words – you can touch them.

What is a Product Line?

Product line is a group of related products that are all produced or sold by one entity and typically marketed under one brand name.

What is a Service Line?

Service line is a group of related services that are all produced or sold by one entity and typically marketed under one brand name.

Sign up for our Newsletter

Get more articles just like this straight into your mailbox.

Related Posts

Recent Posts

ZenBusinessPlans

Home » Business Plans

How to Describe your Product in a Business Plan

The product or products your business intends to produce or offer will have to be described in the product description section of your business plan. This section of your business plan is meant to explain how your product will stand out from comparable items in the market.

You have to clearly explain its concept, coupled with all aspects of purchasing, manufacturing, packaging, and distribution. You should also identify your suppliers, costs, and how the product you are offering fits into the current market.

Note that the product description in your business plan is more than a simple listing of product features. In this section, you will need to highlight your product’s most unique characteristics that will ensure it stands out in the marketplace and attract buyers who won’t mind paying your price.

Note that a properly written product description in your business plan can entice investors and help your business grow. Make sure you describe what you are offering in layman’s terms, to guarantee that someone who isn’t conversant with your business will grasp and be excited about it.

It may also be necessary to provide some basic background if this is an area or industry that people are not so familiar with. While you write up the Products and Services description section of your business plan, always keep your reader in mind.

What to Include in the Products and Services Description Section of Your Business Plan

Just as was noted above, the products and services section of your business plan will have to explain in detail your product or service, its demand in your market, and how it intends to compete with other businesses selling the same or similar products or services. Nonetheless, the product and services description section of your business plan is expected to include:

The Product or Service Description

It is important the product description section of your business plan clearly explains the concept of your product, coupled with all aspects of purchasing, manufacturing, packaging, and distribution. What are your product and service, and how does it work? How will this product benefit your customers? How do you plan to make it or how do you intend to get it made?

Product Comparison

This section of your business plan will also have to explain how your product compares with similar products in the market. What makes this product or service unique or better than what’s already obtainable in the market? Why would anyone prefer your product or do business with you?

You will need to describe how and why you are competitive. How do you stand out, and why do your business and everything it offers have such a viable chance at succeeding? In talking about your product or service, always try to answer why a client would want it and how it can make their lives better or more profitable?

Accreditations/Intellectual Property

For businesses that have had their product tested by industry experts, you must include this information when describing your product. Don’t forget to highlight any certifications, trademarks, copyrights, or patents.

Have it in mind that these added advantages or achievements can give you and your product an upper hand. Verified patents and trademarks can also heighten the value of your product especially since it shows that only your company can manufacture the product for the life of the patent.

Have it in mind that a product’s life cycle includes the idea, prototype, and expansion stages. If you are still in the idea stage, you must buttress in your description how you intend to get the product made and why your product matters.

If you maybe already have a prototype, outline your plans for evaluating the prototype and manufacturing your product. If your business has been making the product but is looking to expand to keep up with demand, ensure you explain this when describing your product in your business plan.

You will also want to include the cost of your product and how that cost aligns with other comparable products on the market. In very concise detail, explain how you came to this price, including the cost to manufacture, selling price, and profit margin.

Sales and Distribution Strategy

Also, take your time to explain how and where you will sell your product. Have in mind that your options may include online stores, brick-and-mortar locations, and vendors. If you already have vendors selling your product, ensure to note who they are and their locations in this section of your business plan.

Fulfillment

When describing your product in your business plan, it is also important you describe your plan to ensure your product gets to the intended customers. This should include manufacturing details and delivery specifics. If you plan to outsource the production of your goods, don’t forget to note manufacturer specifics such as location and production time. Also, remember to include the approximate delivery times and methods.

Requirements

Will you require any special equipment or technology to provide your product or service? Also explain if any specialized technology, materials, or equipment will be required to manufacture your product.

You will also have to explain your plans for product development and introduction especially as your business grows.

Photos or Brochures

Also, make sure that your potential investors can get a good insight into your product through photos and brochures. Don’t forget that your business plan is expected to have an appendix for photos and brochures. Also, don’t forget to refer to them in the product description section.

Tips for Writing a Product Description

To ensure you describe your product thoroughly, here are some vital tips to guide you;

• Always remember the reader. The product description section of your business plan must note your product’s most vital information. Always remember to make this section very easy to read and understand. Consider making it better by leveraging numbered lists and bullets.
• Focus on benefits. When describing your product, you must explain how its features can provide value to consumers. Translate your features into benefits, and remember that the aim is to describe how your product or service will be a solution to a problem or improve a client or customer’s life.
• Highlight the features of your product or service. To attain substantial success in any business, your business will need the ability to set itself apart from other businesses that offer or sell the same products and services. Take your time to analyze key features, such as price point or level of service, or anything that makes your product unique in the market.
• Show off a little. Don’t forget that you are selling a product and also selling yourself as the most viable provider of that product. Ensure to include all vital educational or industry-specific experiences and awards in this section. If you have endorsements or testimonials specific to your product, include them as well.
• Show the need for your product. Also make sure you explain how your product will cater to a need or improve life, showing why your product is very necessary to the consumer. This is very pertinent if your product has no current market.

The product and services description section of your business plan is meant to provide the reader with an explicit understanding of why you are in business, what you sell, how you will compete with what’s already available, or how you intend to fill a niche that no one else is currently meeting. Noted above are things you need to consider when creating the product description section of your business plan to ensure that it will indeed grab your readers’ attention.

More on Business Plans

• Search Search Please fill out this field.
• Building Your Business
• Becoming an Owner
• Business Plans

How to Write the Business Plan Products and Services Section

Get tips on writing the products and services part of your business plan

• The Products and Services Section
• What to Include
• Tips on Writing the Section

The products and services section of your business plan is more than just a list of what your business is going to provide. This section of your business plan should include details about how you'll price products and services, how you'll fulfill orders, and other details that investors need to hear before you can get funding . Learn more below.

Key Takeaways

• Business plans include details about products and services you'll offer, including exactly how you plan to market, sell, and deliver on customer orders.
• The best business plans are clear and concise.
• The products and services section of your plan should show off why your product or service is needed.
• The products and services section should also convey the expertise and experience you have to succeed.

Why You Need a Products and Services Section in a Business Plan

The business plan products and services section is the centerpiece of your plan. While other sections of your business plan are important, the products and services section is the essence of your business and the point around which every other part of the business plan is built .

What to Include in a Products and Services Section

The products and services section of your business plan outlines your product or service, why it's needed by your market, and how it will compete with other businesses selling the same or similar products and services.

Your products and services section should include a description of the products or services you are offering or plan to offer (including future products or services). You should explain how your products and services will be priced and a comparison of the products or services your competitors offer in relation to yours.

You should also include the sales literature you plan to use. Detail your marketing materials, and clarify the role your website will play in your sales efforts.

The products and services section will include a paragraph or so on how orders from your customers will be processed or fulfilled, as well as any needs you have to create or deliver your products, such as up-to-date computer equipment. If your process depends on intellectual property or legal issues, such as trademarks , then those need to be addressed.

Tips on Writing the Products and Services Section

This section of your business plan should excite those you're hoping will fund your business or work with you. To that end, here are a few tips to create a products and services section that appeals to the reader.

Indicate Why Your Product or Service Is Needed

Especially if you're venturing into a new concept or invention, or a place where there is no current market, you need to explain the need for your product or service.

Highlight the Features of Your Product or Service

A crucial part of business success is the ability to set yourself apart from other businesses that sell the same or similar products and services. What features, such as price point or level of service, do you offer that are unique to you?

Focus on Benefits

Unique features are important, but even more vital is how those features provide value to consumers. Translate your features (i.e., faster or cheaper) into benefits (i.e., get it now or save money). The goal is to highlight how your product or service will fix a problem or improve a client or customer's life.

Be Clear and Concise

Don't let your business plan get bogged down in too much description and information. Use bullets or numbered lists to quickly and easily highlight important information.

Show Off Expertise, Experience, and Accolades

You not only want to describe your products and services but also share why you're the best person to provide them. Include anything in your education or experience that makes you an expert in this business. If you have testimonials, awards, or endorsements, share those. Finally, if you've applied for a patent, copyright, or trademark, include that as well.

Be the Expert, But Use Layman's Terms

You should know your product, service, and industry well, but don't expect your potential funders and partners to have the same level of knowledge. Assume the reader doesn't know as much as you when you explain what you're offering.

Avoid acronyms and jargon when outlining your products and services.

Indicate What's Special About Your Products or Services

Will you be offering a special guarantee or refund policy? Do you have a quicker or more unique way of delivering your product or service? 

Speak to Your Customer

While you don't want to write an advertorial, you do want to be customer-oriented when you write your products and services section.

Examples of a Products and Services Section

The Small Business Administration offers business plan examples that you can draw from to help guide your writing. Here's an example of a products section for someone creating "Wooden Grain Toys."

Wooden Grain Toys will sell wooden toys made from solid hardwoods (maple, beech, birch, cherry, and oak) and steel rivets. The toys are handcrafted and designed for small children to easily use. Our line currently includes the following nine models:

• All-Purpose Pick-Up Truck w/movable doors and tailgate
• Dump Truck w/functioning dumping mechanism and box
• Biplane (two-seater) w/movable propeller
• Steam engine with coal tender - additional cars available separately: caboose, flat car w/logs, box car, tank car, coal car
• Flat-Bed Truck w/logs

Wooden Grain Toys will offer its products for the following prices:

• All-Purpose Pick-Up Truck w/movable doors and tailgate - $25
• Dump Truck w/functioning dumping mechanism and box - $30
• Biplane (two-seater) w/movable propeller - $20
• Additional train cars (single car) - $5
• Additional train cars (three cars) - $12
• City Bus - $12
• Tow Truck - $18
• Flat-Bed Truck w/logs - $35
• Sports Car - $20
• Sedan - $20

What Is Product and Service in a Business Plan?

A products and services section of a business plan clarifies exactly what your business will produce , how much it'll sell for, and other details along those lines.

What Are Examples of Products and Services?

A product or service can be anything a business creates to turn a profit. Some businesses have both products and services. For example, a restaurant's services include cooking for and serving customers. The restaurant's products are the dishes and drinks it creates.

Search Product category Any value Sample Label 1 Sample Label 2 Sample Label 3

Products & Services Section in a Business Plan (+ Examples)

• March 21, 2024
• Business Plan , How to Write

In this blog post, we’ll guide you through writing the products and services section of your business plan. We’ll cover how to describe what you’re selling and why it’s important in your business plan.

Whether you’re launching a new startup or creating a business plan for an existing business, this section is crucial for showing the value you bring to customers. Let’s get started!

Why do we include them in a business plan?

The products and services section of a business plan is more than just a list of what a company sells; it’s a vital narrative that tells the story of the business’s core offerings and their significance to the market.

This section is paramount for readers (especially potential investors) to grasp the essence of what the business is about, the unique problems it solves, or the specific needs it addresses.

A meticulously crafted products and services segment does much more than describe offerings. Indeed, it lays the groundwork for comprehensive marketing strategies , informs operational planning, and financial projections.

Moreover, understanding the business’s offerings in depth enables stakeholders to envision the company’s value proposition and competitive edge.

Where should you include them?

In a business plan, the Products and Services section is typically included within the business overview section.

This allows you to first introduce the business model and what it offers to customers. Only after this you can provide more details of the products and services.

The Products and Services section should clearly detail what you are selling, highlight the unique value proposition . It should also ideally explain how it meets the needs of your target market if it isn’t obvious. T

What to include: 2 Examples

Begin with a clear, engaging description of each product or service you offer. For services, describe the process, customer experience, and outcome. For products, discuss the materials, technology, and any unique features.

Services example: a Cryotherapy business plan

Products example: a Brewery business plan

Privacy Overview

• Sample Plans
• WHY UPMETRICS?

Upmetrics AI Assistant: Simplifying Business Planning through AI-Powered Insights. Learn How

• 400+ Sample Business Plans

Customers Success Stories

Business Plan Course

Strategic Canvas Templates

E-books, Guides & More

Business consultants

Entrepreneurs and Small Business

Accelerators and Incubators

Educators & Business Schools

Students & Scholars

AI Business Plan Generator

Financial Forecasting

AI Assistance

Ai pitch deck generator

Stratrgic Planning

See How Upmetrics Works  →

Small Business Tools

Entrepreneurs & Small Business

Accelerators & Incubators

Business Consultants & Advisors

Strategic Planning

Write Products and Services Section of a Business Plan

Free Product & Service Description Worksheet

Ayush Jalan

• January 3, 2024

The core purpose of any business is to sell its offerings to its target customers.

To do this, you devise a plethora of strategies, tactics, and plans. While that is important, your sales ultimately depend on the value you provide to your customers through your products and services.

FYI, we have used the term “product” in this article to refer to both products and services unless mentioned otherwise.

Table of Contents

What is a Products & Services Section?

• What’s Included in the Products & Services Section
• 6 Tips on Writing a Good Products & Services Section
• Persuade Interest with a Products & Services Section

The products and services section of your business plan is where you mention and elaborate on your product range, product descriptions, pricing strategies, and other relevant details.

If you’re looking for partners or investors, this section plays a crucial role in persuading them. What you include in this section and how you write it can deeply impact whether or not your investors will seal the deal with you.

What’s Included in the Products and Services Section

In the products and services section of your business plan, you provide an overview of what you offer. Here are all the key elements your products and services section should cover:

1. Description

In this part, you include all the important details of your offerings. To write an accurate description, you can use the 5W2H method and answer these questions:

• Who can use this product? Mention the details of your ideal customer.
• What are the fundamental aspects of your product? These may include features, materials, ingredients, costs, dimensions, etc.
• When should someone use this product? Mention the occasion, or the season if it’s a seasonal product. You can also mention if it is designed for a specific purpose.
• Where should your customers use the product? Is it used indoors or outdoors? Specify these details.
• Why should your customers use your product? Mention how the product fulfills their needs.
• How should they use your product? Mention if there are any important user instructions.
• How much should they use it? Mention the ideal frequency of usage that’s essential to follow while using the product.

2. Pricing Procedure

A pricing strategy refers to the tactics you use to set a price for your products and services. There are several pricing strategies to choose from; you can pick the one that best fits your business model .

There are several things to consider before setting your price. Conduct a price analysis to get an idea of which pricing strategy works for you. Here are the steps involved in conducting a pricing analysis:

Determine cost of goods sold ( COGS ):

To calculate the total cost of your products and services, add all the expenses that you incurred before the sale. This will include costs such as manufacturing, labor, warehousing, distributing, packaging and labeling, marketing, etc.

Collect data about the price preferences of your customers:

Study your competitors’ prices:, consider all the legal and ethical aspects:.

After conducting a pricing analysis, you can look at these pricing strategies to choose one for your business.

3. Product Comparison

Regardless of what you’re selling, chances are someone in the market is already selling it. Unlike direct competitors, indirect competitors are those who sell similar products with slight variations.

Looking at your competitors can help you draw a comparison. To do that, examine their products and services and list down the similarities and differences.

Categorize this information into qualitative and quantitative aspects and organize it in tables. Finally, summarize it by including your advantages over competitors. Also, include how you will leverage them to balance your drawbacks.

4. Sales Literature

Sales literature refers to the promotional and informative materials you use to inform, clarify, and convince your customers to make buying decisions. These include brochures, catalogs, newsletters, price lists, customer testimonials, and case studies .

List out all the sales literature you use or plan to market your products and services; explain the information it conveys in brief. Another integral part of your sales literature is your website; explain how it contributes to your sales.

Perhaps you run a blog to promote your products and inform your customers about new releases. Maybe you sell your products and services directly from your website; in that case, your sales literature material will go there.

Sales literature is a quick and attractive tool to market your products and services.

5. Order Management

Order processing refers to the stages from the moment a customer places an order to the delivery of the product paired with after-sales services. Here, you explain how customers will order or buy the product and the delivery process.

For instance, if you are an online retail store , your order processing may include these stages:

• Order Placement
• Order processing
• Picking inventory
• Product Delivery
• Customer support

Depending on your offerings, your order processing workflow can have several stages. Describe each step and provide elaborate details about the execution.

6. Delivery Requirements

If the delivery or creation of your products and services needs any resources, you mention them here. These include equipment, vehicles, technology, and software.

For instance, a cafe owner will need kitchen equipment and IT solutions to run and provide its services. These should be mentioned in this part of the products and services section.

To cite another example, a consumer electronics company needs an IT infrastructure and production facility to create its products. For delivery, it needs vehicles and an online portal for customers to place and receive orders. All these are mentioned here.

7. Intellectual Properties

Mention all the IP documents that are related to your products and services. These include trademarks, seller permits, patents, other licenses, etc. Here you can also include any legal issues you are currently facing. Explain how you are dealing with the existing issues.

Further, mention the issues that might occur in the future and the counteractive measures you will take to prevent them. These include adding safety labels, and disclaimers, opting for insurance policies, etc.

8. Future Offerings

This is a chance to impress your investors or partners by briefing them about your future products or services. This shows that you’re already working on new ideas which help convey your potential and dedication.

If your future products are an extension of your current ones, you can rodenticide an outline of the improvements made. Mon whether your future products are under development or ready for launch.

6 Tips on Writing a Good Products and Services Section

1. Opt for a customer-centric approach:

Your goal is to cater to the needs of your customers through your products or services. Hence, write as if you are talking to your customers and directly addressing their issues. Point out how your product will make their lives better and easier.

2. Keep it simple:

Clearly represent the information. You can use bullet points and lists to convey your message. You can also use tables and charts to display product comparisons, strengths, etc.

3. Ditch buzzwords and industrial jargon:

Everyone who reads your business plan may not understand the industrial jargon and buzzwords. Therefore, it is best to skip the complicated lingo and use layman’s terms.

4. Specify market pain points:

Elaborate on the problems your target audience is facing. You can gather this data by conducting a market analysis. Mention the various pain points and the features of your product that address them. Consider citing examples and relevant statistics to display how your product solves a customer problem .

5. Emphasize your USP:

Highlight the benefits and the unique features of your products and services. Mention the things you do differently than your competitors and how you offer more value in comparison.

6. Flaunt your achievements:

Make sure to show off the business milestones you’ve achieved such as awards, news articles, customer reviews, etc. You can also include your past sales numbers, your customer base, and the projects you fulfilled. These instill trust and help investors, clients, and partners to make decisions.

Persuade Interest with a Products and Services Section

Products and services are the lifeblood of your business. An accurate representation of your offerings is crucial to scoring funding and demonstrating your potential to grow in the market.

Build your Business Plan Faster

with step-by-step Guidance & AI Assistance.

About the Author

Ayush is a writer with an academic background in business and marketing. Being a tech-enthusiast, he likes to keep a sharp eye on the latest tech gadgets and innovations. When he's not working, you can find him writing poetry, gaming, playing the ukulele, catching up with friends, and indulging in creative philosophies.

Related Articles

How to Write the Market Analysis Section of a Business Plan

Everything You Need to Know About Pricing Strategy

How to Write a Customer Analysis Section for Your Business Plan

Reach your goals with accurate planning.

No Risk – Cancel at Any Time – 15 Day Money Back Guarantee

Popular Templates

How to Write a Business Plan: Step-by-Step Guide + Examples

Noah Parsons

24 min. read

Updated March 18, 2024

Writing a business plan doesn’t have to be complicated. 

In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn how to write a business plan that’s detailed enough to impress bankers and potential investors, while giving you the tools to start, run, and grow a successful business.

• The basics of business planning

If you’re reading this guide, then you already know why you need a business plan . 

You understand that planning helps you: 

• Raise money
• Grow strategically
• Keep your business on the right track 

As you start to write your plan, it’s useful to zoom out and remember what a business plan is .

At its core, a business plan is an overview of the products and services you sell, and the customers that you sell to. It explains your business strategy: how you’re going to build and grow your business, what your marketing strategy is, and who your competitors are.

Most business plans also include financial forecasts for the future. These set sales goals, budget for expenses, and predict profits and cash flow. 

A good business plan is much more than just a document that you write once and forget about. It’s also a guide that helps you outline and achieve your goals. 

After completing your plan, you can use it as a management tool to track your progress toward your goals. Updating and adjusting your forecasts and budgets as you go is one of the most important steps you can take to run a healthier, smarter business. 

We’ll dive into how to use your plan later in this article.

There are many different types of plans , but we’ll go over the most common type here, which includes everything you need for an investor-ready plan. However, if you’re just starting out and are looking for something simpler—I recommend starting with a one-page business plan . It’s faster and easier to create. 

It’s also the perfect place to start if you’re just figuring out your idea, or need a simple strategic plan to use inside your business.

Dig deeper : How to write a one-page business plan

Brought to you by

Create a professional business plan

Using ai and step-by-step instructions.

Secure funding

Validate ideas

Build a strategy

• What to include in your business plan

Executive summary

The executive summary is an overview of your business and your plans. It comes first in your plan and is ideally just one to two pages. Most people write it last because it’s a summary of the complete business plan.

Ideally, the executive summary can act as a stand-alone document that covers the highlights of your detailed plan. 

In fact, it’s common for investors to ask only for the executive summary when evaluating your business. If they like what they see in the executive summary, they’ll often follow up with a request for a complete plan, a pitch presentation , or more in-depth financial forecasts .

Your executive summary should include:

• A summary of the problem you are solving
• A description of your product or service
• An overview of your target market
• A brief description of your team
• A summary of your financials
• Your funding requirements (if you are raising money)

Dig Deeper: How to write an effective executive summary

Products and services description

This is where you describe exactly what you’re selling, and how it solves a problem for your target market. The best way to organize this part of your plan is to start by describing the problem that exists for your customers. After that, you can describe how you plan to solve that problem with your product or service. 

This is usually called a problem and solution statement .

To truly showcase the value of your products and services, you need to craft a compelling narrative around your offerings. How will your product or service transform your customers’ lives or jobs? A strong narrative will draw in your readers.

This is also the part of the business plan to discuss any competitive advantages you may have, like specific intellectual property or patents that protect your product. If you have any initial sales, contracts, or other evidence that your product or service is likely to sell, include that information as well. It will show that your idea has traction , which can help convince readers that your plan has a high chance of success.

Market analysis

Your target market is a description of the type of people that you plan to sell to. You might even have multiple target markets, depending on your business. 

A market analysis is the part of your plan where you bring together all of the information you know about your target market. Basically, it’s a thorough description of who your customers are and why they need what you’re selling. You’ll also include information about the growth of your market and your industry .

Try to be as specific as possible when you describe your market. 

Include information such as age, income level, and location—these are what’s called “demographics.” If you can, also describe your market’s interests and habits as they relate to your business—these are “psychographics.” 

Related: Target market examples

Essentially, you want to include any knowledge you have about your customers that is relevant to how your product or service is right for them. With a solid target market, it will be easier to create a sales and marketing plan that will reach your customers. That’s because you know who they are, what they like to do, and the best ways to reach them.

Next, provide any additional information you have about your market. 

What is the size of your market ? Is the market growing or shrinking? Ideally, you’ll want to demonstrate that your market is growing over time, and also explain how your business is positioned to take advantage of any expected changes in your industry.

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write a market analysis

Competitive analysis

Part of defining your business opportunity is determining what your competitive advantage is. To do this effectively, you need to know as much about your competitors as your target customers. 

Every business has some form of competition. If you don’t think you have competitors, then explore what alternatives there are in the market for your product or service. 

For example: In the early years of cars, their main competition was horses. For social media, the early competition was reading books, watching TV, and talking on the phone.

A good competitive analysis fully lays out the competitive landscape and then explains how your business is different. Maybe your products are better made, or cheaper, or your customer service is superior. Maybe your competitive advantage is your location – a wide variety of factors can ultimately give you an advantage.

Dig Deeper: How to write a competitive analysis for your business plan

Marketing and sales plan

The marketing and sales plan covers how you will position your product or service in the market, the marketing channels and messaging you will use, and your sales tactics. 

The best place to start with a marketing plan is with a positioning statement . 

This explains how your business fits into the overall market, and how you will explain the advantages of your product or service to customers. You’ll use the information from your competitive analysis to help you with your positioning. 

For example: You might position your company as the premium, most expensive but the highest quality option in the market. Or your positioning might focus on being locally owned and that shoppers support the local economy by buying your products.

Once you understand your positioning, you’ll bring this together with the information about your target market to create your marketing strategy . 

This is how you plan to communicate your message to potential customers. Depending on who your customers are and how they purchase products like yours, you might use many different strategies, from social media advertising to creating a podcast. Your marketing plan is all about how your customers discover who you are and why they should consider your products and services. 

While your marketing plan is about reaching your customers—your sales plan will describe the actual sales process once a customer has decided that they’re interested in what you have to offer. 

If your business requires salespeople and a long sales process, describe that in this section. If your customers can “self-serve” and just make purchases quickly on your website, describe that process. 

A good sales plan picks up where your marketing plan leaves off. The marketing plan brings customers in the door and the sales plan is how you close the deal.

Together, these specific plans paint a picture of how you will connect with your target audience, and how you will turn them into paying customers.

Dig deeper: What to include in your sales and marketing plan

Business operations

The operations section describes the necessary requirements for your business to run smoothly. It’s where you talk about how your business works and what day-to-day operations look like. 

Depending on how your business is structured, your operations plan may include elements of the business like:

• Supply chain management
• Manufacturing processes
• Equipment and technology
• Distribution

Some businesses distribute their products and reach their customers through large retailers like Amazon.com, Walmart, Target, and grocery store chains. 

These businesses should review how this part of their business works. The plan should discuss the logistics and costs of getting products onto store shelves and any potential hurdles the business may have to overcome.

If your business is much simpler than this, that’s OK. This section of your business plan can be either extremely short or more detailed, depending on the type of business you are building.

For businesses selling services, such as physical therapy or online software, you can use this section to describe the technology you’ll leverage, what goes into your service, and who you will partner with to deliver your services.

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write the operations chapter of your plan

Key milestones and metrics

Although it’s not required to complete your business plan, mapping out key business milestones and the metrics can be incredibly useful for measuring your success.

Good milestones clearly lay out the parameters of the task and set expectations for their execution. You’ll want to include:

• A description of each task
• The proposed due date
• Who is responsible for each task

If you have a budget, you can include projected costs to hit each milestone. You don’t need extensive project planning in this section—just list key milestones you want to hit and when you plan to hit them. This is your overall business roadmap. 

Possible milestones might be:

• Website launch date
• Store or office opening date
• First significant sales
• Break even date
• Business licenses and approvals

You should also discuss the key numbers you will track to determine your success. Some common metrics worth tracking include:

• Conversion rates
• Customer acquisition costs
• Profit per customer
• Repeat purchases

It’s perfectly fine to start with just a few metrics and grow the number you are tracking over time. You also may find that some metrics simply aren’t relevant to your business and can narrow down what you’re tracking.

Dig Deeper: How to use milestones in your business plan

Organization and management team

Investors don’t just look for great ideas—they want to find great teams. Use this chapter to describe your current team and who you need to hire . You should also provide a quick overview of your location and history if you’re already up and running.

Briefly highlight the relevant experiences of each key team member in the company. It’s important to make the case for why yours is the right team to turn an idea into a reality. 

Do they have the right industry experience and background? Have members of the team had entrepreneurial successes before? 

If you still need to hire key team members, that’s OK. Just note those gaps in this section.

Your company overview should also include a summary of your company’s current business structure . The most common business structures include:

• Sole proprietor
• Partnership

Be sure to provide an overview of how the business is owned as well. Does each business partner own an equal portion of the business? How is ownership divided? 

Potential lenders and investors will want to know the structure of the business before they will consider a loan or investment.

Dig Deeper: How to write about your company structure and team

Financial plan

Last, but certainly not least, is your financial plan chapter. 

Entrepreneurs often find this section the most daunting. But, business financials for most startups are less complicated than you think, and a business degree is certainly not required to build a solid financial forecast. 

A typical financial forecast in a business plan includes the following:

• Sales forecast : An estimate of the sales expected over a given period. You’ll break down your forecast into the key revenue streams that you expect to have.
• Expense budget : Your planned spending such as personnel costs , marketing expenses, and taxes.
• Profit & Loss : Brings together your sales and expenses and helps you calculate planned profits.
• Cash Flow : Shows how cash moves into and out of your business. It can predict how much cash you’ll have on hand at any given point in the future.
• Balance Sheet : A list of the assets, liabilities, and equity in your company. In short, it provides an overview of the financial health of your business. 

A strong business plan will include a description of assumptions about the future, and potential risks that could impact the financial plan. Including those will be especially important if you’re writing a business plan to pursue a loan or other investment.

Dig Deeper: How to create financial forecasts and budgets

This is the place for additional data, charts, or other information that supports your plan.

Including an appendix can significantly enhance the credibility of your plan by showing readers that you’ve thoroughly considered the details of your business idea, and are backing your ideas up with solid data.

Just remember that the information in the appendix is meant to be supplementary. Your business plan should stand on its own, even if the reader skips this section.

Dig Deeper : What to include in your business plan appendix

Optional: Business plan cover page

Adding a business plan cover page can make your plan, and by extension your business, seem more professional in the eyes of potential investors, lenders, and partners. It serves as the introduction to your document and provides necessary contact information for stakeholders to reference.

Your cover page should be simple and include:

• Company logo
• Business name
• Value proposition (optional)
• Business plan title
• Completion and/or update date
• Address and contact information
• Confidentiality statement

Just remember, the cover page is optional. If you decide to include it, keep it very simple and only spend a short amount of time putting it together.

Dig Deeper: How to create a business plan cover page

How to use AI to help write your business plan

Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT can speed up the business plan writing process and help you think through concepts like market segmentation and competition. These tools are especially useful for taking ideas that you provide and converting them into polished text for your business plan.

The best way to use AI for your business plan is to leverage it as a collaborator , not a replacement for human creative thinking and ingenuity. 

AI can come up with lots of ideas and act as a brainstorming partner. It’s up to you to filter through those ideas and figure out which ones are realistic enough to resonate with your customers. 

There are pros and cons of using AI to help with your business plan . So, spend some time understanding how it can be most helpful before just outsourcing the job to AI.

Learn more: 10 AI prompts you need to write a business plan

• Writing tips and strategies

To help streamline the business plan writing process, here are a few tips and key questions to answer to make sure you get the most out of your plan and avoid common mistakes .  

Determine why you are writing a business plan

Knowing why you are writing a business plan will determine your approach to your planning project. 

For example: If you are writing a business plan for yourself, or just to use inside your own business , you can probably skip the section about your team and organizational structure. 

If you’re raising money, you’ll want to spend more time explaining why you’re looking to raise the funds and exactly how you will use them.

Regardless of how you intend to use your business plan , think about why you are writing and what you’re trying to get out of the process before you begin.

Keep things concise

Probably the most important tip is to keep your business plan short and simple. There are no prizes for long business plans . The longer your plan is, the less likely people are to read it. 

So focus on trimming things down to the essentials your readers need to know. Skip the extended, wordy descriptions and instead focus on creating a plan that is easy to read —using bullets and short sentences whenever possible.

Have someone review your business plan

Writing a business plan in a vacuum is never a good idea. Sometimes it’s helpful to zoom out and check if your plan makes sense to someone else. You also want to make sure that it’s easy to read and understand.

Don’t wait until your plan is “done” to get a second look. Start sharing your plan early, and find out from readers what questions your plan leaves unanswered. This early review cycle will help you spot shortcomings in your plan and address them quickly, rather than finding out about them right before you present your plan to a lender or investor.

If you need a more detailed review, you may want to explore hiring a professional plan writer to thoroughly examine it.

Use a free business plan template and business plan examples to get started

Knowing what information you need to cover in a business plan sometimes isn’t quite enough. If you’re struggling to get started or need additional guidance, it may be worth using a business plan template. 

If you’re looking for a free downloadable business plan template to get you started, download the template used by more than 1 million businesses. 

Or, if you just want to see what a completed business plan looks like, check out our library of over 550 free business plan examples . 

We even have a growing list of industry business planning guides with tips for what to focus on depending on your business type.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

It’s easy to make mistakes when you’re writing your business plan. Some entrepreneurs get sucked into the writing and research process, and don’t focus enough on actually getting their business started. 

Here are a few common mistakes and how to avoid them:

Not talking to your customers : This is one of the most common mistakes. It’s easy to assume that your product or service is something that people want. Before you invest too much in your business and too much in the planning process, make sure you talk to your prospective customers and have a good understanding of their needs.

• Overly optimistic sales and profit forecasts: By nature, entrepreneurs are optimistic about the future. But it’s good to temper that optimism a little when you’re planning, and make sure your forecasts are grounded in reality. 
• Spending too much time planning: Yes, planning is crucial. But you also need to get out and talk to customers, build prototypes of your product and figure out if there’s a market for your idea. Make sure to balance planning with building.
• Not revising the plan: Planning is useful, but nothing ever goes exactly as planned. As you learn more about what’s working and what’s not—revise your plan, your budgets, and your revenue forecast. Doing so will provide a more realistic picture of where your business is going, and what your financial needs will be moving forward.
• Not using the plan to manage your business: A good business plan is a management tool. Don’t just write it and put it on the shelf to collect dust – use it to track your progress and help you reach your goals.
• Presenting your business plan

The planning process forces you to think through every aspect of your business and answer questions that you may not have thought of. That’s the real benefit of writing a business plan – the knowledge you gain about your business that you may not have been able to discover otherwise.

With all of this knowledge, you’re well prepared to convert your business plan into a pitch presentation to present your ideas. 

A pitch presentation is a summary of your plan, just hitting the highlights and key points. It’s the best way to present your business plan to investors and team members.

Dig Deeper: Learn what key slides should be included in your pitch deck

Use your business plan to manage your business

One of the biggest benefits of planning is that it gives you a tool to manage your business better. With a revenue forecast, expense budget, and projected cash flow, you know your targets and where you are headed.

And yet, nothing ever goes exactly as planned – it’s the nature of business.

That’s where using your plan as a management tool comes in. The key to leveraging it for your business is to review it periodically and compare your forecasts and projections to your actual results.

Start by setting up a regular time to review the plan – a monthly review is a good starting point. During this review, answer questions like:

• Did you meet your sales goals?
• Is spending following your budget?
• Has anything gone differently than what you expected?

Now that you see whether you’re meeting your goals or are off track, you can make adjustments and set new targets. 

Maybe you’re exceeding your sales goals and should set new, more aggressive goals. In that case, maybe you should also explore more spending or hiring more employees. 

Or maybe expenses are rising faster than you projected. If that’s the case, you would need to look at where you can cut costs.

A plan, and a method for comparing your plan to your actual results , is the tool you need to steer your business toward success.

Learn More: How to run a regular plan review

Free business plan templates and examples

Kickstart your business plan writing with one of our free business plan templates or recommended tools.

Free business plan template

Download a free SBA-approved business plan template built for small businesses and startups.

Download Template

One-page plan template

Download a free one-page plan template to write a useful business plan in as little as 30-minutes.

Sample business plan library

Explore over 500 real-world business plan examples from a wide variety of industries.

View Sample Plans

How to write a business plan FAQ

What is a business plan?

A document that describes your business , the products and services you sell, and the customers that you sell to. It explains your business strategy, how you’re going to build and grow your business, what your marketing strategy is, and who your competitors are.

What are the benefits of a business plan?

A business plan helps you understand where you want to go with your business and what it will take to get there. It reduces your overall risk, helps you uncover your business’s potential, attracts investors, and identifies areas for growth.

Having a business plan ultimately makes you more confident as a business owner and more likely to succeed for a longer period of time.

What are the 7 steps of a business plan?

The seven steps to writing a business plan include:

• Write a brief executive summary
• Describe your products and services.
• Conduct market research and compile data into a cohesive market analysis.
• Describe your marketing and sales strategy.
• Outline your organizational structure and management team.
• Develop financial projections for sales, revenue, and cash flow.
• Add any additional documents to your appendix.

What are the 5 most common business plan mistakes?

There are plenty of mistakes that can be made when writing a business plan. However, these are the 5 most common that you should do your best to avoid:

• 1. Not taking the planning process seriously.
• Having unrealistic financial projections or incomplete financial information.
• Inconsistent information or simple mistakes.
• Failing to establish a sound business model.
• Not having a defined purpose for your business plan.

What questions should be answered in a business plan?

Writing a business plan is all about asking yourself questions about your business and being able to answer them through the planning process. You’ll likely be asking dozens and dozens of questions for each section of your plan.

However, these are the key questions you should ask and answer with your business plan:

• How will your business make money?
• Is there a need for your product or service?
• Who are your customers?
• How are you different from the competition?
• How will you reach your customers?
• How will you measure success?

How long should a business plan be?

The length of your business plan fully depends on what you intend to do with it. From the SBA and traditional lender point of view, a business plan needs to be whatever length necessary to fully explain your business. This means that you prove the viability of your business, show that you understand the market, and have a detailed strategy in place.

If you intend to use your business plan for internal management purposes, you don’t necessarily need a full 25-50 page business plan. Instead, you can start with a one-page plan to get all of the necessary information in place.

What are the different types of business plans?

While all business plans cover similar categories, the style and function fully depend on how you intend to use your plan. Here are a few common business plan types worth considering.

Traditional business plan: The tried-and-true traditional business plan is a formal document meant to be used when applying for funding or pitching to investors. This type of business plan follows the outline above and can be anywhere from 10-50 pages depending on the amount of detail included, the complexity of your business, and what you include in your appendix.

Business model canvas: The business model canvas is a one-page template designed to demystify the business planning process. It removes the need for a traditional, copy-heavy business plan, in favor of a single-page outline that can help you and outside parties better explore your business idea.

One-page business plan: This format is a simplified version of the traditional plan that focuses on the core aspects of your business. You’ll typically stick with bullet points and single sentences. It’s most useful for those exploring ideas, needing to validate their business model, or who need an internal plan to help them run and manage their business.

Lean Plan: The Lean Plan is less of a specific document type and more of a methodology. It takes the simplicity and styling of the one-page business plan and turns it into a process for you to continuously plan, test, review, refine, and take action based on performance. It’s faster, keeps your plan concise, and ensures that your plan is always up-to-date.

What’s the difference between a business plan and a strategic plan?

A business plan covers the “who” and “what” of your business. It explains what your business is doing right now and how it functions. The strategic plan explores long-term goals and explains “how” the business will get there. It encourages you to look more intently toward the future and how you will achieve your vision.

However, when approached correctly, your business plan can actually function as a strategic plan as well. If kept lean, you can define your business, outline strategic steps, and track ongoing operations all with a single plan.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Noah is the COO at Palo Alto Software, makers of the online business plan app LivePlan. He started his career at Yahoo! and then helped start the user review site Epinions.com. From there he started a software distribution business in the UK before coming to Palo Alto Software to run the marketing and product teams.

Table of Contents

• Use AI to help write your plan
• Common planning mistakes
• Manage with your business plan
• Templates and examples

Related Articles

9 Min. Read

How to Create a Sales Plan for Your Business

1 Min. Read

How to Calculate Return on Investment (ROI)

4 Min. Read

How to Develop a Positioning Statement for Your Business

10 Min. Read

Use This Simple Business Plan Outline to Organize Your Plan

The Bplans Newsletter

The Bplans Weekly

Subscribe now for weekly advice and free downloadable resources to help start and grow your business.

We care about your privacy. See our privacy policy .

Tax Season Savings

Get 40% off LivePlan

The #1 rated business plan software

Transform Tax Season into Growth Season

Discover the world’s #1 plan building software

• AI Content Shield
• AI KW Research
• AI Assistant
• SEO Optimizer
• AI KW Clustering
• Customer reviews
• The NLO Revolution
• Press Center
• Help Center
• Content Resources
• Facebook Group

How to Craft a Detailed Product Description in Business Plan

Table of Contents

A well-written product description in your business plan has the potential to attract investors and aid in the expansion of your company. 

In addition to describing your manufactured goods, your product description should emphasize the benefits of the goods. These benefits must align with your business. 

This article discusses developing a product description for a business plan and offers writing advice to help you craft your own.

What Is a Product Description in Business Plan?

The product description in the business plan describes all the products the company produces . 

A business plan product description describes a product or service, the firm supplying it, the problem it answers, the price, and the target market. Your product description should explain how your products differ from similar ones on the market or why they’re needed if no market exists.

Product descriptions should be factual and not promotional or salesy. As with other business papers, a product description should be in the first person, so it doesn’t appear overly promotional.

A product description in a business plan should be understandable, so the value of your products is clear.

What Does a Product Description Entail?

A product description introduces your product to potential investors and customers. The following items below should be included in the document when presenting your product to potential investors and customers.

1. Features and Benefits of the Product

Describe the features and benefits of your product. If your product addresses a problem for customers, this section should convey that information.

2. Your Product Vs. Competition

Take a look at the competition and see how your product stacks up. Make a case for why your product is better than your competition’s offerings.

3. Price of Product

Include the price of your product and how it compares to other similar products on the market in your pitch. The cost of production, the selling price, and the profit margin all need to be discussed.

4. Trademarks

You should add this information if you’ve had your product tested by professionals in the field. Including any certifications, intellectual property, copyrights, or patents is also a good idea. 

These awards and honors bolster your product’s credibility. As a result of being awarded patents and trademarks, your company is the only one that can make this product. This increases the product’s worth.

5. the Life Cycle of the Product

The idea, prototype, and expansion stages are part of a product’s life cycle. If you’re still in the concept stage, use this section to explain how you’ll build the product and why it’s necessary.

If you already have a prototype, discuss how you intend to evaluate it and manufacture your product. Include it here if you have been producing your product but need to grow to meet demand.

6. Distribution and Sales Strategy

Describe your product’s distribution strategy, including how and where it will be sold. Vendors, brick-and-mortar stores, and online retailers are examples of possible sales channels. If you already have a list of suppliers selling your goods, insert their names and addresses here.

7. Product Delivery to Final Consumer

How do you intend to get your product into the hands of your clients? All the manufacturing and shipping details should be included here. Include information on the manufacturer, such as their location and manufacturing time. It is advisable to outsource the production of your goods, including delivery schedules and methods.

8. Resources

Identify any unique equipment, materials, or technology required to produce your product.

9. Future Expansion Projections

As your firm grows, describe your product development and introduction plans.

10. Evidence in the Form of Photos and Brochures

Photos and brochures can help investors visualize your goods. Include pictures and brochures in an appendix to your business plan, but reference them in the product description.

With a business plan product description, you’ll enlighten the reader about the firm, the product, and its market .

A product description tells the reader what the product is. It also explains how it works, how it benefits the company and consumers, and how much it costs.

Abir Ghenaiet

Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.

Explore All Product Description Generator Articles

T-shirt product description: essential tips to increase sales.

Product description is essential for the success of your t-shirt brand. A well-crafted t-shirt product description can be the difference…

• Product Description Generator

How to Create a Template for Product Description

Have you ever experienced customers asking many questions about a product you are selling through your store? Maybe because you…

Top Service Description Examples You Should Explore

The way you write your product or service descriptions has a direct effect on your sales figures. However, many small…

Want To Write SEO Friendly Product Descriptions?

A successful eCommerce business relies heavily on its product descriptions. A strong description gives you the ability to allay any…

Benefits of Effective Amazon Product Descriptions

Amazon is a powerful tool for sellers and entrepreneurs. As the competition on Amazon and the e-commerce world gets more…

Examples of Cool Product Descriptions for Clothes

The clothing business is growing, and demand has never been higher. It’s a lot of work bringing new ideas to…

• Customer Reviews
• Net 30 Account
• Wise Services
• Steps & Timeline
• Work at a Glance
• Market Research at a Glance
• Business Plan Writing Services
• Bank Business Plan
• Investor Business Plan
• Franchise Business Plan
• Cannabis Business Plan
• Strategic Business Plan
• Corporate Business Plan
• Merge and Acquisition Business Plan (M&A)
• Private Placement Memorandums (PPM)
• Sample Business Plans
• Professional Feasibility Study
• PowerPoint Presentations
• Pitch Deck Presentation Services
• Business Plan Printing
• Market Research
• L-1 Business Plan
• E-2 Business Plan
• EB-5 Business Plan
• EB-5 Regional Centers
• Immigration Attorneys
• Nonprofit Business Plan
• Exit Business Planning
• Business Planning
• Business Formation
• Business License
• Business Website
• Business Branding
• Business Bank Account
• Digital Marketing
• Business Funding Resources
• Small Business Loans
• Venture Capital
• Net 30 Apply

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Business Credit Cards
• Talk to Us 1-800-496-1056

How to Write Products and Services Section of Business Plan

Business plan products and services section  gives details of your product or service, how it is different and if you have a reliable manufacturing or sourcing system for the product. 

How do you write the business plan products and services section?

Key questions to answer in the business plan products and services section.

Show competitive advantages of your product or service. Convince investors or lenders that you can outperform competition; you’ll likely get the funding you need. 

Use this article as a guide when writing the product and service section of your business plan.

Hire business plan writer now!

Your goal in writing the business plan products and services section should be to explain your offering in simple, layman’s terms. 

Anyone reading about your products or services should be able to understand:

• what you are offering
• what is the unique value you are offering
• how will you do quality assurance 
• How will you meet the increased demand?

The product service plan section should include the following.

Explain Your Products or Services

Explain your product or service in detail. Try to include a brief about all the aspects of your product or service that will improve the consumers’ lives or increase business efficiency. 

Show why your Product is Unique 

Talk about the distinctive features of your product. Show what competitors are offering and explain how your offer is unique and better. 

Emphasize the Benefits 

Your hopes of capturing a share of the market depend on the benefits your product or service provides. Describe the benefits in terms customers can relate to. 

For example, if you are offering the same features as the competitors but at a low price, highlight the low price.

Manufacturing, Sourcing, and Fulfillment 

Explain if you will manufacture your products or you’ll source. If you are going to source the product from a manufacturer, how will you select the manufacturer?

Also, briefly explain the product supply chain and fulfillment process. Potential lenders may want to know if your supply chain and fulfillment system can handle high demand. 

Be Short and Concise 

Keep to the point. The Product service section in a business plan is about introducing your offering with a fair amount of detail. However, don’t make it lengthy.

You will discuss your product or service in every section of the business plan one way or another.

Show your Expertise 

A product coming from an acknowledged expert gets more acceptance in the market. 

Show your education or experience with the offering. If your business has any patents, trademarks, or special permits, make sure you showcase them. That way, you can establish yourself as an authority. 

For a sole proprietor, you can include your experience or education. For example, when an athlete starts a fitness brand, it becomes a quick success. However, other similar businesses face struggles at the start. 

Explain in Simple Language 

Make a detailed plan of product service but explain everything in simple language. 

Every industry has its jargon and buzzwords. People familiar with your product can understand the technical details, but the lenders or investors may not know much about your industry.  

Here is a pro tip for this. When you have written the product or service description, ask a trusted friend or family member to read it and explain your product to you. That way, you can know if your product service part of the business plan is generally understandable. 

What is your Exclusive Advantage? 

Your exclusive advantage is what makes you stand out. You spotted your exclusive advantage when you developed your product or service offering. Explain that exclusive advantage here. 

If you think there is no exclusive advantage, see if you can lower your price or provide better after-sale support. Even if your exclusive advantage is indirectly related to your product, it can help you get ahead fast. 

Assume you are talking to the customer

When you walk into the customer’s shoes, you can understand their needs better. 

Assume you are talking to an actual customer and convincing them to buy from you. They know your competition and they know what they need. You will have to talk in layman’s terms without missing any important details. You will need to focus on your competitive advantage. 

You will write an excellent product or service section when you think you are explaining it to a potential customer.

• Do you have a ready product or an under-development product?
• When will you bring new products or services to the market?
• What is the unique advantage of your product or service?
• What are the competitive advantages of your product or service?
• Does your product or service have any competitive disadvantages?
• Are you bound to charge a price in a short range, or can you charge a different price with a better offer?
• Are your business operating costs reasonable?
• Will you manufacture your products or buy from a supplier? 
• Do you sub-contract the parts of your product to different manufacturers and assemble the product at your facility?
• Will you be able to keep a steady and reliable supply chain for your product when demand rises?

WiseBusinessPlans is one of the best business plan writing companies !

In the products and services section, describe your offerings in detail, including their features, benefits, and uniqueness. Include information on pricing, any proprietary technology or intellectual property, and how your products or services meet customer needs.

Differentiate your products or services from competitors by highlighting their unique selling points, such as superior quality, innovative features, customizable options, or exceptional customer service. Explain how these differentiators give you a competitive advantage.

Yes, it’s important to outline your pricing strategy in the products and services section. Explain your pricing model, whether it’s based on cost-plus, value-based, or market-based pricing. Justify your pricing strategy by considering factors such as market demand, competitors’ pricing, and perceived value.

Demonstrate the market need for your products or services by providing market research and analysis. Include data on customer demographics, target market size, and any trends or consumer preferences that support the demand for your offerings.

Yes, you can mention future product or service expansion plans in the products and services section. Briefly outline your growth strategy, such as introducing new product lines, expanding into new markets, or offering additional services. However, focus primarily on your current offerings and their value proposition.

Access our free business plan examples now!

One comment.

It is best to take part in a contest for one of the best blogs on the web. I will recommend this site!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Quick Links

• Investor Business Plans
• M&A Business Plan
• Private Placement
• Feasibility Study
• Hire a Business Plan Writer
• Business Valuation Calculator
• Business Plan Examples
• Real Estate Business Plan
• Business Plan Template
• Business Plan Pricing Guide
• Business Plan Makeover
• SBA Loans, Bank Funding & Business Credit
• Finding & Qualifying for Business Grants
• Leadership for the New Manager
• Content Marketing for Beginners
• All About Crowdfunding
• EB-5 Regional Centers, A Step-By-Step Guide
• Logo Designer
• Landing Page
• PPC Advertising

• Business Entity
• Business Licensing
• Virtual Assistant
• Business Phone
• Business Address
• E-1 Visa Business Plan
• EB1-A Visa Business Plan
• EB1-C Visa Business Plan
• EB2-NIW Business Plan
• H1B Visa Business Plan
• O1 Visa Business Plan
• Business Brokers
• Merger & Acquisition Advisors
• Franchisors

Proud Sponsor of

• 1-800-496-1056

• (613) 800-0227

• +44 (1549) 409190

• +61 (2) 72510077

• Entrepreneurship

Latest Posts

How to ship products for small business, is apple a partnership, what is the patient care partnership, are walmart employees eligible for insurance when hired, how to write a product description for a business plan.

Are you struggling to write a compelling product description for your business plan? Look no further! A well-written product description can make or break your business plan, and we’re here to guide you through the process. In this article, we’ll provide you with tips and tricks to help you create a product description that will impress potential investors and customers alike. So, grab a pen and paper and let’s get started!

When writing a product description for a business plan, it’s important to clearly and concisely explain the features and benefits of your product or service. Start with a brief overview of what your product is and what problem it solves. Then, highlight its unique features, such as design or technology, and explain how they provide value to your customers. Use specific examples and data to support your claims and make sure to address any potential objections. Finally, wrap up with a clear call to action.

How to Write a Product Description for a Business Plan?

As a business owner, you know that a well-written business plan is essential to the success of your venture. Your business plan should include a product description that is clear, concise, and compelling. A good product description will help potential investors and customers understand what your product is, how it works, and why it is valuable. In this article, we will guide you through the process of writing a product description for your business plan.

1. Define your target audience

The first step in writing a product description is to define your target audience. Who is your product for? What problem does it solve for them? What benefits will they get from using it? The more specific you can be about your target audience, the better you can tailor your product description to their needs.

When defining your target audience, consider factors such as age, gender, income, education level, and lifestyle. Research your target audience to understand their pain points, desires, and motivations.

2. Describe the problem your product solves

In this section, you need to clearly describe the problem your product solves. Explain the pain points of your target audience and how your product addresses those pain points. Use concrete examples and data to illustrate the problem.

For instance, if you are selling a productivity app, you might describe the problem of having too many tasks to complete in a day and not enough time to complete them. You could then explain how your app helps users prioritize their tasks, set reminders, and track their progress.

3. Explain how your product works

Once you have described the problem your product solves, it’s time to explain how your product works. Be specific and use simple language that your target audience will understand. You should also include any technical details that are relevant to your product.

Consider creating a table to illustrate the features and benefits of your product. This will make it easy for potential investors and customers to understand what your product does and how it works.

4. Highlight the benefits of your product

In this section, you need to highlight the benefits of your product. What makes it unique? What advantages does it have over competitors? How will it improve the lives of your target audience?

Use specific examples and data to illustrate the benefits of your product. Consider creating a list of benefits in HTML format to make it easy for readers to scan.

5. Describe your pricing strategy

Your product description should include a pricing strategy. Explain how you will price your product and what factors you have considered. Will you offer discounts or promotions? What is your profit margin?

Consider creating a table to illustrate your pricing strategy. This will make it easy for potential investors and customers to understand your pricing model.

6. Outline your marketing strategy

Your product description should also include a marketing strategy. Explain how you plan to promote your product and reach your target audience. What channels will you use? How will you measure the success of your marketing efforts?

Consider creating a list of marketing channels in HTML format to make it easy for readers to scan.

7. Include a competitive analysis

Your product description should include a competitive analysis. Research your competitors and explain how your product is different. What advantages does your product have over competitors? What are the weaknesses of your competitors?

Consider creating a table to compare your product to your competitors. This will make it easy for potential investors and customers to understand how your product stacks up.

8. Discuss your team and resources

Your product description should also include information about your team and resources. Explain who will be responsible for developing and marketing your product. What skills and experience do they have? What resources do you have available?

Consider creating a table to illustrate your team and resources. This will make it easy for potential investors and customers to understand your capabilities.

9. Include a timeline

Your product description should include a timeline. Explain when you plan to launch your product and what milestones you need to achieve along the way. What are the risks and challenges you need to overcome?

Consider creating a timeline in HTML format to make it easy for readers to understand your plan.

10. Summarize your product description

Finally, you should summarize your product description. Use a concise statement to describe your product and its benefits. This will make it easy for potential investors and customers to remember what your product is all about.

Consider using bullet points to summarize your product description in HTML format. This will make it easy for readers to scan and remember your key points.

In conclusion, writing a product description for your business plan is an important step in launching a successful venture. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can create a product description that is clear, concise, and compelling. Remember to tailor your product description to your target audience and use concrete examples and data to illustrate your points.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some common questions and answers about writing a product description for a business plan.

What is the purpose of a product description in a business plan?

A product description in a business plan is a brief overview of the product or service that your business offers. The purpose of this section is to provide potential investors or lenders with a clear understanding of what your product is, how it works, and what makes it unique. A well-written product description can help convince investors that your business is worth investing in.

When writing a product description, it’s important to be as specific and detailed as possible. Include information about the product’s features, benefits, and how it solves a problem for your target audience. Use language that is clear and easy to understand, and avoid technical jargon or industry-specific terms that may confuse investors who are not familiar with your field.

What should be included in a product description?

A product description should include a brief overview of the product, its key features and benefits, and how it solves a problem for your target audience. You should also include information about the product’s target market and any relevant industry trends or market data that supports your business case.

When writing a product description, be sure to use language that is clear and concise. Avoid using technical jargon or industry-specific terms that may be confusing to investors who are not familiar with your field. Use bullet points to break up long paragraphs and make the description more readable.

How long should a product description be?

A product description should be concise and to the point. Ideally, it should be no longer than one or two paragraphs. However, if there are multiple features or benefits that you want to highlight, it may be necessary to use bullet points or subheadings to break up the content and make it more readable.

Remember, investors are busy people and don’t have time to read lengthy product descriptions. Keep your description short and sweet, but make sure it includes all the key information that investors need to know.

What are some tips for writing a compelling product description?

When writing a product description, it’s important to focus on the benefits of the product rather than just its features. Highlight how the product solves a problem for your target audience and why it’s better than competing products on the market.

Use language that is clear and concise, and avoid technical jargon or industry-specific terms that may be confusing to investors who are not familiar with your field. Finally, be sure to proofread your product description carefully to ensure that there are no typos or grammatical errors.

Where should the product description be placed in a business plan?

The product description should be placed early in the business plan, after the executive summary and company overview sections. This allows investors to quickly understand what your business does and how it adds value to the market.

It’s also a good idea to include the product description in any marketing materials or pitch decks that you create for your business. This will help you communicate the value of your product to potential investors and customers in a clear and concise way.

How to Write Company Description for your Business Plan?

Remember to focus on the problem your product solves, highlight its key features and benefits, and use clear and concise language that resonates with your target audience. Additionally, make sure to showcase any relevant data, such as market analysis or customer feedback, that supports the viability and potential success of your product.

With a well-crafted product description, you can not only attract investors and customers but also gain a deeper understanding of your own product and its place in the market. So take the time to research, write, and refine your description, and watch as your business plan takes shape and your product rises to the top of its industry.

RELATED ARTICLES

What is sampling in marketing research, how to respond to a partnership request email, what is employer brand management, is deloitte a partnership, effective leadership in scaling your business: traits and strategies, how important is marketing for small business, 10 benefits of investing in money market instruments for businesses, 10 common business goals and how to set them, 10 common financial risks faced by businesses and how to manage them, 10 common types of bonds for business financing and investments, 10 customer retention techniques to foster long-term loyalty, how can trust be gained between the business and development, software startup ideas, the dummies guide to starting your own business, how to find new businesses before they open, what must an entrepreneur assume when starting a business, editor’s choice, what is mst michael bell manager employment offer, what is qualitative research in marketing, what is test marketing in business, can a partnership hire employees, how to get a domestic partnership in pennsylvania, stay in touch.

To be updated with all the latest news, offers and special announcements.

Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved.

• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use

Call for Free Consultation (858) 876 4597

[email protected], what is in a business plan: product description (part 4 of 11).

• thestartupgarage
• September 27, 2010
• No Comments

Time For Completion: Approximately 5-25 hours

In this section you get the chance to clearly explain the products or services your business will offer.

The information provided in this section will become the basis of your marketing plan.

Product description should be written so the reader can easily understand what the product is and what it does. You should never assume that your product will sell itself, so you must always include a detailed description of the product. In addition to a comprehensive explanation of your product, the Product Description should also compare your product to other similar products on the market. This gives you the opportunity to clearly define what advantages your product has over the competition

Whats in it?

A Product Description contains an overview of your product or service, the product or services features, benefits, and advantages, as well as any product development activities, and liability issues. The overview should paint a complete picture of the product by answering the following questions in detail: what the product or service is, what it does, and how it performs its function.

If possible, it is a great idea to add pictures, blueprints, or any other graphical descriptions of your product to give as clear of an explanation of your product as possible. By doing this in comparison with other competing products, you can make it clear why your product is better than the competition.

The product summary should also take time to focus on the problem(s) that your product will solve. In addition to an explanation of the problems, you should also discuss what the causes are, how the product solves these problems, and the benefits to potential customers.

A complete description of your product, the problems it solves, and a comparison with competitors should all work to make a case as to why your product will be successful.

Why it’s Important

This section of the business plan is your opportunity to completely hash out your product idea, down to the finest detail, which gives you a complete understanding of your product. The information you learn from this section will help you improve your product and differentiate from competitors.

By writing a cohesive Product Description that explains the details of the product, the need for it, and how it has advantages of its competitors, you are making a strong case for why your product will succeed and be profitable. Without this information, investors have no way of knowing if you completely understand your product, or how you plan to compete with others, which makes for a very risky investment.

The next section will discuss how to properly research your potential customers in the Market Analysis section. Remember, you can take a look at one of our sample business plans at any time.

Whether you have a question about your Product Description or you’d like to discuss our business plan writing services , feel free to contact us for a free consultation !

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Product Description

• Written By Gregg Rosenzweig
• Updated: November 8, 2023

What is a product description? A product description is a piece of writing that conveys the features and benefits of a product, ranging from basic facts to stories that make a product compelling to an ideal buyer.

When you’re considering buying something online, what’s one of the first things you do? Scroll to the product description to find out more details, right?

That’s why this intro to your product or service is such a crucial component of marketing — it’s a chance to solidify the sale, increase customer confidence in your business, and reduce customer service emails by providing the answers to common questions upfront.

What is a product description?

A product description is a piece of writing that conveys the features and benefits of a product, ranging from basic facts to stories that make a product compelling to an ideal buyer.

Product descriptions commonly include…

• Physical product details and features
• Technical specifications
• Product uses and benefits
• Types of materials used in construction
• Stories relating the product to the ideal buyer
• How something’s produced (i.e., manufactured or handmade)
• Where something’s made (or the sourcing in the production chain)
• Sustainability details
• Pricing details
• Delivery details

How long should a product description be?

Depending on the cost, complexity, or purchase frequency of a product, the length can vary. For example, purchasing a car requires far more information than buying a pair of jeans.

• Short form (50 words or less)
• Standard (100  words)
• Long form (250+ words)

What can product descriptions do for a business?

Aside from educating and enticing potential customers, the best descriptions can help you differentiate your product and brand from your competitors by putting forward your most salient features and benefits.

As mentioned many times: ads only get you so far. If you want to ultimately convert customers with content , you have to give them the information they need to make a decision.

Benefits of product descriptions

Any business, regardless of industry, can use descriptions to sell their goods, whether they are intended for B2B, B2C, or D2C (direct to consumer) markets. 

Here’s a look at the benefits:

• Increases SEO for your product pages
• Helps consumers compare features and benefits
• Builds trust in your products and brand
• Improves conversion by moving customers further down the purchase funnel

Product description examples – short form

Product description examples – standard form

Product description examples – long form

Our team rated the examples above according to three degrees of quality ( Good, Better, Best ) to help you understand what makes a great product description and to better gauge the resources needed for your content plan.

In general, the degrees of content quality correspond to our three content levels ( General, Qualified, Expert ) based on the criteria below so you understand how much time it’ll take to create similar content and/or who you’d need to hire.

Please consider there are multiple variables that could determine the cost, completion time, or content level for any content piece with a perceived degree of quality. 

Want some help creating persuasive product descriptions? Talk to a content specialist at ClearVoice and find out how we can craft expert product descriptions that boost your SEO, increase trust, and get sales.

Stay in the know.

We will keep you up-to-date with all the content marketing news and resources. You will be a content expert in no time. Sign up for our free newsletter.

Content Audit

Influencer Marketing

Navigating the Lifecycle of Content Development

• Content Production
• Build Your SEO
• Amplify Your Content
• For Agencies

Why ClearVoice

• Talent Network
• How It Works
• Freelance For Us
• Statement on AI
• Talk to a Specialist

Get Insights In Your Inbox

• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Service
• Intellectual Property Claims
• Data Collection Preferences

404 Not found

• Starting a Business
• Growing a Business
• Small Business Guide
• Business News
• Science & Technology
• Money & Finance
• For Subscribers
• Write for Entrepreneur
• Entrepreneur Store
• United States
• Asia Pacific
• Middle East
• South Africa

Copyright © 2024 Entrepreneur Media, LLC All rights reserved. Entrepreneur® and its related marks are registered trademarks of Entrepreneur Media LLC

• How to Use Your Business Plan Most Effectively
• The Basics of Writing a Business Plan
• 12 Reasons You Need a Business Plan
• The Main Objectives of a Business Plan
• What to Include and Not Include in a Successful Business Plan
• The Top 4 Types of Business Plans
• A Step-by-Step Guide to Presenting Your Business Plan in 10 Slides
• 6 Tips for Making a Winning Business Presentation
• 12 Ways to Set Realistic Business Goals and Objectives
• 3 Key Things You Need to Know About Financing Your Business
• How to Perfectly Pitch Your Business Plan in 10 Minutes
• How to Fund Your Business Through Friends and Family Loans and Crowdsourcing
• How to Fund Your Business Using Banks and Credit Unions
• How to Fund Your Business With an SBA Loan
• How to Fund Your Business With Bonds and Indirect Funding Sources
• How to Fund Your Business With Venture Capital
• How to Fund Your Business With Angel Investors
• How to Use Your Business Plan to Track Performance
• How to Make Your Business Plan Attractive to Prospective Partners
• Is This Idea Going to Work? How to Assess the Potential of Your Business.
• When to Update Your Business Plan
• How to Write the Management Team Section to Your Business Plan
• How to Create a Strategic Hiring Plan
• How to Write a Business Plan Executive Summary That Sells Your Idea
• How to Build a Team of Outside Experts for Your Business
• Use This Worksheet to Write a Product Description That Sells
• What Is Your Unique Selling Proposition? Use This Worksheet to Find Your Greatest Strength.
• How to Raise Money With Your Business Plan
• Customers and Investors Don't Want Products. They Want Solutions.
• 5 Essential Elements of Your Industry Trends Plan
• How to Identify and Research Your Competition
• Who Is Your Ideal Customer? 4 Questions to Ask Yourself.
• How to Identify Market Trends in Your Business Plan
• How to Define Your Product and Set Your Prices
• How to Determine the Barriers to Entry for Your Business
• How to Get Customers in Your Store and Drive Traffic to Your Website
• How to Effectively Promote Your Business to Customers and Investors
• What Equipment and Facilities to Include in Your Business Plan
• How to Write an Income Statement for Your Business Plan
• How to Make a Balance Sheet
• How to Make a Cash Flow Statement
• How to Use Financial Ratios to Understand the Health of Your Business
• How to Write an Operations Plan for Retail and Sales Businesses
• How to Make Realistic Financial Forecasts
• How to Write an Operations Plan for Manufacturers
• What Technology Needs to Include In Your Business Plan
• How to List Personnel and Materials in Your Business Plan
• The Role of Franchising
• The Best Ways to Follow Up on a Buisiness Plan
• The Best Books, Sites, Trade Associations and Resources to Get Your Business Funded and Running
• How to Hire the Right Business Plan Consultant
• Business Plan Lingo and Resources All Entrepreneurs Should Know
• How to Write a Letter of Introduction
• What To Put on the Cover Page of a Business Plan
• How to Format Your Business Plan
• 6 Steps to Getting Your Business Plan In Front of Investors

Use This Worksheet to Write a Product Description That Sells It is vitally important that your business plan is able to build a convincing case for the product or service that you plan on selling.

By Eric Butow • Oct 27, 2023

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

This is part 6 / 8 of Write Your Business Plan: Section 3: Selling Your Product and Team series.

Every business has something to sell, and the product section is where you tell readers what it is you're selling. (For simplicity's sake, the term "product" is used to refer to both products and services unless otherwise indicated.) This is clearly a very important section of your plan. Even if you have assembled a brilliant managerial team, or have strong financial underpinnings, unless you have something to sell or at least plans to develop something new, you don't really have a business at all. Business is about providing people with something they need. Your business should solve a problem, make life easier, expedite a process, or even simply entertain, but you need to be selling something to have a business.

Although many businesses are founded to develop new, never-before-seen products, they're still built around a product, even though it may not exist at the moment. And even for these development-stage enterprises, it's just as important to describe the planned-for product and make a presentation that illustrates what people can expect.

Related: How to Craft a Business Plan That Will Turn Investors' Heads

What Is Your Product or Service?

It's easy to talk eloquently about a product you believe in. Some highly marketing-oriented businesses, in fact, are built as much on the ability to wax rhapsodic about a product as they are on the ability to buy or source compelling products to begin with. Think of J. Peterman, the catalog operation that became famous—and highly successful—by selling prosaic products with the help of romantic, overblown advertising copy, prior to going bankrupt in 1999.

It's important in your plan to be able to build a convincing case for the product or service upon which your business will be built. The product description section is where you do that.

Related: How to Write a Business Plan

Product Description Worksheet

Features describe the make, shape, form, or appearance of a product, the characteristics that you use to describe products. These features convey benefits to the customer. Benefits (perceived benefits) are the emotional or other end results that your product or service provides that customer, the satisfaction or fulfillment of needs that a customer receives from your products or services. In the famous phrase, "My factories make cosmetics, we sell hope," cosmetics are the products, hope is the benefit.

Here are a few sample product descriptions:

Street Beat is a new type of portable electronic rhythm machine used to create musical backgrounds for street dances, fairs, concerts, picnics, sporting events, and other outdoor productions. The product is less costly than a live rhythm section and offers better sound quality than competing systems. Its combination of features will appeal to sports promoters, fair organizers, and charitable and youth organizations.

Troubleshooting Times is the only monthly magazine for the nation's 6,000 owners of electronics repair shops. It provides timely news of industry trends, service product reviews, and consumer product service tips written in a language service shop owners can understand.

HOBO, the Home Business Organization, provides business consulting services to entrepreneurs who work out of their homes. The group connects home business owners with experts who have extensive experience counseling home business owners in management, finance, marketing, and lifestyle issues. Unlike entrepreneurial peer groups, which charge members for attending sessions whether or not they receive useful advice, HOBO will guarantee its services, asking home business owners to pay only if they derive solid benefit from the service.

Related: How to Define Your Product and Set Your Prices

A business plan product description has to be less image-conscious than an advertising brochure but more appealing than a simple spec sheet. You don't want to give the appearance of trying to dazzle readers with a glitzy product sales pitch filled with a lot of hype. On the other hand, you want to give them a sampling of how you are going to position and promote the product.

And remember, a business plan product description is not only concerned with consumer appeal. Issues of manufacturability are of paramount concern to plan readers, who may have seen any number of plans describing exciting products that, in the end, proved impossible to design and build economically.

If your product or service has special features that will make it easy to build and distribute, say so. For instance, the portable rhythm machine maker should point out in the business plan that the devices will be constructed using new special-purpose integrated circuits derived from military applications, which will vastly increase durability and quality while reducing costs.

Related: The Basics of Writing a Business Plan

Plan Pointer: Get Creative

No ideas to differentiate your product? Steal someone else's. That is, combine your product with another to create something new. Dry cleaners do this when they offer coupons for the neighborhood pizza parlor—which gives out cleaning coupons with each pie. It's called cooperative marketing.

Related: The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Business Plan

More in Write Your Business Plan

Section 1: the foundation of a business plan, section 2: putting your business plan to work, section 3: selling your product and team, section 4: marketing your business plan, section 5: organizing operations and finances, section 6: getting your business plan to investors.

Successfully copied link

Advisory boards aren’t only for executives. Join the LogRocket Content Advisory Board today →

• Product Management
• Solve User-Reported Issues
• Find Issues Faster
• Optimize Conversion and Adoption

What is a product plan and how to create one in 6 steps

Whenever I read about the next hot, new start-up with unicorn potential, I can’t help but think of Pinky and the Brain .

Both titular characters in the mid-90s animated TV series are genetically modified laboratory mice. Brain is hyper-intelligent; Pinky, not so much.

Brain’s primary objective? World domination:

Pinky : Gee, Brain. What are we going to do tonight? Brain : The same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try to take over the world.

In each episode, Brain devises a diabolical yet half-baked plan — for example, manipulating the world’s biggest magnet to form discarded satellites to spell “Brain is your ruler” — that invariably ends up foiled.

What does this have to do with product management?

Devise a product plan to take over the world

If you want to make an impact with your product and solve all your customers’ problems, don’t be like Brain; take the time to devise a product plan before you make your first move on your quest for market domination.

Creating roadmaps and backlogs is a great start, but product planning covers a much wider scope.

In this guide, we’ll define what product planning means, why it’s important, and the components and steps involved in creating a product plan.

What is a product plan?

Product planning covers all the steps, activities, and decisions a company must perform and make to develop a successful product.

A product can be defined as an input-outcome device. The input is the customer value proposition and the outcome is the company’s profit. Product planning includes everything you need to do internally to get from input to outcome.

It starts with a recognized customer need — after all, customers don’t just buy a product, they buy what the product will do for them to solve a problem they are having. It ends when the product has reached the end of its usefulness from a business perspective.

What is the purpose of product planning?

Product planning encompasses the actions and components that contribute to achieving a specific outcome. Product management is all about realizing outcomes.

Before jumping into the how and what, let’s first understand why product planning is important by outlining its six objectives:

• Company survival
• Meet customer needs
• Increase sales
• Understand and manage strengths and weaknesses
• Better manage capacity
• Plan effectively

1. Company survival

The eye of the tiger, survival of the fittest — or as P. Diddy said, it’s all about the Benjamins .

Product planning allows you to focus, remain viable, and understand your ability to innovate. It also helps you clarify how to introduce, grow, and sunset products in highly competitive markets.

2. Meet customer needs

The customer is at the heart of any product. Thorough product planning will set you up to understand and meet your customers’ needs. This, in turn, helps you quickly move customers from evaluators to champions through the product-led growth flywheel .

3. Increase sales

Your product can be lightyears ahead with brilliant solutions to customer problems, yet if they are not interested in the solution and don’t buy the product, your product fails.

For example, virtual reality seems to have finally found product-market fit . VR technology though, is not new.

In the 90s, VR was on the rise and forecasted sales potential was off the charts. Unfortunately, VR systems such as the Virtual Boy failed to deliver; its poor ergonomics and underwhelming stereoscopic effect gave users terrible headaches.

With better product planning, Nintendo might’ve been able to craft a more sophisticated product that satisfied customer expectations and, as a result, increased sales.

Over 200k developers and product managers use LogRocket to create better digital experiences

4. Understand and manage strengths and weaknesses

Product planning allows you to look introspectively and analyze your strengths and weaknesses in light of market requirements. What does your product do really well? What qualities distinguish it from competitors? What does your product lack and what do competitors do better?

By asking and answering questions like these, you’ll gain a better understanding of what you can take advantage of and what you need to improve in your product.

5. Better manage capacity

What’s one thing every company has in common? Limited resources in terms of capital, material, and human resources. Product planning enables you to plan these optimally and get the most out of them.

6. Plan effectively

When you’re building products, you have many competing priorities . Will you invest in new features, enhance and improve existing ones, reduce technical debt , or spend more time on improving discovery and delivery processes ? Product planning allows you to meet your long-term strategic plans.

6 considerations for product planning

Now that we understand why product planning is essential, how do you go about doing it?

Creating a successful product plan involves the following considerations:

• Research before development
• Choose a delivery method
• Coordinate activities
• Set a price
• Commercialize the product
• Abandon unprofitable products

1. Research before development

Energy to get going: Check. Confidence it will work out: Check.

Validation that the idea will deliver what customers need? [Buzzer sounds].

Before jumping into the deep end of product development, start with extendive market and user research. The insights gathered therein will help you establish what characteristics and requirements your product must fulfil to meet customers’ needs.

2. Choose a delivery method

All roads lead to Rome. The question is, which is the most efficient?

This is even more applicable when it comes to product delivery. Which delivery method will enable you to develop your product or feature exact how the customer needs it to be?

3. Coordinate activities

Product planning aims to coordinate all the initiatives and activities around the product and its investments. Doing so allows you to improve your competitive position and strive for market leadership. It also helps you quickly respond to changing market conditions.

4. Set a price

Product planning helps you determine the ideal price point for your product.

More great articles from LogRocket:

• How to implement issue management to improve your product
• 8 ways to reduce cycle time and build a better product
• What is a PERT chart and how to make one
• Discover how to use behavioral analytics to create a great product experience
• Explore six tried and true product management frameworks you should know
• Advisory boards aren’t just for executives. Join LogRocket’s Content Advisory Board. You’ll help inform the type of content we create and get access to exclusive meetups, social accreditation, and swag.

The insights gathered during product planning can help you determine the best pricing strategy. For example, is your product most suitable for value-based, competitive, price skimming, cust-plus, penetration, economy, or dynamic pricing?

5. Commercialize the product

Product planning helps you uncover and validate the viability, feasibility, and desirability of your product.

Desirability speaks to satisfaction of customer needs and the commercialization of the product. This measure helps you ensure viability and, hopefully, rake in profits.

Product planning also considers how to best introduce the product to the market and continuously measure success post-launch .

6. Abandon unprofitable products

All good things eventually come to an end. Every decision in a product is a business decision, and there will come a time that further investment in a product or product feature becomes unprofitable.

At that point, a decision has to be made whether or not to sunset the product or feature.

Good product planning throughout the product lifecycle helps you recognize when it is time to abandon the product and sunset it in a structured way with minimal impact on customers.

How to create a product plan in 6 steps

OK, enough small talk. It’s time to deep-dive into the product planning process.

Product planning involves six steps:

• Market and user research
• Concept ideation
• Screening and testing
• Introduction and launch
• Product lifecycle

1. Market and user research

Before you start to build, it’s crucial to understand the problem you’re trying to solve, the market drivers, competitors, and customer needs. You can generate insights on all of the above through market research.

Competitive analysis , a subset of market research, is a structured approach to identifying and analyzing competitors.

Both are conducted to identify markets, investigate market positioning , and analyze the business’s success.

Through customer segmentation research, which is especially important to new businesses, larger customer groups are divided into different groups with personas.

The personas form the basis of user research, which is aimed at understanding potential customers’ problems, habits, interests, motivations, and more.

2. Concept ideation

A great product starts with a great concept and initial validation of that concept. This step is arguably the most fun and creative step.

During the concept development stage, you define what you are trying to build by figuring out how well it solves the identified problem, how easy it is to use, what it will cost the customer, the look and feel of the application, and so on.

A key step in this process step is product discovery and a continuation of user research, which enables you to uncover the problems the persona faces and the solution to aim for.

Concept ideation sources can be both external and internal. Externally, market and user research influence concept ideation. Internally, concept ideas originate from sales, customer support, marketing, engineering, designers, user research, executives, and investors.

3. Screening and testing

During screening and testing, the ideas generated during the concept ideation phase are critically evaluated.

The goal is to groom out ideas that are either inconsistent with the product vision , undesirable, and/or impractical.

After evaluation, the next step is to rigorously prioritize ideas . As the Highlander said, “ There can only be one .” This is not to say you should only test one idea; it just means you should pursue the most promising tests first.

There are plenty of prioritization frameworks to choose from with some of the most commonly used include:

• Value vs. effort
• MoSCoW method
• Opportunity scoring

Once you have a prioritized list, you should devise a hypothesis and experiment to verify or disprove it.

In product testing, customers are given an opportunity to try a prototype. This helps you understand whether customers understand the product idea, what they like or dislike about it, and whether they would ultimately buy and use it.

The concept ideation, screening, and testing as a whole are often covered in the Double Diamond approach, which is a design process to help you discover, define, develop and deliver solutions.

4. Introduction and launch

After a few iterations of screening and testing, the new features and usability improvements deemed ready to pursue and develop trickle through and are ready for development and launch.

In this step, the idea is converted into a product. It’s the PM’s job to schedule activities to ensure a successful product launch with a high adoption rate .

When ready, the product is launched and commercialized. If your product planning is sound, it should be poised to compete with existing products and maximize market share and profits.

5. Product lifecycle

After the product is launched, the real fun begins. Now it’s time to measure and analyze usage to gather new insights about whether or not your product launch was successful.

Using these insights, you can modify and enhance the product, introduce new features, improve usability, and help the product move from introduction to growth.

At a certain point, you’ll reach product maturity. The number of customers and sales will stabilize. Eventually, new investments in the product will have a harder time generating additional revenue. It will become increasingly challenging to compete.

Eventually, the product will decline, and the number of customers and sales along with it. This might be due to existing competition or the introduction of new products that are more advanced and better serve the customer’s needs.

Think about how the Walkman was surpassed by the Discman, which was overtaken by the mp3 player, and, eventually, an app on your phone.

6. Sunsetting

When a product is in decline, it’s time to sunset it. Sunsetting is also known as the end of life and usually involves deprecating the product.

Though it might feel difficult to say goodbye to a product that you birthed, nurtured, and watched grow, sunsetting a product is a perfectly natural part of the product lifecycle.

During the sunsetting phase, it is important to be diligent. You should devise a playbook or checklist to ensure all activities, such as communication, code clean-ups, and so on are covered during the end-of-life period.

Featured image source: IconScout

LogRocket generates product insights that lead to meaningful action

Get your teams on the same page — try LogRocket today.

Share this:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• #product strategy

Stop guessing about your digital experience with LogRocket

Recent posts:.

Leader Spotlight: The importance of challenging assumptions, with Alex Swain

Alex Swain talks about how the key to avoiding building a product that nobody will purchase is to always challenge assumptions.

How to use the PR/FAQ method to drive product innovation

The PR/FAQ method helps you clarify your vision, communicate your strategy, validate your assumptions, and solicit feedback from others.

Leader Spotlight: The nuances of quality localization, with Drew Wrangles

Drew Wrangles, Head of Product & Design at Taskrabbit, shares his experiences leading product localization.

Techniques for gaining insights from customers

A deep understanding of your customers helps you prioritize problems, define solutions, and adjust communications.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

The Ultimate Guide to Product Marketing in 2023

Learn about the power of product marketing, how it can help your bottom line, and impact the success of your products.

THE ULTIMATE PRODUCT MARKETING GO-TO-MARKET KIT

Ensure that your whole team is aligned with four planning and internal enablement templates for your next product launch.

Updated: 02/02/23

Published: 02/02/23

Product marketing is essential, even if you only sell one or two products at your organization.

But what is product marketing ? How do you market a product, and how does that differ from conventional marketing strategies? Let’s find out.

What Is Product Marketing?

Why Is Product Marketing Important?

Product Marketing Duties

Product Marketing Strategy

Product marketing examples, what is product marketing.

Product marketing is the process of bringing a product to market, promoting it, and selling it to a customer. Product marketing involves understanding the product’s target audience and using strategic positioning and messaging to boost revenue and demand for the product.

What makes product marketing unique? How is it different from conventional marketing? Let's unpack the differences.

Product Marketing vs. Conventional Marketing

Product marketing is strategic whereas conventional marketing is all-encompassing.

Product marketing is considered a component of conventional marketing. In fact, if you look at the seven Ps of marketing , you’ll see product marketing is one of the most important aspects of a business’s marketing efforts.

Free Product Go-to-Market Kit

Free templates to ensure that your whole team is aligned for your next product launch.

• Product Launch Template
• Product Roadmap Template
• Sales Plan Template

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Product Marketing Go-to-Market Kit

Fill out this form to access your free kit..

Product marketing is about understanding a specific product’s audience deeply and developing that product’s positioning and messaging to appeal to that audience. It covers the launch and execution side of a product in addition to the marketing strategy for the product — which is why the work of a product marketer lies at the center of a business’s marketing, sales, and product teams.

Conventional marketing is focused on broader topics under the umbrella of marketing, such as lead generation, SEO, and anything related to acquiring and converting new leads and customers . It’s about promoting the company and brand as a whole, including the products sold. These marketers make sure there’s a consistent, on-brand message behind all of the company’s content.

To understand it better, let’s look at product marketing goals.

Product Marketing Goals

Product marketing is focused on driving demand for and adoption of a product among existing customers. It’s focused on the steps people take to purchase your product so product marketers can build campaigns to support this work.

Usually, product marketing is executed with several goals in mind:

1. Understand your customers better.

When you implement a product marketing strategy, your target audience can see the value of having that specific product in their lives. Understanding how many customers gravitate to your product lets you conduct customer research.

2. Target your buyer personas effectively.

Alongside understanding your customers, you can figure out the type of buyer persona to target in the future. Knowing the exact needs of your target can help you when innovating your product to better suit their needs. Creating a value proposition can help with this. 

3. Learn about your competitors (products and marketing tactics).

When you market your product, you can compare your strategy and results to your competitors. What features and benefits of their products make a statement within the market? What ideas haven’t they explored? What does their product offer that yours doesn’t? You can use this research to your advantage when crafting your product marketing strategy.

4. Ensure the marketing, product, and sales teams are all on the same page.

Making your product offering abundantly clear for buyers and employees is mutually beneficial. Every team working together in your business can better understand the product's purpose and better communicate that in their operations.

5. Position the product appropriately in the market.

In product marketing, you want your product, brand image, and tone consistent and evoke the right feelings intended for your audience. When you brainstorm your brand positioning , some questions to consider are:

Is this product suitable for today’s market?

How is this product different from our competitors'?

Can we further differentiate this product from our competitors' offerings?

Are there any products we’ve sold in the past that we wouldn’t market or sell again? If so, why not?

6. Boost revenue and improve sales.

There are also questions you, as a product marketer, will have to ask yourself and reflect on regarding your product. Asking yourself these questions will help you ensure your product is successful among customers.

Is this product appropriate for our customers today?

How is this product unique from similar products of our competitors?

Is there a way to further differentiate this product from our competitors? 

Are there any products we’ve sold in the past that we wouldn’t market or sell ever again now that we look back? If so, why not?

As you can see, product marketing requires you to look at your products strategically to ensure they’re successful among customers in your current market.

Why is product marketing essential?

Product marketing is a critical part of any business’s marketing strategy. Without it, your product won’t achieve its maximum potential among your target audience.

To illustrate its importance, let’s look at an example of successful product marketing. During the 1950s, Volkswagen sold a bus. Although now considered a classic vehicle, the bus remains an icon for the car company decades later.

The cool part? Volkswagen announced their new VW Bus — it’s electric and features sleek, modern styling. Volkswagen’s marketing for the vehicle is eye-catching, unique, and fun, and it complements the original “hippie” vibe the company was once known for.

Image Source

Volkswagen also released a TV commercial for the bus that’s clever, minimalist, and on-brand. It introduces the new vehicle with the song The Sound of Silence playing in the background (hint: electric cars are silent) and ends with a short message on the screen for viewers to read: “Introducing a new era of electric driving.”

This sentiment touches on the fact Volkswagen is contributing to society’s interest in electric, eco-friendly vehicles. It also relates to this being a new era for the bus.

This is why product marketing is important: Because it highlights not the company but the product itself, ensuring longevity in the market.

But who works on this type of marketing? Who helps create content that excites consumers about new and updated products, like the Volkswagen bus? Who encourages consumers to buy? Product marketers.

Now, let’s take a look at the specific responsibilities that product marketers (or product marketing managers) face in their typical day.

Product Marketing Responsibilities

• Identify the buyer personas and target audience for your product.
• Successfully create and carry out your product marketing strategy.
• Work with and enable sales to attract the right customers for your new product.
• Determine your product’s positioning in the market.
• Ensure the product meets the needs of your target audience.
• Keep your product relevant over time.

Your responsibilities as a product marketer may vary slightly based on industry, company, products, and company size and resources. If you’re working for a startup, you may be a product marketer who also helps create the content the broader marketing team produces due to limited resources and budget. As the business grows, you may move onto a team whose sole job is product marketing.

Let’s take a look at six common product marketing responsibilities.

1. Identify the buyer personas and target audience for your product.

You must identify the buyer personas and audience for your product so you can target customers in a convincing way that makes them want to purchase. This will allow you to tailor your product and its features to solve your audience's challenges.

Pro tip: Use templates to create buyer personas for your business. A tangible outline of whom you’re catering to can help align different teams in your business and better position your product in the marketplace.

2. Successfully create, manage and carry out your product marketing strategy.

A product marketing strategy (which we’ll review shortly) allows you to create, build, and execute content and campaigns — this supports the steps that will lead your buyer personas and customers to make a purchase.

3. Work with and enable sales to attract customers for your new product.

As a product marketer, you have to mamusta direct relationship with sales. You’ll work with sales to identify and attract the right customers for the product at hand and provide sales enablement materials to reps to ensure they understand the product inside and out, along with its features.

This way, you and your teams are on the same page in termregarding being shared with customers, allowing you to provide a consistent, on-brand experience for anyone who comes in contact with the product.

4. Determine your product’s positioning in the market.

One of the most important parts of your job is determining the product’s positioning in the market. Think about this process in terms of storytelling — your positioning requires you to create and tell the story of your product.

As a product marketer, you’ll work with the broader marketing team and the product team to tell this story by answering critical questions like:

Why was this product made?

Whom is this product made for?

What challenges does this product resolve?

What makes this product unique?

5. Ensure your product meets the needs of your target audience.

You must also make sure your product meets the needs of your customers and target audience. Through the research to determine your buyer persona and target audience, you should have uncovered the pain points and challenges you’re working to solve with your product.

If your product doesn’t meet your customers' needs, they’ll have no reason to make the purchase or choose your product over your competitor’s.

6. Keep your product relevant over time.

Your product needs to stay relevant over time. As needs, expectations, and challenges change and evolve, it’s your job to ensure your product marketing strategy and the products themselves remain relevant among customers.

This means you may have to manage slight changes in your product marketing strategy (which we’ll discuss next) or updates and modifications to the product itself (you’ll likely work with the product team, which creates the effect, to do this).

7. Guide marketing strategies for new products.

In product marketing, you'll need to pay close attention to what worked in your strategy and what didn't so you can better plan marketing strategies for new and future custom products . Pay attention to where your audience is and what they are looking for. What channels got the most traction and led to more converted leads?

All this information and more should be applied to marketing strategies for new products.

Your product marketing strategy serves to guide the positioning, pricing, and promotion of your new product. It helps you take your product from development to launch and informs what new audience(s) and markets to which to launch and market your product.

Now, let’s take a look at five steps that can help you optimize your product marketing strategy.

1. Define your product’s target audience and buyer personas.

As a product marketer, one of the main roles you have is to define a specific target audience and create buyer personas for the product being sold (different products will likely have different target audiences). This is the first step to marketing your product.

By understanding your customers and their needs, challenges, and pain points, you’ll be able to end that all aspects of your product marketing strategy (as in the rest of the steps we’ll define below) are tailored to that target customer and persona. This way, the product and the marketing content created for the product will resonate with your audience.

2. Determine the positioning and messaging to set your product apart.

After your customer research and learning about your audience, you’ll have identified their needs, challenges, and pain points. From here, you can think about how to highlight the ways your product resolves those challenges for your customers.

However, that doesn't necessarily mean you’ve differentiated yourself from your competitors. After all, they are your competitors because they solve your customers' needs in a similar way to your company.

The key to setting your product apart is positioning (which we touched on earlier ) and messaging . Positioning answers key questions your customers might have about your product and what makes it unique and then turns those answers into the main points behind your product’s marketing strategy.

It’s your job as the product marketer to ensure your customers and audience know the answers to these questions and don't have to dig around for (or make assumptions about) them.

Examples of questions you’ll need to answer to develop your product’s positioning and messaging include the following:

What specifically makes our product unique?

Why is our product better than our competitors’?

Why are our product’s features ideal for our target audience?

What will our customers get out of our product that they cannot get from our competitors’ products?

Why should our customers trust and invest in us and our product?

Once you’ve answered these questions, you can compile these responses into one impactful and shareable statement that captures your positioning and messaging. To do this, follow these steps:

Turn the answers to the positioning and messaging questions into an elevator pitch .

Use action words to excite your customers.

Ensure the tone of your statement captures the style of your brand.

Focus on the benefit of your product as a whole (not just one specific feature).

Pro Tip: As product marketers, you should ensure the sales, product, and (the broader) marketing teams are also aware of your positioning and messaging around the product so they, too, can communicate the same information to prospects and current customers.

This allows you to ensure the entire company is consistent in the content and information they share about your product. Additionally, you can provide this information to your support team if you think it’s necessary, as they may be fielding support calls and working with your customers who’ve already invested in the product.

3. Set goals for your product.

Next, you’ll want to set goals for your product. These will vary based on your specific product, the type of company you work for, your overall marketing goals, and more — your goals will be specific to your business and situation. However, let’s review some common goals product marketers aim to achieve:

Increase revenue

Engage with customers

Improve market share

Gain customers from competitors

Boost brand recognition

Pro Tip: Feel free to combine several goals or choose one to focus on — every company and product will have different plans. The key is ensuring you view and set these targets in the SMART goal format, meaning they’re specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound.

Use a free template to help you create and achieve your SMART goals.

4. Price your product.

As a product marketer, you’ll also have to contribute to the discussion of the price of your product . Depending on your company, you might work with other teams on this part of the strategy, or it might be a job just for you and your fellow product marketers. Either way, you can consider competitive vs. value-based pricing.

Competitive vs. Value-Based Product Pricing

Competitive pricing means you’re basing your product’s price off similar products your competitors sell. It’s ideal for companies that have an effect similar to one that several other companies sell.

Suppose you believe your unique features warrant a significantly higher price e of your competitors’. In that case, you might price your product above the other similar products on the market. An excellent way to evaluate the fairness of the pricing of all of your competitors is by studying financial reports and industry trends.

Value-based pricing allows you to maximize your profit, although it’s a bit more time-consuming to establish in comparison to competitive pricing. It’s ideal for companies selling a product with very few competitors on the market or one with exceptionally new and unique features.

Value-based pricing quantifies your item’s value in a way your customer can relate to their profitability. It allows you to base your product’s price on its value for your customer rather than whatever the market, industry trends, and your competitors say.

5. Launch your product.

Now it’s time for the most impoessentialt of your role as a product marketer — not to mention, the most exciting: the launch of the product you’ve been marketing.

There are two main parts to the launch to focus on as a product marketer: the internal launch (what goes on within your company upon product launch) and the external launch (what goes on outside of your company, with customers and audience members, upon product launch).

Internal Aspects of a Product Launch

As previously stated, your job as a product marketer entails ensuring the entire organization is on the same page about your product. This way, your customers only receive consistent and accurate details about the product.

The marketing, product, and sales teams at your company should be aware of the following information:

The product’s benefits

Any available product demo information

Sales training opportunities on your product and details about how it’s used

What the positioning and messaging looks like

Who your buyer personas, and ideal customers are

What the goals for your product include

What your product’s features are

The pricing of your product

How your product is being launched to customers

Now, you might be wondering how to provide this information to marketing, product, and sales. Which channels are ideal for sharing these details with your fellow employees?

Here are a few examples of ways to do this:

Sales enablement kit (ideal for sales)

Presentation (ideal for the broader marketing department and product)

Knowledge base (ideal for support)

External Aspects of a Product Launch

Externally, there are many ways to market your product launch so your current base of customers, prospects, and target audience learn about whatever it is you’re selling.

First, determine where you’re going to focus your product marketing efforts. Here are some examples of channels and places to do this (you might choose several of these or just one to focus on depending on your needs, goals, and resources).

Social media

Product launch event

Website landing page

Exclusive product preview (prior to the official launch)

Promotional event/ campaign (in-person and/ or online)

On whatever channel you choose to focus your product launch marketing efforts, you should include relevant product information ( focused on your positioning and messaging ) so prospects and customers can learn all about your product and why they need it. This includes your product’s features, what makes it unique, pricing, demos for customers, training for customers, and any other materials you’ve created and want to share.

Congrats! You’ve just worked through the steps to marketing a product. Remember, this process is one that should be thought about and updated as your products change and evolve so they remain relevant among your customers. (This shouldn’t be an issue as long as you have a member of your team focused on product marketing, considering it’s one of their main responsibilities.)

Now that you know how to create a product marketing strategy, how do you market a product across your channels? Let’s take a look.

How to Market a Product

• Create a product marketing deck for other marketing teams.
• Publish product-focused content on your blog.
• Insert product mentions naturally in your existing marketing collateral.
• Try comarketing with a similar brand.
• Launch PPC ads and bid on your and competitors’ keywords.
• Focus on the benefits, not the features.

1. Create a product marketing deck for other marketing teams.

Non-product marketers — i.e, social media marketers and content marketers — won’t have the full know-how on your product, impeding them from marketing it properly on customer-facing channels. As a product marketer, your job isn’t necessarily to execute marketing campaigns or write content. Instead, your job is to enable specialized teams — such as your social media and content team — to market your company’s products effectively.

The first step is to provide a deck, presentation, or document that outlines your product marketing strategy to other marketers. That way, when it’s time to execute on a strategy, they know the positioning they are aiming for, the wording they are to use, and the personas they are targeting.

2. Publish product-focused content on your blog.

A blog is primarily a place to attract inbound leads. Rather than trying to hammer them with information about your product, you might write content that helps them solve an issue instead, and then offer them a free guide or ebook to help them further.

But did you know that your team can publish content that attracts inbound leads and encourages purchases and sign-ups? At HubSpot, we call this product-focused content. It’s just as helpful as our other content, but with a critical difference: It has a call-to-action to try one of HubSpot’s products.

For instance, our blog post, What is a CMS and Why Should You Care? , aims to inform readers about content management systems, but then includes a call-to-action to try CMS Hub .

While the blog post is still informative and not overtly promotional, it still promotes one of our products. In the same way, you or your content team can write helpful content for your readers, help them the inbound way, and still encourage customers to try your offerings.

3. Insert product mentions naturally in your existing marketing collateral.

If you’ve had a longstanding marketing strategy prior to beginning product marketing, we have good news: You can retroactively market your product in existing collateral. For instance, if you already have an expansive library of blog posts, you can update them with information about your products (so long as the mention is natural).

Recent social media posts can also be candidates for an update, and your website content should also change to show your brand new product. Internal links from related pages can help drive traffic to your new product pages.

In addition, if your marketing team has created marketing offers in the past, you can have them update the offer and add a call-to-action to try your newest product — like in this example from HubSpot’s Case Study Templates offer , where we prompt users to try CMS Hub.

4. Try comarketing with a similar brand.

Comarketing is an excellent way to market your product to a related audience. You can do something as simple as filming a video together, writing a collaborative blog post, posting on each other’s social channels, or running a webinar.

Your product should be an excellent match for the other company’s customers. Ideally, both of your products can be used in conjunction and not compete directly. For instance, Ankor Software and HubSpot partnered for a webinar, but Ankor Software doesn’t compete with HubSpot CRM — it complements it.

5. Launch PPC ads and bid on your and competitors’ keywords.

Pay-per-click (PPC) is an essential product marketing tactic. While content and social media marketing can help you attract inbound leads, you can get the attention of even more potential customers by posting PPC ads on search engines.

When setting up your PPC campaign, bid not only on general product keywords (such as “crm software” or “[insert category]”), but on your own branded terms and your competition’s as well. That way, customers who are considering purchasing the same product from a competitor will consider you as an alternative.

6. Focus on the benefits, not the features.

Regardless of the channel or platform you’re promoting your product on, highlight the benefits customers will experience, not the features of your product. Not only can features feel jargony (like “Customizable attribution models” or “Automated contact workflows”), but they shroud the benefits and alienate non-technical customers.

Try, instead, leading with the benefits, such as “Know where exactly your leads come from” or “Save time by automating tasks using contact workflows.” For instance, on the Marketing Hub page, the features snapshot reads:

“ Attract visitors through blogging, social media, ads, and more. Convert visitors into customers with landing pages, email, marketing automation, ABM, and more. Track ROI with revenue attribution reporting. All powered by the customer data in your CRM to enable personalization at scale .”

Using benefit-first language will engage customers and prompt them to try your products. The “how” of the benefit — such as features or functionalities — come after.

Let's review four real-life examples of stellar product marketing.

Apple is a household name for leading technology products and software. Not only are its products gorgeously well-designed; it’s also super useful. But Apple's product marketing doesn't focus on the many product features — it markets the user benefits.

Apple doesn't simply list the impressive features of their products; the brand uses those features to tell consumers who they could be and how they could work if they have those products. Apple tells a narrative using its products and encourages people to buy in the process.

Billie is a women's razor brand. In a highly competitive market, Billie has helped its products stand out. How? It established a sharp competitive edge (no pun intended) by doing what no razor brand had done before — show body hair in its advertising.

Not only did this advertising approach get Billie's audience talking about the brand, but they also appreciated the brand's accurate portrayal of women's bodies and body hair. These differentiators were more than enough to set Billie apart from other razor brands and products.

3. Pepsi Cola

As a brand, Pepsi has positioned itself as one with youthful energy and excitement, and this can be seen consistently through its product marketing campaigns.

Pepsi's customers are mainly aged between 13 and 35 years old with modern and active lifestyles, so it only makes sense to hire popular celebrities like Doja Cat for a commercial in a homecoming tailgate.

Through highly targeted positioning, repetitive advertising, and consistent branding, Pepsi has become a truly global household name and product.

4. MailChimp

There are dozens of email marketing tools on the market, but MailChimp hasn't been fazed by competition. In fact, the company has risen above its competition by positioning itself as more than an email marketing tool: it's an all-in-one marketing platform that helps businesses grow.

Like Apple, MailChimp primarily highlights its benefits for the end-user, not just its product features. A recent rebranding and site redesign further drives this narrative home.

Start Marketing Your Products

Product marketing is the process through which a company brings a product to market. Being a product marketer (or product marketing manager) means you’re at the center of your company’s marketing, sales, and product teams.

You’re an integral part to the success of your product, as you create and manage your product’s specific marketing strategy, but you also serve as a liaison between all three of these departments, ensuring everyone is on the same page with your product, it’s features, capabilities, and more. So, start developing your latest product’s marketing strategy to ensure it’s a success among your target audience and customers.

This post was originally published in February 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Don't forget to share this post!

Related articles.

Segmentation, Targeting, & Positioning (STP Marketing): The Marketer's Guide

Product Launch Checklist: How to Launch a Product, According to HubSpot's Experts

The 6 Stages of the Product Life Cycle [+Examples]

What Does Product Marketing Do?

Product Classification: What It Is & Its Impact on Marketing Efforts

How Benefit Segmentation Will Take Your Marketing Campaigns to the Next Level

How to Build a Product Ecosystem Buyers Will Want to Be In

9 Product Category Marketing Examples to Inspire Your Own

Product Attributes: What Marketers Need to Know

5 Things Gen Z Will Spend Money On & Why Marketers Need to Care

Free planning and communication templates align your team for your next product launch.

Marketing software that helps you drive revenue, save time and resources, and measure and optimize your investments — all on one easy-to-use platform