The Process for Building Your Own Plan

Business plans are all different, but the basic layout and information they contain are virtually the same. You can add in additional information or topics when you write your own. Starting with this guide will ensure you’re on the correct path.

First, Review Our Guide and Make Sure You Understand It

Before you get started, thoroughly review our guide. Make sure you understand every element of it. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out for clarification.

Second, Identify How You Will Gather the Elements

There are elements of the plan that will require you to do some outside research. There’s also basic company information you should have at the ready. Determine how you will gather each piece of the plan before you get started.

Identify What You Know, What You’ll Assume, and What You’ll Find Out

Before you begin writing your ecommerce business plan, review the elements you’ll need for it. Identify which elements you know, which you’ll assume, and which you need to research. This helps you to know where to gather the information for your plan.

For example, if you already know a particular element, you’ll gather it from internal documents or requests within your company. If you make assumptions, you might gather these through facilitating brainstorming sessions with other key stakeholders in the business. And if you need to find something out, you might identify how/when/where you’ll get this intel.

Third, Create Deadlines to Gather What You Need

Setting deadlines is crucial if you’re creating a business plan with other colleagues. You want to ensure everyone is on the same page. You don’t want your ecommerce business plan creation to be delayed because there weren’t clear deadlines for when information was due.

Fourth, Find a Basic Business Plan Template You’d Like to Use

Ecommerce business plans differ from the typical business plan, but the basic layout is the same. A basic business plan template will give you a foundation of what information you’ll need to create a more comprehensive plan.

Fifth, Bring the Elements You’ve Gathered Into Your Plan Template

Once you have your template picked out and have gathered all the elements, drop them into the template. From there, you can tweak information, add further details, and expand upon sections. Go over the business plan in great detail with other key stakeholders and necessary colleagues.

Ecommerce Business Plan Guide and Elements

Now that you have a basic understanding of the importance of an ecommerce business plan and how it’ll benefit your business, we’ll go over the various elements of the plan.

Customer

Most ecommerce businesses operate under a B2C model, meaning they sell directly to consumers. If this is the model you’re following, create a target customer profile, also known as buyer personas. You can use this profile to formulate your marketing strategy for your products.

In this profile, include characteristics like:

• Location
• Income Level
• Gender
• Business Size
• Interests
• Purchasing preferences

You can use this profile to identify opportunities that’ll be valuable to your company. You can also understand your target customer better, making your marketing and sales strategies more effective.

Group Possible Customers and Describe Who They Are

You may have more than one target customer. If you’re a fitness company that sells dumbbells, you’ll be targeting both males and females. They could also be customers from different socio-economic backgrounds.

Group customers that are similar together and look for where their interests and other information overlaps.

Identify How the Groups Are Different in Their Needs and Behaviors

Even though there may be similar groups, they all have different behaviors and needs. By figuring out how they’re different, you can see how you should tailor your approach to each group.

Identify Likely Brand and Product Attributes They Might Value Highly

When creating your customer profiles, it’s vital to identify what types of product and brand attributes they’ll be drawn to. If your product or service doesn’t fall into any of those categories, you’re likely targeting the wrong group. Having this information ready will help maximize your time and ensure your ecommerce business plan targets the correct groups of people. 

Keep in mind that even though you’re creating customer profiles for an essential element of your ecommerce business plan, it is something you should continually update. As you see marketing strategies play out, incorporate insights you’ve learned into the profiles. Monitor any developments or changes and alter your profiles as needed.

Brand

A comprehensive overview of your ecommerce business is another facet of a business plan. After reading through this section of the plan, a person should have a clear understanding of:

• What type of business you’re running
• What your plans are
• What makes your particular venture special

You’ll begin your plan with an opening statement before diving into different topics, including your specific brand.

Craft a Vision and Mission Statement

A vision and mission statement sound similar, but they address two different things. They’re defined as:

• Mission Statement: It covers why you’re in business, what your passion is, and what drives you
• Vision Statement: Explain what your business dreams are, where you want to go, and how your customers can come with you

These statements are vital for readers, potential investors, and business stakeholders to understand the purpose and meaning of your business. They illustrate the long-term goals you’re hoping to achieve with your business.

Vision statements are also helpful when connecting with potential employees. If your business’s vision statement resonates with your employees, it’s shown they’ll be more productive and be more effective spokespeople of your company. 

Identify Other Brands You Love Outside of Your Target Market

Part of developing your own brand is looking at other brands within your current niche. In your research, look for brands that resonate with you. What are the things you love about their business? Is there a connection between what you admire and their brand promise?

Knowing your competitors is a vital part of being competitive in the ecommerce landscape. You shouldn’t research them blindly. Conduct a competitive analysis of each company.

The elements of a competitive analysis include:

• Mission/vision statement
• Business model
• Domain name
• Key product features
• Monthly website traffic
• Product pricing strategy

You can even go into more in-depth detail and research a specific product’s launch. Evaluate their marketing strategies and media coverage. Look into ways you can utilize similar tactics and improve upon them for your own product launches.

Describe Your Brand Distinctives

Identify why your brand is different from competitors. In an ever-saturated online retail market, you need to differentiate yourself from your competition. What does your business offer that the competition doesn’t?

When formulating your brand’s distinction, consider the following:

• What are the elements you want to be trusted to provide above all other competitors
• In what ways will you demonstrate and prove that trust is correctly placed
• Identify what you are willing to sacrifice to provide these brand distinctions

You need a customer base fast after launching your company, and figuring out these points in advance will help you grow your business. You’ll be able to build a loyal following and a strong brand. 

Product

In the ecommerce business plan, you’ll need to give a short overview of the services or products you’ll be offering at your business. If what you’re selling is very specific, add further details regarding that. Highlight the benefits and features of selling such a niche product.

Keep the information about your products short and to the point. Use bullet points to highlight specific characteristics. Include any testimonials you have from product testers.

What Will Your Products Be? If There Are Many, What Are the Main Groups?

There are many things to consider when establishing what products or services you’ll be selling. You’ll also need to determine what the main groups or categories are if you’re selling multiple products. Your product range may be more extensive so that you can write generally about each product in that instance. 

If you’re selling products, you’ll also need to figure out if you’re selling physical or digital products. If you’re selling physical products, that adds another layer of detail that you’ll have to lay out. 

Be clear about where customers will access your digital products if that’s what you’re selling. Are you selling a streaming service? Or can customers download music, educational videos, or software directly from your site?

You’ll also need to detail where you’re getting your products if you’re selling physical items. You may be manufacturing them in-house or sourcing them from another company.

How Will They Be Different From Competitors?

Keeping with the fitness example, if you’re selling exercise bands, what makes them different from other products on the market? Are you using a new material that is shown to have increased durability?

Identify how your products differentiate from the competition. You want to show you have an edge in the market. Examine reasons why customers would want to buy your products above others.

Traffic

You have your business’s vision in place, you’ve identified your customer base, and what you plan on selling to them. Now, you need to establish how you’ll drive traffic to your website and convince customers to make a purchase. This is where you detail out your marketing plan.

Where Will You Invest in Traffic? How and When Will You Utilize the Following?

The amount companies spend on marketing has been increasing over the past few years, with it being around 11.4% of a company’s total revenue in June 2020. You shouldn’t invest your marketing budget just at launch. It needs to be spread across the following areas:

• Launch
• Grow
• Grow Again

You want to create a cadence of marketing efforts throughout the course of your business, often targeted around product launches or business changes. As you develop your business plan, you’ll be able to see which key points will need parts of your marketing budget.

SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is an opportunity to drive organic traffic to your ecommerce site over a period of time. SEO utilizes relevant phrases and keywords in your website’s content.

Search engines “crawl” websites and make an index of websites based on the keywords they include. When a potential customer types in a relevant keyword into a search engine, you want your website to appear on the first page of results. As you use more keywords on your website, your ranking will improve, and you’ll appear higher in the result listings.