Feeling overwhelmed with all the information needed to include in a business plan or not getting where exactly to start? Not a problem, you’re not alone! It is where a well-designed business plan questionnaire can be a lifesaver!
A business plan questionnaire is a list of questions designed to support you in the business planning process so that you organize the plan properly and do not miss out on any essential points.
It also helps you in identifying the gaps in your plan. The only thing you need to do is answer all the questions practically, and Voila you will have all the things you need in a plan.
So, let’s proceed without any further delay!
Questions your business plan should answer
The business plan questionnaire helps you with writing your plan. It will give you directions for the future and allow you to analyze each aspect of the firm. Be sure to provide practical answers to every question. Here are the questions you need to consider:
1. Executive Summary
An executive summary is a brief of the whole plan and is responsible for grabbing the reader’s attention to get further interested in your firm. Some questions your executive summary should answer are:
- What is the business and what does it do?
- What is the problem here and how is it being solved by your business?
- What product or service are you providing?
- What is the Return on Investment (ROI)?
- Why will your business succeed?
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2. Company Overview
Now that readers have gone through the overview, they would want to know your business in detail. Some of the questions this section should include:
- What is the business name, and what is its legal structure?
- What is the business’s mission and vision statement?
- When was the firm founded, and what is its history?
- Where is the business located?
- Who are the founders of the business, and what is their educational background & experience?
- Why did you start this particular business?
- What are the future growth goals of your business?
3. Market and Industry Analysis
A good market & industry analysis shows that you know your competitive landscape and understand your competitor’s strengths & weaknesses, along with their market positioning. Some of the questions this section should solve are:
- What is the current market size for your product or service?
- What are the recent trends?
- Who is your target audience & prospective customers?
- What is the growth potential?
- What are the entry barriers in the industry?
- What are some rules and regulations that impact your firm?
4. Competitive Analysis
Once you know the market, it is important to understand your competitors to know how well your products or services will perform against theirs. Here are a few questions to consider for this section:
- Who are your direct and indirect competitors?
- What is their target market?
- What are their strengths and weaknesses?
- What is their market share & position?
- What is your competitive advantage?
- What is their pricing strategy?
- What is their marketing strategy?
- What are some opportunities or threats posed by competitors?
5. Products and Services
The product or services section is where you showcase your product or services in detail along with their descriptions. Below are the questions for this section:
- What products or services are being offered by your business?
- What makes your product or services unique from competitors?
- What is the current stage of development of your product or services?
- What are the quality measures that you will incorporate to maintain the quality of your product or services?
- Are there any additional services you provide?
- How are your products or services delivered?
6. Sales and Marketing Plan
The sales and marketing plan section outlines the strategies that you will include to promote your product or services, attract new customers & retain old ones.
Here are certain questions that this section should answer:
- Who are your target customers?
- What are your competitive advantages?
- Are there any existing customers?
- What is your sales volume target?
- What is your budget for marketing activities?
- How will you convert leads into customers?
- How will you enhance the overall customer satisfaction?
7. Operations Plan
An operation plan compels you to know all the how’s of your business like how you will meet the goals or how much time you will need to complete the tasks. In short, it outlines the specific strategies to turn your goals into reality.
Some of the common questions it should solve are:
- How will you deliver your product or service?
- What equipment and resources will you need?
- How will you manage your inventory?
- How will you check the quality of your product or service?
- How will you handle customer inquiries and complaints?
- How much and what training do your employees need to work efficiently?
8. Management Team
A strong business is the result of the shared expertise of all people working for it. So, this is the section where you showcase the management team of your business plan and what they bring to the table. Here are some questions for this section:
- Who are the key management members of the firm?
- What experience and educational background do they have?
- Who is the founder/CEO of the business?
- How will the management team make decisions?
- Do you have an advisory board in place?
- How many employees does your business need?
- Do any team members have specific market knowledge?
9. Financial Plan
The financial plan is where you outline your forecasted revenues, expenses, and profits, giving insight into the business’s financial health. Here are certain questions this section should address:
- What are the startup costs of your company?
- What is your current financial planning & situation?
- What is the projected profitability of the business?
- How much funding are you seeking?
- What is the expected return on investment (ROI) for investors?
- What is the revenue model?
- What is the break-even point?
10. Appendix
The appendix is the last section of the plan. Here, you can provide all the supporting documentation that validates the other contents of the plan. Some of the things to include in your appendix are:
- Resumes of the key management team members
- Copies of any agreement with the suppliers or anyone else
- Copies of legal documentation
- Organizational charts
- Marketing materials
These were some of the business plan questions to ask while writing the plan. Let us move ahead and learn more about the questionnaire!
How to use this questionnaire?
When you use the business plan questionnaire correctly, you won’t miss any important details, and your answers will be clear and organized. Thus, this section walks you through the usage of the questionnaire. Follow the below steps:
- Review questions: Read the entire questionnaire first, and try to understand its scope and try to understand the information needed to answer those questions.
- Gather information: Gather data and other relevant documents, like financial statements, market research, and other relevant operational details.
- Answer honestly: Be very honest while replying to all the questions, because one lie and your readers will take zero interest in your business.
- Develop the plan: Use the answers as a foundation to draft a comprehensive plan.
- Review & edit: Review the draft, fill in any gaps, and make adjustments for clarity. You can even ask someone else to review it and give you feedback.
Prepare a detailed business plan using Upmetrics
So, that’s it! The above sample survey questionnaire for a plan will guide you in writing your plan.
But for constant guidance, while writing the whole business plan, you can consider using Upmetrics.
It has 400+ customizable business plan templates, which means every business has a suitable sample for them. Apart from that, it provides you with AI assistant that helps you auto-write your plan, answer your business-related queries, and guide you at each step.
So, if you are someone looking to write a business plan, create a pitch deck, or prepare financial projections, then Upmetrics is the best stop.
