Step 2: Plan and prepare to enter the market

After doing research, you need to plan and prepare to enter your chosen market. This includes creating a business and marketing plan and deciding on your brand.

On this page

• Business plan
• Marketing plan
• Brand strategy
• Sales pitch

Business plan

When building your business plan, take both operational and financial requirements into account. This includes your costs and how much profit you wish to make.

Business plan details

Your business plan might include:

• Capital and infrastructure requirements:
  • Assess the physical infrastructure to make sure you have the right square footage
    • If you are going to expand or redesign the physical space, you may need a building permit
  • You may need to purchase new equipment for sorting or refrigerating your product
• Your product volumes and quality:
  • Make sure you have enough product and the quality is consistent and ready for market
• Labour requirements:
  • Make sure you've hired enough people to meet the volume requirements you have set
• Food safety certifications. For example:
  • Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for fruit and vegetable suppliers
  • Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HAACP)
• Transportation:
  • Identify how you will transport your goods
• Risk mitigation plan:
  • Create a plan to manage or eliminate risks that may effect your product's development and launch 
    • Find information about risk mitigation on the Government of Canada's Protecting your business
• Growth strategy:
  • Your business plan should also include a growth strategy
    • This is a detailed outline that lists the actions you and your business will take as you grow

For help building your business plan, review Farm Credit Canada's Business plan bundle

Marketing plan

A marketing plan outlines how you plan to promote your company and its products. It helps you figure out the best place to spend your money.

Marketing plan goals

The key goals of a marketing plan are to:

• Identify your competitive advantage
  • Your unique strengths that help you out-perform competition
• Attract and retain customers
• Prepare for changes in the market
• Identify the resources needed to get your product ready for market
• Make a profit and grow the company

Marketing plan details

Develop a marketing plan that focuses on:

• The product's price
• Your product promotion
• The market channel where you want to place your product
  • This is your target market

To find out more, review How To Develop And Use A Marketing Plan (PDF, 2.5MB).

• You can also find information on Small Business BC's How to Write a Marketing Plan

Market validation

Conduct market validation on your product. Market validation is the process of checking if people want to buy your product or service.

It involves getting feedback from potential customers to ensure your idea meets their needs and is worth following.

For example, focus groups can help you figure out if you have the right packaging. They can also help you determine if your product is ready for market before you meet with buyers.

Brand strategy

You'll also need to develop a brand strategy to sell your product. This might include making changes to your packaging or labelling to highlight your specific branding.

To find out more, review How To Develop A Strong Brand For Your Product (PDF, 500KB).

• You can also find information on branding on Small Business BC's What Does Brand Mean

Sales pitch

Make sure you have the right content to pitch your product.

• Review How to Develop and Deliver a Sales Pitch for your Product (PDF, 2MB)
• Review How to Develop and Use a Sell Sheet (PDF, 2MB)