A business plan differs from a marketing plan in a number of ways; a business plan encompasses a total description of a person’s business, starting with the basics of the business. A business plan makes the projections of the profits, expenses, and sales anticipated by the business over a certain period. In most cases, organizations need a business plan when they want to get a business loan or when they want to attract investors to the business. On the contrary, a marketing plan details a plan that the business creates, which gives a description of the target market, the services, and products offered by the business. A marketing plan also provides an indication of the ways that the business plans to use in order to enhance the generation of prospects and how the organization will retain its customers (Steinbacher, 2006).
The business plan of an organization also covers the strategy that will be utilized in marketing, goals, finances, cash flow, as well as marketing analysis. These aspects are essential as they help to show where the organization is headed for. The real cash flows of the organization are included in the business plan and the accounting ratios, as well as the balance sheets (Steinbacher, 2006). On the contrary, a marketing plan includes an explanation of the ways of accomplishing the goals of the organization. A marketing plan is instrumental in facilitating the business to accomplish the goals set for the marketing campaigns. Some of the information indicated in the marketing plan includes the marketing strategy, sales forecast, market analysis, and the projected outcome of the marketing. A business plan helps in outlining the goals, mission, and vision statements about the organization. On the other hand, a business plan provides some guidelines that will be used in marketing of a certain product (Steinbacher, 2006).