Mastering Your Envestors Digital Business Plan: Learning from the Hits and Misses - Marketing Research

Setting your sights on the Innovator Founder Visa? Securing an endorsement letter is a key step, and to shine, you need to impress one of the three official endorsing bodies such as Envestors. Your journey with Envestors involves two critical stages: the initial registration, where you introduce yourself and your vision, and the business plan phase, the heart of your application. No need to stress, though. We're here to help.

Here are the areas you should focus on:

• Market Research
• Competitive Analysis
• Company Description
• Financials
• Marketing and Sales Strategy

Market Research

Starting from the first and most important. This gives a great introduction of the industry you are entering as attractive.  

• Industry Analysis: Understand the industry you're entering, including its size, growth rate, and trends. Highlight how your business fits into the current industry landscape and its future potential.
• Target Market: Define your target market clearly. Include demographic, geographic, and psychographic details of your potential customers. Explain why they need your product or service and how you plan to reach them.
• Competitor Analysis: Identify your direct and indirect competitors. Analyze their strengths and weaknesses, market share, and unique selling propositions. Explain how your business will differentiate itself from existing players.
• Market Need: Demonstrate a clear market need for your product or service. Use data and research to back up your claims about the problem you're solving.
• Customer Insights: Present any primary research, such as surveys, interviews, or focus groups, that offer insight into customer behavior, preferences, and pain points.
• Regulatory Environment: If applicable, discuss any regulations affecting your industry and how you plan to comply. This is particularly important for industries like healthcare, finance, and food services.

Let’s put this into perspective, imagine you are launching a local food delivery app...

Bad Example: 

"We know that most people in the city use food delivery services, therefore we plan to launch a local food delivery app to capture these customers…”

Saying "most people in the city use food delivery services" is a sweeping statement that lacks specificity. Without concrete data to support this claim, it's too vague to form the basis of a solid business strategy.

Salmo’s Edition:

"After analyzing recent data, we found that urban millennials, specifically aged 24-35 are our sweet spot. They spend an average of 30% of their monthly food budget on delivery services. Our focus groups revealed a strong demand among this demographic for a local food delivery app that prioritizes healthy, sustainable options. This niche is currently underserved by existing platforms, with our surveys indicating that 65% of potential users are dissatisfied with the healthy options offered by current market leaders. This presents a unique opportunity for our startup to capture this segment and distinguish ourselves from competitors."

• Targeted Market Definition: It specifically identifies urban millennials as the primary audience, narrowing the focus and enhancing the strategy's effectiveness.
• Data-Driven Approach: Utilizes actual data and statistics to quantify the market opportunity, demonstrating thorough research and understanding.
• Identifies a Market Gap: Clearly points out an unmet need in the market (healthy, sustainable food delivery options), showcasing the business's potential niche and value proposition.
• Customer Feedback Integration: Incorporates insights from focus groups and surveys, proving that the business idea is grounded in real customer demands and preferences.
• Competitive Differentiation: Highlights dissatisfaction with current market offerings, positioning the startup as a unique solution to a widespread problem.
• Strategic Opportunity Exploitation: By focusing on a specific demographic and their unmet needs, the example demonstrates a strategic approach to capturing a segment of the market that competitors have overlooked.

Let’s see another example of a bad example of target market description and how we can improve it.

Bad Example: 

"Our service targets tech-savvy consumers."

Tech-savvy consumers, you say? In this digital era, that could mean anyone from your 10-year-old niece who's already a tablet wizard to your neighbor's cat accidentally ordering snacks online. Let's get a bit more specific, shall we?

Salmo’s Edition:

"Our primary market consists of urban professionals aged 25-34, who spend an average of $200 monthly on technology products and services, based on a survey conducted with 500 individuals in New York City."

This is a much better description because:

• Specific Target Market: It clearly identifies the primary market as "urban professionals aged 25-34," providing a precise demographic focus. This specificity helps in tailoring marketing strategies and product offerings to meet the needs and preferences of this group.
• Quantifiable Spending Habits: By stating that this group spends "an average of $200 monthly on technology products and services," the statement offers tangible insights into their spending behavior, allowing for more accurate financial projections and marketing strategies.
• Data-Driven: The inclusion of "based on a survey conducted with 500 individuals in New York City" lends credibility to the claim. It demonstrates that the information is not speculative but grounded in research, enhancing the reliability of the business plan.

We know the devil is in the details with a digital business plan. That's where Salmo's endorsing services come in. Let us help you refine your application to ensure your content is polished and poised to secure that crucial 'endorsement letter'!