Time For Completion: Approximately 5-25 hours
In this section you get the chance to clearly explain the products or services your business will offer.
The information provided in this section will become the basis of your marketing plan
Product description should be written so the reader can easily understand what the product is and what it does. You should never assume that your product will sell itself, so you must always include a detailed description of the product. In addition to a comprehensive explanation of your product, the Product Description should also compare your product to other similar products on the market. This gives you the opportunity to clearly define what advantages your product has over the competition
Whats in it?
A Product Description contains an overview of your product or service, the product or services features, benefits, and advantages, as well as any product development activities, and liability issues. The overview should paint a complete picture of the product by answering the following questions in detail: what the product or service is, what it does, and how it performs its function.
If possible, it is a great idea to add pictures, blueprints, or any other graphical descriptions of your product to give as clear of an explanation of your product as possible. By doing this in comparison with other competing products, you can make it clear why your product is better than the competition.
The product summary should also take time to focus on the problem(s) that your product will solve. In addition to an explanation of the problems, you should also discuss what the causes are, how the product solves these problems, and the benefits to potential customers.
A complete description of your product, the problems it solves, and a comparison with competitors should all work to make a case as to why your product will be successful.
Why it’s Important
This section of the business plan is your opportunity to completely hash out your product idea, down to the finest detail, which gives you a complete understanding of your product. The information you learn from this section will help you improve your product and differentiate from competitors.
By writing a cohesive Product Description that explains the details of the product, the need for it, and how it has advantages of its competitors, you are making a strong case for why your product will succeed and be profitable. Without this information, investors have no way of knowing if you completely understand your product, or how you plan to compete with others, which makes for a very risky investment.
The next section will discuss how to properly research your potential customers in the Market Analysis section. Remember, you can take a look at one of our sample business plans at any time.