16.8% of the Surveyed Businesses Do Not Have a Business Plan Yet - GoodFirms Survey
Research, Review, Rating Platform
Research, Review, Rating Platform

32.6% of the business owners believe leveraging business planning software is an efficient method to draft a perfect business plan.

Washington, Nov. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GoodFirms, a universally renowned B2B ratings and reviews platform, recently released its new research report-"Business Planning: Process, Principles, Importance, and Scope for Startups." The research gathered some original input from the survey participants to study the process and elements of preparing a good business plan. This survey from GoodFirms on business planning highlights the driving factors, benefits, and challenges organizations face when drafting a business plan.


GoodFirms’ survey reveals that nearly 16.8% of the surveyed businesses still need a business plan, and around 70.4% already have a business plan with a documented strategy to define goals, objectives, a roadmap to achieve them, and a vision for the future. About 68.4% of the survey respondents believe that business plans are crucial and valuable for startup success in many ways.


Benefits of business planning as indicated by the participants are: 81.5% believe it helps to focus on specific goals, 73.7% say it improves marketing strategies, 63.2% think it assists in financial projections, 61.8% feel it eases funding, 59.1% assume it prioritizes business processes, 57.9% says it allocates resources wisely, 42.7% consider it to track achievements/milestones, etc.


The survey discloses the challenges that  startups face during the business planning planning - gathering accurate market analysis (68.4%), getting the financial details on paper (63.2%), having realistic goals (57.9%), projecting/managing the cash flow (55.8%), starting to write the plan (53.7%), making the business plan interesting (31.5%), keeping the plan flexible (26.3%) and having an efficient contingency plan (31.6%).


According to GoodFirms' survey, around 31.6% of businesses have already explored the application of business planning software for creating their business plan, whereas 42.1% of business owners are yet to use it.


GoodFirms concludes by indicating that by staying focused, adapting to the changing demands, and leveraging technological advancements like a reliable business planning software can create a significant impact on startups and small business owners to set milestones, track the results, and review and revise the business functions and thrive in the market.


Key Findings:


  • A business plan is a roadmap that mentions the goals of the business and the path to achieve them.

  • Along with serving as a roadmap to achieve the goals, a business plan is essential to attract investors.

  • The introduction of dedicated software for business planning has made the process of business planning easy for small businesses and startups.

  • The business plan software market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7% between 2020 and 2027.

  • Thorough market research and accurate market forecasting can help create an efficient business plan.

  • 31.6% of the surveyed businesses have already leveraged the business plan software to create a business plan.But, a major percentage are yet to explore.