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Business Plan Questionnaire

Successful business plans clearly explain a company’s business model, objectives, strategies, and competitive advantages. Use our business plan questionnaire below for a list of the questions you should answer in each section of your business plan to ensure clarity and understanding of your business’s hopes and mission. 

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here

What Questions Should Be Asked in a Business Plan?

The business plan questionnaire can help you with how to write your business plan . It will give you a concrete set of directions for the future and allow you to further examine and learn about the market you are entering. Be sure to provide answers to the following questions in each key section of your business plan.

Executive Summary Questions

You may ask yourself:

• What is the issue your business is addressing?
• How are you solving it?
• What are your business’s strengths?
• Why should an investor be interested in your business?

Company Analysis Questions

Ask yourself the following:

• What is your business’ mission?
• What is your history?
• What are some of your past achievements?
• What is your business’ legal structure?
• Where is your business located?
• Why did you start the business?
• How do you measure your business success?

Industry Analysis Questions

Include the answers to the following questions:

• What is the size of the market?
• What are the characteristics of the market: growth trends, units sold, employment? 
• What factors are influencing growth or decline in the market?
• Are there any barriers to entering the market? 
• Are there any government regulations that affect the market? 

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Customer analysis questions.

Be sure to include the following in your analysis:

• What is the size of the target customer market?
• Where are these prospective customers located?
• What are their desires and needs, and how will your business meet those needs?
• In descriptive terms, who is your target market? (what motivates them to purchase, what influences their purchasing decisions) 
• Why will your target customers seek out your business?
• What trends/purchasing shifts could occur in the market?
• How will you monitor customer satisfaction? (e.g., surveys, reviews, etc.)

Competitive Analysis Questions

First, simply focus on your competition and what they are up to.

Address the following:

• Who are your direct competitors? (e.g., other businesses in your genre) What percentage of market share do they occupy?
• Who are your indirect competitors? (e.g., other companies that may not be specified in your business’s genre, but provide similar results to that of your business) 
• What are your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses?
• What are their products and pricing like?

Then, look into your business’ competitive advantage to describe how your business will be better.

• Will you offer more or better features?
• Will you ensure better results for your users?
• Will you offer better pricing?
• Will your customer service be more efficient?
• Will you offer a better overall customer experience?

Marketing Plan Questions

A complete plan will include the following marketing plan sections:

• How will you communicate to your target customers about your product or service?
• Why are you choosing these specific avenues (e.g., website, Social Media, etc.)?
• What materials do you have or need, and what will be the cost of this?
• What do you plan to spend on marketing per prospect and per client?
• How will you retain existing customers?
• How will your business attract publicity?
• What media will you target?
• How will your product or service be delivered to the market?
• How might future changes impact your marketing?
• How will you price your product relative to others in the market to be competitive yet profitable?
• What type of payment will you accept?
• Overall, how will your marketing strategy be effective to your target customers?

Operations Plan Questions

Consider the following:

• What equipment is needed, and what is the cost?
• What are your hours of operation and number of shifts?
• How many employees will you have?
• What are the skill sets required when looking to hire new employees?
• What are your practices for scheduling, managing, and hiring personnel?
• What are the processes you will use to produce and sell your product or service?
• What is your purchasing process?
• How will finished goods be distributed?
• How will quality be measured and improved over time?
• What will your procedures to keep track of inventory look like?

Management Team Questions

In this section, answer the following:

• Who are your founding members and what is their background?
• Who are your support team members and what are their responsibilities? (include position title, person’s name, and role)
• Do you offer any ownership options to attract key management?
• Do you have any Board of Directors?
• Do you have any outside consultants that will work with your business as it grows?
• What is your business’ organizational structure? 

Financial Plan Questions

Your financial plan should include:

• Profit & Loss statement 
• Cash flow statement
• Balance sheet
• Sales volume forecast
• Personnel plan
• Break-even analysis

Here, you must gather data and convey just how much money your business will need and how much income you will earn, as well as when your business will be profitable. 

Be sure to consider the following:

• How were your numbers calculated?
• Why are the salaries and office expenses you have calculated reasonable to your business?
• Why are your expense estimates realistic?
• How have you budgeted for unexpected costs?
• Is there any debt the business currently has?
• What is the amount of equity the owners and stockholders have? 
• What is your annual interest expense?
• What is the percentage of sales issued for returns? 
• What is your average daily inventory value?
• Are you using a fixed or variable inventory method?
• What is the limit on your line of credit and the average interest rate?
• What is your minimum checking account balance to have at all times?

Your financial plan should prove that you are informed and knowledgeable on the numbers around your business. It should prove that you are aware of all potential unexpected costs or other out-of-the-blue setbacks. 

Appendix Questions

Appendices may be anywhere from just a few pages to a hundred or more.

Your appendix can include:

• Resumes of key management, blurbs on other management members
• Job descriptions/titles
• Copies of any agreements having bearing on the business plan
• Copies of licenses
• Personal and business tax returns (if applying for a loan)
• Marketing materials 
• Photos or sketches of the building, property, equipment, products 
• Industry studies or other information supporting industry trends
• Summaries of secondary market studies

Business Plan Questionnaire Conclusion

The above sample survey questionnaire for a business plan should be a guide for you to use as an outline and checklist of items that will need to be addressed in your company’s business plan. Growthink’s fill in the blank business plan includes each of these key elements and more to help your business succeed.

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A business plan is a precise, genuine evaluation of a business venture’s possibilities for achievement in the market. It is basically a process to manage the central risks of facing a venture. Have a look at the business plan questionnaire plan templates provided down below and choose the one that best fits your purpose.

• What type of business are you in?
• How will the business earn money?
• What does your business require to get off the ground?
• What is the working budget?
• Who are your clients?
• How will you communicate with your clients?
• What sets you separated from the competition?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses?
• Becoming and staying successful
• The productivity of people and supplies
• Exceptional customer service
• Employee appeal and retention
• Mission-driven core values
• Sustainable growth
• Make sure each action is steady with your worth and your purposes.
• Create a schedule.
• Map out as many steps as feasible.
• The purpose of setting more solid business goals needs to be tied tightly to your organization’s compliance to act.
• What obstacle does your business determine?
• How does your business make an income?
• Which parts of your business are not successful?
• Is your cash flow accurate each month?
• What is your pricing approach and why?
• Executive Summary
• Organization Description
• Market Study
• Organization and Management
• Service or Product Line
• Marketing and Sales
• Funding Request
• Financial Projections

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The Ultimate Business Plan Questionnaire You Need in 2024

Business Plan Template

• May 31, 2024

Feeling overwhelmed with all the information needed to include in a business plan or not getting where exactly to start? Not a problem, you’re not alone! It is where a well-designed business plan questionnaire can be a lifesaver!

A business plan questionnaire is a list of questions designed to support you in the business planning process so that you organize the plan properly and do not miss out on any essential points.

It also helps you in identifying the gaps in your plan. The only thing you need to do is answer all the questions practically, and Voila you will have all the things you need in a plan.

So, let’s proceed without any further delay!

Questions your business plan should answer

The business plan questionnaire helps you with writing your plan. It will give you directions for the future and allow you to analyze each aspect of the firm. Be sure to provide practical answers to every question. Here are the questions you need to consider:

1. Executive Summary

An executive summary is a brief of the whole plan and is responsible for grabbing the reader’s attention to get further interested in your firm. Some questions your executive summary should answer are:

• What is the business and what does it do?
• What is the problem here and how is it being solved by your business?
• What product or service are you providing?
• What is the Return on Investment (ROI)?
• Why will your business succeed?

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2. Company Overview

Now that readers have gone through the overview, they would want to know your business in detail. Some of the questions this section should include:

• What is the business name, and what is its legal structure?
• What is the business’s mission and vision statement?
• When was the firm founded, and what is its history?
• Where is the business located?
• Who are the founders of the business, and what is their educational background & experience?
• Why did you start this particular business?
• What are the future growth goals of your business?

3. Market and Industry Analysis

A good market & industry analysis shows that you know your competitive landscape and understand your competitor’s strengths & weaknesses, along with their market positioning. Some of the questions this section should solve are:

• What is the current market size for your product or service?
• What are the recent trends?
• Who is your target audience & prospective customers?
• What is the growth potential?
• What are the entry barriers in the industry?
• What are some rules and regulations that impact your firm?

4. Competitive Analysis

Once you know the market, it is important to understand your competitors to know how well your products or services will perform against theirs. Here are a few questions to consider for this section:

• Who are your direct and indirect competitors?
• What is their target market?
• What are their strengths and weaknesses?
• What is their market share & position?
• What is your competitive advantage?
• What is their pricing strategy?
• What is their marketing strategy?
• What are some opportunities or threats posed by competitors?

5. Products and Services

The product or services section is where you showcase your product or services in detail along with their descriptions. Below are the questions for this section:

• What products or services are being offered by your business?
• What makes your product or services unique from competitors?
• What is the current stage of development of your product or services?
• What are the quality measures that you will incorporate to maintain the quality of your product or services?
• Are there any additional services you provide?
• How are your products or services delivered?

6. Sales and Marketing Plan

The sales and marketing plan section outlines the strategies that you will include to promote your product or services, attract new customers & retain old ones.

Here are certain questions that this section should answer:

• Who are your target customers?
• What are your competitive advantages?
• Are there any existing customers?
• What is your sales volume target?
• What is your budget for marketing activities?
• How will you convert leads into customers?
• How will you enhance the overall customer satisfaction?

7. Operations Plan

An operation plan compels you to know all the how’s of your business like how you will meet the goals or how much time you will need to complete the tasks. In short, it outlines the specific strategies to turn your goals into reality.

Some of the common questions it should solve are:

• How will you deliver your product or service?
• What equipment and resources will you need?
• How will you manage your inventory?
• How will you check the quality of your product or service?
• How will you handle customer inquiries and complaints?
• How much and what training do your employees need to work efficiently?

8. Management Team

A strong business is the result of the shared expertise of all people working for it. So, this is the section where you showcase the management team of your business plan and what they bring to the table. Here are some questions for this section:

• Who are the key management members of the firm?
• What experience and educational background do they have?
• Who is the founder/CEO of the business?
• How will the management team make decisions?
• Do you have an advisory board in place?
• How many employees does your business need?
• Do any team members have specific market knowledge?

9. Financial Plan

The financial plan is where you outline your forecasted revenues, expenses, and profits, giving insight into the business’s financial health. Here are certain questions this section should address:

• What are the startup costs of your company?
• What is your current financial planning & situation?
• What is the projected profitability of the business?
• How much funding are you seeking?
• What is the expected return on investment (ROI) for investors?
• What is the revenue model?
• What is the break-even point?

10. Appendix

The appendix is the last section of the plan. Here, you can provide all the supporting documentation that validates the other contents of the plan. Some of the things to include in your appendix are:

• Resumes of the key management team members
• Copies of any agreement with the suppliers or anyone else
• Copies of legal documentation
• Organizational charts
• Marketing materials

These were some of the business plan questions to ask while writing the plan. Let us move ahead and learn more about the questionnaire!

How to use this questionnaire?

When you use the business plan questionnaire correctly, you won’t miss any important details, and your answers will be clear and organized. Thus, this section walks you through the usage of the questionnaire. Follow the below steps:

• Review questions: Read the entire questionnaire first, and try to understand its scope and try to understand the information needed to answer those questions.
• Gather information: Gather data and other relevant documents, like financial statements, market research, and other relevant operational details.
• Answer honestly: Be very honest while replying to all the questions, because one lie and your readers will take zero interest in your business.
• Develop the plan: Use the answers as a foundation to draft a comprehensive plan.
• Review & edit: Review the draft, fill in any gaps, and make adjustments for clarity. You can even ask someone else to review it and give you feedback.

Prepare a detailed business plan using Upmetrics

So, that’s it! The above sample survey questionnaire for a plan will guide you in writing your plan.

But for constant guidance, while writing the whole business plan, you can consider using Upmetrics .

It has 400+ customizable business plan templates , which means every business has a suitable sample for them. Apart from that, it provides you with AI assistant that helps you auto-write your plan, answer your business-related queries, and guide you at each step.

So, if you are someone looking to write a business plan, create a pitch deck, or prepare financial projections, then Upmetrics is the best stop.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can i use a business plan questionnaire to create a complete business strategy.

Yes, you can use a business plan questionnaire to create the entire plan. A questionnaire forces you to go through every different aspect of the business. Thus, a questionnaire can be a helpful tool for organizing and outlining the key elements of a plan.

Who should use a business plan questionnaire?

A questionnaire is a helpful tool for all people related to the business planning process. Like advisors & consultants, small business owners, existing businesses, individuals, non-profit organizations, and anyone who is creating a business plan.

What are the benefits of completing a business plan questionnaire?

Completing a plan offers various advantages like:

• Clarifies business goals, strategies, and market positioning
• Recognizes potential challenges, allowing for risk management
• Ensures that all the essential components are addressed in your plan
• Increases the chances of funding by encouraging to prepare a well-prepared and data-backed plan

About the Author

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

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50 questions to ask clients in a business planning questionnaire

A strong business plan helps set the foundation for a successful business venture. Whether you’re a copywriter or a business consultant, you likely spend your days helping entrepreneurs flesh out how they want to present their business to the public, investors, or their target market. 

Half of your job involves getting inside the minds of entrepreneurs to pick out all the most necessary information you need to craft a detailed business plan they’ll be happy with. If you’re looking for a way to spend less time gathering information and more time crafting the plan, then crafting a business planning questionnaire will do you good. 

In this post, we’ll share a list of questions you can ask entrepreneurs in a business plan questionnaire, plus we’ll share a tool you can use to collect responses quicker than ever.  

Why is preparing a business plan questionnaire a good call?

A well-structured questionnaire pushes your clients to think critically about every aspect of their business, ensuring no important elements are missed in the resulting business plan. In a nutshell, the more detailed the questionnaire is, the more organized and comprehensive the business plan will be. 

A strong business plan ensures all stakeholders are on the same page when it comes to the business’s direction and objectives. It also answers all questions and concerns investors might have regarding the financial health and trajectory of the business. 

Additionally, it acts as a reference point for clients to monitor progress and hold themselves accountable for meeting business goals, providing a framework for regularly reviewing and adjusting their business strategy as needed. 

Questions to ask your clients in a business plan questionnaire 

Executive summary/business overview questions.

• What is your business name? 
• Where is your business located/based out of?
• What is your business’s legal structure? - Sole proprietorship - Partnership - Limited corporation - Unlimited corporation 
• Describe what your business does in one sentence.
• What is the market opportunity or problem that your business aims to address?
• What is your business’s mission statement?
• What is your business’s vision statement?
• What is the return on investment (ROI) your customers can expect to see?
• Why should an investor be interested in your business?
• What is your unique value proposition?

Market analysis questions 

• Who are your target customers/ target market? 
• What are the primary needs and preferences of your target customers?
• List some of your main competitors.
• List some of your indirect competitors. 
• What features/offerings differentiate your business from your competitors?

Products and services questions

• What products or services does your business offer?
• What features of your products or services make them unique compared to other market options?
• What is your pricing strategy?
• What is your revenue model?

Marketing strategy and sales questions

• What marketing channels do you currently use?
• How will you measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts?
• What are your sales goals for the upcoming year?
• What is your sales strategy?
• What key performance indicators are you tracking to evaluate the success of your company? 

Operations questions

• What are the key operational processes in your business?
• What technology or tools do you use for your operations?
• What are the major challenges you face in your operations?
• How do you plan to scale your operations as your business grows?

Financial planning questions

• What is your current financial status (e.g., revenue, profit, cash flow)?
• What are your projected financials for the next year?
• What are your primary sources of funding?
• How do you plan to manage your financial risks?

Human resources questions

• How many employees do you have?
• How many employees make up your management team? 
• What is your hiring plan for the next year?
• What are the key roles you need to fill to achieve your business goals?
• How do you plan to develop and retain your employees?

Legal and compliance questions

• What legal structure is your business operating under?
• Are there any industry-specific regulations or compliance requirements you must meet?
• How do you plan to manage legal risks?
• What insurance policies do you have in place?

SWOT analysis questions

• What are the strengths of your business?
• What are the weaknesses of your business?
• What opportunities do you see in the market?
• What threats could impact your business?

Strategic planning questions

• What are your top three strategic priorities for the next year?
• What milestones do you need to achieve these priorities?
• What resources do you need to meet your strategic goals?
• How do you plan to measure the success of your strategic plan?

Supporting documentation

Upload any supporting documentation that can help inform the business plan. (Financial documents, business license, sales/marketing presentations, SWOT analysis image). 

What is the fastest way to put together a business plan questionnaire?

You can easily take the above sample survey questionnaire, copy and paste the questions, and throw it into a Word document or form builder tool of your own — or better yet you could save endless time on all the above by using Content Snare instead. 

In addition to providing a ready-to-send business plan questionnaire template in its dashboard, it also helps you streamline the data collection process with:

Automatic reminders Ever run into a situation where you request information from clients and they take forever to get back to you? With Content Snare, you can choose a deadline then the tool will remind your clients to complete your questionnaire on time. This means you won’t have to waste time sending endless follow-up emails. 

Large document/image uploads Content Snare supports large file size uploads so your clients can upload their business license, sales and marketing presentations, or other financial documents needed for you to write their business plan without any hassle. The tool helps you collect everything all in one place so you don’t have to collect text responses in one place and then use a whole other platform like Dropbox to gather the rest.

Approve/reject/comment features It’s not uncommon for clients to submit insufficient information or upload the wrong files once in a while. Content Snare helps you notify your clients if any of their responses need a revision within the dashboard itself, so you don’t have to chase them over email. 

An easy client experience We can all agree that there’s nothing worse than spending ages completing a form, only to get timed out and have to enter all your information again. Content Snare spares your clients from ever having to go through this inconvenience by automatically saving responses so they can exit and re-enter the form as many times as they want. It always helps to use an intuitive tool!

Ready to give it a go? Try Content Snare for free for 2 weeks below! 

Create a business plan questionnaire with Content Snare

Sign up for your trial to get our template for free. Send our business plan questionnaire to your clients as-is, or customize it as you see fit.

Startup Business Questionnaire

Before you start a business, ask yourself the important questions about your product, services, funds and market.

Sample text from Startup Business Questionnaire:

Basic Info:

What are your funding sources?

How will you use your funds?

What is your target demographic?

What advertisement materials will you use and how much will you spend on each?

Who will make up your staff?

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