If you have reached the point where you are trying to write a description of what it is that your business actually does or sells, you've probably been thinking about your product or service for quite some time. Now is the time to take a step back and reflect. Because of your familiarity with the idea (after all, it is your idea), you will have to consciously avoid giving it short shrift in your plan. Don't provide needless detail, but remember that the product or service idea you have hasn't been kicking around in the heads of the people who might read your plan. You may have to set the stage a little bit to make sure that a reader understands exactly what your product or service is.
The starting point is a clear and simple statement of what the product is or what service your business will provide. Avoid the temptation to compare your offering to similar services or products offered by others. Reserve that analysis for the marketing plan, where you will discuss competitors and potential competitors.
Instead, focus on those factors that make your offering unique and preferable to customers. Explain what it does, how it works, how long it lasts, what options are available, etc. Of particular importance is whether you are selling a stand alone product (e.g., lunch) or a product that must be used with other products (e.g., computer software or peripheral devices). Be sure to describe the requirements for any associated products (especially vital for software). And, if there are special requirements for successful use or sale, say so.
Another issue to consider is whether you hope to sell items on a one-time or infrequent basis or whether repeat sales are the goal. If you're opening a bakery or restaurant, you're going to count on the same customers returning on a regular basis. But a heating contractor installing a new furnace or a consultant helping to implement a new order processing system probably isn't going to do that for the same client again any time soon (we hope!). A similar issue is how long the product or service will last and whether you intend to upgrade or supersede the product or service at some point in the future.
A useful way to present some product or service information is to create a features/benefits analysis. A feature is a specific product attribute or characteristic. A benefit is the advantage a customer or user will derive from the product feature. Consider the following table, which illustrates this type of analysis for a theoretical high-tech wrist watch:
| Auto-Watch Features and Benefits Analysis |
| Feature |
Benefit |
| battery has an indefinite life - recharges whenever watch is exposed to light |
consumer doesn't have to deal with time, inconvenience, and expense of periodic battery replacement |
| time signal from National Institute of Standards and Technology updates time automatically by radio |
consumer never has to set the time and can rely on near absolute accuracy |
| dial lights up at night when looked at |
consumer doesn't have to use two hands to see time in dark |
| receives global positioning satellite signals and uses to determine time zone |
consumer doesn't have to adjust watch while traveling |
Timing is also an issue. Be realistic about the time it will take to develop the product or service. For example, if you're writing the plan while the first prototype is being built, provide a timetable for completion of development and estimate how long testing will take before production in commercial quantities can begin. Timing issues are also addressed in the financial projections that you prepare and in the market plan you create. Both of those analyses, however, rest on the product or service being available on schedule.