Every year, many entrepreneurs fail to get their businesses off the ground. This isn’t due to idea quality, but a lack of preparation. Thankfully, however, with a little planning, you’re certain to succeed. Here are six key elements for a successful business strategy.
#1 Understand the facts
To know where you want your business to go, you need to understand exactly where you are. Before looking to the future, examine your past and current performance. This will help you determine what has worked well, what can be improved and any future opportunities.
One of the most effective ways to do this is undertaking a SWOT analysis. As the name suggests, a SWOT analysis helps you identify your company’s strengths and weaknesses, along with any opportunities and threats.
#2 Create a vision statement
This brief statement outlines your business’ future direction, by describing its mid- and long-term ambitions. Ultimately, your vision statement should clearly outline your business’ purpose and values. It should answer the question: “Where will the business be in five years?”
#3 Create a mission statement
Similar to your vision statement, the mission statement defines your company’s purpose and its key objectives. These objectives explain what needs to be achieved in the short-term to achieve long-term goals.
Also, it should answer the following:
• What does your company do?
• How do you do it?
• Who are your target customers? And;
• What value do you bring to the market?
#4 Develop strategic objectives
Create high-level objectives for every aspect of your business (i.e. marketing, management, R&D, etc.) These are designed to ensure your vision and mission is fulfilled. To be effective, these objectives must be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-related), and take budget requirements, KPIs and resource allocation into account.
#5 Develop tactical plans
Now it’s time to put some concrete action into your strategy. Tactical plans are a way to translate strategic objectives into achievable, short-term plans. These plans detail exactly what actions each department in your organisation is required to take. For instance, a tactical plan may outline what every department is required to do for a product launch. And, to ensure everyone is on the same page, you may want to include suppliers in these plans.
To ensure your business strategy produces real results, call or email the expert team at Propeller Advisory today.
