Targeted Strategy
Does your business have a strategy, goals or objectives?
If you do, great, but when was the last time you reviewed them?
How are you tracking toward achieving them?
Has the market you operate in changed which means that your strategies also need to change?
Targeted Strategies
A well-defined business Strategy is a way to match your organisation’s strengths and competitive advantages with current and potential market opportunities.
It surprises me how few businesses have a written strategic plan (as opposed to some “general idea” of where they are going). It doesn’t have to be some 300 page long document with a detailed analysis of every aspect of your business operation (but it could be), it could simply be a summary of where you are now, the market you operate in, where you want your business to be in 12 months time and how you plan to get there.
Of course a successful strategy will also need to have a way in which you can measure your progress towards your objectives.
Below are some simple ideas that will help you develop an on target strategy for your business.
Where are we now?
Make sure that you have a good understanding of your current business situation. Be honest (warts and all). If you don’t get your starting point right, it makes it very hard to develop an accurate strategy to get to where you want to go.
Review the current strategic position of your business.
- Clarify your mission, vision, and values.
- Who are our competitors?
- What is your competitive advantage?
- Complete a SWOT analysis
Where are we going?
What is your competitive advantage and the vision for your business? Have a clear direction for where your business is headed.
Short term goals. The next 12 months.
- Long term objectives. 3 years plus.
- What are our priorities?
- Is your current market, industry or competitive advantage likely to change?
- Will external factors (Porters 5 Forces or PEST analysis) influence your strategy?
How will we get there?
This is the road mad to get from where you are now to where you want to be.
Execution. Who, What and When.
- Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s). How will you measure your progress?
- Communication. Make sure that your strategy is communicated throughout the business
- Resources. Does your business have sufficient and appropriate resources to achieve your goals?
- Review your strategy.
A strategy document needs to be a living breathing part of the way you run your business. Not something that sits in a filing cabinet never to see the light of day once it has been written. It needs to be visible, understood and adopted by everyone in the business.