How to Develop a Business Strategy (1)

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How to Develop a Business Strategy
The fall is right time to start thinking about
your business goals and then engage your team in
developing a new business strategy. Winging it is
NOT a strategy, yet too often business owners
venture into new markets without a specific
target or value proposition, hoping to come
across someone in need of services. If you are
looking to identify new business targets, outline
a growth plan, determine your product roadmap or
plan your funding needs, you will need a clear
business strategy. It is one thing to know your
business needs, actually developing a strategy is
not so easy. This is the first article in a
three-part series on building a business strategy.
STEPS TO DEVELOP A NEW BUSINESS STRATEGY

• Examine Your Current State
• Before you start looking to the future, you
  should review your past business performance, or
  the current state. Look at your annual revenues,
  customer lists, and average revenue per
  transaction and review your most popular
  services or products. Then look at how your
  business operates. Look at your market position,
  employees, sales processes, profit margins and
  customer satisfaction. Use a SWOT
• (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
  threats) analysis to conduct your review. You
  must determine what worked well, what could have
  been better, outline your weaknesses and consider
  what new opportunities are in the marketplace.
  When you look at your business, bring your team
  together to make sure you are collecting all the
  relevant information that you need.
• Look at External Factors

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• There are things that affect your business that
  are not under your control such as industry
  trends, government regulations, legal
  compliance, political policies such as
  international tariffs.
• Technological advances as well as environmental
  concerns such as a neighborhood community
  protesting your restaurant getting a liquor
  license, can also affect your business results or
  expansion
• plans. External factors can either be threats or
  opportunities depending on how it impacts your
  industry, your business or your location.
• Develop or Refine Your Mission Statement
• Your mission defines your business purpose. It
  outlines your companys primary objectives. It is
  the core off your Why story. It should be big
  enough that it is something that you are
  continually striving toward. Your mission must
  focus on your long term goal. Your mission
  statement should answer the questions
• What do you do?
• Who do you do it for?
• What problem do you solve?
• Develop or Refine Your Vision Statement
• You mission and vision statements work together.
  For the vision statement, you want to answer the
  question Where do you want your business to be
  when it grows up. Your vision is supposed to
  push you. This statement should describe what you
  want to be known for and the future direction of
  the business. It is value statement that is
  achievable that gives direction in the medium to
  long term of your business.
• Define Your Strategic Objectives
• You want to develop a set of objectives for all
  areas of the business. They need to highlight the
  priorities that will deliver on the companys
  vision and mission. Create SMART goals for your
  business (Specific, Measurable, Achievable,
  Realistic and Time-Driven). Your objectives must
  also include factors such as KPIs, human
  resource allocation and budget requirements. Use
  the data from your the SWOT analysis in Step 1,
  to help identify strengths and weaknesses that
  you can build into your objectives.
• Develop an Execution Plan
• Now is the time to turn your new business
  strategy into a detailed execution plan. This
  plan will require actions from you and your
  team. You may also need new reporting structure
  or project management software to keep everyone
  on task. When you are focusing on achieving new
  results you must communicate to do and by when
  dates, so that everyone is clear on their role.
  Be sure to schedule weekly staff meeting to
  reinforce tasks keep all key documents and
  deliverables in one place where everyone can
  access.
• Source https//nigerialisting.com/how-to-develop-
  a-business-strategy/