What is Strategic Planning?
Strategic Planning is an organisational management activity that helps to establish the priorities of an organisation, allocate and ensure proper utilisation of its resources. Optimally, strategic planning ensures all employees, stakeholders, and partners are working towards achieving the long-term goals of the organisation. Oftentimes, strategic planning extends to the action plans and initiatives needed for the successful implementation and execution of the strategy.
During the Strategic Planning process, an Organisation defines its strategy by setting priorities and focuses, allocating resources and making sure everyone is focused and aligned on achieving common outcomes.
Business consultants are trained to carry out and facilitate strategy sessions to help businesses develop a Strategic Action Plan tailored for the business needs, increase in profitability and market share.
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Oftentimes, strategy planning extends to the action plans and initiatives needed for the successful implementation and execution of the strategy.
What Is a Strategic Plan?
A strategic plan is a detailed assessment document that provides knowledge of the present state of the organisation and where it is going. A document to put down the company’s mission, vision, values and objectives. A properly and aptly formulated strategic plan works like a blueprint or a roadmap to align the organisation’s functional activities which include targets, initiatives and performance measures with the set goals and objectives.
A strategic plan questions the existing operating process of the business, method of working and the impact of physical, legal, social, political, technological, environmental and other factors on its performance. It also contains the business strengths, market opportunities, threats and weaknesses.
Importance of Strategic Planning
Strategic planning is a prerequisite to a focused and highly efficient organisation. It establishes a sense of direction that allows organisations to be proactive and ensure that everyone is making cohesive decisions towards achieving a common vision.
Increases Revenue
Strategic planning gives valuable insights on market trends, customer offering and pinpoints new markets to explore that will help increase the organisation’s revenue. When the organisation follows the fundamentals of strategic planning it enhances its brand value in the market by staying relevant in the market amidst tough competition and also gives an increase in sales and financial performance.
Provides a Competitive Advantage
Strategic planning includes surveying the market, researching competitors next moves, creating and developing innovative product ideas, and ensuring customer satisfaction through various means and measures. All these procedures help the organisation carve a niche for itself and staying one step ahead.
Preps the Organisation for Unforeseen Circumstances
With strategic planning, management and key members are prepared before time for possible business problems. The organisation is able to envision and foresee the future and thus ensures adequate preparation for forthcoming issues and problems. Strategic planning makes sure unfavourable situations are avoided through necessary precautions and sets up the organisation to be proactive. It also allows organisations to maintain brand values and profits, consistency in delivery as well as keep up with the ever-changing trends in the market
Increases Operational Efficiency
Strategic planning increases the levels of productivity and operational efficiency of an entire organisation. It provides an understanding and in-depth knowledge of jobs needed to be done and how to accomplish them in the most efficient and effective way. It also helps maintain a positive and healthy work culture where members of departments thrive and are accountable to each other.
Gives a Sense of Direction
Strategic planning ensures the organisation stays focused on its actual aim and objectives without giving in to the ever-increasing work pressures and the demand rage of satisfying customer demands and meeting stringent deadlines. Strategic planning provides a defined direction for organisations setting realistic objectives and goals that are in line with the vision and mission charted out for it. It gives members of the team a sense of direction and insight on where the company is currently and the goals yet to be achieved.
Promotes Innovation
Strategic planning involves thinking of new ideas for implementation. This promotes motivation and innovation. The organisation plans and strategizes its next moves, initiatives and customer offerings that are unique and exclusive in the market and is sure to promote brand value, increase sales and profit margins.
Conclusion
It is quite imperative that organisations have a long-term vision, as well as aims and objective to grow at the marketplace. Strategic planning discovers ways to improve business performance, assess and adjust the goals and objectives of the organisation, increase bottom-line and attain business growth. The benefit of carrying out strategic planning is that it offers a much-needed foundation from which an organisation can grow, evaluate its success, compensate its employees, gain a competitive edge and establish boundaries for efficient decision-making.
The result of a lack of strategy, framing wrong strategies or ineffective implementation of the strategy is too costly for organisations to ignore and as such, it is quite crucial for businesses to embrace the facet of strategic planning. At Atunda Consulting, we proffer this service at a budget-friendly price.
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