A strategic plan template is a document (in text or presentation format) that includes the analysis of the situation of the company, the objectives it seeks to achieve and the steps to follow to achieve them. There are many reasons to develop a detailed plan: it helps to achieve the objectives of the company, it reinforces the commitment of management and workers, it helps to define a long-term vision, it improves efficiencies and it can even help prevent errors (and solve them quickly when they occur). When preparing the strategic plan template , the organization is key. There are a number of aspects that every plan must include, and a logical order in which to work on them so that the final result is consistent and operational. Next, I will detail what are the 5 basic sections of an online strategic plan template and what each one should include. If you want to make it even easier, I encourage you to download the checklist: List of requirements for your digital marketing campaigns . In it we have included the 20 basic points that we recommend to cover before undertaking any digital marketing action. 1 # Analysis of the current situation Paraphrasing Total Sinister, to know where we are going first we must see who we are and where we come from. That is, the first mandatory step of any strategic plan template is the analysis of the current situation of the company. In this situation we see the influence of both external and internal factors. Among the external ones we have the general situation (social, economic ...), the particularities of the sector and the market. Inmates refer to the company itself, for example, the staff and resources we have. To systematize this analysis and ensure that nothing is missed , we can use the classic SWOT analysis : weaknesses, threats, strengths and opportunities. The weaknesses are those internal aspects of the company in which deficiencies manifest themselves, it is at a disadvantage against competitors or simply want to improve. To find them, we will ask ourselves questions such as "in which aspects is the competition superior?", "What things make us lose sales?" or "what are we less satisfied with?" Some examples of weaknesses could be lack of funding or limitations in the supply of products. The threats are also a negative, but in this case come from the outside. Are those factors that endanger the company or at least reduce its market share. Identifying them in time in the plan can help us neutralize them. To find them, we can ask ourselves about new market trends or changes in our sector. For example, the entry of new competitors into the market could be a threat. The strengths are the positive internal aspects of the company, those in which stands against the competition or we are most proud. In the strengths is the key to the competitive advantage. We can identify them by asking about our advantages over the competition, the resources we have or our strengths in general. Examples: have a team with the best professionals in the sector or be considered the best in product X. Finally, opportunities are the external factors that play in our favor and that can be taken advantage of by the company. As with threats, we can find them asking about new trends and market changes. For example, there may be a legislative change that favors us or a favorable trend in the market. In addition to the SWOT, I strongly recommend also to perform a good analysis of the buyer person , that is, the ideal client of our company. A buyer person is a semi-fictional representation that puts "face and eyes" on the market we are going to. At a minimum, it should include the following sections: Who is our buyer person? Here we collect information about the general profile of our ideal client, their demographic information and personal identifiers. How can our company help you? We will detail the primary and secondary goals and objectives of this person and explain how we can help you address them. Why? Comments on the challenges and objectives of the clients and their most common complaints and objections. Here you can be inspired by the real comments you receive during the investigation process. How? Definition of the marketing and sales messages that you will use to reach this potential customer. 2 # Competitor analysis This is one more aspect of the analysis of external factors, but it deserves its own section in the strategic plan template because of how decisive it may be for the future of our company. After selecting the main companies of the competition (if you don't know what they are, you are already late in finding out) we should try to answer at least these four questions about them: What budget and turnover do they handle? Large companies publish their annual or quarterly results, so in these cases it is usually quite accessible information. For more modest companies, you can try to request reports in databases such as information or asexor. And if not, you can always extrapolate based on data such as the number of employees (LinkedIn is very useful in these cases) or the breadth of the catalog. What price are your products or services? In the case of B2C companies, this information is easily accessible, while in B2B you will have to search a little more. Once you have the information, prepare a price range and think about where you want to position yourself. How is the sales process? From the first contact to the conversion and the services for sale, the customer's journey from the competition can give you many useful clues for your business. The most common way to find out is through the figure of the "mystery customer", you can even be it yourself! How do you get customers? That is, what are your marketing and promotion strategies. In the case of online marketing, you have it easy enough to find out by researching your website, social networks and other channels. I also recommend that you take a look at tools like SEMRush and Google Alerts. 3 # Objectives Now that we have a clear starting point, we have to see exactly where we want (and we can get there). Therefore, the time has come to set our marketing objectives . This aspect is one of the most important of any strategic plan, but perhaps it is the most neglected. Many times management sets unrealistic goals based more on their "wishful thinking" than on the reality of the company. So that this does not happen, I always advise to base the objectives taking into account the acronym SMART: S of "specific" : the objectives must be specific and concrete. The goals of "increasing brand awareness" are too blurred, since in practice they could mean almost anything and justify themselves in many different ways. Instead, something like "increase brand mentions on social networks by 20%" is preferable. M of "measurable" : to know if a goal has been achieved, we have to be able to measure it. Therefore, in addition to defining the objective precisely, we also have to clarify how we are going to measure it. In the previous case, we could establish that we are going to measure the brand mentions on a monthly basis through the Social Mention tool. A of "achievable" : that is, attainable. Pretending to reach the moon in two days only serves to discourage the team. When we set goals, we have to take into account the effort they require, the time and other derived costs, always based on the current situation. Only then can we establish whether the goal is realistic or not. R of "relevant" : it seems obvious to say that the objectives have to be relevant, but in practice it is not so. For example, many digital marketers aim to increase visits to a blog or website. But if these visits are not of quality and do not give rise to conversions, they are not contributing anything to us. Engrave it on fire: marketing objectives have to respond to business objectives. Time-bound T : Every objective needs a temporary context to make sense, so don't forget to define the deadline to get it. 4 # Action plan: marketing strategies With all this work done, we reach the core of the strategic plan template: what are we going to do to achieve the objectives? In this section we will define the marketing strategies, always going from the most general to the most concrete. In the end, it should be very clear which are the steps to follow and in what order we will carry them out. To organize and classify strategies, it is very common to resort to the famous "4 P of marketing": Product strategy . Even if we already have a very well defined and positioned product line, changes always occur over time. For example, we can launch new products, change the positioning of an existing one or update the packaging. Pricing strategy . Here we will be very good to analyze the information we have about the competition. We need to define the launch prices of new products, consider whether we should make changes to those already in the market and, perhaps most importantly, decide the whole strategy of discounts, promotions and offers. Do not forget to take into account seasonal campaigns, for example, in summer or Christmas. Sales and distribution strategy : if we have detected any weakness in terms of customer experience or simply want to optimize it, we can consider actions in this section. For example: search for new suppliers, include new distribution channels such as online sales, improve delivery times, reduce shipping costs. Promotion and communication strategy : all actions come into play here to publicize our brand with both online and offline media. Given the rapid evolution of the online marketing environment and the digital habits of consumers, this is one of the sections that we will have to review over time. 5 # Real-time plan review Last but not least, you have to keep in mind that your marketing plan is not a static element, but must be constantly evolving to continue responding to the needs of the company. To make this happen, my recommendation is that you organize regular meetings to evaluate the progress of the plan. These five points can guide you to start: Objectives : are the objectives set by the plan being met? Looking back, were they realistic, too ambitious or did they fall short? Compliance : are we following the actions provided in the plan? If we have deviated, what is the reason? Mind you, it doesn't always make sense to correct these deviations: sometimes it is better to modify the plan to adapt to them. Strategies : what are the actions that are working best and what should we discard for the future? Budget : does the plan adapt to real budgets? How is it affecting income and expense accounts? Is it necessary to make any modifications? Review : modifications and extensions of the plan. For example, we can decide to complete the first version with a schedule of actions, assignment of responsibilities and tasks, extension of tactics. This makes it clearer how to make a good strategic plan template for your company and how to make this a success in terms of ROI and results.
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Designing the strategic plan template of a Company or Organization is one of the vital activities that determine long-term success and sustainability. It is for this reason that such activity should not be taken lightly, but on the contrary with all the rigor required by the situation. Designing a company's Strategic Plan is similar, for example, to ensuring the life and progress of a child. A vision of the future must be created, long-term, challenging, ambitious but achievable goals must be established, permanent accompaniment throughout the path of change, progress and growth, align the behavior when necessary, and of course enjoy and feel very proud of the results, when the time comes. The Company is somehow a "living being", which needs attention, objectives, monitoring, commitment. Without these elements, this "living being" will be hopelessly counted days. In this article we recommend 6 essential and essential aspects that you should consider when formulating the Strategic Plan for your Organization. 1. Sensitization The key team of the Company must be sensitized, especially to the first management line, regarding the importance of planning, creating a vision of the future, thinking big, focusing on results, and above all the need for involvement and commitment of those who have the responsibility of forging the growth of the company. There must exist in the whole team, the conviction, that without a well structured Plan, it will be very difficult to achieve growth, it is somehow leaving the fate or chance of fate the future of the organization. To raise awareness, because different techniques will be used, including: personal interviews with the management team, methodological training for the entire team formulating the Plan, presentation of success stories, reflective analysis of the current situation of the organization. 2. Leadership For business, the number "1" of the Company must be the one who decidedly assumes Leadership for the design of the strategic plan template. This leadership must be translated into: committed participation in the whole process, it is who must clearly establish the horizon of growth, visualize the final goal and transmit it to the entire organization, for its realization. The first managerial line must accompany with equal commitment throughout the process. It is important that all of this "coalition" assume the leadership aligned, not only for the formulation of the Strategic Plan, but mainly for its execution. As the saying goes, it is important to plan, but what really counts is the execution. 3. Guidance To Interest Groups The strategic plan template should not only be oriented to achieve financial results, but also to meet the needs and expectations of different stakeholders or Stakeholders. A Plan with a focus on interest groups to achieve greater sustainability and growth in the long term. The interest groups are formed, for example, by: shareholders, customers, employees, suppliers, the local community, among others. The Strategy should focus not only on satisfying, but on exceeding the expectations of each interest group, regarding the performance of the organization. 4. Deployment The Strategic Plan must be deployed in each of the company's operational and administrative units, so that the contributions that each unit or area must grant to the Strategy are clearly established. Deploying a Plan means translating the global concepts of the Strategy into operational actions that can be understood by each area, each team, each collaborator. It must be understood that the Strategy is everyone's job. 5. Follow-Up And Control A Strategic Plan without monitoring and control mechanisms does not work, does not help to achieve results and therefore becomes an instrument without utility. It is essential to integrate the design of the Strategic Plan, procedures for monitoring the execution and feedback for continuous improvement. The Balanced Scorecard or Integral Scorecard is an excellent alternative to ensure an excellent execution of the Strategy. The Balanced Scorecard is a strategic management model that allows aligning the behavior of each employee with the Objectives, based on the use and application of key performance indicators 6. External Support When designing the strategic plan template it is also very important to give the organization a look from an external point of view. This helps break certain paradigms that often do not allow innovative concepts to be introduced into the organization's strategy. The strategic plan template is a report should help the entrepreneur to answer the questions necessary to manage his company, ensuring consistency between them and ensuring the consistency of his business, since it formalizes the communication of what he wants to do, with the professionals with whom he collaborates: management team, commercial, window dressers, designers . How to make an innovative strategic plan template? The creative proposal of a strategic plan can be developed following various methodologies. One of them is the observation and analysis of the role adopted by the consumer in relation to a product or a service : what is its behavior and the scope of the fantasies that it projects and link it closely with its lifestyle and environment. The creation of a concept can be based on turning each fantasy into a space, which evokes a different, innovative concept. For the concept to be understood and interesting for both the consumer and the entrepreneur, when creating it, we must be clear about three benchmarks: 1.- The expectations that we will generate: define a motivation for a specific visit to the establishment and work on the impacts prior to it. 2.- The experiences that we are going to provoke: establishing a particular and differential relationship of the buyer in the store, the purchase process, ensuring that we are consistent with the promise established in the expectations and, finally: 3.- Anticipate the consequences: the purchase made, expense, number of items, rotation. In expectation we are defining the message, the priority of my communication policy. I define "my" positioning, the choice of the consumer of my establishment against the referential competition. I make a commitment. In the consequences in the store you have to be consistent with the latter: Fulfill the promises projected with the expectations generated. The loyalty, the repetition of purchase, the profitability of my business is at stake in the reaction obtained. How to make my concept real? The concept must be faithfully communicated to the consumer through the point of sale, understood as an announcement in four dimensions of immediate effect on the consumer. Therefore, having a proper image in the store is one of the basic strategies that the entrepreneur must take care of more, since design is our vehicle for communication with the customer. Not surprisingly, it helps us to differentiate our establishments and adapt them to the needs and expectations of our customers . It is, therefore, a relevant element but we are not talking about artistic or aesthetic design, but creative, that responds to a briefing clearly defined by the entrepreneur, directed, rational, functional in the sense that it must adjust to the needs posed by the entrepreneur, not to the artistic inspirations of the designer; because a beautiful store per se , has no use for the entrepreneur, nor for the consumer in the medium and long term. The objective of a good store design is that the concept, what the company wants to be, transmit, corresponds to what the consumer perceives at the point of sale. The strategic plan template defines what we want to communicate and how, properly prioritizing and channeling each of the messages. Thanks to it, the communication axes of the concept and how to formalize it in the store can be established in a consistent manner. The buying experience lived as consumers at the point of sale is what builds perceptions, from which the actual positioning is created. Thus, we must avoid the contradictions between the concept defined in the business plan and its implementation at the point of sale, and coordinate the strategy and design, if we want, as entrepreneurs, that the objective positioning coincides with the real one. Elements of a strategic plan on the Internet In the 21st century we cannot ignore the world of Internet, and therefore, our strategic plan template give great importance to the tools of digital marketing. Getting our brand to differentiate itself in a world of information is a task that only companies that know how to navigate value. The key to success is to detail previously in the strategic plan of the company, an exhaustive analysis of the brand on the internet and its key elements:
Nowadays, people spend a large part of our daily lives connected through the smartphone, laptop, tablet. And much of the activity we do on the Internet is the search for information about what interests us or consumes. Therefore, the online reputation of a brand or a company is essential for its growth and even for its survival. Any business must manage not only its online reputation and image, but also customer service through social networks. This requires a team specialized in Social Media. Not all companies contemplate or can absorb a digital marketing department or the figure of a community manager on staff; In addition, it is very often much more effective to outsource this task in a digital marketing agency. And it all starts with a strategic plan in Social Networks. Brand, interaction and loyalty are some of the points to keep in mind to draw up a Strategic Digital Marketing Plan. It is essential to analyze the situation of the company, externally and internally, to make a SWOT to fully understand its weaknesses and strengths, its target and competence, all this to establish objectives and implement appropriate actions in the corresponding social networks. To design the actions and the creation of content, it must be taken into account that people are in social networks to interact , therefore brands have to be a plus in the newsfeed, and get to be a reference in their field, Be an opinion leader herself, to be followed carefully. A strategic plan template should focus on making the online image and reputation of a brand adequate and differentiating. It is essential to know to which social platforms the company has to go and mark a content strategy for each of these. What is said is as important as the way to do it depending on each medium. But this is only the beginning; follow, control and evaluate the results of the strategy, weekly, monthly and quarterly, based on different metrics defined according to the objectives of each brand is basic. Depending on the effects, efforts will be invested in readjusting certain aspects or completely remodeling the strategic plan. |
AuthorHi, I shally. This blog contains very informative content, which can help you to plan your business strategy template. Archives |