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Develop a Business Strategy

Having built up a picture of the company's past aims and achievements by taking stock and using hindsight, the all-important SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis can commence.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths and weaknesses are essentially internal to the organization and relate to matters concerning resources, programs and organization in key areas. These include:

• Sales - marketing - distribution - promotion - support;
• Management - systems - expertise - resources;
• Operations - efficiency - capacity - processes;
• Products - services - quality - pricing - features - range - competitiveness;
• Finances - resources - performance;
• R&D - effort - direction - resources;
• Costs - productivity - purchasing;
• Systems - organization - structures.

If a startup is being planned, the strengths and weaknesses are related mainly to the promoter(s) - their experience, expertise and management abilities - rather than to the project.

The objective is to build up a picture of the outstanding good and bad points, achievements and failures and other critical features within the company.

Threats & Opportunities

The external threats and opportunities confronting a company, can exist or develop in the following areas:

• The company's own industry where structural changes may be occurring
  (Size and segmentation; growth patterns and maturity; established patterns and relationships, emergence/contraction of niches; international dimensions; relative attractiveness of segments)
• The marketplace which may be altering due to economic or social factors (Customers; distribution channels; economic factors, social/demographic issues; political & environmental factors)
• Competition which may be creating new threats or opportunities
  (Identities, performances, market shares, likely plans, aggressiveness, strengths & weaknesses)
• New technologies which may be causing fundamental changes in products, processes, etc.
  (Substitute products, alternative solutions, shifting channels, cost savings etc.)

Against an uncertain and shifting background, the objective must be to identify and prioritize the key SWOTs in a one-handed manner (Don't say "on the one hand ...........but on the other hand.........")

Develop Strategies

Once the SWOT review is complete, the future strategy may be readily apparent or, as is more likely the case, a series of strategies or combinations of tactics will suggest themselves. Use the SWOTs to help identify possible strategies as follows:

• Build on strengths
• Resolve weaknesses
• Exploit opportunities
• Avoid threats

The resulting strategies can then be filtered and moulded to form the basis of a realistic strategic plan.

Additional Help

The following software packages could assist you in conducting SWOTs and developing a strategic plan especially from a marketing perspective:

• Quick Insight is ideal for assessing business ideas and strategy plans for new and smaller businesses.
  
  
• Business Insight is aimed at larger businesses and their consultants who seek to evaluate and develop comprehensive strategic and marketing plans.

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