Strategy Development

Strategy Development


To achieve successful business strategies it is essential to address all perspectives, environmental factors, customer insight, competitor intelligence and market analysis.


 





A clear strategy that is based on the fact that there is a realizable business idea where you can develop/create relationships with other actors and parties is the very foundation. The purpose of a strategy is to ensure that the organization develops in accordance with vision and goals. To some extent, also to break down goals into more manageable sub-goals and then create strategies around these.


 





The basic approaches to strategy can be divided into four perspectives and concern all the conditions for how an organization sets goals, what the goals are and the process for achieving these goals. The four perspectives are the rational (classical perspective), the fatalistic (evolutionary perspective), the pragmatic (process-oriented perspective) and the relativistic (systems theory perspective).


 





The Classical perspective states that “strategy is understood as a rational process that includes deliberate calculation and analysis which in turn aims to maximize benefits in the long term”. ensure that both the outside world and the organization become flexible and predictable – designed according to top management’s designed planning. From the classical perspective, good planning is what is required to be able to control the internal and external environment. The strategy is important in that rational analysis and objective decisions are what makes the difference between success and failure in the long run.


 





Industry analysis
Since the entire business development activity is based on prerequisites, there is a need for in-depth analyses. These are usually sorted under the overall term Industry Analysis, which includes Environmental Analysis, Market Analysis, Customer Analysis and Competitive Analysis.


 





Environmental analysis
Environmental analysis, or also environmental monitoring, is a continuous organizational activity to acquire intelligence about the outside world (for example, competitors and markets) with the aim of positioning the organization, its products and services, or as the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals, SCIP, an international organization for professional environmental analysts , defines it: “A systematic and ethical program to collect and analyze information about our competitors.”
In practice, the term often also includes strategic analysis of other external external factors, which may affect the organization in the future, for example political stability and regional economic development, etc.


 





Market analysis
Described as the activity of gathering information about conditions affecting a marketplace. In short, market analysis is a complete assessment of the size and nature of a particular market or industry. It takes into account both quantitative factors, such as market volume and value, and qualitative factors such as competition and regulation of the market.


 





Customer analysis
Provides an opportunity to optimize your resource allocation to various activities. Strategic activities that can be optimized are customer recruitment, customer development and countering customer churn.


 





Competition analysis
The analysis is used to find possible competitive advantages in that the company offers a higher value in the business relationships than the competitors do. Here we highlight the strengths that stand up in comparison to the competitors, and see how we can fill roles where they themselves are lacking. In the same way, it is important to understand one’s own weaknesses/shortcomings.
The competitive analysis is also about understanding and being able to predict what one’s competitors intend to do for future strategic choices. This, in turn, makes it possible to predict how different competitors will act when conditions in industries and markets change.


 





METRICS





Problem statements and needs
Here, the Industry Analysis is a tool for identifying and quantifying.





Vision
An organization’s vision describes what the organization hopes to become in the future. Well-constructed visions clearly articulate an organization’s ambitions.





Mission statement
A mission statement is a general statement of how you will achieve your vision, and should explain to stakeholders why they should support the organization by clarifying the important role or purpose the organization plays in society. The mission statement further describes the purpose of our organization – the purpose for which we were founded and why we exist. Some mission statements include the organization’s operations. Others explain what products or services they produce or customers they serve.





Goal
An organization needs well-defined goals that should give employees clear and concrete guidance as they carry out their work on a daily basis. The most effective goals are those that are Specific, Measurable, Aggressive, Realistic and Time-Bound (SMART).





SWOT
The reason for including a SWOT analysis (analysis of our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) in a strategic plan is to help determine the best opportunities to pursue to achieve growth goals. It also helps to identify which strengths need to be developed in the near future to improve the conditions for the company.





Value proposition
A value proposition is a promise of value that must be delivered, communicated and acknowledged. It is also a belief from the customer about how value (benefit) will be delivered, experienced and acquired





Key Performance Indicators, KPI
Companies should understand their statistics and KPI. By tracking KPI, you know exactly how the company is performing and can adjust as needed. It therefore becomes important to identify the KPIs you will track in the company and list them in your strategic plan.