Make time for Marketing Research and Planning
The most important quality that an organization needs if it wants to make understanding its customers a key part of its long term strategic planning is the development of a deep understanding of those customers real needs. Following this core process of strategic planning will put public perception of your company to a level that’s at least a cut above that of your competitors.
Know your Customers better than any competitor
Understanding your customers is a continuous process that your organization will have to start living and breathing on a daily basis, as part of its internal culture. Creating quality marketing research to fully understand customers is involved. Achieving this will then let you then market strategically instead of reactively. And if you want an excellent example of a real world company that follows through on this exact philosophy and process, look no further than Apple Computer and its cult-like loyal following of buyers.
These are just some obvious examples and the more you flesh them out while also finding other information points to investigate, the better you’ll be able to make strategic predictions about what your consumers will respond to.
Balanced Scorecard
The Balanced Scorecard is a strategy management framework created by Drs. There are many ways you can create a Balanced Scorecard, including using a program like Excel, Google Sheets, or PowerPoint or using reporting software. This is just one of the many “views” you’d be able to see in scorecard software once your BSC was complete. All in all, a Balanced Scorecard is an effective, proven way to get your team on the same page with your strategy.
SWOT Analysis
Using a SWOT analysis helps an organization identify where they’re doing well and in what areas they can improve. If you’re interested in reading more, this Business News Daily article offers some additional details about each area of the SWOT analysis and what to look for when you create one.
PEST Model
” Each of these factors is used to look at an industry or business environment, and determine what could affect an organization’s health. The PEST model is often used in conjunction with the external factors of a SWOT analysis. You may also run into Porter’s Five Forces, which is a similar take on examining your business from various angles. For example, PESTEL indicates an organization is also considering “environmental” and “legal” factors.
Gap Planning
Gap planning is also referred to as a “Need-Gap Analysis,” “Need Assessment,” or “the Strategic-Planning Gap. ” It is used to compare where an organization is now, where it wants to be, and how to bridge the gap between. In your gap planning research, you may also hear about a “change agenda” or “shift chart.
Blue Ocean Strategy
Blue Ocean Strategy is a strategic planning model that emerged in a book by the same name in 2005. The idea behind Blue Ocean Strategy is for organizations to develop in “uncontested market space” instead of a market space that is either developed or saturated . If your organization is able to create a blue ocean, it can mean a massive value boost for your company, its buyers, and its employees.
Porter’s Five Forces
Porter’s Five Forces is an older strategy execution framework built around the forces that impact the profitability of an industry or a market.
VRIO Framework
The VRIO framework is an acronym for “value, rarity, imitability, organization. ” This framework relates more to your vision statement than your overall strategy.
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