{"id":21615,"date":"2022-07-19T09:03:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-19T07:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/?p=21615"},"modified":"2025-10-07T11:31:47","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T09:31:47","slug":"a-guide-to-building-a-better-business-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/a-guide-to-building-a-better-business-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"A Guide to Building a Better Business Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Whether your company is just starting out or you have big aspirations for future growth, every organization needs a strategic business plan to guide it toward identified objectives. Having clear goals matters. Without them, you risk steering your company off track, which could cost you both time and money. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A strategic business plan is a document that lays out your company\u2019s goals and points the way forward for your business. These goals could range from developing new products and targeting new market segments to solving underlying organizational problems and adapting practices to prepare for <\/span>the future of work<\/span><\/a>. Creating a business strategy also helps to improve company performance by aligning stakeholders around a single vision, uncovering biased thinking, and ensuring that you have clear key performance indicators (KPIs) against which to measure progress.<\/span>1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This step-by-step guide to developing a better business strategy is a good place to start.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Questions to ask in developing a sound business strategy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Building a solid business plan starts with asking the right questions. These questions will help you analyze where your company currently stands, where you want it to go, and how you can get there. They also give you the opportunity to explore current trends in the market and understand where your business fits in. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before you start creating a business strategy, make sure to ask yourself:2<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Where is your company now? <\/b>Take stock of how your business is currently performing.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. How did you get to this point?<\/b> Explore what tactics, strategies, actions, and decisions have resulted in your current success or caused difficulties.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Where do you want to go from here?<\/b> Decide what goals you want the company to accomplish within the next three to five years.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. How do you get to where you want to be? <\/b>What steps do you need to take to reach your goals, and how do you go about taking these steps?<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. What are the biggest challenges you\u2019re facing? <\/b>Uncover<\/span> what problems you\u2019ll have to solve to reach your goal, what internal and external threats you\u2019re up against, and what your biggest obstacles will be.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Who is your target customer, and how has this changed?<\/b> What are the needs and expectations of your current target market, and how have their beliefs, values, and behaviors evolved?<\/span>3<\/sup><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. How is your industry changing?<\/b> Are there disruptive players or technologies influencing your position in the market?<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. What should the company start doing more of? <\/b>Analyze how your company is currently running and get input from your team on what they think is working, what could be scaled up, and what needs to change.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. How are you measuring progress? <\/b>Decide on metrics to track progress towards your goals and put steps in place to ensure regular check-ins.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. How do you best serve your team and shareholders?<\/b> Think about your employees and investors, and make sure your business strategy aims to benefit everyone, not just your customers.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  11. What skills or resources do you need to achieve your goals?<\/b> Your team may need to be upskilled, so consider how you can <\/span>create a culture of learning in your organization<\/span><\/a> to fill any gaps. Also, think about other resources you may require to reach your strategic objectives and whether you need to outsource additional support.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    What tools and frameworks to use when creating a business strategy<\/h2>\n\n\n
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    You can use various frameworks and tools to develop a sound business strategy that drives the future growth of your company.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The tools you draw on are entirely up to you. Different tools work better for different plans, so make sure you use one that works best with the goals you have in mind, rather than trying to fit your company into all of these molds. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Below are four of the most common frameworks and tools used for building a strategic business plan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    SWOT Analysis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    SWOT is an internal analysis tool used in strategic planning to identify and highlight your company\u2019s <\/span>strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.<\/b>4<\/sup> Team members have a brainstorming session where each member creates a list for each aspect based on their research and experience. Once created, they rank their entries in terms of importance and use them as a basis for creating their development objectives, tactics, and strategy.5<\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Porter’s Five Forces Model<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    This tool looks at what\u2019s going on outside of your business and the critical economic forces impacting the market. These forces include current competition in the industry, the potential of new entrants into the field, the power held by suppliers, the power of customers, and the threat of substitute products and services. Applying this analysis helps you understand your industry\u2019s dynamics and establish your company\u2019s competitive standing.6<\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Balanced Scorecard<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    A balanced scorecard is a fundamental tool in business planning and execution that allows you to set, achieve, and measure your goals, strategies, and initiatives. The scorecard was originally created because many companies had the habit of basing their strategic objectives on their financial performance alone instead of factoring in several different KPIs. It looks at four main areas when creating a business strategy:7<\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n