7 Benefits of Strategic Planning

7 Benefits of Strategic Planning

Why is strategic planning so important and why must it be done in concert with a strategy? For many years businesses were successful because they had a presence in a small market with little competition. Even if they had direct competition, there was often enough business to go around so that everybody could survive. However, business today gets done in a global marketplace. Change is occurring at an unprecedented pace. Time and distance continue to become less and less relevant thanks in great part to the explosive growth of technology and the Internet.

There was a time when strategic planning was done only by the largest companies. Now it is simply a requirement for all business to survive. Business leaders must be constantly looking ahead, anticipating change, and developing a strategy to proactively and successfully navigate through the today?s global marketplace. Without strategic planning, businesses simply drift, and are always reacting to the pressure of the day.

For many business owners and leaders, creating a vision, company values, and a strategic plan can be a daunting task for reasons like time, energy, commitment and lack of experience. It requires business leaders to accept that yesterday?s success does not ensure success in the future. It also requires challenging the status quo, changing behaviors, implementing new procedures, hiring different people, and putting new systems in place in order to deliver on the strategy.

So why should companies go through all the hard work of creating a vision, establishing values and formulating a strategy? The answer is simple: combining a good strategic plan and great results in an organization with focus, accountability and more time for the important activities. Here are a few key benefits of good planning and great execution:

1. Better Decisions - Information communicated through vision and strategy allows people to make the best decisions (hiring and rewarding the right people, adopting and developing the right systems, making the right investments, etc.).
2. Increased Energy ? Resulting from rallying behind a cause, and elimination of conflict and confusion of priorities.
3. Increased Capacity ? People are focused on what is important and less concerned about what isn?t.
4. Improved Customer Satisfaction ? A true test of value and leads to higher retention and growth.
5. Competitive Advantage ? Doing what you do better than others.
6. Better Solutions ? Uncovering the enormous intellectual and creative capacity of an organization that collectively works toward solutions rather than a relying on select few.
7. Market Recognition ? Over time you can ?own? a position and space in the marketplace.

Machiavelli said, ?The one who adapts his policy to the times prospers, and likewise the one whose policy clashes with the demands of the times does not.? Since we cannot control where the world is going, the best we can do is try to figure out where it is likely to go and how we might prosper in it. This is best accomplished by the utilization of strategic planning. The long-term view of where we think things will end up and how we will position ourselves to capitalize on it is what strategic planning is all about.

A properly orchestrated strategic planning process should help your business identify multiple future scenarios and give you strategies to address the ?demands of the times? whatever they may be. If you want assistance in initiating the strategic planning process for your organization, contact Strategic Marketing Services. One of our highly experienced project managers can help your organization get started.

Source: http://info.sms.uni.edu/blog/bid/124539/7-Benefits-of-Strategic-Planning

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