Plan Your Way To Success: 5 Tips For Developing An Effective Plan

Planning is the key to success for all businesses, big and small. A business plan is a written document representing an entrepreneur's vision for his or her business. It is a roadmap that allows the business owner to keep track of progress and make any necessary course corrections along the way. A plan also keeps the owner focused on measurable goals and objectives as well as long-term success.

The ability to plan is one of the key differentiators between successful people and those who fail. Successful people plan their day, their week, and their month. They know exactly what they will be doing at any given time, so they don't waste time or energy on frivolous activities.

The same goes for you and your business. If you can create a detailed plan for yourself, your team, and your business, then you have a foundation upon which you can work –and exceed– all of your goals.

With this in mind, here are 5 areas to think about in developing a plan that works for you and your goals:

SWOT Analysis

The SWOT worksheet can help you focus on the key elements of your business - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. You might describe them as follows:

• Strengths - are factors that give your business an advantage over others.
  
• Weaknesses - are those factors that hold you back from achieving your goals.
  
• Opportunities - are new ways to make money or take advantage of new market opportunities.
  
• Threats - are factors that could hurt your business if they come about.

You can use it for every aspect of your business - brainstorming new products or services, planning a marketing campaign, or considering ways to improve customer service. Sometimes people find it best to write down their ideas first, and then fill in the boxes later on. That's fine; it's just important to be clear about what goes where.

(PS: If you’d like to get started take a look our in-depth SWOT Exercise here)

Business Diagnostic / Assessment

Business diagnostic tools can help you identify problem areas and opportunities for growth, understand why certain aspects of your business are not working effectively, and set specific goals for improvement.

A Business Diagnostic consists of a series of questions, each with a rating scale or answer list to indicate the level of satisfaction you have in that area. Our New Way Growth diagnostic covers 12 main categories including: Sales, Marketing, Digital Marketing, Social Media, Operations, Strategy, Finance and more.

In addition to providing information on a variety of business areas, they also provide analyse on key performance indicators. The information contained in this section can help you determine how well your business is performing, often by comparing the current year to previous years. For example, if your sales are down this year compared to last year, you may want to analyse the cause. Are customers buying fewer items? Or are higher-priced items selling better than before?

The Business Diagnostic is critical part of Business Planning!

Marketing Strategy

Although part of the Business Diagnostic this needs a separate section in its own right.

Marketing Strategy is a vital step, but it doesn't begin and end with a catchy tagline. Your message must be consistent, focused and directed at a specific audience. If your business is made up of multiple products or services, then each one needs its own unique marketing strategy.

3 Areas to think about...

• Who is your target market? - Are you trying to appeal to everyone, or does someone else need your product or service more than anyone else?

• What are your Unique Selling Points (USPs)? - What can you offer that's different from everyone else, and how are you going to be unique in the marketplace?

• How are you going to market your business? - Trying every marketing tactic at once is not the way to go. You're more likely to be successful if you focus on a few different strategies that fit your business and your customers. Ask yourself - What do you want to accomplish? How will you measure your success? What do you have to spend? Do you need expert support? You'll also get the most mileage out of your marketing efforts if they're aligned with your business goals.

VRIO Framework

Research shows that when customers have a greater understanding of the product or service they are purchasing, they are more comfortable with their decision.

Information about a product's competitive advantage helps create value for both your customer and for you. When a customer can understand why your product is different from the competition, they feel confident in your abilities.

The VRIO framework is used to identify the competitive advantages of your product or service. It includes four elements:

• Value: The degree of customer benefits a product provides in relation to its cost.

• Rarity: The degree to which a product or service can be unique in the eyes of your customers.

• Imitability: How easy it is for competitors to duplicate your product or service.

• Organisational: The structure of the organisation developing the product or service.

Execution of Actions

Once you've created your business plan and laid out your goals, it's time to get down to the important part: implementation. That can be difficult for a lot of small business people because they don't know how to go about doing it.

TIP! When getting started, set reasonable goals that are attainable. Don't set yourself up for failure by working toward something too ambitious. Start small and grow into bigger projects as you learn more.

(PS: We have unique Business Plan template template to structure your goals into a three-month plan - Click here for our 90 Day Action Plan)