Strategic Planning: What Is Your Businesses Reason For Existence?

By: Justin Woolich

As business owners and managers we are quite often caught up in the day to day work of running our businesses, dealing with clients, managing staff, developing new products and more often than not fixing problems. After all of this work is done there is no time left (or more importantly no energy left) to spend on what I consider to be the most important work that we face as business owners and managers, business development.

It is no wonder that the average business struggles to reach the size, profitability and success that urged the founder to start it in the first place.

What can you do to ensure that your business remains focused?
A strategic plan will guide your business, assist you with important decisions and keep you and your employees on track. It will identify your businesses reason for existence and define exactly what success means in your business world. Most importantly it will guide you and your employees along the path to business success.

You need to compile your Strategic Plan into a document. It is simply not good enough to state that it is stored in your head. You will find that once you have committed it to paper (or electronically) you and your business will start rapidly moving towards the goals you have identified in your Stragtegic Planning Document.

What do you put into a strategic planning document?
* Be concise and to the point, you do not want to produce something that is difficult to read and update and irrelevant by the time it is completed.
* Include a statement on your vision for your company at the beginning of the document. This sets the tone for what is to follow. State exactly what it is that you are trying to achieve with your business.
* What is your businesses reason for existence? Put this vision in terms of the problems that you solve for your clients. Always think in terms of your clients perspective because at the end of the day that is the only perspective that is really important to your businesses success.
* Identify the key goals that your business needs to achieve to be successful.
* Define how you will know when you have reached the goals by associating a measurable rage of values with the goal i.e. key indicators
* Put a specific date on when each of the goals will be achieved and regularly measure your progress towards reaching them.

Some examples of business goals include:
* Financial profitability figures
* Company growth
* Market acceptance and penetration
* Customer satisfaction
* New product innovation

What do you do with your strategic plan when you have finished it?
* Treat your strategic plan as a work in progress, business environments change rapidly, be prepared to alter your direction in response to customer, operational and competitive changes.
* Make sure you schedule a regular review and updating of the strategic plan. Even if your goals remain the same, regular review will commit the plan to your subconscious ensuring that you are always moving towards your goals.
* Use the strategic plan to help you make decisions in your business. Ask yourself 'Will my decision move me closer to or further away from the goals in my strategic plan?'. If the decision moves you away from your goals then you should either not move ahead with the decision or you need to re-evaluate your strategic plan.
* Share the contents of your strategic plan with your staff. You may not want to disclose all of the business goals, but it is vitally important to communicate your vision and relevant goals with your employees.

How does a strategic plan differ from a business plan?
A business plan is a more formalized in depth document and generally takes months to develop. The problem with business plans is that they tend to make many (often invalid) assumptions and they are generally obsolete by the time they are finished. business plans, once produced, are rarely reviewed and updated.

A strategic plan is a working vision of where you are taking your business. When regularly reviewed and updated it remains relevant and aligned with your business.

There is not one thing that you could do immediately, right now in your business that will have as much positive long lasting impact as developing your strategic plan. Do it now, can you afford not to?

source : http://www.articlecompilation.com

Advantages Your Home Business

There are many advantages to owning a wellness product based home business. One of the biggest advantages for any home business is freedom. You are literally the boss and the employee all rolled into one package. A home business is an option for obtaining financial security while also maintaining lifestyle freedom. The choices that are made in regards to your career are completely decided and controlled by you.

This article will tell you four advantages that you should know when you are considering the home business opportunities.

1. The main importance of the internet to home businesses is all of the home business opportunities it creates. You will be able to create contacts with other individuals and entrepreneurs like yourself and you will eventually get to the point that those contacts will buy from you and maybe even help you to achieve your goals.

2. You may want to create your own home business but are not really interested in meeting with people face to face to sell items. This can be avoided with an internet home business. The internet allows you to sell to millions of customers all over the world and you will never need to meet with them in person.

3. One thing many people do not like about work is they have a boss. Another thing a home business opportunity gives you is th freedom of no boss. With no boss you will be able to have freedom with money and your goals, not doing what other people's goals are.

4. you will get to create your own business. You will be able to link this business of your's with hundreds of companies and millions of customers, especially if you do an internet business.

Family time is important to many people. Operating a home business is an excellent way to balance a career, meet financial obligations, and spend quality time with the family. It is easier to take a break, go on vacation, or even take a day off with a home business than it is a traditional job where you report to your boss on a daily basis. Many people enjoy the advantages to a home business and thrive on the opportunity to take complete control over their lives and their careers.

Planning Your Home Business

by Obinna Heche

When it comes to home businesses, one of the most important things to remember is that they look great on the outside. Of course it looks like a good idea to work from home. You can set your own hours and be your own boss and no one is going to tell you what to do. You can take sick days whenever you need them and you are not going to get in trouble. Also, there is a certain freedom that comes with working from home and these things are often too hard to pass by. However, jumping into a home business opportunity, no matter how great it seems, is never a good idea if you have not thought it through completely.

This might seem like a no brainer to most people, because all decisions in life should be thought through first. However, it is often very easy to think about starting a home business and a lot of people are very tempted to start one on a whim without taking the time to think and plan it. Also, there are many advertisements that claim to help people start their own home business right away with immediate success. These can be very dangerous because lots of people are unhappy in their current job situations and might be tempted to simply stand up and leave it, without a game plan.

This can be very hard to do and can cause a lot of heartache in the end. The best thing to do is to think over your options very carefully and have your home business completely planned out before you leave your current job. This can be something that you do over weeks or months in your spare time. Remember that starting up a home business takes a lot of time and a lot of planning and it should never be something you think you can throw together over a weekend. That is why you should not leave your current job while you plan your home business.

Take the time to develop a business plan, launch a website and get your home office in order in your spare time before you leave your job. Remember that with a home business, you are not going to be able to expect to get paychecks right away, so you should never quit what you are doing before you start making money somewhere else. This is very important to remember, because while you start your business, you are still going to need to have money to live on. So, take your time and think it through, as well as get everything planned out, before you decide that working from home is the best thing that you can do. If you have planned well and saved some money, then you should be able to easily transition to your new home business.

Source : http://www.articlecompilation.com

The Power of Planning

Every great invention, every work of art, every new innovation all starts with a thought. Thoughts are the most powerful forces in the universe - with the right thoughts and right focus you can achieve anything that you want to in life and in business.

So how do you tap into this power? In business just like in life you need to start with the end picture in mind. What do you want your business to do, be or achieve? Without this clarity all you will get is mixed results and muddled outcomes.

One way to help gain clarity is through a strategic planning exercise with your team. This is where you talk through where you are headed and identify the broad signposts along the way to help you know that you are on track. Now this can be a rote exercise of filling in the blanks on a planning document or it can be a time full of purpose, meaning and power. You choose.

If doing a strategic planning exercise, start with getting clarity about the current state of play of your business. Be brutally honest - what is working, what isn't, and what could you be doing better.

Now have a look at what your business could be in your wildest dreams. Look at possibilities and highlight the successes of other companies and people to expand your view. Next expand your view to what is possible at an industry level and at world level. Get excited by the wonderful potential that is in your business. It's like taking a balloon and then gradually inflating it to expand its size and potential.

From this input, create a simple but meaningful (to you) description of what your ideal business will look like, feel like and be like. Why are you here? What is the purpose of your business?

If you find that you can take out your company name of the description and it could be any business - then you have not captured the heart or essence of your business. If your only purpose is to make money - then you are limiting your potential and it will not satisfy you in the long term.

The most powerful and profitable businesses have an element of service, of giving or sharing in some way. What makes your business different and unique? What makes your heart sing about your business?

Unless you and your team can feel the power of your words, you have not "got it right". Keep working and talking until your description of your business makes your heart leap and you get excited thinking about the potential. You will get a "that's it" feeling much like a metal detector does when it finds gold.

The next challenge is to work out the signposts on the way to your dream by distilling a handful of key areas of focus. These signposts need to be easily identifiable to help you know that you are on the right path.

Work out up to 5 key areas of priority - this could be increasing customers by 5%, retaining 95% of existing customers, introducing a new product or service or whatever is relevant to you. These areas of priority or your goals need to be tangible, measurable, achievable and written in the positive.

Long lists of projects and tasks will only scatter your energies and overwhelm you and the team - so think bigger. If you try and plan every tiny detail, you don't allow room for creativity, growth and miracles to occur in your business.

I suspect people intuitively know this. I have lost count of the planning groups and exercises I have run or been a participant at, that when the part of the day gets down to tiny actions and responsibilities that energy flags and attention wanders. At this stage keep your horizon bigger rather than smaller. Only go for closer detail when you are one on one with relevant staff another day.

Write your areas of focus down. Keep these goals visible by your computer where you can see them every day. Each day visualize yourself achieving your business goals and how this will feel for you and the team and the most important thing - take action! Every week, do at least one thing to move you towards each of your areas of priority.

One word of caution - a great business vision and plan will not fly unless your perception and beliefs about your own capabilities either match or have expanded with the vision. Part of every planning exercise needs to include an element of growing your own belief of your personal capabilities and seeing yourself as having the potential to personally achieve your dreams.

The reality is - if you can dream it, you have the potential inside you to achieve it. If you are finding a mis-match between your dreams and your view of your potential, then have a chat with a professional coach, counselor or healer to help you take that step into who you can be.

So, start your planning for your future. Dream big, plan big and you will surprise yourself with the results you will achieve.

Source : http://www.articlecompilation.com

Five Competitive Forces in "Amazon"

By: Robert II Smith

Another theory that helps understand the possibility and intensity of competition is the one proposed by Michael Porter. Michael Porter (2008, p.80) proposes that five competitive forces which have to be kept track of, and understood to survive and grow in business turf are: (1)rivalry among existing competitors, (2) customers, (3) suppliers, (4) substitute products, and (5) new entrants.

I will examine the position of Amazon from each of these standpoints. Firstly, rivalry from existing firms like Wal-Mart and Barnes and Noble which are watching the growth of Amazon may intensify their competition. They are already selling online with a considerable degree of success. Furthermore, Wal-Mart, a leviathan firm, can invest resources much larger than what Amazon can, and thus, the fiercest competition stares Amazon in its face. Secondly, in regards to what kind of competitive pressure the customers can exert on Amazon, it can be safely stated that they are widely dispersed and interested only in effective delivery of value at the best prices. Their unionisation against Amazon is the least possible move and may never be a threat, more so, when Amazon has set about giving its best for a memorable ‘customer experience’. Thirdly, suppliers may start similar ventures.

For example, Toys’R’Us which once undertook to stay away from online trading was permitted by the court to operate an independent online retailing facility. Similarly, many of the firms currently supplying the merchandize like electronics, beauty products, jewelry, sports goods and so on may start their own online retailing, or work with another rival of Amazon, unless Amazon takes care of their survival and growth needs. Fourthly, competition from substitute services is another possibility.

The value proposition of Amazon, shopping the best from home, may face paradigmatic changes. One possibility, albeit remote, is that customers may like to travel and shop physically either to relax or meet people or choose things by touching the merchandise. Amazon has to be wary of these needs, and while innovating, Amazon has to integrate these aspects into their offerings. Fifthly and finally, new companies may enter online retailing business to offer the same product lines. If Amazon has built a set of inimitable and sustainable competitive advantages that gives unique value to customers, the threat from new entrants will not be as fierce as it will be when such strategic approach is lacking.

Internal analysis, which represents, among other things, an understanding of a company’s own strengths, guides the company in choosing what direction it has to take. Competencies, which are internal to a firm, are very decisive in its success.

Source : http://www.articlecompilation.com

Amazon: a Case Analysis

By: Robert II Smith

An understanding of the environment surrounding a firm is an essential element of the development of corporate strategy, because environment is the critical factor which either facilitates or thwarts the march of a firm by giving opportunities or posing threats. PEST is one tool to understand the surrounding environment.

Simply stated, PEST is a checklist of factors arranged under four headings: political, economic, socio-cultural and technological and the first letters of the four groups are strung together to make an acronym, PEST. ( Lynch 1997a, p.94). Lynch calls them Political future, Socio-cultural future, Economic future and Technological future. Since future derives its trends from the past, the environment what existed till now and what is at present is scanned to figure out what it will become in the future.

Political future covers forecasts on political parties, trade blocks, legislation on issues that impact the way business is done, relations between government and the organisation, and government’s stance towards business, competition and monopolies. Amazon should keep track of governments around the world and their outlook towards online retailing. Economic future gives forecast on matters such as GDP, inflation, consumer’s income and disposition towards consumption, currency fluctuations, unemployment, investments by state, energy, communication, transport costs, interest rates and so on.

Expanding incomes, spouse’s participation in family earnings and so on make them crave for alternatives to physical shopping, and the services of Amazon befit their needs. It is a positive signal for Amazon. Socio-Cultural future covers forecasts on shifts in values and culture, change in lifestyle, attitude to work and leisure, environment concerns of the people, education and health, demographic changes and distribution of income.

That people across the globe want to change their lifestyles and have the best in their lives is a godsend opportunity that Amazon can cash in on. Technological future gives forecasts about likely new products, new research initiatives, new patents, competitor’s investments on technology, developments in remotely connected industries ( Lynch 1997b, p.94). The outlook of the current technological environment presents both opportunities and challenges. To elaborate, changes in technology may help Amazon develop and bring in best technology and best products, and employ best delivery systems. On the other hand, changes in technology are not only likely to encourage the entry of new rivals but may also pressure Amazon to invest more in technology to pre-empt the moves of the competitors.

Another tool to understand the competitive environment, particularly, the rivalry from similar firms, and to stay ahead of them is Strategic Group Analysis. “A strategic group is a set of firms emphasising similar strategic dimensions to use a similar strategy. The competition between firms within a strategic group is greater than the competition between a member of a strategic group and companies outside the strategic group. Another way of saying this is that intra-strategic group competition is more intense than is inter-strategic group competition.” ( Hit et al 2007, p.60).

From a competitive standpoint, the kind of technological leadership, distribution system, product quality, pricing and customer service that Amazon has, sets it apart from eBay, Wal-Mart, Google, Apple, Yahoo! and the like. But Barnes and Noble and Wal-Mart’s E-How belong to the same strategic group as Amazon does, and hence the competition is not only intense at present, but they have the potential to take Amazon down. Particularly, the size and capability of Wal-Mart apparently pose a serious challenge to Amazon. eBay is a in different class insofar as it works to facilitate the transactions between consumers (C2C). It follows that Amazon has to guard itself against the possible strategic and competitive moves from Wal-Mart and Barnes and Noble.

Source : http://www.articlecompilation.com

The Secret Shopper Secret

By: Drew020

A friend of mine in England is occasionally employed as a secret shopper. The company she works for asks her to visit various stores around the region where she lives , to assess all aspects of the way employees interact with customers. Also known as mystery shopping, the aim is to get honest feedback about what's really going on inside the business.

I've heard plenty of stories about her ‘stealth' observations over the years – like the receptionist who was sound asleep for more than one hour while numerous potential customers came, waited, and then left without being served, or the outburst of abuse given by a store manager to a staff member who was serving a bust checkout line – the employee was then left to carry on serving the customer while still in flood of tears.

My friend used to say that the worrying part of her job was that there was little middle ground. Most of her experiences were either delightful of painful. Which brings me to the key point I want to make to you:

When was the last time YOU secret shopped your own business?

That's right, I'm suggesting that you need to evaluate your own business, even if you don't have any employees. I'll explain. You need to examine every interaction you or someone else has with customers and objectively decide whether it's being done well, or whether improvements can be made.

For example, a common area that's left to chance is the answering of the phone. Have your employees been coached on exactly what to say, or is it a random greeting depending on hoe they happen to be feeling on any particular day? With most businesses that's exactly what happens. To even suggest that there should be a system is a surprise to most business owners. But why would you want to leave it to chance? If you're the one that answers the phone then you should record the calls for a while, listen to the recordings, and honestly seek to improve based on what you say and how you say it.

Luci and I visited the business of a friend of ours in Chicago recently and we had to tell him that his receptionist was sour and unwelcoming. Let's face it, she's probably the lowest paid staff member BUT she's the person t hat the customer's have their first interaction wit, both on the phone and when they visit the clinic. The way she dealt with us set the tone for the entire visit. What an enormous mistake!

By the way, our friend had no idea that the receptionist was lousy, because he's never secret shopped his own business.

The secret shopping should extend to every aspect of customer interaction. For example, have some packages occasionally shipped to another address you have access to so you can see how items looked when they're delivered. What's your impression of the package when you receive it? Were all the items in good condition, well packed? If you usually enclose special offer inserts or coupons, were they on the box? Were they easily visible or could they have been thrown away without realizing?

Again, these test are not exclusive to large businesses with many employees. Apply the principle to your business even if it's just yourself or a small family business. You WILL learn valuable lessons, I guarantee it

Source : http://www.articlecompilation.com

Backbone - Back Links

By: Kuldeep Signh

Article marketing can be an effective way to build your company's online presence. But to maximize its potential, remember to use Back links. Back links are also known as incoming links, inbound links or IBLs. Think of them as the reverse of hyperlinks: Hyperlinks take users from your site to another. Back links take users from another site back to yours.

Back links are links received by web directories and websites from other directories and websites. Search engines use them to determine a website's ranking. That is, when you enter a keyword into your favorite search engine, one way the search engine decides which site is at the top of its list is by the number of Back links it has.

Back links build on quality. If your website is a good one, people will start linking their sites to it. This of course builds traffic to your website and thereby builds your business. The trick is to build Back links to get the ball rolling.

There are good and bad ways to build Back links into your website. The best way is to get quality Back links from websites similar to yours. For example, if you are a financial advisor, ideally you'd like to get a Back links from another financial site. But how do you do that?

The most important factor to remember is that no one will back links to your site if it isn't any good. Spend the effort to make your efforts really shine.

One obvious way is to find a website that you like in a related field. Ask someone at that site to review your article and consider posting it. If it is quality work, it should be no problem for it to get posted when there is space available. After all, the webmaster there wants quality work on that site too.

One way is to get your article posted in an article directory or to a content exchange program that syndicates material. If your article is syndicated, such as in an RSS feed, your article is summarized on another site, with a Back links to your site. Visitors will then go to your site to get the full article.

Another technique to use is to publish a press release that happens to have a link to your website. When the press release is published, visitors will then use the Back links. However, be aware that press releases are intended to publish newsworthy events. If there's nothing newsworthy it will be ignored.

When you write a free article for web content, be sure to put a link to both the article itself and in the "bio box" at the end of it. This gives users two opportunities to link to your site, thereby creating a Back links opportunity.

It is important to note that when someone does back links to your site, make sure it is to something directly related to the subject discussed in the link article. For example, if the subject is banking, make sure the Back links goes to one of your articles on banking and not just your website. This will be of greater interest to the visitor.

If possible, offer a newsletter or another offer which will require the Back links user to register his or her email address with you. The whole point of article marketing and back links is to drive visitors to your company and website. Don't lose a contact (and potential customer).

Remember that like anything worthwhile, building Back links will take time. It could take several months to get the word out about your article and your website. It sounds like a long time but in article marketing, as with any marketing, the time spent is worth it.

In each of these efforts, remember to refer to sites and directories that have high search engine rankings themselves. What better way to improve your ranking than to link yourself with another high-quality site?

While Back links are important to build interest in your article and website, it's important to use them correctly. Search engines have become quite adepts at scoping out poor Back links usage.

One of these involves "link farms". Link farms are groups of several websites that have links to each other, solely with the intent of building their search engine rankings. Search engines frown on these because they do not offer the user real information.

In a nutshell, the best way to get quality Back links in article marketing or for your website is to use quality content and update it regularly. It may take extra effort but it is indeed worth it.

Source : http://www.articlecompilation.com