Business Strategy - Essential in Getting Ahead of Competitors

Companies need a sales strategy to go up above their competitors. However, the formulation and the planning of the strategy for the business need some goals as basis.

Have Goals in Mind
It is very important to state the goals of business first. The business must state its long and short term goals. With this, a business strategy can be formulated. Strategies are formulated as to how such goals can be reached.

Goals of arrangement should be given a timeframe. In this way, the strategies formulated for each one can be evaluated after such time. The goals should also be measurable so there would be a manner of indicating if the strategies and the execution were effective.

It is also important to maintain the strategies up to date. If the business did not achieve its goal for a certain period, then the strategies must be reviewed and adjusted. The markets also evolve and change, hence the need for updating strategies.

Come up with a Marketing Plan
Execution of a plan is very important in formulating business strategy. The marketing plan would contain a background of the business. More importantly, it would contain core marketing strategies. These strategies would be generally based on research and the analysis. A list of strengths and weaknesses should be enumerated and analyzed. Opportunities and threats are also considered if the business wants to be thorough.

Include the Financial Forecast
This is usually included in the marketing plan as well. The financial forecasts should be included in assessing the profitability of the business to determine how it is going to be or expected to be. It is from the financial forecast that the business would know how to manage its finances and anticipate its cash flow, inventory and other financial matters.

Business Strategy: Evaluation
Since marketing plan is very important, checking the effectiveness of its strategies is also important if the business wants to achieve not only its short term goals but as well as its long term goals. Evaluation is done so that the strategies can bring the business ahead of its competitors.

Knowing Your Business, Customers and Competitors
Business strategy should not only be about the company itself but also looking out what is happening in the market. The business must be conscious of what its competitors are doing, thus it can strategize on how to get ahead of them.

For example, a business could decide to pursue a price based strategy in order to get a lion’s share of the market. On the one hand, one can also pursue a differentiation-based strategy.

Still strategies should be based on what the company sees will bring it ahead of its competitors. While knowing the company customer is another thing however. If the company knows its customers, well then it will be able to anticipate how it would react to every price change, for example, or how it will appreciate additional features.

Naturally, the decision on which strategies to be taken should always be based on the combination of all these factors. Again, the time frame and the evaluation are very important. Keeping the strategies updated is essential too.

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By Victor Ghebre