Why You Need a Business Plan Review
Every business needs a business plan, detailing the strategies in place to develop your brand and grow your business. However, a business plan is not a set it and forget piece to your company’s makeup. Like your industry and your product lines, your business plan needs to adapt to fit the current needs facing your business.
When discussions about redeveloping a business plan come into play, there are several key team members that have to be involved from the outset. The executive leadership must be part of the conversation, as must leads of your sales and marketing teams. Each of these groups offers unique perspectives as to the why’s and how’s of your new business plan, allowing for a thorough review and solution.
The need to redevelop a business plan can arise due to new business goals, shifts in buying behavior, or even a new competitive playing field. Each of these factors is causing you to step back and punt, reassess your existing business plan and adopt new tactics, strategies, and goals to drive your business forward.
New Business Goals
Are you considering expanding your footprint? Has R&D developed the next best thing for your product line? Has the competitiveness of your industry changed? Chances are your business faces any or all of these factors yearly. Each of them drives a need to reassess your current business strategies and evaluate the existing tactics that you have in place to handle changes like these.
Buyer Behavior Changes
The most recent shift in universal buying behavior that would have had businesses re-evaluating their business plan was the adaptation of mobile buying for many industries. Adding an e-commerce element to a business strategy and resultant goals is table stakes for most industries these days. Understanding buyer behavior and how technology affects it has a direct effect on the profitability of your business and needs to be part of your business goals and plan.
Competition
How many competitors did you have when you started your business? How did they brand themselves? How did you? Has your brand become white noise amongst all the other company’s making the same claims and promises? Has your brand identity splintered due to inconsistent messaging during the heat of competition? The focus of brand messaging is crucial to engage with your target market, and the strategy must be addressed as part of your business plan.
Your business plan is the strategy upon which your day-to-day activities and key performance indicators are built. It cannot be written in stone, but must be fluid and adaptive, and adjusted based on current and potential changes in your business and industry alike. Take the time to see if it’s time to rework your business plan to ensure the successful future of your company.