Strategic Planning for the New Year

October starts the fiscal year and is only three months away from the New Year! This month is a perfect time for you to review your strategic plan. If you are a procrastinator, and haven’t developed a strategic  plan, now is the time to make a commitment to take your business to the next level. Creating a strategic plan is an important tool to help you understand your organization’s processes and resources. Additionally, it allows you to determine the direction that is best for organizational growth and profits. Below are five questions to consider when developing an effective strategic plan.

**What is your mission?

Why does your organization exist and what results are you trying to achieve?

**Who are your customers and target market?

What do your customers value and how can you exceed their expectations? What are you trying to achieve for your customers? Review marketing campaign and complete a survey.

**Who is your competition?

Are  you exceeding the standards set by your competition? Compare customer service.

**How do you measure success?

Various methods: number of repeat customers, profit margin, sales, etc. Set goals.

**What is your plan for continued operations?

Create or review short- term (one year) and long-term (three to five years) strategies.  Set goals

Consulting Experts & Associates (CEA) can help you answer these questions through our personalized Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis.

Contact CEA for a FREE strategic consultation at 1-888-300-7939 to learn how you can add our strategic analysis process into your strategic plan.

Dr. Vanessa Guyton, The Consulting Expert