Building a business that delivers the lifestyle you want, the profits you need and the success you deserve doesn’t happen by accident. It involves an effective business strategy. But what exactly does a business strategy involve, and how do you go about developing one to guide your business to success?
The definition of business strategy
Many business owners struggle with the concept of strategy. But it’s far simpler than some would have you believe.
As Harvard Business Review explains: “A business strategy is a set of guiding principles that, when communicated and adopted in the organisation, generates a desired pattern of decision making.”
To create this framework for decision making, your strategy takes into account the what, why, where, when and who of your business, and ultimately a successful business strategy then becomes the how.
What do I mean? Well consider the following…
The what – Business mission and goals
In business, a fair bit of time is dedicated to the what. This is the type of products and services you provide, in line with the mission of your business.
Your mission then helps you define your business goals, which become critical to any strategy you’re looking to implement.
The who – Customers and value
The who is the customer you service and the staff you engage to provide those products or service.
It’s the value you offer to your clientele and your competitive advantage, and you cannot consider strategy without positioning your customers at the heart of the framework.
The why – Your business vision
Why is often one of the biggest questions in business, but this speaks to your vision. Why do you do what you do?
Your business strategy should always factor in the why of your business activity.
Strategy is the how
Strategy then becomes the how of your business environment, and it should align with all of the above. In fact, the who, what, why and how are all interdependent on each other, and business owners cannot focus on one without considering the others.
What an effective strategy helps you achieve
As I’ve mentioned, a successful business strategy is the framework you can draw upon for all decision-making in a business.
It’s essentially an overarching set of principles and guidelines that you can use as part of your business planning that consistently reflects all aspects of your business (the who, what, when, where and why).
When you create a business strategy, you ultimately provide your business (and those who work within it) with clarity on how to make the right decisions to get you where you hope to be.
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