Two main tools used in strategic business planning, SWOT and PEST Analysis. |
No Writer, Author, Poet is ever satisfied with his writings, every once in a while they will go back to their work and change a few things here and there. Not because it requires any changes, but since the individual is on a never ending learning path, his thoughts and opinions might either develop or change completely. Business plans however change more than any other writings, the variables, risks, market intelligence and many other factors will always influence the business owner or manager to consider further options, calculate and anticipate different outcome. The market intelligence operates on information traffic; the more information you can gather through research will accurate your plan and add to its potential day by day. This process can be started with the two basic but effective S.W.O.T. analysis and P.E.S.T. analysis. Identifying the genuine Strengths of your organization and utilizing them to aim for the best Opportunities at the same time as working on your Weaknesses while keeping an eye on the Threats is the most excellent practice to develop your organization and business plan. The Political stability and risk factor plays a very important role in your business stability and growth, starting from the government stability, taxation, employee and safety low, social welfare, trade regulation, and government ownership of industry and attitude to monopolies and competition policy are extremely important aspects to cover in your plan. Economical analysis starts from the total GDP and GDP per head, growth rates and trends as well as inflation, interest rates, currency fluctuation, business cycle and finally energy, transport and communication costs. Socially, always take into consideration the shifts in cultures and values, lifestyles, demographic changes and consumer behavior. Never forget, that those are your clients and you need to know them as much as you know yourself and/or your business. Technological aspects fluctuate from business to business; nevertheless, we live in a period where technology is of the essence. Always observe government and industry focus on technological efforts, new patent and products, speed of change and adoption of new technologies and finally the impact of the internet. Those are two basic elements if mastered will serve as the best tools of strategic planning. |