Business Strategy, Business Strategy Consulting & Advisor | Marketing & Sales Development

Business Planning: It’s Back to Basics by Jon Hemming

Jon Hemming - Saturday, April 28, 2012

Get Back On Top

As always, ‘failing to plan, is planning to fail’. In today’s rapidly changing, increasingly competitive commercial environment, there has never been a better time to revisit your business plan and get back on top.

Business success in 2012, as it has been in years gone by, is all about having a solid understanding of your customers, your industry and your competition. Only today, faced with uncertain financial times and global competition, it’s crucial to analyse, assess and plan your way forward… its business planning, and it is the only way to succeed.

Business planning provides a proven framework to collect crucial information about your customers, your industry and competition. But it’s not something that can be done once then forgotten. To be successful you need to regularly look at your customers’ needs – to understand why they connect with your business and how they want products and services delivered. Then you need to look at current industry pressures and maintain an eye on your competition.

Global and Economic Pressures

There’s no doubt that the global financial crisis has had a long-term impact on business and consumers. Customers are attuned to purchasing goods and services at bargain basement prices, and many businesses are happy to deliver on these terms, just to survive.

This situation is further compounded by the Internet, which provides the power to research and compare similar products and services from around the world online – and buy from alternative markets as well.

The Power of a Business Plan

You may feel that in the face of the current economy and with the threat of global competition, your customers have the upper hand. However there is a way to fight back. Business planning provides a methodical process to define your customers’ needs, your product placement and marketing approach. A comprehensive business plan will analyse:

• Your customers
• Your industry
• Your competition

Having analysed these three integral factors, you’ll have a greater understanding of the global industry, be aware of your competition and be ready to reconnect with customer purchasing preferences. Then you can develop and deliver an appropriate strategy to win your customers’ loyalty and keep it.

Know Your Customer

Many business owners believe they know their customers and can’t understand why they’re faced with losing market share and declining repeat business. Customer research, collected by an objective professional as part of a business plan, will provide you with accurate information about what your customers want in today’s environment.

Armed with a clear knowledge, your marketing team can tweak your product then get to work on promoting the brand in a concise, compelling and effective way.

Understand Your Industry

The current strength of the Australian dollar has made imported products less expensive and placed increased pressure on many domestic industry sectors. To survive in this economy, you need an objective assessment of your industry that includes:

• The size, potential and structure of your industry
• Political forces
• Emerging market trends
• Imminent changes to industry

Stay Ahead of Your Competition

Uniqueness is key when it comes to retaining a strong presence in a tight market, yet most customers will believe your business is one of many to offer the same products or services. That makes it essential to differentiate your brand – and to communicate your product’s uniqueness in a way that will prompt your customers to buy.

By understanding your competition and your customers you can do this. Additionally, you’ll be better placed to identify possible threats, opportunities and strategies your competitors may choose to implement.

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Multichannel Strategy - Why Retailing Is Failing

Jon Hemming - Monday, March 19, 2012

As a business owner in 2012 your success will be directly linked to how well you understand the psychology of why customers choose to connect to your business. over which channels and how these insights can be used to optimise organisational channel strategy.

A more globalised, connected, networked and informed world changes the way that customers view service and sales. There is clear evidence around how the boundaries between the physical and virtual worlds are starting to blur.

The many aspects of the customer decision-making process are mediated by “networked experts” who are frequently part of customers’ social network rather than company employees. It also underlines the importance of getting a consistent and coherent cross media strategy which often challenges the traditional silos of physical channel, website and retail store.

Despite the fact that multichannel strategies have been around for a number of years now, many companies have yet to implement a successful multi channel strategy despite the fact that the customer is demanding one.

With power and control shifting from organisations to customers, can organisations afford not to understand what customers are looking for from the channels available to them?

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Start 2012 With A Business Review

Jon Hemming - Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Every business owner wants to build a better business; whether it's sustaining the existing business or expanding on a new opportunity, it’s critical to understand the limitations and areas that need attention.

Completing a business review is a great way for the business owner to analyse how the businesses is currently performing. A Business Review is a quick, question-and-answer review process that produces a comprehensive diagnostic report that will enable you to identify areas that offer the best opportunity for profit growth.

In most small businesses, the manager/business owner has great skills in their chosen field, however, often lacks the management skills essential to continually manage the business in today's competitive and fast changing business environment. Are you an expert in business strategy, financial forecasting, marketing and developing effective business systems and processes? Without those key management skills, your enterprise may be vulnerable in critical areas that can bring your business to a grinding halt.

Undergoing a Business Review is a powerful means of assessing your business position. Ideally, an external consultant carries this out as this allows for objective analysis and unbiased reporting.

As a business owner, it's challenging to step back and see the full picture when you're immersed in the daily operations/challenges.

There are many dynamics in managing a business successfully and to neglect any one of them in the long-term can be costly. Make a more informed decision and take the business where you want it to go with a business health check. Moreover, business health checks provide a great opportunity to get back in touch with what the business is excellent at and refocus the customer service activities. How in touch are you with your customers and the performance of your business operations?

Whether it's improving customer satisfaction, increasing sales or looking at operational cost savings, regular business health checks can quickly help you and your business. Call +612 9011 5220 and get your business in check today.

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Business Planning for Success - Make 2012 Your Most Successful Year Yet

Jon Hemming - Tuesday, December 20, 2011

The New Year provides a great opportunity to review your business situation. Once the Christmas festivities are out of the way, it’s time to make your business New Year resolutions a reality.

Many business owners know the improvements they would like to make in their business but many get stuck with the practicalities of devising the projects necessary to turn the business around with the available finances and resources.

The idea of working to a budget is foreign to most SME owners - that’s something that big companies do. Without putting your business plan into figures it is very difficult to make an informed decision about how to improve your business in the coming year and into the future. Are you in running your business without a budget and making critical decision?

Business owners who take the approach that budgeting isn’t for them, often operate reactively and drive the business for the short term, plugging away week by week working out what they need to do with their revenue as it comes in to meet immediate obligations.

By developing a budget for your business, you are taking a proactive approach in your business and most importantly collecting the critical information to make a better decision. Whether it relates to operational challenges, the cost of production or upcoming development expenses, budgeting can be both a “sobering” and empowering experience.

Instead of simply allocating the money that comes through the door, you start with planning for the year ahead and understanding just how much it will cost to run the business and most importantly, what it will take to achieve your goals. Once the costs are understood, it’s very easy to see what sales are necessary to return the net profit target.

There are other benefits of undertaking a business planning and budgeting process: firstly, the business owner gets up to date with the cost of running the business today, while looking forward at revenue projections and the available resources, helps assess the business potential for the year ahead.

Some business owners think that just by increasing sales, the business will become more profitable. In a competitive marketplace, it’s not enough to just want to increase sales. Having control over the profitability of your core business is critical to remain profitable and resourceful, especially during the business development cycle. We all know that business improvement requires spending money and allocating resources in different ways from simply maintaining the business. You can’t get the same result doing what you’ve always done – right? And therefore funds need to be allocated prudently.

Operating your business from a plan puts you back in the driver’s seat. Analysing the numbers that matter ensures you can compare your actual figures to the budgeted figures and get insight into how the business is performing. This needs to be done month by month, and while it requires some discipline, the payback is worth it. It will allow you to manage your spending so that you don’t overspend or eliminate your hard earned profit. You will also be able to see where sales have met projections and if they will cover expenses. Where there are variances, ask yourself why the numbers are different. Identifying key areas for profit improvement while monitoring sales is a critical mix in managing a successful company.

Working your business plan to a budget means having some control of your finances in advance. Setting the standard for your spending against expected revenue and having a tool to compare the expected figures against the actual set each month will give you a way of monitoring and changing plans so as to stay on top of your business. At the very least, it will give you an indication of whether your business is profitable or just busy. How much of your time are you spending putting out fires and working reactively?

Analyse the numbers that matter and make 2012 your most successful year yet by implementing your business plan to a budget.

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