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When preparing for the future of your business, you should be aware of the importance of strategic plans to help keep your business on track.

Know the differences between a strategic plan and a business plan.

A  business plan  focuses on the viability of a company and typically covers no more than the upcoming year. Business plans are also regularly used in the  beginning stages of starting a business  and can include obtaining funding and developing all aspects of the business before getting started. During this stage, you must investigate the market and establish realistic financial goals to create your business plan.

A strategic plan, on the other hand, is more conceptual and dynamic. It serves as a roadmap for your small business to reach its goals. It allows you to gauge your company’s performance,  strengths, and weaknesses  over time. By revisiting the plan regularly, you can analyze and update marketing, sales, product development, operational, and revenue goals to achieve your desired results.

Write Your Mission Statement

The first step in creating your strategic plan is to write your company  mission statement . Your mission statement can range from a sentence to multiple paragraphs, but it should convey your company’s purpose to customers, employees, and the community.

When developing a mission statement, ensure the statement will answer the following questions:

  • What is your small business? What type of organization are you creating?
  • What are your products or services?
  • What are your target markets?
  • Who is your ideal client?
  • Who is your ideal employee? What are the desired skills in team members?
  • What are your long-term goals?

After answering these questions, develop a succinct message that can be easily digested by anyone who reads it.

Set Aside Time to Re-evaluate Your Plan

To create or update your strategic plan, evaluate current operations. Periodically, you should take inventory of your business and see where you’re heading, what’s working, and what’s not. When re-evaluating your plan, focus on the following six areas to determine the state of your small business:

  • Your Clients

Who are your current customers? How would you describe your relationships with them? Who are your  prospective  customers? How can you attract them?

How to use this information:  Develop new products for your ideal customers, discover new ways to connect to customers, or change up your marketing efforts.

  • Your Products or Services

What are your products and services? How are they unique? What are their benefits? Which are not selling well? What are your plans for the underperformers? Do you hear any frequent requests from customers?

How to use this information:  Determine what products or services should stay in your lineup, which should leave, and what you can add to create a better experience for customers.

  • Your Financial Performance

 After reviewing past financial statements, are your sales growing? What is one thing you could change to improve performance? How can you achieve that goal?

How to use this information:  Take a close look at your sales to determine where you can either increase revenue or cut back on expenses in order to create a better return on investment.

  • Your Operations

Is your business running smoothly? Do employees complain about ineffective processes? How can you streamline operations? Are there affordable technological solutions?

How to use this information:  Talk to your employees about ways the business can be streamlined. Creating a better work environment often leads to happier, more productive employees.

  • Your Competitive Edge

What makes your company unique? Consider your culture, location, resources, staff, technology, and pricing.

How to use this information:  Discover what makes your company stand out and use those qualities to showcase why your company is so special.

  • Your Environment

What external factors, such as investors, influence your business? Who are your competitors? How do they affect your business?

How to use this information:  Knowing what outside factors can influence your business changes how you do business. Recognize when competitors are doing something unique and stay ahead of the curve.

Determine and Implement Goals

After creating or re-evaluating your plan, you will notice potential areas of improvement. Pick your top 3 or 4 feasible goals. Goals are either  qualitative , such as providing better customer service, or  quantitative , such as increasing profits by 5%. They are usually focused on general performance, financial performance, operations, and deadlines.

With your list of objectives in hand, how will you achieve them? A good technique to examine the best solutions is scenario analysis. This entails asking “if-then” questions—if I change X, then what is the outcome? You and your team can perform a scenario analysis of each action and write the possible outcomes. These techniques will guide you to create your new strategic plan.

To learn more, watch the online workshop “ Creating a Strategic Plan .” For more guidance geared to your business, connect with a  SCORE mentor . And check out our other  free resources  on strategy and planning.

Creating A Strategic Plan This free online workshop provides the components needed to implement a strategic plan, such as a mission statement, goals, objectives and an action plan.

Does Your Small Business Have a Strong Mission and Vision? Starting a business takes more than just spreadsheets, projections and an idea. It takes commitment, passion and a clear mission, vision and values

Copyright © 2023 SCORE Association, SCORE.org

Funded, in part, through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.

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Free Strategic Planning Templates

By Joe Weller | May 16, 2018

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The success of your organization — no matter what size or industry — depends on the thoroughness of your planning and vision. A strategic plan can provide a roadmap for accomplishing specific goals, and will increase your chances of reaching objectives on time and budget. In this article, we’ve rounded up the top strategic planning templates in Microsoft Word and Excel, all of which are free to download and fully customizable.

Additionally, we've provided customizable strategic planning templates in Smartsheet, a collaborative, real-time work execution platform that empowers you to better plan, manage, and report on strategic initiatives.

Strategic Business Plan Template

Strategic Business Plan Template

Download Strategic Business Plan Template

Excel | Smartsheet

A comprehensive, strategic business plan may include company information, SWOT analysis, research, goals, resources, risks and more. A template provides structure for your business planning process as well as a communication tool that’s simple to update or modify. Use the template as a guide for evaluating your business, identifying opportunities for growth and development, and creating a strategic plan.

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Nonprofit Strategic Plan Template

Nonprofit Strategic Plan Template

Download Nonprofit Strategic Plan Template

A nonprofit strategic plan often emphasizes vision, values, and mission as the foundation for future objectives. A template can be used to clearly define who is being served and what issues need to be addressed. As with a business plan, nonprofit planning may include sections for evaluating risks and opportunities, measuring financial resources, developing a marketing plan, and creating objectives for organizational change.

HR Strategic Plan Template

HR Strategic Plan template

‌ Download HR Strategic Plan Template

Create a detailed human resources strategic plan for your organization, or modify the template to focus on one specific area, such as recruitment or employee relations. Use the template to translate strategies into measurable action plans. This simple layout makes it easy for readers to quickly view key information.

IT Strategic Planning Template

IT Strategic Plan Template

‌ Download IT Strategic Planning Template

IT is an essential part of any business, nonprofit, school, or government agency. While information technology is just one part of an overall business strategy, creating a separate strategic plan for IT will help ensure that you have a comprehensive roadmap to follow for managing and purchasing new assets, understanding your current and potential technology usage, and aligning your IT goals with business objectives.

Strategic Marketing Plan Template

Strategic Marketing Plan Template

‌ Download Strategic Marketing Plan Template

Use this free template to help shape your marketing strategy. It combines information on your target market and business with marketing tactics to help you think strategically and create a plan of action. The template can guide your research process or be used as a simple brainstorming tool.

Social Media Strategy Plan Template

Social Media Strategic Plan

‌ Download Social Media Strategy Plan Template

Social media is an integral part of online marketing, and creating a strategic plan can help ensure that you are using your time and resources effectively. Consider your branding, mission, target audience, competition and other factors to determine which social networks and types of content will perform best for your company. Keep track of KPIs and adjust your social media plan accordingly.

SWOT Analysis Strategy Template

SWOT Analysis Strategic Template

‌ Download SWOT Analysis Strategy Template

This matrix template combines SWOT analysis with strategic planning. Examine the relationships between your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and then list related strategies to tackle your goals. The layout of this template allows you to view the SWOT categories and strategies side-by-side, which may be useful for a presentation or summary.

One-Page Strategic Planning Template

One Page Strategic Planning Template

Download One-Page Strategic Planning Template

Excel | Word | Smartsheet

A one-page strategic plan is perfect for small businesses or for summarizing a longer planning process. Use this template as is, or edit the layout or included information to better suit your needs. This template includes all the essentials on one page, including values, strengths and weaknesses, goals, and actions.

Strategic Vision Template

Strategic Vision Summary Template

Download Strategic Vision Template

Excel | Word

Summarize your strategic vision and plan, highlighting key information for stakeholders, management, investors, or for your own reference. Combining a vision statement with a brief summary of goals, actions and KPIs makes it easy to see how your business values and purpose relate to your objectives. It also provides a succinct summary for use in a presentation or meeting.

University Strategic Plan Outline

University Strategic Plan Outline Word Template

‌ Download University Strategic Plan Outline

This template provides an outline for university strategy planning. The actual strategic plan may cover multiple pages and provide an in-depth analysis and detailed mission and vision statements. Strategic planning is an opportunity for universities to look closely at campus needs, institutional values, infrastructure, long-term goals, important obstacles, and more. The strategic plan will be a guiding document that is reviewed and updated regularly.

What Is Strategic Planning?

Strategic planning is an organization’s process for defining their strategy so that they can accomplish specific goals and objectives. Strategic planning may be utilized on a large scale, such as planning for business growth over several years or to help a nonprofit or governmental organization reach its stated mission. A strategic plan can also be used on a smaller scale, such as crafting a marketing plan or developing strategy for the goals of one department within a business or organization. It is important to note that strategy is distinct from planning: While strategy looks at why certain steps should be taken, a plan outlines how to enact those steps. strategic planning marries these two concepts in order to determine the best possible course of action. The purpose of strategic planning is to provide a thoughtful, deliberate approach to reaching objectives based on an in-depth analysis of both internal and external factors affecting an organization.

A strategic plan often covers multiple years, addressing both short- and long-term goals. It also provides a way of tracking progress and measuring success. However, it’s not a document that is fixed in stone — instead, it’s wise to revisit and adjust a strategic plan periodically based on the evolving vision, objectives, needs, and resources of a business or institution.

Depending on the scope of your plan, you may be working with a team of multiple stakeholders during the strategic planning process. To keep the process running smoothly, make roles and responsibilities clear. Different parties may be responsible for providing data, reviewing the plan, or authorizing strategic decisions. As you prepare for planning, make sure all participants understand what’s involved in the process and have received any relevant information prior to meeting.

Benefits of Strategic Planning

There are benefits of strategic planning, including the following:

  • Align the goals of a department or project with larger business goals
  • Provide clear communication to team members, stakeholders, or clients
  • Clearly define the vision and mission of an organization
  • Provide clarity on how to deal with internal or environmental changes

Parts of a Strategic Plan

One way to think about strategic planning is that it identifies any gaps between a current state and desired future state, and then dictates how to close those gaps — how you get from where you are to where you want to be. To that end, various factors are taken into consideration in order to formulate an effective plan. Here are some of the elements often included in a strategic plan.

  • Introductory Statement: The introductory statement should briefly describe why the strategic plan was developed and for what time period, and list the authors of the plan.  
  • Background Statement: This section may provide information about the organization, such as history, management structure, and supporting partners or agencies. Alternatively, you could use this section as a brief business statement — more of an elevator pitch — to concisely describe your business.  
  • Organizational Structure: Include this information if it’s relevant to evaluate how your business or organization operates and is structured, from governing board to staffing.  
  • Vision: A vision statement should briefly describe what a company wants to achieve or become. This is one of the primary organizational tenets to consider, along with values and mission.  
  • Values: These are the principles that an organization stands for and abides by. Many businesses create core value statements to guide company culture.  
  • Mission Statement: A mission statement describes the purpose of a business or organization. This is distinct from a vision statement because it is not a projected goal for the future.  
  • Problem Statement: Some plans include a problem statement, which can outline key or discrete issues that need to be addressed.  
  • SWOT Analysis: A SWOT analysis provides a foundation and context for developing strategy by examining the strengths and weaknesses within and organization as well as external opportunities and threats.  
  • Goals: As stated earlier, a strategic plan may include long-term as well as short-term (i.e, monthly or quarterly) goals. Objectives should be measurable and broken down into actionable steps, and the action plan for each goal should specify who is responsible for implementing the strategy, a timeline for starting and ending the action, and how the outcome will be evaluated.  
  • Evaluation: Methods for evaluation should be spelled out in the strategic plan. This could include tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and documenting the progress of action steps on an ongoing basis.  
  • Executive Summary : This final summary helps employees, investors, or other readers quickly understand your plan.

No matter what type of strategic plan you are working on, using a template provides a simple and quick outline to organize your process. In the following sections, you’ll find free, downloadable planning templates for business, nonprofit, human resources, marketing, IT strategic planning, and more.

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The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed. 

When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time.  Try Smartsheet for free, today.

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Examples of Strategic Plan

Examples of a Strategic Plan to Achieve Long-Term Growth

Team Ninety, Author at Work From Anywhere

This is a comprehensive guide on strategic planning for small to midsize companies.

If you want to:

  • Move your organization in the direction you intend for long-term success,
  • Implement your plan smoothly for greater growth,
  • Use a better platform for developing a truly effective strategic plan,

… then you’ll love this guide. Let’s get started.

What’s Covered in This Guide

Click on each to jump to that section.

What is Strategic Planning?

What does strategic planning mean, what is the goal of strategic planning.

  • What is Strategic Leadership?

4 Strategic Planning Strategies

The strategic planning process [11 steps], what does strategic planning involve.

  • How to Implement Your Strategic Plan

Examples of Strategic Plans

Get your strategic planning done on ninety.

Strategic planning is the process you use to:

  • Establish and document a clear direction for your organization.
  • Identify business goals and set priorities that create growth for your company.
  • Formulate a long-term plan of action designed to achieve these objectives.
  • Determine an internal system tracking and evaluating performance.

When organizations want to, they use a strategic plan to:

  • Strengthen their operation.
  • Focus on collective energy and resources.
  • Enable leaders, teams, and other stakeholders to work toward common goals.
  • Make agreements around desired results.
  • Refresh direction and prevail over a changing or challenging environment.

Thinking strategically helps companies take the right action for more success and better outcomes. Some even call it an art.

Strategic planning is one of three essential ways to pursue important objectives for your company. When tackling challenges and determining action plans, you can think strategically, tactically, or operationally. These three thought processes often work in concert to help you create a framework that achieves your desired objectives.

  • Strategic plans are designed for multilevel involvement throughout the entire organization. Leaders will look ahead to where they want to be in three, five, and ten years and develop a mission.
  • Tactical plans support strategic plans. They outline the specific responsibilities and functionalities at the department level so employees know how to do their part to make the strategic plan successful.
  • Operational plans focus on the highly detailed procedures, processes, and routine tasks that frontline employees must accomplish to achieve desired outcomes.

The goal of your strategic plan is to determine:

  • Where your company stands in relation to the current business environment. Understand how your business operates, how you create value, and how you differentiate from your competitors.
  • Where you want to take the business based on long-term objectives such as your company’s vision, mission, culture, values, and goals. Envision how you see the company five or ten years from now.
  • What you need to do to get there. You come away from your planning sessions with a roadmap that helps deliver on your strategic objectives. Determine better ways to enable and implement change, schedule deadlines, and structure goals, so they’re achievable.

The main purpose of your strategic plan is to create clearly defined goals for achieving the growth and success of your organization. These goals are connected to your organization’s mission and long-term vision.

What is Strategic Leadership? 

Strategic leadership is how you create, implement, and sustain your strategic plan, so your organization moves in the direction you intend for long-term success. This usually involves establishing ongoing practices and benchmarks, allocating resources, and providing leadership that supports your strategic mission and vision statement.

Strategic leadership, also known as strategy execution, can employ two different approaches:

  • A prescriptive approach is analytical and focuses on how strategies are created to account for risks and opportunities.
  • A descriptive approach is principle-driven and focuses on how strategies are implemented to account for risks and opportunities.

Most people agree that a strategic plan is only as good as the company’s ability to research, create, implement, evaluate, and adjust when needed. The benefits can be great when:

  • Your entire organization supports the plan.
  • Your business is set up to succeed.
  • Your employees are more likely to stay on track without being distracted or derailed.
  • You make better decisions based on metrics that facilitate course correction.
  • Everyone in your company is involved and invested in better outcomes.
  • Departments and teams are aligned across your company.
  • People are committed to learning and training.
  • Productivity increases, and performance improves.
  • Creativity is encouraged and rewarded.

What are the four main points of strategic planning? You engage in strategic thinking so you can create effective company goals that are:

Purpose-driven

Align your strategic plan with the company’s purpose and values as you understand them.

Actionable strategic goals are worth spending your time and resources on to reach organizational objectives.

It’s critical for you to track your strategy's progress and success, enabling your teams to take action and meet the goals more effectively.

Focused Long-term

A long-term focus distinguishes a strategic plan from operational goals, which involve daily activities and milestones required for success. When planning strategically, you’re looking ahead to the company’s future.

A strategic plan isn’t written in a day. Critical thinking evolves over several months. Those involved in the strategic planning are usually a team of leaders and employees from your company and possibly other stakeholders.

When should strategic planning be done?

You should plan strategically for start-ups and newer organizations from the start. But even if your company is more established, it’s not too late to start working on strategy.

Flexible timing that’s tailored to the needs of your organization is smart. Although the frequency of strategy sessions is up to you, many leaders use these milestones as a guide:

  • When the economy, your market, and industry trends change, or a global event occurs (like the onset of a pandemic).
  • Following a change in senior leadership.
  • Before a product launch or when a new division is added to your business.
  • After your company merges with another organization.
  • During a convenient time frame such as a quarterly and annual review.

Many organizations opt to schedule regular strategic reviews such as quarterly or annually. Especially when crafting a plan, your strategic planning team should meet regularly. They will often follow predetermined steps in the development of your long-term plan.

What are the 11 steps of strategic planning?

Identify your company’s strategic position in the marketplace. .

Gather market data and research information from both internal and external sources. You may want to conduct a comprehensive SWOT analysis to determine your company’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats against success. Your strengths and weaknesses are directly related to your current competitive advantage within your industry. They are what you use to balance challenges to your success. They also influence the likelihood of increased market share in the future.

Define your unique vision and mission. 

What would success look like for you in three years? Five years? Ten years? Articulate that in a vision statement. How do you intend to realize your vision? That’s articulated in your mission statement. Formulating purpose-driven strategic goals articulates why your company does what it does. Your organizational values inform your mission and vision and connect them to specific objectives.

Determine your company’s value.

Many companies use financial forecasting for this purpose. A forecast can assign anticipated measurable results, return on investment (ROI), or profits and cost of investment.

Set your organizational direction.

Defining the impact you want to have and the time frame for achieving helps focus a too-broad or over-ambitious first draft. This way, your plan will have objectives that will have the most impact. 

Create specific strategic objectives.

Your strategic objectives identify the conditions for your success. For instance, they may cover:

  • Value: Increasing revenue and shareholder value, budgeting cost, allocating resources aligned with the strategic plan, forecasting profitability, and ensuring financial stability. 
  • Customer Experience: Identifying target audiences, solution-based products and services, value for the cost, better service, and increased market share.
  • Operational Efficiency: Streamlining internal processes, investing in research and development, total quality and performance priorities, reducing cost, and improving workplace safety.
  • Learning and Growth: Training leaders and teams to address change and sustain growth, improving employee productivity and retention, and building high-performing teams.

Set specific strategic initiatives.

Strategic initiatives are your company's actions to reach your strategic objectives, such as raising brand awareness, a commitment to product development, purpose-driven employee training, and more.

Develop cascading goals.

Cascading goals are like cascading messages : They filter your strategy throughout the company from top to bottom. The highest-level goals align with mid-level goals to individual goals employees must accomplish to achieve overall outcomes. This helps everyone see how their performance will influence overall success, which improves engagement and productivity.

Create alignment across the entire company.

The success of your strategy is directly impacted by your commitment to inform and engage your entire workforce in strategy implementation. This involves ensuring everyone is connected and working together to achieve your goals. Overall decision-making becomes easier and more aligned.

Consider strategy mapping.

A strategy map is an easy-to-understand diagram, graphic, or illustration that shows the logical, cause-and-effect relationship among various strategic objectives. They are used to quickly communicate how your organization creates value. It will help you communicate the details of your strategic plan better to people by tapping into their visual learning abilities.

Use metrics to measure performance.

When your strategy informs the creation of SMART organizational goals , benchmarks can be established and metrics can be assigned to evaluate performance within time frames. Key performance indicators (KPIs) align performance and productivity with long-term strategic objectives. 

Evaluate the performance of your plan regularly.

You write a strategic plan to improve your company’s overall performance. Evaluating your progress at regular intervals will tell you whether you’re on your way to achieving your objectives or whether your plan needs an adjustment.

Effective strategic planning involves creating a company culture of good communication and accountability. It involves creating and embracing the opportunity for positive change.

Consider these statistics:

  • In many companies, only 42% of leaders and 27% of employees have access to a strategic plan.
  • Even if they have access, 95% of employees do not understand their organization's strategy.
  • 5.2% of a strategy’s potential is lost to poor communication.
  • What leaders care about makes up at least 80% of the content of their communications. But those messages do not tap into around 80% of their employees’ primary motivators for putting extra energy into a change program.
  • 28% of leaders say one of the main reasons strategic initiatives succeed is the ability to attract skilled personnel; 25% say it’s good communication; 25% say it’s the ability to manage organizational change.

Here’s what you can do to embrace a culture of good communication and accountability:

Make your strategic plan visible. Talk about what's working and what isn't. People want to know where and how they fit into the organization and why their contribution is valuable. Even if they don't understand every element of the plan.

Build accountability. If you've agreed on a plan with clear objectives and priorities, your leaders have to take responsibility for what's in it. They must own the objectives and activities in your plan.

Create an environment for change. It’s much more difficult to implement a strategy if you think there will be no support or collaboration from your coworkers. Addressing their concerns will help build a culture that understands how to champion change.

Implementing Your Strategic Plan

  • 98% of leaders think strategy implementation takes more time than strategy formulation.
  • 61% of leaders acknowledge that their organizations often struggle to bridge the gap between strategy formulation and its day-to-day implementation.
  • 45% of leaders say ensuring employees take different actions or demonstrate different behaviors is the toughest implementation challenge; 37% of leaders say it’s gaining support across the whole organization.
  • 39% of leaders say one of the main reasons strategic plans succeed is skilled implementation.

The reality for so many is that it’s harder to implement a strategic plan than to craft one. Great strategic ideas and a clear direction are key to success, no matter what. But so is:

  • Turning strategic ideas into an easy-to-implement framework that enables meaningful managing, tracking, and adapting.  
  • Getting everyone in the organization on the same strategic page, from creation to execution.

When your plan is structured to support implementation, you're more likely to get it done.

What are examples of good strategic planning? There are lots of templates out there to help you create a plan document with pen and paper.

But Ninety has a better way.

The Vision planner is essentially a strategic planning template on Ninety’s cloud-based platform that allows you to:

  • Set goals, establish how you will meet them, and share them with those who need to know.
  • Gain visibility around your company values.
  • Create core values, a niche, and long-term goals that are accessible to everyone in your company.
  • Create a vision of the future that lets you know what needs to happen now.
  • Streamline and organize your processes.
  • Easily update and track changes.
  • Bring alignment to your entire organization.

And you can do all this with only two digitized pages.

In your Vision tool inside Ninety, you can easily access all the things that make strategic plans effective:

  • Executive Summary
  • Elevator Pitch
  • Mission Statement
  • Vision Statement
  • SWOT Analysis
  • Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
  • Industry Analysis
  • Marketing Plan
  • Operations Plan
  • Financial Projections

Vision + Goals is also completely integrated with all other features on Ninety, such as Scorecards, 90-Day Goals, To-Dos, Issues, Roles & Responsibilities Chart, Meetings, One-on-Ones, and more:

  • Create a clear vision for each team.
  • Determine one- and three-year goals.
  • Reference past versions in a Vision archive.
  • Share your Vision with all teams, or keep it private.

Now that you’ve learned how to grow your company using strategic planning, it’s time to put your knowledge into practice:

Build your strategic plan on Ninety now.

Do you want more step-by-step guides on strategy, strategic planning, and creating actionable strategic plans?  Subscribe to our blog!

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The last business strategy template you’ll ever need

small business strategic plan example

If you don’t know where you’re going, then the road you take doesn’t really matter. While wandering is fine for adventures, it’s far from ideal for starting a business or turning a struggling one around. A high-level strategy can help you build some much-needed momentum — and with the right business strategy template , you can ride into the unknown with confidence.

In this article, we’ll get to the core of what a business strategy template is and why you need one. We’ll also explore how monday.com can help you on your journey and answer a few frequently asked questions along the way.

Get the template

What is a business strategy template?

If you want to truly capitalize on a business opportunity, you have to have a strategy. And not just any strategy will work either. It needs to be a strategy you can pull off with your budget, human resources, timeline, and experience. Let’s quickly define strategy.

A s trategy is a careful plan or method for achieving a particular goal, usually over a long period and can be used to drive the success of either a product or service.

A business strategy template acts as a fill-in-the-blank resource that’ll guide you when creating your own winning business strategy. A great one will outline a wide range of factors such as your marketing strategy, go-to market strategy, tools, product-market fit, team dynamic, strategic goals, competitive analysis, and more.

Why use a business strategy template?

You may have heard about a landmark study performed in the ‘80s where a team of psychologists surveyed people, asking if they believed they were great drivers. Naturally, 80% of them believed they were exceptional drivers.

Download Excel template

It’s a funny study because we all know 80% of drivers aren’t exceptional. The same could be said for both small and big business strategies. Very few people would openly admit to having a bad business strategy. A little strategic planning goes a long way when capitalizing on limited key resources, figuring out the key action items your team needs to focus on, and developing some serious business growth in a short period of time.

Using a template can help ensure that you include all the necessary information in your business strategy. In short, it should include everything you need to launch a successful go-to-market strategy and leave room for error and unforeseen events.

If you’re an existing business that needs to pivot or avoid some potential risks, then a fresh business strategy template could be the answer to getting you back on track. Sure, it may be time-consuming and expensive to switch gears, but your investors, staff, and most importantly, your customers will thank you when you get it right. Business strategy templates have many different applications.

What are some examples of a business strategy template?

So how do you go from no business strategy to a brilliant one using a template? Let’s take a look at two business strategy example templates to help you get started.

Business strategy template sorted by phases

This business strategy template breaks up your strategy into different phases. This is helpful because it allows you to picture how your plans progress over time. Within each phase, you can insert information related to different areas of your business. Then, you can also include major objectives at the bottom and mission statement at the top.

Example of a business strategy template separated into different phases

( Image Source )

Business strategy template sorted by primary and support activities

This business strategy template example organizes information by primary and support activities. This is helpful if you want to be able to clearly understand how each department in your company contributes to your business strategy.

Example of a corporate strategy template sorted into primary and support activities

While these two template examples help show you the value of organizing the information that goes into a business strategy, they lack the flexibility and integration that you get from monday.com’s business strategy template.

monday.com’s business strategy template

Unless you’re Google or Apple, you’re probably working with a finite amount of resources . Like any other business, you’re going to need a helping hand once in a while, and that’s where the right business strategy template comes into play.

small business strategic plan example

Here at monday.com, we know how important it is to get your strategy right from the beginning, so we took the liberty of crafting a handy template that’ll boost your confidence and speed things up a bit.

monday.com understands that an iron-clad business strategy isn’t a ‘set it and forget it’ deal. It’s a living, breathing process that needs to remain flexible as your business grows, the competitive landscape changes, and your customer’s needs fluctuate.

You can easily change the columns, swap out section owners, change the status, communicate on specific items, and even set up automations like email triggers and phase advancements. There’s a lot you can do to put this template to work for you rather than letting it collect dust like most programs do.

monday.com takes customization to the next level by offering you a wide array of custom columns, charts, dashboards, and integrations. And the automation actively takes work off your plate and keeps all parties in the know when it matters most.

monday.com’s template makes it easy to build a business strategy by keeping your company’s goals visible at all times. While a business plan or business strategy is necessary for high-level and long-term planning, you’re still going to need some more specific templates to get the job done right.

More related templates from monday.com

Check out a few related templates that are sure to kickstart your next project .

SWOT analysis template

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. At its core, a SWOT analysis helps organizations bring clarity to all the factors that go into making key business decisions. Sure, you can continue to make decisions in a silo without thinking about your customers, competitors, or economic factors, and sometimes you’ll make the right call. But a better long-term play is taking those key factors into account.

monday.com SWOT template

A SWOT analysis template complements a business strategy template because it goes a layer deeper. Most companies take the time to factor their strengths and opportunities into their strategic vision, but a lot of them skip over the weaknesses and threats part.

Strategic plan template

There are a lot of words thrown around in the business world that begin to feel synonymous over time. Business plan, business goal, business strategy, strategic plan, and all the other plans all start to sound the same. Believe it or not, there are some key differences.

A business plan and strategic plan template will both include an executive summary , company descriptions, and even mission, vision, and value statements. Where a business plan differs is that it’s an overview of how the business runs day-to-day, while a strategic plan focuses on how you’ll achieve specific initiatives that have the power to transform your business. In short, every company should spend time developing a strategic plan for their project management office (PMO) .

Marketing plan template

Marketing strategies are a dime a dozen, and so are marketing strategy templates. So how can you tell which one is worthwhile? Yet again, it’s the engine behind the marketing plan template that makes the difference.

marketing plan template

monday.com amplifies your marketing plan by providing a visually appealing board (as shown above), complete customization across your marketing plan columns, and the ability to communicate in real-time with your staff about important initiatives, company updates, or changes to your product or service.

FAQs about business strategy templates

Naturally, with any business process comes a lot of questions, and to help you on your journey, here are the answers to some frequently asked questions.

How do you write a business strategy?

Any writing endeavor begins by asking basic questions and coming up with answers. Good starting points (beyond the templates offered here) include:

  • Where are we today?
  • What direction are we heading?
  • Is that the right path?
  • How do we know if it’s the right path?
  • What are our strategic objectives?
  • What are our tactical plans?

As you answer these questions, try to be as specific as possible. And don’t forget to take your competitors into account.

What are the key elements of a business strategy?

Key elements of a business strategy will vary depending on the type of business you’re starting, the competitive landscape, and many other factors. That being said, there are a few that are universal, such as:

  • what your goals are and the corresponding objectives that’ll get you there
  • a reflection of not only your strengths but your weaknesses as a company
  • potential risks such as competitors, economic factors, law changes, and more
  • how you’ll create value for your customers
  • how you’ll get the word out about your product or service
  • contingency plans for if things don’t go as expected

As you can see, the key elements really break down what it is you want to do, how you’ll get there, what makes you different, and what you’ll do if things don’t go according to plan.

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Business Strategic Plan

Business Strategic Plan Examples

The importance of a business strategic plan cannot be understated for any company. A business strategic plan assists a company in achieving long-term sustainability. Without a strategic plan, companies would find it difficult to sustain their daily operations. They would not be able to identify their strengths to gain a competitive advantage as well as fix issues that hamper them from achieving their maximum financial potential. To help you formulate a business strategic plan, here are some examples (in PDF format) as well as some tips on how to write a strategic plan.

Strategic Business Plan Template

strategic business plan template

  • Google Docs

Size: A4, US

If you want your company to prosper, you need to come up with an effective plan. To help you out with this, we present to you, this strategic business plan template that comes with ready-made content. It lets you identify the various elements that a business can utilize to attract funding while also efficiently managing the company objectives. You can open and edit this  legal strategic plan example in Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, and Google Docs.

Simple Strategic Business Plan Example

simple strategic business

If you want to outline the necessary strategies on how you can achieve your goals for your business, then you can make use of this “Strategic Business Plan” template that has pre-existing content. You can edit, add, or replace any content to your specifications by downloading and opening it in any of the file formats. Try it out now! You can also go through our  department strategic plan examples.

Small Business Strategic Plan Template

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  • Apple Pages

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New Business Strategic Plan Template

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I.T Business Strategic Plan Template

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Business Strategic Action Plan Template

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HR Strategic Business Plan Template

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5 Year Strategic Business Plan Template

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30-60-90 Day Strategic Business Plan Template

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Strategic Business Marketing Plan Template

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Strategic Communication Business Plan Template

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HR Strategic Plan Template for Retail Business

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HR Strategic Plan Template for Small Business

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ABCDE Business Strategic Plan Example

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Editable Business Strategic Plan Example

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Enterprise Strategic Plan Example

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The Strategic Planning Process

A business strategic plan requires multiple steps (specifically a process) before it is presented to executives and other stakeholders of the company. Listed below is the strategic planning process:

1. Mission and objectives

The mission statement describes the company’s vision or a long-term goal it wants to achieve. The vision is not an end-goal for the organization, as it can always change its vision after it has been achieved. But the vision is not easily achievable and requires years of consistent results and careful planning.

Guided by its vision, the organization’s management team can define measurable financial and strategic objectives. Sales objectives refer to the organization’s revenues and profit while strategic objectives refer to the firm’s business position (competitive advantage, market position, reputation). You may also see  strategic planning checklist examples.

2. Environmental scanning

Environmental scanning refers to the analysis conducted by the organization in both its internal and external environment. An environmental scan involves three functions: internal analysis of the firm, general analysis of the firm’s industry, and analysis of the external macroenvironment.

Firms usually conduct a SWOT analysis to analyze both the internal and external environment. The SWOT analysis identifies the organization’s internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats.

PESTLE analysis and Porter’s five forces can both be used to analyze the firm’s external macroenvironment. PESTLE analysis identifies the firm’s political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environment situation while Porter’s five forces create a detailed analysis of the firm’s direct competitors. You may also like sales strategic plan examples.

3. Strategy formulation

Based on the results of the environment scan, strategies must be formulated not only to capitalize on the strengths and opportunities but also to remedy the weaknesses and threats that were identified.

The purpose of strategy formulation is to gain a competitive advantage as well as achieve long-term sustainability. Organizations will find it difficult to achieve a large market share if they don’t use strategies to maximize their strengths and weaknesses and eradicate their weaknesses and threats. You may also view the  recruitment strategic plan examples.

4. Strategy implementation

The strategies being identified are then implemented using programs, budgets, and procedures. Implementation involves the organization of the firm’s limited resources as well as staff motivation to achieve the firm’s objectives and goals .

Proper implementation of a chosen strategy is crucial for the company to achieve its objectives. Even if the company identified the right strategy but failed in the implementation, it still deems the strategy useless. That is the reason why every individual in the organization should work collectively for the organization to achieve its objectives and goals. You might be interested in browsing through our  one-page strategic plan examples.

5. Evaluation and control

Even if the strategy was not properly implemented, it can still be fixed through evaluation and control. The strategic implementation does not go according to the  general plan every time, especially if the firm deals with threats they cannot control (i.e., implementation of new government policies, natural calamities that halted company operations, etc.).

As long as organizations don’t incur high costs and make the same mistakes multiple times, then they are still on the right track to achieve their goals.

Evaluation and control consist of the following steps:

  • defining parameters that need to be measured
  • performing measurements
  • comparing measured results to previous standards
  • making necessary changes

Business Strategic Plan Framework Summary Example

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Focus Strategic Plan Example

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Free Strategic Plan Template Example

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Executive Summary for Strategic Plan Example

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Companies Who Successfully Used Strategic Planning

1. microsoft.

The company that started in a garage in 1975 is now the largest computer manufacturer in the world and employs around 100,000 full-time personnel. A few years after Microsoft was founded, the company launched its own system, the MSDOS. Unfortunately, it was only available on Microsoft’s platform. The company partnered with tech giants IBM and Intel to increase its reach in the market, then the rest is history. You may also see personal strategic plan examples.

Microsoft’s network grew bigger and faster. Numerous participants teamed up with Microsoft and eventually, the interactions among participants evolved into complex webs of collaboration, not just within the company but also among groups of different players (business partners, investors, and third-party developers). You will also find our  health and safety strategic plan examples highly useful.

Today, the company is worth $560 billion (USD) and might even reach $1 trillion by 2020 according to Wall Street analysts.

2. Exxon Mobil

The world’s largest oil company was not always in the position it is in today. Exxon Mobil is a result of a merger between two oil companies, Exxon and Mobil.

The company produces 3.9 million BOE (barrels of oil) every day, easily beating out the other “Big Oil” companies or supermajors which include BP plc (England), Chevron Corporation (USA), Royal Dutch Shell plc (Netherlands), Total SA (France), and Eni SpA (Italy). Our  club strategic plan examples will also come in handy for you.

The company currently has 100,000 employees and also earned $237 billion (USD) in 2017, the largest revenue for any oil company in the world.

Apple, similar to Microsoft, also started in a garage. The first innovator of smartphones introduced to the world the Apple iPhone. Since then, smartphone manufacturers directed all their efforts in beating out the company that earned an average of $150 billion from 2010–2013 alone. You might be interested in the  HR strategic plan templates .

Apple is not only famous for producing smartphones. It began as a company selling computers. If Apple is the first innovator of smartphones, did you know it was also the first innovator of personal computers when it introduced the Macintosh in 1984? Back then, Microsoft could not keep up with Apple in the technology and functionality that the original Mac provided. You may also see five-year strategic plan examples.

Even if the sales of the iPhone have decreased in recent years, the company still earned a massive $230 billion (USD) in 2017. It also employs around 66,000 full-time software designers, developers, graphic artists, and marketing personnel.

4. Facebook

Facebook started as a school experiment in 2004, as well as a prank from the company’s founder to get revenge on his ex-girlfriend. After a few years, it forced existing social media platforms at that time to close down while continuing to add features to make the website more convenient and accessible for users (chat, user location, comments and likes, games) as well as business entities (business page, advertisements) to use.

Even today, Facebook still controls the majority of the social media environment, especially after it acquired the photography app Instagram.

The company currently has around 1.80 billion daily active users, with whom 80% are located outside the US and Canada. Facebook had an annual revenue of $40.7 billion (USD) for 2017 alone, easily beating out the $7 billion average revenue it achieved in the five previous years. Facebook also has a current workforce of 15,000 employees. You may also like security strategic plan examples.

5. China Mobile

China Mobile is not the only the largest telecommunication corporation in China but is also the largest mobile phone operator in the world, with over 900 million subscribers as of June 2018. China Mobile’s core subsidiary “China Mobile Limited” is listed in both the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (SEHK). You may also take a look at our  procurement strategy plan examples.

China Mobile is a state-owned corporation that was born as a result of a breakup from other telecom giants China Telecom. Since then, China Mobile has dominated the country’s telecom market, controlling 70% of the market share while China Unicom and China Telecom share the remaining spoils. Feel free to also view some of our  community strategic plan examples.

China Mobile tallied a total of $102 billion (USD) in revenues for 2016 and currently employs half a billion employees.

The tech giant that was founded on Japanese philosophies kaizen (continuous improvement) and 5S (sort, set in order, shine, standardize, sustain) possess a diversified business portfolio that is incomparable to other conglomerates.

Its portfolio includes electronics (Xperia, Alpha, Bravia), gaming (Playstation, Playstation VR), entertainment (Sony Pictures Entertainment), and financial services (Sony Life, FeliCa). It is no surprise that all of Sony’s products are market leaders in their respective industries. You may also see school strategic plan examples.

Sony was founded in 1946 and has produced devices that have also been associated with pop culture. You may have heard of (or even used) the Walkman, Discman, TR-55 Transistor Radio, and the classic Betamax. After seeing a drop in revenue for 2016 ($67 billion), Sony recovered big in 2017 earning $77 billion (USD) in total revenues. The Japanese conglomerate has a current workforce of 128,000 employees. You may also like restaurant strategic plan examples.

7. Johnson and Johnson

Johnson and Johnson is the largest pharmaceutical company in the world. Aside from its headquarters in New Jersey, USA, it has corporate offices in England, Singapore, South Africa, Canada, Brazil, China, and the Philippines, to name a few.

Johnson and Johnson has three main divisions under its umbrella: consumer healthcare (baby care, skin and hair care, wound care and topicals, oral health care, women’s health, nutrition), medical devices (sterilization products, Animas Corp., Biosense Webster, DePuy Sythes, Ethicon Inc.), and pharmaceuticals (Janssen). You may also go through our  audit strategic plan examples.

The conglomerate began in 1885 after the Johnson brothers (James, Robert, and Edward) decided to manufacture and sell ready-to-use surgical dressings. Johnson and Johnson then ventured into consumer healthcare in the 1950s and eventually pharmaceuticals in the 1960s (thus, the inception of Janssen). The US-based company currently employs 125,000 employees and tallied a total revenue of $75 billion (USD) in 2017. We also a collection of  maintenance strategy plan examples that you can take a look at.

Strategic Plan for NGO Example

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Strategic Plan for Retail Business Example

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Strategic Process for Strategic Plan Example

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Creating a business strategic plan is not difficult. You just have to do extensive research and analyze the correct data before drafting it in your  simple strategic plan .

We hope you found this article to be informative as well as help when you will be writing your business strategic plan.

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What is strategic planning? A 5-step guide

Julia Martins contributor headshot

Strategic planning is a process through which business leaders map out their vision for their organization’s growth and how they’re going to get there. In this article, we'll guide you through the strategic planning process, including why it's important, the benefits and best practices, and five steps to get you from beginning to end.

Strategic planning is a process through which business leaders map out their vision for their organization’s growth and how they’re going to get there. The strategic planning process informs your organization’s decisions, growth, and goals.

Strategic planning helps you clearly define your company’s long-term objectives—and maps how your short-term goals and work will help you achieve them. This, in turn, gives you a clear sense of where your organization is going and allows you to ensure your teams are working on projects that make the most impact. Think of it this way—if your goals and objectives are your destination on a map, your strategic plan is your navigation system.

In this article, we walk you through the 5-step strategic planning process and show you how to get started developing your own strategic plan.

How to build an organizational strategy

Get our free ebook and learn how to bridge the gap between mission, strategic goals, and work at your organization.

What is strategic planning?

Strategic planning is a business process that helps you define and share the direction your company will take in the next three to five years. During the strategic planning process, stakeholders review and define the organization’s mission and goals, conduct competitive assessments, and identify company goals and objectives. The product of the planning cycle is a strategic plan, which is shared throughout the company.

What is a strategic plan?

[inline illustration] Strategic plan elements (infographic)

A strategic plan is the end result of the strategic planning process. At its most basic, it’s a tool used to define your organization’s goals and what actions you’ll take to achieve them.

Typically, your strategic plan should include: 

Your company’s mission statement

Your organizational goals, including your long-term goals and short-term, yearly objectives

Any plan of action, tactics, or approaches you plan to take to meet those goals

What are the benefits of strategic planning?

Strategic planning can help with goal setting and decision-making by allowing you to map out how your company will move toward your organization’s vision and mission statements in the next three to five years. Let’s circle back to our map metaphor. If you think of your company trajectory as a line on a map, a strategic plan can help you better quantify how you’ll get from point A (where you are now) to point B (where you want to be in a few years).

When you create and share a clear strategic plan with your team, you can:

Build a strong organizational culture by clearly defining and aligning on your organization’s mission, vision, and goals.

Align everyone around a shared purpose and ensure all departments and teams are working toward a common objective.

Proactively set objectives to help you get where you want to go and achieve desired outcomes.

Promote a long-term vision for your company rather than focusing primarily on short-term gains.

Ensure resources are allocated around the most high-impact priorities.

Define long-term goals and set shorter-term goals to support them.

Assess your current situation and identify any opportunities—or threats—allowing your organization to mitigate potential risks.

Create a proactive business culture that enables your organization to respond more swiftly to emerging market changes and opportunities.

What are the 5 steps in strategic planning?

The strategic planning process involves a structured methodology that guides the organization from vision to implementation. The strategic planning process starts with assembling a small, dedicated team of key strategic planners—typically five to 10 members—who will form the strategic planning, or management, committee. This team is responsible for gathering crucial information, guiding the development of the plan, and overseeing strategy execution.

Once you’ve established your management committee, you can get to work on the planning process. 

Step 1: Assess your current business strategy and business environment

Before you can define where you’re going, you first need to define where you are. Understanding the external environment, including market trends and competitive landscape, is crucial in the initial assessment phase of strategic planning.

To do this, your management committee should collect a variety of information from additional stakeholders, like employees and customers. In particular, plan to gather:

Relevant industry and market data to inform any market opportunities, as well as any potential upcoming threats in the near future.

Customer insights to understand what your customers want from your company—like product improvements or additional services.

Employee feedback that needs to be addressed—whether about the product, business practices, or the day-to-day company culture.

Consider different types of strategic planning tools and analytical techniques to gather this information, such as:

A balanced scorecard to help you evaluate four major elements of a business: learning and growth, business processes, customer satisfaction, and financial performance.

A SWOT analysis to help you assess both current and future potential for the business (you’ll return to this analysis periodically during the strategic planning process). 

To fill out each letter in the SWOT acronym, your management committee will answer a series of questions:

What does your organization currently do well?

What separates you from your competitors?

What are your most valuable internal resources?

What tangible assets do you have?

What is your biggest strength? 

Weaknesses:

What does your organization do poorly?

What do you currently lack (whether that’s a product, resource, or process)?

What do your competitors do better than you?

What, if any, limitations are holding your organization back?

What processes or products need improvement? 

Opportunities:

What opportunities does your organization have?

How can you leverage your unique company strengths?

Are there any trends that you can take advantage of?

How can you capitalize on marketing or press opportunities?

Is there an emerging need for your product or service? 

What emerging competitors should you keep an eye on?

Are there any weaknesses that expose your organization to risk?

Have you or could you experience negative press that could reduce market share?

Is there a chance of changing customer attitudes towards your company? 

Step 2: Identify your company’s goals and objectives

To begin strategy development, take into account your current position, which is where you are now. Then, draw inspiration from your vision, mission, and current position to identify and define your goals—these are your final destination. 

To develop your strategy, you’re essentially pulling out your compass and asking, “Where are we going next?” “What’s the ideal future state of this company?” This can help you figure out which path you need to take to get there.

During this phase of the planning process, take inspiration from important company documents, such as:

Your mission statement, to understand how you can continue moving towards your organization’s core purpose.

Your vision statement, to clarify how your strategic plan fits into your long-term vision.

Your company values, to guide you towards what matters most towards your company.

Your competitive advantages, to understand what unique benefit you offer to the market.

Your long-term goals, to track where you want to be in five or 10 years.

Your financial forecast and projection, to understand where you expect your financials to be in the next three years, what your expected cash flow is, and what new opportunities you will likely be able to invest in.

Step 3: Develop your strategic plan and determine performance metrics

Now that you understand where you are and where you want to go, it’s time to put pen to paper. Take your current business position and strategy into account, as well as your organization’s goals and objectives, and build out a strategic plan for the next three to five years. Keep in mind that even though you’re creating a long-term plan, parts of your plan should be created or revisited as the quarters and years go on.

As you build your strategic plan, you should define:

Company priorities for the next three to five years, based on your SWOT analysis and strategy.

Yearly objectives for the first year. You don’t need to define your objectives for every year of the strategic plan. As the years go on, create new yearly objectives that connect back to your overall strategic goals . 

Related key results and KPIs. Some of these should be set by the management committee, and some should be set by specific teams that are closer to the work. Make sure your key results and KPIs are measurable and actionable. These KPIs will help you track progress and ensure you’re moving in the right direction.

Budget for the next year or few years. This should be based on your financial forecast as well as your direction. Do you need to spend aggressively to develop your product? Build your team? Make a dent with marketing? Clarify your most important initiatives and how you’ll budget for those.

A high-level project roadmap . A project roadmap is a tool in project management that helps you visualize the timeline of a complex initiative, but you can also create a very high-level project roadmap for your strategic plan. Outline what you expect to be working on in certain quarters or years to make the plan more actionable and understandable.

Step 4: Implement and share your plan

Now it’s time to put your plan into action. Strategy implementation involves clear communication across your entire organization to make sure everyone knows their responsibilities and how to measure the plan’s success. 

Make sure your team (especially senior leadership) has access to the strategic plan, so they can understand how their work contributes to company priorities and the overall strategy map. We recommend sharing your plan in the same tool you use to manage and track work, so you can more easily connect high-level objectives to daily work. If you don’t already, consider using a work management platform .  

A few tips to make sure your plan will be executed without a hitch: 

Communicate clearly to your entire organization throughout the implementation process, to ensure all team members understand the strategic plan and how to implement it effectively. 

Define what “success” looks like by mapping your strategic plan to key performance indicators.

Ensure that the actions outlined in the strategic plan are integrated into the daily operations of the organization, so that every team member's daily activities are aligned with the broader strategic objectives.

Utilize tools and software—like a work management platform—that can aid in implementing and tracking the progress of your plan.

Regularly monitor and share the progress of the strategic plan with the entire organization, to keep everyone informed and reinforce the importance of the plan.

Establish regular check-ins to monitor the progress of your strategic plan and make adjustments as needed. 

Step 5: Revise and restructure as needed

Once you’ve created and implemented your new strategic framework, the final step of the planning process is to monitor and manage your plan.

Remember, your strategic plan isn’t set in stone. You’ll need to revisit and update the plan if your company changes directions or makes new investments. As new market opportunities and threats come up, you’ll likely want to tweak your strategic plan. Make sure to review your plan regularly—meaning quarterly and annually—to ensure it’s still aligned with your organization’s vision and goals.

Keep in mind that your plan won’t last forever, even if you do update it frequently. A successful strategic plan evolves with your company’s long-term goals. When you’ve achieved most of your strategic goals, or if your strategy has evolved significantly since you first made your plan, it might be time to create a new one.

Build a smarter strategic plan with a work management platform

To turn your company strategy into a plan—and ultimately, impact—make sure you’re proactively connecting company objectives to daily work. When you can clarify this connection, you’re giving your team members the context they need to get their best work done. 

A work management platform plays a pivotal role in this process. It acts as a central hub for your strategic plan, ensuring that every task and project is directly tied to your broader company goals. This alignment is crucial for visibility and coordination, allowing team members to see how their individual efforts contribute to the company’s success. 

By leveraging such a platform, you not only streamline workflow and enhance team productivity but also align every action with your strategic objectives—allowing teams to drive greater impact and helping your company move toward goals more effectively. 

Strategic planning FAQs

Still have questions about strategic planning? We have answers.

Why do I need a strategic plan?

A strategic plan is one of many tools you can use to plan and hit your goals. It helps map out strategic objectives and growth metrics that will help your company be successful.

When should I create a strategic plan?

You should aim to create a strategic plan every three to five years, depending on your organization’s growth speed.

Since the point of a strategic plan is to map out your long-term goals and how you’ll get there, you should create a strategic plan when you’ve met most or all of them. You should also create a strategic plan any time you’re going to make a large pivot in your organization’s mission or enter new markets. 

What is a strategic planning template?

A strategic planning template is a tool organizations can use to map out their strategic plan and track progress. Typically, a strategic planning template houses all the components needed to build out a strategic plan, including your company’s vision and mission statements, information from any competitive analyses or SWOT assessments, and relevant KPIs.

What’s the difference between a strategic plan vs. business plan?

A business plan can help you document your strategy as you’re getting started so every team member is on the same page about your core business priorities and goals. This tool can help you document and share your strategy with key investors or stakeholders as you get your business up and running.

You should create a business plan when you’re: 

Just starting your business

Significantly restructuring your business

If your business is already established, you should create a strategic plan instead of a business plan. Even if you’re working at a relatively young company, your strategic plan can build on your business plan to help you move in the right direction. During the strategic planning process, you’ll draw from a lot of the fundamental business elements you built early on to establish your strategy for the next three to five years.

What’s the difference between a strategic plan vs. mission and vision statements?

Your strategic plan, mission statement, and vision statements are all closely connected. In fact, during the strategic planning process, you will take inspiration from your mission and vision statements in order to build out your strategic plan.

Simply put: 

A mission statement summarizes your company’s purpose.

A vision statement broadly explains how you’ll reach your company’s purpose.

A strategic plan pulls in inspiration from your mission and vision statements and outlines what actions you’re going to take to move in the right direction. 

For example, if your company produces pet safety equipment, here’s how your mission statement, vision statement, and strategic plan might shake out:

Mission statement: “To ensure the safety of the world’s animals.” 

Vision statement: “To create pet safety and tracking products that are effortless to use.” 

Your strategic plan would outline the steps you’re going to take in the next few years to bring your company closer to your mission and vision. For example, you develop a new pet tracking smart collar or improve the microchipping experience for pet owners. 

What’s the difference between a strategic plan vs. company objectives?

Company objectives are broad goals. You should set these on a yearly or quarterly basis (if your organization moves quickly). These objectives give your team a clear sense of what you intend to accomplish for a set period of time. 

Your strategic plan is more forward-thinking than your company goals, and it should cover more than one year of work. Think of it this way: your company objectives will move the needle towards your overall strategy—but your strategic plan should be bigger than company objectives because it spans multiple years.

What’s the difference between a strategic plan vs. a business case?

A business case is a document to help you pitch a significant investment or initiative for your company. When you create a business case, you’re outlining why this investment is a good idea, and how this large-scale project will positively impact the business. 

You might end up building business cases for things on your strategic plan’s roadmap—but your strategic plan should be bigger than that. This tool should encompass multiple years of your roadmap, across your entire company—not just one initiative.

What’s the difference between a strategic plan vs. a project plan?

A strategic plan is a company-wide, multi-year plan of what you want to accomplish in the next three to five years and how you plan to accomplish that. A project plan, on the other hand, outlines how you’re going to accomplish a specific project. This project could be one of many initiatives that contribute to a specific company objective which, in turn, is one of many objectives that contribute to your strategic plan. 

What’s the difference between strategic management vs. strategic planning?

A strategic plan is a tool to define where your organization wants to go and what actions you need to take to achieve those goals. Strategic planning is the process of creating a plan in order to hit your strategic objectives.

Strategic management includes the strategic planning process, but also goes beyond it. In addition to planning how you will achieve your big-picture goals, strategic management also helps you organize your resources and figure out the best action plans for success. 

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Crafting Strategic Plans: Examples to Help You Create Effective Strategies

Strategic planning is integral to achieving your business goals. Learn how to prepare effective strategies that guide your business to success.

small business strategic plan example

Failing to plan is planning to fail .

The implications of poor planning range from simple to severe, such as being late to a stakeholders' meeting by a few minutes or losing a contract, respectively.

Businesses use strategic planning to achieve specific outcomes. For example, a small business might have five-year and 10-year strategic plans. These plans are a roadmap for achieving the desired outcomes.

Strategic plans should be flexible because they may need to change over time. According to a recent report,  64% of the surveyed businesses  modified their business strategies over 12 months because of global factors.

If you're running a small business and need a competitive advantage, you should learn to create effective, flexible strategic plans.

In this article, we'll cover:

  • What are strategic plans,
  • benefits of having effective strategic plans,
  • tips for creating effective strategic plans, and
  • examples of strategic plans.

What is a strategic plan?

The simplest definition of a strategic plan is a curated roadmap to hit your business goals.

The plan should outline what a business will do to grow from its current to its desired state. It should align with the company’s vision, mission statement, core values, and strategic objectives.

Let's look at Formula 1 (F1) racing to understand how a strategic plan might work.

Each F1 team prepares a strategic plan before race day. However, F1 teams often deviate from their strategies in response to new developments. For example, they may instruct drivers to skip pit stops if they think it'll give them an advantage over other drivers.

This F1 racing analogy extends into the business environment. Businesses often start with well-defined strategic plans but must modify them to respond to market dynamics.

Benefits of strategic planning

Some small businesses overlook the importance of having a strategic plan. Instead, they make short-term plans to adapt quickly to the market. While this may work for some businesses, it's ill-advised. Let's take a look at the key benefits of strategic planning.

Creates a shared sense of responsibility

A strategic plan creates a shared sense of responsibility among stakeholders, where everyone feels they have a personal responsibility for the long-term goals. Take the example of an online cakes and pastries business with a strategic plan to grow its sales by 15% annually. To get there, the business will depend on stakeholder input and productivity. Every employee contributes either directly or indirectly to the business's success.

‎Provides a clear roadmap

A strategic plan is an action plan. It outlines what the business should do to achieve its strategic goals. Ideally, it should include a vision statement and long-term objectives. The objectives are then broken down into specific goals and tactics for meeting the goals.

Fosters teamwork

Teamwork makes the dream work ! However, you can only get people to work together when they have a common purpose. That’s exactly what a strategic plan does. Achieving the vision becomes the shared purpose that can unite employees.

Provides a basis for risk analyses (and management)

A strategic plan is the perfect jump-off point for a risk management plan. For context, a risk management plan identifies potential risks and mitigation strategies for those risks. If a business doesn't have a strategic plan, it's nearly impossible to identify potential roadblocks.

Effective performance tracking

A strategic plan should include key performance indicators (KPIs), which you can use to track performance against the strategic plan. Using the online cakes and pastries store example, they should have KPIs on the number of processed orders, turnover times, etc. These should help the business track its progress toward its goal of increasing its sales by 15% yearly.

6 effective strategic planning tools and techniques

Various tools and techniques can help with strategic planning. Note, that these tools differ in application and focus. Let's take a closer look.

Ansoff Matrix

The Ansoff Matrix is a four-quadrant framework to compare potential strategic plans. The Ansoff Matrix can help you choose between strategies that offer the highest returns at the most manageable risk levels. The strategies are classified into four groups, including:

  • Market penetration : The idea is to go deeper into your existing market. This is the least risky strategy because the downside isn't a net negative. An example would be the cakes and pastries business looking to increase its sales in its current markets.
  • Market development : This is the next least risky strategy (after market penetration). You can use this strategy to push products to new markets. For example, the cakes and pastries business could decide to open a physical shop for walk-in customers.
  • Product development : Businesses can use this strategy to introduce new products to their existing customers. For example, the cakes and pastries business may introduce hot beverages to its product catalog.
  • Diversification : Diversification means entering a new market and is the riskiest market extension strategy. It also offers the highest returns when successful. An example would be the cakes and pastries business opening a restaurant.

Blue Ocean Strategy

The Blue Ocean Strategy  focuses on differentiation and capturing unoccupied markets. Red Oceans are existing markets or sectors. Businesses often fight and compete to keep their market shares in red oceans. Alternatively, some may carve out a demand for their products in completely new, non-adjacent markets. An example would be the cakes and pastries business going into gyms with low-carb, high-protein snack cakes.

‎Gap analysis

You use Gap Analysis to compare a current state to a desired state and identifying the pieces (gaps) to get you there.

For example, opening a physical cakes and pastries shop requires capital. The business owner can use Gap Analysis to estimate the required resources and then plan how to raise the required capital.

McKinsey 7-S framework

The McKinsey 7-S Framework is great for implementing change.

For example, employees may oppose process automation if they fear they may lose their jobs. You can use this framework as a holistic approach to change management, which focuses on:

  • Structure:  Who reports to whom?
  • Shared values:  What are our mission, vision, and values?
  • Skill:  What skill sets do we have at our disposal?
  • System:  Are our workflows and decision-making chains effective?
  • Style:  What is the senior management's leadership style?
  • Staff:  How do we manage our talents?

Community Flywheel

The Community Flywheel  refers to the idea that you keep your current customers (community) engaged so they won't "churn".

For example, a local grocery store could participate in community events such as weekend farmer's markets to ensure its customers remain endeared to the business.

Note that one-hit tactics don't work for this strategy. You must engage your community continuously.

‎SWOT analysis

As the acronym implies, SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) is an analysis technique that can help you identify what you are doing right and where you could improve.

Some rabbit holes to explore would include:

  • Which internal factors give us an advantage (strengths) over our competitors?
  • Which internal factors limit our ability (weaknesses) to compete with others?
  • Does the external environment offer opportunities we can exploit?
  • Does the external environment pose threats that could undermine our survival?

The cakes and pastries business could use it to assess which factors can cause the business to succeed (or fail). They might find that financing is a strength, which could help them expand or diversify.

3 Examples of strategic plans

Strategic plans provide a roadmap for achieving ambitious goals. Note that you may have multiple strategic plans, each addressing specific outcomes. Here ar some examples.

Strategic plan example 1: Increase the company's market share

Goal:  Increase sales by 10% over the next three years.

Strategic planning tool:  Ansoff Matrix

Suppose a company sells shoes both online and through physical stores. They could use the Ansoff Matrix to identify and classify strategies into four quadrants based on the associated risks. Some practical strategies might include:

  • Lower the prices of shoes
  • Create family package deals.
  • Offer related accessories like cleaning brushes and stain removers.

Lowering the prices of shoes would go into the market penetration quadrant. Introducing accessories like stain removers falls under diversification. Family package deals fall under the product development quadrant. The shoe company should assess its risk appetite to determine which strategy they're willing to implement.

Strategic plan example 2: Customer retention

Goal:  Reduce customer turnover (churn).

Strategic planning tool:  Community Flywheel .

A great example is Nike's Jordan Brand, which identified its customer community as young consumers aged 20 to 40.

Nike curated its brand story around Michael Jordan, the basketball legend, and put the name into social conversations around basketball. This made the brand a household name within the customer community, which Nike parlayed into other (profitable) ventures.

Strategic plan example 3: Product differentiation

Goal:  Create a new market niche.

Strategic planning tool :  Blue Ocean Strategy

Take the example of an auto repair shop. Traditionally, car owners take their vehicles to auto repair shops for maintenance and servicing.

The shop could go into a less contested (and more convenient to the customer) market by offering mobile repair and maintenance services. To get started, they could  break the value-cost trade off  by making mobile services affordable to target customers. Providing affordable services will likely put off profit-driven competitors.

4 tips to help implement a successful strategic plan

Having a strategic plan doesn't translate into (guaranteed) success. You must ensure the strategic plans align with your long-term goals. The strategic plan should also be practical and achievable. Below are some tips for implementing a strategic plan.

Collaborate

The strategic planning team should work with relevant departments and stakeholders to actualize the plan. One way to foster collaboration is by engaging stakeholders during the planning stage. In the bakery example, this could mean involving the entire team and all stakeholders in a preliminary brainstorming session.

Continuously review and update the plan

You should review your strategic plans regularly. Compare current status with expected performance. For example, the bakery business should check its progress regularly (minimum every quarter) to identify challenges like missed orders or late deliveries. As a result, they might have to call on their risk management plan for a mitigation or update their strategic plan accordingly.

‎Make sure the plan is SMART

One way to measure against strategic plans is by using SMART goals, i.e. specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound actionable goals. For example, targeting a 15% increase in sales over 12 months is a SMART goal. It's specific, can be measured, and is time-bound.

Use project management software

Project management  software can help you streamline the strategic planning process, including task management visualizations (like Gantt Charts and  Kanban Boards ) to lay out and track strategic plan activities.

Creating effective strategic plans for your business

Strategic plans are critical for continued success. Your strategic plans should map out the desired goals and define clear ways of achieving them. And don't forget to communicate the strategic plans to your team and relevant stakeholders.

Make your life easier with Motion to help you prepare your strategic plan and track the work as you go.

Try Motion for  free  today!

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Small Business Strategy: How to Focus on Your Best Fit Strategy?

Use a strategic plan template.

An effective small business strategy will help build your business. Use strategic planning samples or a strategic plan template (for example, a strategic planning SWOT or five forces model analysis) to streamline your strategic process and focus on getting the results you want for your business.

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Small business strategy needs to be developed differently than big or medium sized business strategy.

Small business strategies are often focused on developing niche strategies because a smaller enterprise typically has the adaptability and flexibility to narrowly focus (there are many small business strategy articles dedicated to this topic).

However, niche strategies are not always the best choice.

As part of your strategic planning process (for all business sizes), consider Michael Porter's "Five Forces Model" and use the model to help you better understand your business environment.

Once you've reviewed the model and reviewed which small business strategy best-fits your business, develop your strategic plan checklist , to ensure that you cover all the relevant areas, as the next step.

Then conduct your strategic planning SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis (some strategists have changed from SWOT to SOAR - strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results: I have a problem with that because I think it allows businesses to overlook their weaknesses and the threats to their business.

So if you want to use SOAR then also add weaknesses and threats to the mix - doesn't make a nice acronym: SWOTAR). And start writing your strategic business plan.

I often use a strategic planning template or strategic planning samples to build my strategy and plan; I highly recommend that you do so too.

The Five Forces Model is detailed here with a few examples of each force.

  • Cost to enter market;
  • Cost advantages for those already in the market;
  • Government restrictions and policy;
  • Economies of scale; Is the industry dominated by one or two large companies?
  • Capital expenditures , including equipment investment costs,
  • Brand identity; Is it difficult and/or challenging to attack or weaken existing companies?
  • Will customers have to incur high costs to switch from their present supplier to you?
  • How will the existing companies in the market react upon your entry?
  • Do buyers have leverage in the market?
  • Are there many buyers or a few (if just a few, you will be very dependent on them)?
  • Are your buyers price sensitive; what kind of pricing strategy do you need to develop and use?
  • Is there a threat that your buyers might begin to compete against you (backwards integration)?
  • Do your buyers have strong brand identity?
  • Is there enough service and/or product differentiation in the industry?
  • Are there substitutes available for buyers?
  • Are there incentives for buyers?
  • Are there many suppliers or few (if few, who do those few work with; is there enough supply)?
  • Is volume important to supplier - that is, does a buyer have to purchase minimum quantities?
  • Can you substitute the materials supplied (for best quality and/or price)?
  • Are switching costs high or low?
  • Are supply costs contained or volatile?
  • How easily can your product or service be replaced by another product or service(e.g. DVD players have replaced Video players - technology enabled)?
  • Is brand identity a factor?
  • Are price and quality a factor?
  • Are there high exit barriers (e.g. government penalties)?
  • Is the industry concentrated or fragmented?
  • Where is the industry in its life-cycle (and what is the product life-cycle stage): is the industry in introductory, growth, maturity or declining phase?
  • Are rivals similar or diverse?
  • Do competitors have good, high value brand identity or are they considered commodity suppliers? (Conduct competitive intelligence and analyze your competition in business.)

Once you have a better understanding of the environment you operate in (or want to operate in), you will be better able to select the best small business strategy for your business.

The Best Strategic Planning Templates Include These Strategies:

Many small business industries can be defined as fragmented. Some specific strategies that small businesses need to consider because they are a good strategic fit:

Focus on product or service type - become an expert, high value provider of this service or product; offer strong product differentiation and ensure that your product positioning fits the market.

Focus on a type of customer - become an expert, high value resource to a specific customer group; offer difficult to duplicate knowledge and service. Provide not only good customer service , but the best customer service. And be recognized as the best.

Focus on a specific local area or region - become an expert in that specific area; offer knowledge and resources that no one from outside the area can.

More Small Business Strategies:

(some strategic planning samples).

However you could consider networking and building alliances with other small businesses that operate in non-competing products or areas, and try to build some buying power and approach suppliers as one entity.

  • If you are primarily doing business on the internet, it is possible to be a relatively low-cost business using digital technology but it would likely still need some investment from the business to gain market share in such a gigantic and over-populated market.
  • If your small business has multiple locations, it is possible to organize and plan for some economies of scale by setting up each of the individual locations in a template format and running the administration of those locations from one front office .
  • try to be recognized as the first in the field;
  • try to be recognized as the best in the field - with a commitment to product quality and differentiation;
  • try to build partnerships with the best suppliers in the field;
  • then use these three advantages (recognized as first and best and working with the best) to build your relationships with customers .

Always keep your strategic planning process focused on your strategic goals, objectives and action plans . Your small business strategy must be clear, direct and still responsive to changes in the market or in the industry.

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For more timely and regular monthly information on managing your small business, please subscribe here., read more the relationship of analyses to strategy in your business:.

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Or return from Small Business Strategy to More For Small Business Home Page .

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The importance of strategy.

Why is strategizing important to your business?

Because it enables you to more clearly understand what you need to do to more your operation in the direction you need, and want, to go.

Doing a thorough analysis and review will enable you to implement more effective strategies, tactics and techniques.

Results and Strategy

Definition of business model: it's different.

The type of tactical planning you complete as you strategize is important because it forces you to make difficult choices and difficult decisions.

(Make sure you understand the definition business model - the practices, and focus, of the business on delivering the value proposition - to engage in a strong and successful strategic planning process ).

Also write down your choices and decisions to plan the actions necessary to move forward (use samples to provide you with a model for your own action plan).

The action plan is your road map. You must ensure that you are managing the direction you take.

Once you begin this planning process you will need to ensure that the plan you develop is do-able; make sure you include effectiveness measures in your plan.

And remember that your plan for strategy in business needs to be reviewed on a regular basis and be adapted as market and economic conditions change.

The end goal is not the plan but rather the results therefore make sure you have measurements in place to track results.

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Tools for Strategy Planning

Start with your SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis.

Add aspirations and results to the SWOT (some do SOAR (strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results) as a separate activity) to ensure that your vision for your business is incorporated in your goals and objectives.

Conduct a market opportunity analysis and look for unmet needs that align with your objectives.

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3 Business Strategy Examples to Inspire Your Own

business team crafting business strategy together

  • 03 Nov 2022

Successful businesses often change the way the world lives. Consider Apple, Google, and Netflix and the immense value each offers customers. Despite ambitious profit margins, the companies' business strategies didn't stem solely from financial goals. Each prioritized consumer value through innovations such as smartphones, faster search engines, and video streaming.

If you want to develop a successful business strategy, here's an overview of value creation, how to create value, and examples of companies successfully implementing it into their business models.

Access your free e-book today.

What Is a Value-Based Business Strategy?

Creating value for the customer and company determines whether a business strategy is successful. According to Harvard Business School Professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee in the HBS Online course Business Strategy , "These companies don't win by having the best product or most impressive service. They win by creating the most value."

While this can be difficult to visualize, the value stick framework illustrates how a company can maximize profit while creating more value for its customers, suppliers, and stakeholders.

The Value Stick

The value stick is a graph comprised of four components: willingness to pay (WTP), price, cost, and willingness to sell (WTS). Each segment represents how a sale's value is split between a firm, its customers, and suppliers. While each component leads to value, two levers create it: WTP and WTS.

To better understand how these components aid value-based business strategies , here are examples of how you can implement them in your organization.

Raising WTP

Willingness to pay (WTP) refers to the highest price a customer is willing to pay for a product or service. This calculation determines the threshold at which customers are more likely to make a purchase. Any slight imbalance in this number can deter, or even dissuade, consumers from purchasing. Only when a customer is delighted by a product or service are they willing to pay more.

Companies need to know their customer's WTP to remain profitable. According to HBS Online's Business Strategy course, it's influenced by the functional attributes of the product or service and other considerations, including:

  • Business sustainability: Is the product or service environmentally sound?
  • Social status: Does the media give your product or service additional value?
  • Market influence: Does your product or service inspire your competition?

Raising WTP can be an effective strategy for companies interested in increasing profit margins. This difficult balancing act requires an understanding of the product and target consumer. Business Strategy identifies three main mechanisms for raising WTP:

  • Conferring status: Earning "status" granted by media and the consumers to gain more value through public attention and brand legitimacy
  • Reducing uncertainty: Ensuring quality and purpose within an organization, so customers know what to expect with your product and service every time
  • Forming tastes: Taking the time to get your brand to the consumer as soon as possible because of nostalgic drivers

Lowering WTS

Willingness to sell (WTS) is the lowest price suppliers are willing to accept in exchange for materials needed to create products or services. Just as customers must weigh personal versus monetary value in determining whether they want to participate in a transaction, so do suppliers.

Another way to measure WTS is by considering employee engagement and retention. One of the most valuable assets a company has is its talent. Effective leaders nurture and develop employees to ensure salary isn't their only motivator.

Lowering WTS for one or both of these groups can be an effective business strategy for companies that can't raise their WTP. For example, companies that can motivate employees to work for a lower cost by providing value in other ways—such as benefits packages, flexible work hours, and generous paid time off—can lower WTS. Another method of lowering WTS is creating value for suppliers. This can take the form of additional warehouse space or long-term contracts.

Business Strategy | Simplify Strategy to Make the Greatest Business Impact | Learn More

3 Companies With Successful Business Strategies

One of the best ways to learn about business strategy is from real-world examples. Here are three companies that faced numerous challenges but overcame them through value-based business strategies.

1. Best Buy

Best Buy, the multinational electronics retailer, is an excellent example of how a shift in business strategy can lead to rapid growth. In 2012, Best Buy faced fierce market competition with online platforms like Amazon and big-box stores like Walmart and Home Depot. As a result, the company lost over a billion dollars in revenue in a single quarter.

Rather than closing stores or developing new products, Best Buy's leadership decided to leverage an existing asset not being utilized to its full potential: its storefronts. Best Buy started using its stores as "mini warehouses," providing faster shipping times, easier customer pick-up, and improved product availability. As a result of enhancing convenience for the customer, Best Buy increased its WTP.

Best Buy is an exceptional example of a value-based business strategy because it subsequently lowered WTS with this initiative. By keeping the vast network of stores intact and allowing vendors to build showrooms within its stores, Best Buy provided a cost-effective option for its vendors. This additional value lowered vendors' WTS, leading to product discounts.

As the largest sportswear manufacturer of shoes, clothing, and accessories, Nike has become one of the world's leading global sports brands. While much of Nike's success has come from its iconic products, it's also resulted from effective business strategies that out-compete in today's crowded sportswear market.

Value-based pricing greatly contributed to the company's reported global revenue of more than $44 billion in 2021 . For example, Nike has consistently leveraged consumers' perceptions of its products to drive prices up within their WTP. Nike can do this by creating the highest quality products to justify charging a premium price.

Many of Nike's competitors struggle to follow this same business model because of Nike's most valuable asset: its image. Company leadership at Nike has long understood that its pricing model isn't just reflected in the quality of its products but in the influence of its logo. By understanding its social and market influence, Nike's exclusive products, such as Air Jordans, have contributed to driving its perceived value to an even higher level. As a result, brand value and customer loyalty are two major pillars of Nike's long-term success at consistently raising its customer's WTP.

3. Starbucks

The world's largest coffeehouse chain, Starbucks, also needed to adopt a value-based strategy to gain market domination. In 2008, Starbucks faced immense financial pressure from increasing fast-food chain competition, rising prices in food and supplies, and global strains on coffee trading. In fact, by March 30, 2008, its profits had fallen nearly 28 percent compared to the previous year, leading to 300 closed stores and 6,700 employee layoffs.

To combat these challenges, Starbucks focused on better understanding the company's WTP. According to a letter by Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz, "The company must shift its focus away from bureaucracy and back to customers. We need to reignite the emotional attachment with our customers."

One method of doing this was the "My Starbucks Idea." Its goal was to create a space for customers to exchange ideas with each other and the company about Starbucks' products, services, stores, and corporate social responsibility . With nearly 93,000 ideas recorded and 1.3 million newly generated on social media, Starbucks tapped into what their customers cared about most.

Understanding what drives customer value led to many business model changes synonymous with Starbucks today. For example, free Wi-Fi, lounge chairs, and Starbucks' rewards program all sparked from customer feedback and forums. As a result, Starbucks is widely known as one of the fast-food chains with the highest WTP because of its loyal customer base.

Which HBS Online Strategy Course is Right for You? | Download Your Free Flowchart

Making Profits the Outcome, Not the Goal

Companies considering a shift in business strategy are often facing financial hardships. Whether an impending bankruptcy, decreasing profit margins, or increasing employee turnover, business strategies are meant to solve these problems. Yet, this isn't where your strategy should start.

"Profit is not the goal," says Oberholzer-Gee in HBS Online's Business Strategy course. "You treat it as an outcome. It's people first, then business."

Business leaders need an in-depth understanding of customer value to succeed in today's competitive marketplace. While real-world examples illustrate the implementation of these value-based strategies, taking an online course like Business Strategy can help you create an effective business strategy that wins over customers while generating a profit.

Are you interested in learning how customer value relates to financially successful business strategies? Explore our online course Business Strategy , or other strategy courses , to develop your strategic planning skills. To determine which strategy course is right for you, download our free flowchart .

small business strategic plan example

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Sample strategic plans, strategy is more than simply achieving business goals. it creates clarity, alignment and organization-wide engagement. we’ve assembled a handful of sample strategic plans. some are from our clients. others are just examples. all of them reflect good general guidelines and structure, which can be incorporated into your own strategy design., for profit sample strategic plans, these sample plans are based on a fictional organization. the information for our business clients is confidential..

small business strategic plan example

One-Page Strategic Plan

An easy-to-read, full-color overview to help everyone visualize the complete strategy.

small business strategic plan example

Company Strategic Plan

A summary of your strategic plan with strategic objectives, goals and action items.

small business strategic plan example

Department Strategic Plan

small business strategic plan example

Company SWOT

An assessment of your organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

small business strategic plan example

Department Action Plan

A quick-hit summary of progress against goals and action items. Great for use at strategy reviews.

small business strategic plan example

Individual Action Plan

small business strategic plan example

Team Member Performance Review

Use this action plan as a performance review sheet for periodic staff reviews.

Non-Profit Sample Strategic Plans

These sample plans are deliverables for north slope borough school district. this is public information and is shareable..

small business strategic plan example

School One-Page Strategic Plan

small business strategic plan example

School Full Strategic Plan

small business strategic plan example

School Strategic Plan with Progress

small business strategic plan example

Church Sample Strategic Plans

small business strategic plan example

Church One-Page Strategic Plan

small business strategic plan example

Church Full Strategic Plan

small business strategic plan example

Church One-Click Strategic Plan

A comprehensive report from mission through action items & includes SWOT, scorecard, roadmap & budget.

small business strategic plan example

Church Roadmap

A summary of high-level goals broken out by year according to the dates established during goal.

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small business strategic plan example

BUSINESS STRATEGIES

9 business strategy examples (and why you need one ASAP)

  • Amanda Bellucco Chatham
  • Dec 14, 2023

business strategy examples

Most successful businesses start with a good idea. In 1976, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak had the idea to make computers small enough to fit into people's homes and offices. Enter Apple, now the largest tech company in the world. 

But good ideas alone aren’t the catalyst to success—behind the scenes, a business strategy is at work. And a business strategy is something you need in order to complete the big picture and define how you plan to grow, operate and thrive.

In this post, we’ll define what we mean by business strategy, outline why it’s important and provide some tangible business strategy examples.

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What is a business strategy?

A business strategy is a plan of action that keeps you focused on several things. Different from a business plan—which dictates how your business will be run from day to day—a business strategy tends to focus more on how, exactly, you will reach certain goals, milestones or achievements in running your business. 

You need a strategy when you want to start a business , as well as when you’re planning to grow or change an existing business. Your strategy defines your business goals and provides a framework for all of the moving pieces your venture needs to operate successfully.  

A business strategy typically includes the following elements:

Core product or service : What you're selling, your business idea or your service.

Target customer : A clear profile of who your business serves, including the problem that your product or service solves for them.

Competitive assessment : A summary of the competitive landscape including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis). 

Financial plan : A financial projection that includes planned revenue, expenses and cash flow. 

Pricing approach : Your preliminary pricing for products and services offered, or your pricing approach (e.g., flat fee, hourly, fee-for-service, etc.).

Marketing and sales plan : An outline of how you plan to market your products and business, including a rough budget for paid media, details on how to make a website  and anything related to business promotion. It should also define some sales strategies focused on language meant to promote and differentiate your brand.

Staffing and hiring : An org chart that defines roles and hiring needs. Include any resources and personnel you have on hand (e.g. Is it just you? Is it a partnership?).

Growth objectives : A business growth  plan that incorporates your current goals, plus where you'd like the business to be in the next one, two or five years (e.g., markets, number of customers, revenue projections, etc.).

Pro tip : A business strategy and business plan go hand in hand in shaping the goals, objectives and achievements of your business. Looking for a business plan  instead? Check out our simple, customizable and free-to-download template.

8 key elements of a business strategy

3 types of business strategies

Any successful business starts with a roadmap that outlines how goals will be achieved. However, not all strategies are created equal. Let's take a look at three types of business strategies that can drive your business toward sustainable growth:

Corporate-level business strategy : This high-level strategy includes the company's vision, mission and key decisions. This might involve business choices, acquisitions or divestments, and resource allocation, for example.

Business-level strategy : A business-level strategy determines how a company competes in a market, considering product mix, customer segments, pricing, marketing and distribution. It aims to deliver value to customers and outperform competitors.

Function-level business strategy : A functional strategy focuses on the operational aspects of a business, like production, marketing, finance and human resources (HR). It supports corporate and business-level strategies by maximizing resource productivity.

Why a business strategy is important

Starting any type of business isn't for the faint of heart. There are many predictable and unpredictable factors to prepare for at every stage of growth. That’s why you need a business strategy to keep you on track.

As far as benefits go, a business strategy:

Helps you navigate market complexities : It provides a roadmap for staying ahead of the competition, plus external factors like supply chain issues and global events that may impact the market.

Provides insight into your customers' needs : When you know their pain points, you can align your strategy with real-world preferences and demands. 

Helps you anticipate small business challenges : Knowing about potential opportunities and issues will help you adapt to market changes—and be more resilient overall. 

Makes long-term success much more likely : A thoughtful plan takes the guesswork out of things like hiring, investing, growth and innovation.

9 business strategy examples

So, what does a business strategy look like? We’ve outlined nine examples below to inspire you as you iron out the blueprint for your business’s success.

Customer experience 

Cross-selling and upselling

Customer retention programs

Cost leadership

Differentiation

Acquisition

Social responsibility

01. Customer experience 

Companies like Zappos, Starbucks and Amazon are known for their exceptional customer experiences. They prioritize customer satisfaction, make doing business with them easy and (in the case of Starbucks) turn something as simple as grabbing a cup of coffee on your way to work into an immersive and satisfying sensory experience. 

Customer experience, as a business strategy, is beneficial for any small business owner . It creates loyal repeat customers who tend to become brand advocates, recommending your business, products and brand to their network of friends and family. 

02. Cross-selling and upselling

Focusing on selling more products to existing and new customers is a strategy that, if successful, has a direct and immediate impact on your cash flow, revenue and profitability. There are many ways to do this, including cross-selling and upselling  to shoppers as they browse your website, bundling similar products and using loyalty programs to entice past customers to return. 

Old Navy is a master of motivating return sales. Their Super Cash program awards shoppers $10 for every $25 spent on their website or in stores. The coupons become active at a later date, which encourages shoppers to hang onto them and return to shop again in the future.

Your rewards program doesn’t have to be elaborate, either. Wix merchant Jule Dancewear  offers customers five reward points for every $1 spent in the shop, with bonus points awarded for following the brand on Instagram or celebrating a birthday. Customers can then redeem their points for a certain dollar amount or percentage off a future purchase. 

jule dancewear homepage

03. Customer retention programs

Creating more customer loyalty is a viable and lucrative business strategy. It’s often more cost-effective to focus on retaining customers than constantly finding new ones. In fact, most brands have a 60-70% chance  of selling to an existing customer, but only a 5-20% chance of closing a sale with a new one.

Loyalty comes in many forms—e.g., retail loyalty programs that reward shoppers with coupons and discounts, or points systems like airline miles on credit cards. You build loyalty by being trustworthy, communicating clearly and creating high-quality products. Consistency is also key to building ongoing relationships. 

Perhaps no one does this better than Amazon with their Amazon Prime program. Customers buy into the program for a monthly or annual fee and are guaranteed fast, free shipping from Amazon sellers who opt into the program. Returns are also easy and Prime members get lots of other benefits, including a huge catalog of movie and TV shows, exclusive sales events and unlimited photo storage.

04. Cost leadership

Cost leadership is a strategy where a company offers the lowest prices in a niche or market. Companies like Walmart and IKEA are famous examples. They've mastered this strategy by offering products at prices lower than their competitors, while still maintaining profitability. 

This strategy isn't for everyone. Walmart's size gives it more leverage over suppliers (and wholesale pricing) versus a local mom-and-pop store. But even if you manage a smaller business, you can make a cost leadership strategy work by keeping costs low, creating your own products and being (incredibly) vigilant about your business costs. This is a strategy that takes a lot of planning and monitoring, so it’s important to do your research before jumping in.

05. Innovation

Innovation tends to be connected to categories like technology, pharmaceutical and business services industries. It's a business strategy that focuses on creating cutting-edge products or services that are either brand new (e.g., in 2007, Apple’s iPhone was the first smartphone introduced to a huge market of people who didn’t know they needed it) or best-in-class products or services in an existing market. 

Innovation, as a business strategy, isn’t limited to products or services. It can apply to a business approach—in other words, the way you offer your product or service. A perfect example of this is the rise of meal kit delivery services like Hello Fresh and Blue Apron. These companies provide “meal kits'' with fresh ingredients delivered as a subscription service to their customers (e.g., three meals per week). Or, take a look at Wix merchant Napa Wild , which offers weekly subscription shipments of fresh produce to areas surrounding Napa County, California. Their produce boxes are available in three different sizes to suit different households.

Some companies, like Tovala, include technology with their delivery service. Tovala’s smart oven works by scanning a barcode on the pre-made meal so that the cooking time and temperature are automatically set in the oven. When the meal is complete, the customer is notified via the Tovala app.

Napa Wild produce subscription box

06. Differentiation

Differentiation is about making your business stand out compared with your competitors. You do this by providing something uniquely special about your product design, features or quality. You can also differentiate yourself by creating a unique and meaningful brand story. When done well, differentiation gives you a lot of flexibility around pricing and approach—including the types of products and services you offer. An effective differentiation strategy helps your customers identify with your brand. They are either Coke drinkers or Pepsi drinkers, for example.

Or, take Starbucks as an example. Lots of places sell coffee, but Starbucks has taken coffee to an entirely new level with uniquely crafted (and premium-priced) drinks that are as much about lifestyle and identity as they are about getting your daily caffeine fix. 

07. Acquisition

Acquisition is a business strategy that involves purchasing another company (or companies) to fuel growth, expand market share or be more competitive. Acquisition can be a game-changer for your business, allowing you to quickly tap into new markets, acquire valuable assets and eliminate competition. 

Companies like Meta (formerly named Facebook) have effectively used acquisition as a strategy to maintain their dominance in the social media space. By acquiring platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp, Meta expanded its user base. It also diversified its offerings, ensuring it remains relevant even when other platforms like MySpace and Friendster have flamed out over time.

Acquisition as a primary strategy isn’t for the faint of heart. You need a deep understanding of each of your target company's operations, culture, financial health and customer base. Integrating two companies can also be complex and stressful. There are often issues with merging technologies, company cultures and aligning operations. Thus, conduct thorough due diligence before making an acquisition or you could end up turning a beloved global brand into a classic example of what not to do when acquiring a legacy company.

08. Social responsibility

Social responsibility is important to all consumers, but particularly Millennial and Gen Z consumers  who often evaluate companies and products based on environmental impact and sustainability. Social responsibility helps businesses differentiate themselves because it fosters community, protects the environment and ensures you’re prioritizing ethical practices throughout your operations.

In fact, according to a Deloitte survey, a quarter of consumers  are willing to pay more  for sustainable products and packaging, or for products or services from suppliers that respect human rights and ethical working conditions.

Two examples stand out here—Patagonia and TOMS Shoes. Both companies built their brands around social responsibility. Patagonia pledges 1% of its sales to environmental causes and is well-known by its loyal customers for being sustainable and supporting the lifestyle it promotes (loving the outdoors). Meanwhile, TOMS Shoes has a "One for One" model, donating a pair of shoes for every pair sold.

Patagonia screenshot

Value is subjective, but it can be a guiding light that helps new customers find you and inspires existing customers to return time after time. With a value-based strategy, the goal is to present something that is not just different but also has significant worth or meaning (or both) to your target audience. 

Apple doesn't just sell technology; they sell an entire ecosystem. Apple products resonate with customers because Apple is as much about a lifestyle as it is about a device or feature. Their products, while technologically advanced, are aesthetically pleasing, easy to use and integrate seamlessly with each other. 

Remember, offering unique value isn't about being different just for the sake of it. It's about understanding what your customers truly desire and creating something that fills that need in a way that no one else can. This could manifest as unparalleled quality. It could be a novel feature, or it can focus on exceptional customer service. Think about the companies you love that do this well—Disney, Trader Joe’s, Lululemon, Ben & Jerry’s and Ikea. A company that promises value and then delivers on it attracts new customers. It fosters loyalty and even advocacy. 

Dig deeper : Want more information on how to start or grow your business? Check out our essential guide on how to run a business , which includes 10 steps for business success.

Related Posts

What it takes to be a successful small business owner in 2024

How to start a business in 14 steps: a guide for 2024

The essential guide on how to run a business

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small business strategic plan example

4 Simple Steps for an Effective Small Business Strategic Plan

Skip the overkill of most strategic planning to focus on where you are going and how you are going to get there. you only need enough detail to make the right decisions..

Did you ever notice that both strategic planning retreats and horror movies are stories about a group of people trapped in a cabin in the woods where they are slowly dying? There’s a lot of overkill in most strategic planning.  You don’t have the time or resources to waste on complex strategic planning.  What you need is a strategic planning process that fits your business.

Small business strategic planning doesn’t have to be complex.  The definition of strategic planning is determining where you’re going and how you’re going to get there. That’s really all there is to it.

What makes your strategic plan effective is how it helps you make the right decisions. Your strategic plan sets the boundaries and guidelines for all your tactical decisions. It’s your criteria for success.

Let’s break that down into concrete steps. You can do it in four steps:

Strategic Planning for Small Businesses

Here’s how it looks visually:

small business strategic plan example

Purpose: Why Do You Own This Company?

As a small business owner, the purpose of your business starts with your purpose for your life.  That sets the direction so you don’t get lost. Strategic planning for your company begins with your personal aspirations and plans. 

You own your company to serve you and not for you to serve your company.  This is not at the exclusion of serving your customers or employees. I explain in How Does Value Creation Lead to Business Success? how you get value when you give value. Your business will only succeed if you provide great value to both your customers and employees.

If you don’t define what you want, your company will wander until you wake up one morning and realize you are working for a company you hate – and it’s your company.

Before you write that off as impractical fluff, let me give you some specific, very practical examples of what I mean:

• Are you building this business to own for a long time, or are you maximizing value in the shorter term to build it for sale? You make totally different infrastructure investments and tax planning depending on your answer. • Do you want to maximize your earnings, or do you want a company that gives you time and cash for pursuits outside the business? • Do you want total control of your company, or do you want partners that can provide experience, cash, or other resources?

Every business has to ask, “What do the owners want?” and then deliver on that.  Companies that don’t either fail or are sold because they didn’t deliver what the owners wanted. 

How do you clarify your purpose?  I wrote an article titled “ Business Goals Move You From Distraction to Direction ” that walks you step-by-step on how to do this.

This doesn’t need to be complicated.  You just need to be clear about the one or two main things you want from your company based on your plan for your life.

This may mean defining what you want from a financial planning perspective.  It may mean defining how much time you want to spend in the company.  You may get a high amount of satisfaction from your clients, your employees, or what your company does for your community.

Vision and Mission: Where Are You Going and How are You Going to Get There?

Trail that forks into two trails

Large companies can spend countless hours and dollars developing vision and mission statements.  My guess is that you already have a decent idea of where you want your business to go and how you’re going to get there.  If that’s the case, building a vision and mission statement is easy.

A vision statement is a short summary of what you want your company to look like in 5-10 years. It explains how your company will support your personal aspirations.  A mission statement is a short summary of how your company will achieve that vision. Specifically, it states who your company serves and what it does for them.

Having a clear vision and mission:

  • Defines the future direction of the business
  • Guides strategic planning, budgeting, and decision-making.
  • Inspires employees
  • Focuses everyone on one common big goal
  • Stretches the company beyond its current capabilities
  • Defines expectations of employees
  • Clarifies how the company will support the owner’s personal aspirations
  • Clarifies the purpose of your company so that you can clearly communicate it to customers and employees.
  • Provides focus for the company.

This will lead to:

  • Higher productivity
  • Improved employee morale and lower turnover
  • Easier recruitment of new employees that are the right fit for your company
  • Easier and more efficient planning
  • Less conflict in strategy and execution
  • More effective and efficient marketing

Do you, your customers, and your employees clearly know the goal of your company (i.e., where it’s headed) and how you are going to get there?  That’s what a mission and a vision statement provide. You may have never considered how powerful that would be for marketing to customers and to guide employees. I go into this more in my article titled How Does Value Creation Lead to Business Success? .

Here’s an example of a vision and mission statement from Southwest Airlines:

  • Vision statement: To become the world’s most loved, most flown, and most profitable airline.
  • Mission statement: The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit.

Southwest likely spent lots of time and money picking and testing each word. Spend as much time as you need, so your vision and mission are clear. It doesn’t have to sound pretty; it just needs to be clear to guide your decisions. You may decide to polish it a little more if you want to communicate it to your employees or customers.

Vision and Mission Set Boundaries

Road by fence

Purpose, vision, and mission are crucial.  One of my favorite quotes is, “When your vision is clear, the decisions are easy.” Defining your purpose, vision, and mission will create the boundaries for all the decisions that follow. 

For example, I was the CFO of a community health center that also provided transitional housing.  The mission of the company said nothing about transitional housing.  That was a need in the market the company had decided to help address.

The transitional housing was a constant distraction from our core healthcare mission.  We decided to exit transitional housing so we could focus on our core mission. 

Many people don’t think they need a strategic plan because they know what they need to do. What they don’t have is clarity on what they shouldn’t do.

Your strategic plan says what you will focus on, so it’s clear what you won’t do.  Many people don’t think they need a strategic plan because they know what they need to do.  What they don’t have is clarity on what they shouldn’t do.  These are the things that will distract them and cause them to be unfocused and inefficient throughout the year.  Worse, they could cause a massive shift of resources away from a better investment.

Your current reality: SWOT Analysis

Now it’s time to get honest. Your company has a long way to go to achieve your vision for it. We’ll get into the steps to get to that vision later. For now, you need to know where you’re starting from to know the path you need to take to get where you want to go.

A time-tested way to do this is a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You look inward at your company to assess your strengths and weaknesses. You look outward to your competitors and business environment to discover your opportunities and threats.

It’s simple but powerful. I go into detail on how to conduct a SWOT analysis in What is SWOT Analysis? Simple but Effective Business Environment Assessment .

Three-Year Strategic Priorities

No company has enough resources to accomplish everything it wants.  Setting priorities is about focusing your scarce resources on the things that matter most. 

How do you know what matters most? Your purpose, vision, and mission set the general direction. It’s time to choose exactly what steps you need to take to get there.

Most business owners plan strategically just a year or less in advance . This is a mistake. Yes, your tactics are constantly changing. However, your dreams for your company are too big to be achieved in a year. Your strategic plan is a multi-year outline of how you’ll achieve those dreams.

Setting priorities and goals determines both what you will do, what you may do, and what you will not do.  Not taking the time to identify your strategic priorities creates massive inefficiency for your company.

Your three-year priorities, one-year goals, and quarterly objectives all break your broad mission into actionable steps.  All these pieces work together to flow from the strategic to the tactical.  Each provides more detail to the second part of the definition of small business strategic planning, which is “how you are going to get there.” Below are examples and criteria for strategic priorities.

Example strategic priorities

  • Improve customer value and loyalty
  • Improve operational processes
  • Eliminate cash drains and improve cash creators
  • Find new markets or customers for products or services
  • Expand products or services
  • Reduce operational costs

Criteria for good priorities:

  • Achieves your vision via your mission.
  • Clear and easily understood by those who will need to implement it
  • Makes a long-term strategic difference for the business. This is not a list of easy-to-accomplish tasks.
  • Realistic but may stretch the organization to achieve it.
  • Usually requires a significant investment of time, money, or other resources

There is no one right way to set your priorities.  I explain four methods in 4 Proven Ways to Prioritize Your Goals and Tasks .

One Year Goals

Clear number one

Your three-year strategic priorities identify the broad priorities for your company. Your one-year goals state the specific areas of focus for the next year. Further, these goals have metrics tied to them to define success and track progress.

These goals are communicated to everyone in your company so all your employees are clear on their priorities for the current year.  The metrics provide accountability for reaching the goal. Some good candidates for one-year goals are:

  • Next steps in a large set of steps to achieve a strategic priority: Think through the major steps of your strategic priorities. Identify what steps must happen over the next year for you to achieve your strategic priority in three years.
  • High importance: High-priority items are good choices for one-year goals so you can capture the benefits as soon as possible.
  • Easy implementation: Items that have a moderate impact but are easy to implement can provide a good return on investment for you. It’s OK to have a few of these for goals but never sacrifice importance for ease.  Having too many of these as goals can distract you from achieving your most important priorities.
  • And finally… last year’s goals that weren’t completed: It happens.  You get to the end of the year and realize that some goals aren’t going to get done.  Now is the time to refocus on getting those goals accomplished to refocus your company’s resources on new goals.

Selecting goals is a balance between what’s important and what’s easy to implement.  The table below summarizes this:

Matrix of ease of implementation and Importance

What’s a good goal?

A classic acronym for good goals is SMART:

  • S pecific: Clear to everyone
  • M easurable: Objectively defines success and track your progress
  • A ttainable: Achievable, even if it’s difficult
  • R elevant: Makes progress toward your vision and priorities
  • T ime-based: There is a final completion date and milestone dates for progress

What are the components of a goal?

  • Deadline: This addresses the time-based aspect of the SMART acronym. Goals without deadlines never get done.
  • Accountability: Assign primary responsibility to one person. When more than one person is accountable, no one is accountable.
  • Metrics: Goals are measurable when they have at least one objective metric. Metrics monitor the outcomes from tasks, not the completion of tasks. Deadlines monitor task completion.
  • Targets: Metrics are what you are measuring, and targets are the metric value that you are trying to achieve

Quarterly Objectives and Tasks

Quarterly objectives help you:

  • Overcome feeling overwhelmed: Quarterly objectives break down the one-year goals so they don’t feel so overwhelming. I know what it’s like to stare at a new set of one-year goals and take a big gulp.
  • Further focus and prioritization: When everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. Some steps need to happen before others. These steps need to be put in order. Planning quarterly objectives identifies what’s important now and what will happen later.
  • Company alignment and accountability: These goals will be communicated to everyone in the company. All your employees should know the company’s priorities and how the company plans to meet its one-year goals. Communicating who is responsible for each objective also creates accountability.

What is a good objective?

  • SMART: Like SMART goals, SMART objectives are more effective.
  • Defines outcomes: Leaders set the outcome for the objective. People assigned to the objective will develop the tasks on how to achieve the outcome.
  • Single major step: Some of the annual goals can be accomplished in one quarter and so transfer directly into one objective.  Other annual goals require multiple steps to accomplish the goals.  In Measure What Matters, John Doerr notes, “unacknowledged dependencies remain the number one cause of project slippage.” For every goal, think through if there are major steps that need to be accomplished before another step can be accomplished.
  • Only 3-7 per quarter: Your company has limited capacity.  Setting too many objectives is overwhelming and demoralizing.  Setting a limited and balanced set of objectives each quarter paces the company and gives staff a better chance of achieving each goal.
  • Start and End Date: Set the date you expect the work on the objective to start and when you want the objective accomplished. You may need to consult with the person who’s assigned to this objective to determine these dates.  The person the objective is assigned to will build a more detailed timeline.
  • Assigned to: One-year goals should always be assigned to the top leaders of the company, but objectives may be assigned to other staff.  Whoever is assigned an objective is accountable to whoever was assigned the goal the objective supports.

Two popular ways to measure and manage your goals and objectives are:

  • Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)
  • Key Performance Indicators (KPI) Dashboard

The Final Check: Cash Flow Projection

Sample of cash flow projection

You determined your priorities for the next year and set targets with your one-year goals.  Your quarterly objectives created the timeline of when you will work on goals or major steps towards reaching those goals.

The cash flow projection takes all that information and translates it into cash flow.  This is a great reality check for your goals.  You may find that the investments you planned for the next year stretch your cash beyond its limits. This gives you time to find the funding you need.

Insights from the cash projection will allow you to make further refinements to your goals and objectives.  Strategic planning is not a linear process where big ideas flow neatly to details. It’s an iterative process where you constantly refine earlier steps based on the information you gain in later steps.  All the parts of the process need to be flexible so they form an integrated plan at the end.

What is Strategic Planning? Your Definition of Success and Your Path to Achieving It

I’ve given you lots of details and resources on how to build your strategic plan. Just to make sure you’re not lost in those details, here are the four steps:

  • Purpose – Why do you own this company?
  • Vision and mission – Where are you going, and how are you going to get there?
  • SWOT – What is your current reality?
  • Three-year priorities, one-year goals, quarterly objectives – How will you get from your current reality to your vision?

For more info, check out these topics pages:

  • Strategic Planning
  • KPI Dashboards
  • Cash Flow , Growth

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FAST (Finance and Strategy Toolkit) is the membership program that gives you resources for better strategic financial management. You get all the CFO Perspective courses. Get direct access to me as well as tools for improved decisions that can lead to improved performance.

The right tools can save you time, reduce your stress, and improve your effectiveness.

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Free business plan template (with examples)

Alan Bradley

Sierra Campbell

Sierra Campbell

“Verified by an expert” means that this article has been thoroughly reviewed and evaluated for accuracy.

Updated 3:37 a.m. UTC Feb. 12, 2024

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Starting a business can be a daunting undertaking. As with so many large projects, one of the most difficult challenges is just getting started, and one of the best ways to start is by putting together a plan. A plan is also a powerful tool for communication and can serve as a cornerstone for onboarding new partners and employees or for demonstrating your philosophy and priorities to potential collaborators. 

A solid business plan will not only provide a framework for your business going forward but will also give you an early opportunity to organize and refine your thoughts and define your mission statement, providing a guidepost that can serve as a beacon for your business for years to come. We’ve provided a business plan template below to help guide you in the creation of your new enterprise.

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Business plan template

What should a business plan include?

Regardless of the type of business you own or the products and services you provide, every business plan should include some core elements:

  • Mission statement. The definition and executive summary of your business.
  • Market analysis. A breakdown of the market segment and customers you hope to reach, built through primary (gathered by you) and secondary (gathered from outside sources) research.
  • Organization and logistics. The nuts and bolts of how your business is operated
  • Products or services. What your company provides its customers.
  • Advertising and marketing. How you intend to get your products in front of your customers.
  • Forecasting. Revenue forecasting for partners or potential investors.

Why do you need a business plan?

A business plan is a framework for success. It provides a number of key benefits:

  • Structure. The outline around which to design your business.
  • Operational guidance. A signpost for how to run your business from day to day.
  • Expansion. A vision for the future growth of your enterprise.
  • Definition. A platform to consider every element of your business and how best to execute your plans for them.
  • Collaboration. A synopsis of what’s exceptional about your business and a way to attract funding, investment or partnerships.
  • Onboarding. An efficient summary of your business for new or potential employees.

Business plan examples

We’ve created two fictional companies to illustrate how a business might use a business plan to sketch out goals and opportunities as well as forecast revenue.

Bling, Incorporated

Our first hypothetical example is a jewelry and accessory creator called Bling, Incorporated. A hybrid business that manufactures its products for sale both online and through physical retail channels, Bling’s mission statement is focused on transforming simple, inexpensive ingredients into wearable statement pieces of art. 

Market analysis includes gathering data around sourcing sustainable, inexpensive components, aesthetic trends in fashion and on which platforms competitors have had success in advertising jewelry to prospective customers. Logistics include shipping products, negotiating with retailers, establishing an e-commerce presence and material and manufacturing costs. 

Bling, Incorporated advertises initially through social platforms like TikTok and Facebook, as well as with Google AdSense, with plans to eventually expand to television advertising. Revenue forecasting is structured around a low overhead on the basis of inexpensive materials, no dedicated storefront and broad reach through digital platforms.

Phaeton Custom Cars

Phaeton is a custom car builder and classic car restoration business with a regional focus and reach. Its mission statement defines it as a local, family-owned business serving a community of auto enthusiasts and a broader regional niche of collectors. 

Market analysis breaks down the location and facilities of other competitor shops in the region as well as online communities of regional car enthusiasts likely to spend money on custom modifications or restoration projects. It also examines trends in valuations for custom parts and vintage cars. Logistics include pricing out parts and labor, finding skilled or apprentice laborers and mortgaging a garage and equipment. 

Phaeton advertises in regional publications, at local events and regional car shows and online through Facebook and Instagram, with an emphasis on a social presence highlighting their flashiest builds. Revenue forecasting is built around a growing reputation and high-value commissions.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

A business plan may not be a prerequisite for every type of business, but there are few businesses that wouldn’t benefit from one. It can serve as an important strategic tool and help crystalize a vision of your business and its future.

Business plans do just that: they help you plan the future of your business, serve as a platform to brainstorm ideas and think through your vision and are a great tool for showcasing why your business works to potential investors or partners.

Blueprint is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. The information provided is for educational purposes only and we encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific financial decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Blueprint has an advertiser disclosure policy . The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Blueprint editorial staff alone. Blueprint adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.

Alan Bradley

Alan is an experienced culture and tech writer with a background in newspaper reporting. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, The Escapist, PC Mag, PC Gamer, and a multitude of other outlets. He has over twenty years of experience as a journalist and editor and is the author of the urban fantasy novel The Sixth Borough.

Sierra Campbell is a small business editor for USA Today Blueprint. She specializes in writing, editing and fact-checking content centered around helping businesses. She has worked as a digital content and show producer for several local TV stations, an editor for U.S. News & World Report and a freelance writer and editor for many companies. Sierra prides herself in delivering accurate and up-to-date information to readers. Her expertise includes credit card processing companies, e-commerce platforms, payroll software, accounting software and virtual private networks (VPNs). She also owns Editing by Sierra, where she offers editing services to writers of all backgrounds, including self-published and traditionally published authors.

How to start a small business: A step-by-step guide

How to start a small business: A step-by-step guide

Business Eric Rosenberg

Small Business Strategic Plan Template

Small Business Strategic Plan Template

As a small business owner, you know that having a solid strategic plan is the key to achieving long-term success. But creating a strategic plan from scratch can be overwhelming and time-consuming. That's where ClickUp's Small Business Strategic Plan Template comes in!

With ClickUp's template, you can streamline your planning process and create a roadmap for your small business in no time. Here's how it can help you:

  • Define clear goals and objectives that align with your vision
  • Identify the actions and resources needed to achieve those goals
  • Prioritize tasks and track progress to stay on track
  • Collaborate with your team and assign responsibilities
  • Adapt and pivot your plan as your business evolves

Don't waste time reinventing the wheel. Start building your small business strategic plan today with ClickUp's template.

Benefits of Small Business Strategic Plan Template

When using the Small Business Strategic Plan Template, you can enjoy the following benefits:

  • Align your team: Get everyone on the same page and ensure everyone understands and is working towards the same business objectives.
  • Identify opportunities: Analyze your business environment and uncover new opportunities for growth and expansion.
  • Mitigate risks: Assess potential risks and develop strategies to minimize their impact on your small business.
  • Track progress: Set milestones and key performance indicators to track your progress and ensure you're on track to achieve your goals.
  • Adapt and pivot: As circumstances change, easily update your strategic plan to adapt and pivot your business accordingly.

Main Elements of Small Business Strategic Plan Template

Whether you're starting a new small business or looking to grow your existing one, ClickUp's Small Business Strategic Plan template has got you covered! Here are the main elements of this template:

  • Custom Statuses: Track the progress of your strategic initiatives with five different statuses including Cancelled, Complete, In Progress, On Hold, and To Do, ensuring that you stay on top of your business goals.
  • Custom Fields: Utilize eight custom fields such as Duration Days, Impact, Progress, and Team Members to capture essential information about your strategic initiatives, making it easier to track and evaluate their success.
  • Custom Views: Access six different views including Progress, Gantt, Workload, Timeline, Initiatives, and Getting Started Guide to visualize your strategic plan from different perspectives, helping you stay organized and focused on achieving your business objectives.
  • Project Management: Leverage ClickUp's powerful project management features such as task dependencies, time tracking, collaboration tools, and integrations to streamline your small business operations and ensure smooth execution of your strategic plan.

How to Use Strategic Plan for Small Business

Crafting a strategic plan for your small business can seem daunting, but with the help of the Small Business Strategic Plan Template in ClickUp and following the steps below, you can create a roadmap for success that will guide your business towards its goals.

1. Define your vision and mission

Start by clarifying your business's vision and mission. Your vision is the long-term goal or aspiration that you want your business to achieve, while your mission is the purpose or reason why your business exists. These statements will serve as the foundation of your strategic plan and will help guide your decision-making.

Use a Doc in ClickUp to brainstorm and refine your vision and mission statements.

2. Analyze your current situation

Conduct a thorough analysis of your business's current situation to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This analysis, often referred to as a SWOT analysis, will help you gain a clear understanding of where your business stands and what external factors may impact its success.

Utilize custom fields in ClickUp to track and evaluate each element of your SWOT analysis.

3. Set strategic goals and objectives

Based on your vision, mission, and analysis of your current situation, establish strategic goals and objectives that will guide your business's growth and development. These goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) to ensure they are actionable and achievable.

Create tasks in ClickUp to outline each strategic goal and assign relevant team members to track progress.

4. Develop an action plan

With your goals and objectives in place, it's time to develop an action plan that outlines the steps and initiatives your business will take to achieve them. Break down each goal into smaller, actionable tasks and assign responsibilities to team members. Consider timelines, resources, and potential obstacles to ensure a realistic and effective plan.

Use the Gantt chart in ClickUp to visualize your action plan and track progress over time.

By following these steps and utilizing the Small Business Strategic Plan Template in ClickUp, you can create a strategic plan that will guide your business towards success. Regularly review and update your plan as needed to adapt to changing circumstances and keep your business on track.

add new template customization

Get Started with ClickUp’s Small Business Strategic Plan Template

Small business owners or entrepreneurs can use the Small Business Strategic Plan Template to create a roadmap for success and achieve their business goals.

First, hit “Add Template” to sign up for ClickUp and add the template to your Workspace. Make sure you designate which Space or location in your Workspace you’d like this template applied.

Next, invite relevant members or guests to your Workspace to start collaborating.

Now you can take advantage of the full potential of this template to strategically plan for your business:

  • Use the Progress View to track the progress of each task and goal
  • The Gantt View will help you visualize the timeline and dependencies of your strategic plan
  • Utilize the Workload View to ensure that tasks are evenly distributed among team members
  • The Timeline View will give you a clear overview of your strategic plan and its milestones
  • Use the Initiatives View to break down your strategic plan into actionable initiatives
  • The Getting Started Guide View will provide step-by-step instructions on how to use the template effectively
  • Organize tasks into five different statuses: Cancelled, Complete, In Progress, On Hold, To Do, to keep track of progress
  • Update statuses as you work through your strategic plan to keep everyone informed of progress
  • Monitor and analyze tasks to ensure maximum productivity and success.

Related Templates

  • Farmers Strategic Plan Template
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  • Prototyping Teams Strategic Plan Template
  • Suppliers Strategic Plan Template
  • Managers Strategic Plan Template

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How Fast Should Your Company Really Grow?

  • Gary P. Pisano

small business strategic plan example

Growth—in revenues and profits—is the yardstick by which the competitive fitness and health of organizations is measured. Consistent profitable growth is thus a near universal goal for leaders—and an elusive one.

To achieve that goal, companies need a growth strategy that encompasses three related sets of decisions: how fast to grow, where to seek new sources of demand, and how to develop the financial, human, and organizational capabilities needed to grow. This article offers a framework for examining the critical interdependencies of those decisions in the context of a company’s overall business strategy, its capabilities and culture, and external market dynamics.

Why leaders should take a strategic perspective

Idea in Brief

The problem.

Sustained profitable growth is a nearly universal corporate goal, but it is an elusive one. Empirical research suggests that when inflation is taken into account, most companies barely grow at all.

While external factors play a role, most companies’ growth problems are self-inflicted: Too many firms approach growth in a highly reactive, opportunistic manner.

The Solution

To grow profitably over the long term, companies need a strategy that addresses three key decisions: how fast to grow (rate of growth); where to seek new sources of demand (direction of growth); and how to amass the resources needed to grow (method of growth).

Perhaps no issue attracts more senior leadership attention than growth does. And for good reason. Growth—in revenues and profits—is the yardstick by which we tend to measure the competitive fitness and health of companies and determine the quality and compensation of its management. Analysts, investors, and boards pepper CEOs about growth prospects to get insight into stock prices. Employees are attracted to faster-growing companies because they offer better opportunities for advancement, higher pay, and greater job security. Suppliers prefer faster-growing customers because working with them improves their own growth prospects. Given the choice, most companies and their stakeholders would choose faster growth over slower growth.

Five elements can move you beyond episodic success.

  • Gary P. Pisano is the Harry E. Figgie Jr. Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and the author of Creative Construction: The DNA of Sustained Innovation (PublicAffairs, 2019).

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IMAGES

  1. 32 Great Strategic Plan Templates to Grow your Business

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  2. Simple Strategic Plan

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  3. 32 Great Strategic Plan Templates to Grow your Business

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  4. FREE Strategic Business Plan Template

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  5. 32 Great Strategic Plan Templates to Grow your Business

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  6. The last business strategy template you’ll ever need

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VIDEO

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  6. Strategic Business Unit (SBU) in Urdu/Hindi…Basic Marketing

COMMENTS

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  2. How to Craft a Strategic Plan

    The first step in creating your strategic plan is to write your company mission statement. Your mission statement can range from a sentence to multiple paragraphs, but it should convey your company's purpose to customers, employees, and the community. When developing a mission statement, ensure the statement will answer the following questions:

  3. Write your business plan

    Include your mission statement, your product or service, and basic information about your company's leadership team, employees, and location. You should also include financial information and high-level growth plans if you plan to ask for financing.

  4. Quick Guide: How to Write a Strategic Plan

    Managing Work Strategic planning The Complete Guide to Writing a Strategic Plan Get free Smartsheet templates By Joe Weller | April 12, 2019 (updated January 31, 2024) Writing a strategic plan can be daunting, as the process includes many steps.

  5. Free Strategic Planning Templates

    A comprehensive, strategic business plan may include company information, SWOT analysis, research, goals, resources, risks and more. A template provides structure for your business planning process as well as a communication tool that's simple to update or modify.

  6. Examples of a Strategic Plan to Achieve Long-Term Growth

    Save as PDF This is a comprehensive guide on strategic planning for small to midsize companies. If you want to: Move your organization in the direction you intend for long-term success, Implement your plan smoothly for greater growth, Use a better platform for developing a truly effective strategic plan, … then you'll love this guide.

  7. Free Strategic Plan Template and Best Practices

    The strategic framework template simplifies the process by allowing you to define precise objectives and track the progress of three key results associated with each objective. Using this strategic plan template, you can streamline goal management and enhance productivity. 6. General Strategic Plan Template.

  8. The last business strategy template you'll ever need

    A business plan and strategic plan template will both include an executive summary, company descriptions, and even mission, vision, and value statements. Where a business plan differs is that it's an overview of how the business runs day-to-day, while a strategic plan focuses on how you'll achieve specific initiatives that have the power to ...

  9. 22+Business Strategic Plan

    22+ Business Strategic Plan Examples - PDF, Word The importance of a business strategic plan cannot be understated for any company. A business strategic plan assists a company in achieving long-term sustainability. Without a strategic plan, companies would find it difficult to sustain their daily operations.

  10. Strategic Business Plan Template for 2024 Sample

    Strategic Business Plan Template for 2024 Sample - PandaDoc Example Templates available Strategic Plan Template Created by: [Sender.FirstName] [Sender.LastName] [Sender.Title] [Sender.Company] [Sender.Phone] [Sender.Email] Prepared for: [Client.FirstName] [Client.LastName] [Client.Title] [Client.Company] [Client.Phone] [Client.Email]

  11. PDF How to write a strategic plan

    Goals, Priorities and Strategies. Outlines the goals, priorities, and strategies to meet the mission. 3 -4 overarching goals aligned with mission. Priorities, activities, objectives, strategies are in more depth, have more specificity - each goal could have a few different objectives / strategies associated with it.

  12. What is strategic planning? A 5-step guide

    A 5-step guide Julia Martins January 23rd, 2024 11 min read Jump to section Summary Strategic planning is a process through which business leaders map out their vision for their organization's growth and how they're going to get there.

  13. Crafting Strategic Plans: Including Examples to Help You

    For example, a small business might have five-year and 10-year strategic plans. These plans are a roadmap for achieving the desired outcomes. ... Take the example of an online cakes and pastries business with a strategic plan to grow its sales by 15% annually. To get there, the business will depend on stakeholder input and productivity ...

  14. Build Your Small Business Strategy: Use a Strategic Plan Template or

    Use a Strategic Plan Template. An effective small business strategy will help build your business. Use strategic planning samples or a strategic plan template (for example, a strategic planning SWOT or five forces model analysis) to streamline your strategic process and focus on getting the results you want for your business.

  15. 3 Business Strategy Examples to Inspire Your Own

    As a result, brand value and customer loyalty are two major pillars of Nike's long-term success at consistently raising its customer's WTP. 3. Starbucks. The world's largest coffeehouse chain, Starbucks, also needed to adopt a value-based strategy to gain market domination.

  16. Strategic Planning Samples

    Strategy is more than simply achieving business goals. It creates clarity, alignment and organization-wide engagement. We've assembled a handful of sample strategic plans. Some are from our clients. Others are just examples. All of them reflect good general guidelines and structure, which can be incorporated into your own strategy design.

  17. 9 business strategy examples (and why you need one ASAP)

    Most successful businesses start with a good idea. In 1976, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak had the idea to make computers small enough to fit into people's homes and offices. Enter Apple, now the largest tech company in the world. But good ideas alone aren't the catalyst to success—behind the scenes, a business strategy is at work. And a business strategy is something you need in order to ...

  18. PDF U.S. Small Business Administration Strategic Plan

    Objective 2 .1: Help small businesses recover from the pandemic and become more resilient. . . . . . . . . . . 25 Objective 2 .2: Prepare small businesses and rebuild communities affected by natural disasters . . . . . . . .27 STRATEGIC GOAL 3: Implement Strong Stewardship of Resources for Greater Impact 29

  19. 4 Simple Steps for an Effective Small Business Strategic Plan

    Specifically, it states who your company serves and what it does for them. Guides strategic planning, budgeting, and decision-making. Clarifies how the company will support the owner's personal aspirations. Clarifies the purpose of your company so that you can clearly communicate it to customers and employees.

  20. 10 Business Strategy Examples (And Why It Helps To Have One)

    1. Vision and business objectives A business strategy is intended to help you reach your business objectives. With a vision for the direction of the business, you can create clear instructions in the business strategy for what needs to be done and who is responsible for completing each step. 2. Core values

  21. Free Business Plan Template (With Examples)

    If you're looking for a free business plan template, read our guide to see some of the examples we found.

  22. What To Include in a Strategic Business Plan (With Template)

    1. State information that defines the company One of the first things a strategic business plan should identify is the company's mission and the principles and values that guide the decision making of the organization. The company's mission statement should explain what the business is trying to achieve long-term.

  23. Small Business Strategic Plan Template

    Crafting a strategic plan for your small business can seem daunting, but with the help of the Small Business Strategic Plan Template in ClickUp and following the steps below, you can create a roadmap for success that will guide your business towards its goals. 1. Define your vision and mission. Start by clarifying your business's vision and ...

  24. 2024 Digital Marketing Strategy Guide

    Lauren (Hansen) Holznienkemper is a staff writer and deputy editor for the small business vertical at Forbes Advisor, specializing in reviewing and testing HR, payroll and recruiting solutions for ...

  25. SBA Strategic Plan

    This Strategic Plan provides a framework that outlines the SBA's key goals and objectives to ensure that our programs are managed effectively and efficiently. Download .pdf. File size: 878KB. Effective : March 28, 2022. Owned by : Office of Performance, Planning and the Chief Financial Officer. Related Programs : Agency Management.

  26. How Fast Should Your Company Really Grow?

    The Problem. Sustained profitable growth is a nearly universal corporate goal, but it is an elusive one. Empirical research suggests that when inflation is taken into account, most companies ...

  27. PDF Equity Action Plan Summary: U.S. Small Business Administration

    For example, Black-owned and Hispanic-owned firms are more likely to have been denied ... agreements and Agency strategic alliances. 2023 Equity Action Plan Summary: U.S. Small Business ...