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Business Strategies to Consider

By: Garry Crystal - Updated: 9 Apr 2013 | comments*Discuss
 
Business Business Strategies Strategy

Business strategies to consider should include defining the direction of your company and how you intend to enhance growth. Your strategy should be the motivating force behind your company and will set out the priorities of your company. The owner will usually be the one that sets out the strategy and how it will actually be implemented.

Defining Your Strategy

Defining your strategy should begin by considering the main strategy points. Where your company is at the moment and where you would like it to be in the future. What avenues are open to you and which one will be the most suitable to achieve your goals. Finally you will need to decide how you will put your ideas into action using this strategy. You main focus should be based on achieving your objectives and goals by making the strategy work for your business.

Analysing Your Business Strategies

A number of different factors will make up your strategic analysis. The main analysis points will be the environment that the company exists in and the resources available. Businesses will need to analyse all of the environmental factors and decide how these will make a difference, either positively or negatively on the business. Environmental factors include political, economic, social, technological, and environmental issues. Considering these factors carefully should give you a better understanding of how your company can grow in the future.

Business Resources

The next step towards working out your strategies will be to take stock of your resources. Resources will fall under three categories, which are your assets, your staff and your financial resources. Your assets will include machinery, equipment and the tools needed to run your company. If you are a new business with no assets then you should consider what you will need to run your business. This will also help you make a decision on funding required. Staffing will include the staff your have at present and any that will be needed in the future.

Financial resources will include any money that has already been placed into the business including your own money and funds that you have borrowed. Creditors and debtors should be included in the list. New businesses that require funding should analyse how much they will need to run the company and where this money will go.

Deciding On Your Strategy

Once you have all of this information you should now be able to decide on the best options and strategies that are applicable to you. The strategies considered should be based on your original goals and objectives. The above analysis should have left you with some simple choices with regards to which direction your company should choose. The options available will include withdrawing from the market altogether, increasing your market position, expanding your business with new products and services, and proceeding at the moment as you are but looking at improving your product or service.

Implementing Your Strategy

Once you have decided which way your business is headed, the next step will be to put the strategy into action. You will need to plan out carefully how you can best implement your strategy. The key areas of your plan should include how resources will be allocated, the overall arrangement of your business, and how the systems and people are managed. By focusing on these key points you should be able to plan the best way forward with regards to implementation.

Consider The Threats

There will be some negative aspects that will have an impact on your strategy. Threats will include new competitors in the market, growth of existing competitors and the introduction of similar products or services that you provide. Suppliers and buyers also need to be considered as they will have an impact if prices rise and affect your profit margin. These points will have to be taken into account before your strategy is implemented.

A business can succeed or fail on its initial strategy but all businesses should be open to change. It may be the case that over time goals and objectives change and strategies will need to be reviewed. No strategy is set in stone so make sure that your strategy is open to change and new ideas, to enhance productivity and improve growth.

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