In the early ’70s, the word strategy was first used during the military affair in Europe, the term was derived indirectly from the Classic and Byzantine. In 1970, the firm's founder, Bruce D. Henderson, developed the framework to help companies decide where to invest their money and energy. This system of strategic prioritization, also known as a BCG Model, is still a central concept in business education today. What are we getting into? We are not trying to talk about history here but we are trying to let you understand how the term was constructed and what they were trying to stipulate. A lot of us don’t understand the word “Strategy” but until we understand what it means we cannot run a productive business.
Now, what does the word strategy means? Strategy is a plan of action to achieve short, middle, and long-term desired goals. You don’t just run a business on a platter of Gold, you strategically run a business, having it at the back of your mind that people don’t want to patronize you based on how much money you have or how much money you have to offer the company, they want to patronize you because you have what they need. According to research, there are two reasons why people want to do business with you, to increase pleasure (e.g., glowing health, freedom, popularity) and to decrease pain (e.g., stress, financial problems, poor health). If you can offer them these two things first, then you can have yourself useful and faithful clients/customers. Now to run a productive business, you need a plan, A strategic plan.
Strategy No. 1
- Come up with a way to attract new customers to your Business.
- Offer new customers discounts and promotions: Consumers today are still looking for value and deals. They don’t just want to buy your product or need your service, they want a business enterprise they can trust based on the reality that the world is revolving and now moving to the tech world, where details can be generated and used for adverse purposes. Lure them into your business by offering them trustworthy relationships and introductory discounts, or have specials such as buy 2-get-1-for half-price or free gift wrapping for the first three purchases. Bargains like these can attract new customers who have been considering doing business with you but needed an incentive to change their shopping habits. Then track what they buy and which offers they redeemed so you can better target them with future marketing messages that will cement their loyalty.
- Ask for referrals: After getting customer loyalty, put it to work by asking them to refer you to their friends and family, create a systemized approach to actively request referrals from your satisfied customers.
- Network: Raise brand awareness by meeting new people, advertising yourself and your business to them, letting everyone know what you are into, joining networking organizations or even trade associations, attending meetup events, considering that you put the customer first not what is in for you.
Strategy 2
- Organization and proper plan.
- Keep detailed Record: Accounting records are all of the documentation and books involved in the preparation of financial statements or records relevant to audits and financial reviews. All successful organizations keep detailed records, by doing this, you’ll know where the business stands financially and what potential challenges you could be facing. Just knowing this gives you time to create strategies to overcome those challenges.
- Understand the Risks and Rewards: The key to being successful is taking calculated risks to help your business grow. Every successful business today has taken risks in one way or the other. Regardless of how dangerous it may seem, do not hesitate to take risks for your business; but make sure it’s a smart risk so you don’t have to blame yourself for it later in the future. Ask yourself questions like “What’s the worst that can happen?” If you can answer this question, then you know what the worst-case scenario is. This knowledge will allow you to take the kinds of calculated risks that can generate tremendous rewards.
- Be Creative: Always be looking for ways to improve your business and make it stand out from your competitors. Think before bringing it out to people, be creative in whatever idea you have intellectually; have it in mind that you want to be the best of the best. Bring your team together, couple ideas simultaneously, and work things out in a productive manner. Recognize that you don’t know everything and be open to new ideas and different approaches to your business.
- Provide great services: Providing great service is important for businesses and organizations, giving customers a reason to patronize you again, if you provide better service for your customers, they’ll be more inclined to come to you the next time they need something instead of going to your competition.
- Be Consistent: Consistency is a key component to making money in business. Don’t run out of ideas, products or stop offering great service to people. Remember You have to keep doing what is necessary to be successful day in and day out. This will create long-term positive habits that will help you make money in the long run.
The bottom line:
A strategy is usually translated into a strategic plan. The strategic plan consists of five elements, namely vision-mission, objectives, core values, KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), and policy & responsibility. The vision and mission align an organization. In this way, people in the organization can join forces to increase efficiency. A company’s core values reflect what it is good at and what it is proud of. A plan is furthermore nothing without well-defined objectives, the fourth part of a strategic plan. Suitable KPIs are selected to monitor progress towards the objectives.
