The most important thing to consider for a robust business strategy is the market.
- What are your competitors doing?
- Where is your organization going to be in 10 years from now?
- How can you stand out while maintaining competitive advantages in this ever-changing environment?
These are all pivotal questions that must be answered before you enroll in online business courses with certificates.
If you’re looking to build a robust business strategy for your organization, then this article is for you! The online business courses with certificates from IIM can help you understand the A-Z of factors to consider while formulating a robust business strategy. But let’s give you a kickstart.
Keep reading below and find out what these are!
The Vision and Mission
The vision and mission of your organization will be the foundation for all other components, so define it carefully. A well-defined mission statement also helps when communicating organizational values externally, as this inspires employees, customers, and other stakeholders.
The mission should be a brief statement that describes the organization’s reason for existence in the simplest form possible. For instance, if you’re working for an accounting firm, your organization’s mission may be to provide high-quality accounting services to companies of all sizes or something similar.
A vision is broader than a mission but still specific enough to be actionable. The vision of the accounting firm may focus more on how to stay ahead in a competitive market or to meet the needs of clients through innovation, for instance.
The online business courses with certificates from IIM can help you formulate a robust vision that is inspiring, engaging, and has clear goals, so it’s easy to prioritize work on tasks.
The Stakeholders
The needs and objectives of the stakeholders within the organization need to be considered when creating a business strategy. This is because it will determine how they want your company to grow and their goals as an employee.
For instance, business management courses IIM can help you understand what objectives each stakeholder has so that your goals align with them perfectly.
The Internal & External Environment
Assessing your internal and external environment is crucial for defining goals, identifying threats and opportunities. This is because it will allow you to identify the factors that need adjustment for your organization to maintain its competitive advantages.
Internal factors include:-
- Finances
- Human resources
- Machinery and equipment
- Culture
- Operational protocols
External factors include:-
- Political factors
- Economic factors
- Demographic factors
- And anything that is outside the control of the organization.
You can also enroll in the business management courses IIM to understand the basic and advanced concepts of the domain. This course not only exposes you to the latest trends and themes of the domain but also the how, why, and when of BM.
The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT)
The SWOT analysis fuels the goals and positions your business for success. It enables you to identify your weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It also helps you determine what competitive advantages the organization has in order for it to maintain its position among competitors.
SWOT analysis is a simple framework that takes into account four factors:
Strengths – Weaknesses – Opportunities – Threats
A SWOT analysis can help you:-
- Leverage your strengths
- Prioritize weaknesses to realign
- Target the most vital opportunities and possible growth areas
- Develop a strategy for monitoring and addressing critical threats
The Competitive Advantage
Next, you need to find the unique position your organization can occupy to outweigh its competitors, given its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Simply put, you must figure out the one thing your organization can do that others (the competitors) cannot?
Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Digging in to understand the ins and out and find out the biggest value proposition of your organization. Well, there are some facts you should know about business management and strategy formulation. You can learn all about this and every other facet of the domain by enrolling in online business courses with certificates.
One such array of online programs you can rely on is the business management courses IIM. Offered on the Talentedge platform, these courses can help you learn the A-Z of business management and all that is entailed in it.
The SMART Goals
When formulating a business strategy, always lay down specific, measurable, actionable, realistic goals with a time element. These are known as SMART goals.
- Specific: Goals must be specific in nature so that they can be measured and evaluated correctly. A vague goal like “increase sales” does not help to make decisions on what needs to be done or how those decisions will affect your business strategy. Vaguely worded objectives also leave room for interpretations and loopholes, which cannot be healthy for the organization’s vision.
- Measurable: The goals set must be measurable so that you can evaluate how they are doing in the short, medium, and long term. For example: “Increase sales by 20% this year.”
- Actionable: Goals must be actionable so you know what needs to be done to achieve them. A goal like “increase sales” does not give an idea about which actions need to be taken.
- Realistic: The goals should be practical and achievable. For instance, an increase in sales by 200% in the current quarter is not realistic.
- Time element: The goals should have a time element so you know when to measure the progress. For example, “Increase sales by 20% this year” will be measured at the end of each quarter, and if it is not met in any given quarter, corrective action needs to be taken.
The Action Plan
Every company must create an action plan that will help them achieve the SMART goals. This is important so that there is always room for improvement and progression, which can come from both internal stakeholders as well as external factors like competition and other environmental aspects.
Over to You…
Now you know the factors you need to consider while formulating a robust business strategy. Credible online business courses with certificates are all you need. You can scout the internet for tips to choosing the best business management certifications, or you can go for the expert-recommended – business management courses IIM. These are good courses for management and ensure that you will be able to excel in the field.
It’s time for you to get started on your business management courses from IIM now!
