As a business owner or aspiring entrepreneur in Albuquerque, creating a strategic business plan is critical to achieving long-term success. A strategic business plan outlines a company’s mission, vision, objectives, and strategies for achieving those objectives.
However, choosing the best one for your business and industry can be challenging with so many frameworks and methodologies available.
At Action Coach, we provide strategic business planning in Albuquerque. Our coaches help business owners find and execute the best frameworks for their company’s objectives. Here are some popular strategic business planning frameworks and their advantages and disadvantages.
Popular Strategic Business Planning Frameworks
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT)
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) analysis is a common framework used in strategic planning. This approach involves analyzing your company’s strengths, weaknesses, external opportunities, and threats in the market. This can help you identify areas where you need to improve and opportunities you can capitalize on.
Advantages: SWOT analysis is a straightforward and easy-to-use framework that can be applied to any business. It’s also a great way to get a high-level overview of your business and the market.
Disadvantages: SWOT analysis may not provide enough depth or specificity to create a truly effective strategic plan. It also doesn’t prioritize issues or offer guidance on how to address them.
Balanced Scorecard
The Balanced Scorecard framework focuses on 4 key areas:
- Financial
- Internal Processes
- Customer and Stakeholders
- Learning and Growth
Advantages: The balanced scorecard helps companies apply performance metrics and link goals to multiple areas within the company. Individual employees can better see how their performance affects company goals while helping everyone communicate more effectively.
Disadvantages: The balanced scorecard requires customization, a continuous data stream, and reporting to measure results accurately. Some companies find this to be tedious.
Porter’s Five Forces
Porter’s Five Forces is a framework that Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter developed. It involves analyzing 5 fundamental forces that shape a company’s competitive landscape:
- Threats of new entrants or potential rivals
- Threats of substitution products or services
- Strengths of competitive rivals
- Supplier controlled variables
- Buyer controlled variables
Advantages: Porter’s Five Forces provides a more detailed and nuanced view of the market and can help you identify areas where you can gain a competitive advantage.
Disadvantages: This framework can be complex and time-consuming to apply. It also may not account for all relevant factors in your market or industry.
Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)
Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) is a framework that sets specific, measurable goals for a business or team and tracks progress toward those goals. It involves setting ambitious objectives and breaking them down into specific, quantifiable results that can be tracked and evaluated over time.
Advantages: OKRs are a great way to create a culture of accountability and drive progress toward specific goals. They are also flexible and adaptable, allowing businesses to adjust their goals and priorities.
Disadvantages: OKRs can be challenging to implement, especially for businesses that are new to the framework. They also require a high level of commitment and discipline to be effective.
Scenario Planning
Scenario Planning involves developing multiple scenarios based on possible future events. By considering different possibilities, businesses can prepare for potential challenges and opportunities.
Advantages: It can help businesses prepare for the unexpected and encourages flexibility and adaptability. It helps companies to avoid being caught off guard.
Disadvantages: It can be time-consuming, resource-intensive, and unsuitable for smaller businesses.
Blue Ocean Strategy
The Blue Ocean Strategy framework focuses on creating new market space rather than competing in existing markets. Businesses that use this framework focus on creating products or services that differ from their competitors.
Advantages: The Blue Ocean Strategy can help businesses identify untapped markets and create innovative products or services.
Disadvantages: This framework can be challenging to implement and requires significant research and development investments.
Lean Startup
The Lean Startup methodology is a framework for developing and launching a new product or service quickly and efficiently. It involves rapid experimentation, testing, and feedback to help businesses create products that meet customer needs.
Advantages: The Lean Startup methodology can help businesses develop products quickly and efficiently, allowing for rapid iterations based on customer feedback.
Disadvantages: This framework may not be suitable for businesses with complex products or services and may require significant investment in technology and infrastructure.
Need help with strategic business planning in Albuquerque?
At Action Coach, we’ve been helping business owners plan and achieve winning strategies since 2007. We’re versed in various industries and have years of experience helping large and small businesses in New Mexico.
Contact us today to see how our Albuquerque strategic business planning services can help your business grow!