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Strategic Plan Examples: Case Studies and Free Strategic Planning Template

By Anthony Taylor - May 29, 2023

As you prepare for your strategic planning process, it's important to explore relevant strategic plan examples for inspiration.

In today's competitive business landscape, a well-defined strategic plan holds immense significance. Whether you're a private company, municipal government, or nonprofit entity, strategic planning is essential for achieving goals and gaining a competitive edge. By understanding the strategic planning process, you can gain valuable insights to develop an effective growth roadmap for your organization.

In this blog, we will delve into real-life examples of strategic plans that have proven successful. These examples encompass a wide range of organizations, from Credit Unions that have implemented SME Strategy's Aligned Strategy process to the Largest Bank in Israel. By examining these cases, we can gain a deeper understanding of strategic planning and extract relevant insights that can be applied to your organization.

• Strategic Plan Example (Global Financial Services Firm)
• Strategic Plan Example (Joint Strategic Plan)
• Strategic Plan Example: (Government Agency)
• Strategic Plan Example (Multinational Corporation)
• Strategic Plan Example: (Public Company)
• Strategic Plan Example (Non Profit)
• Strategic Plan Example: (Small Nonprofit)
• Strategic Plan example: (Municipal Government)
• Strategic Plan Example: (Environmental Start-up)  

When analyzing strategic plan examples, it is crucial to recognize that a strategic plan goes beyond being a mere document. It should encapsulate your organization's mission and vision comprehensively while also being actionable. Your strategic plan needs to be tailored to your organization's specific circumstances, including factors such as size, industry, budget, and personnel. Simply replicating someone else's plan will not suffice.

Have you ever invested significant time and resources into creating a plan, only to witness its failure during execution? We believe that a successful strategic plan extends beyond being a static document. It necessitates meticulous follow-through, execution, documentation, and continuous learning. It serves as the foundation upon which your future plans are built.

It is important to note that a company's success is not solely determined by the plan itself, but rather by how effectively it is executed. Our intention is to highlight the diverse roles that a company's mission, vision, and values play across different organizations, whether they are large corporations or smaller nonprofits.

Strategic plans can vary in terms of their review cycles, which can range from annual evaluations to multi-year periods. There is no one-size-fits-all example of a strategic plan, as each organization possesses unique needs and circumstances that must be taken into account.

Strategic planning is an essential process for organizations of all sizes and types. It assists in setting a clear direction, defining goals, and effectively allocating resources. To gain an understanding of how strategic plans are crafted, we will explore a range of examples, including those from private companies, nonprofit organizations, and government entities.

Throughout this exploration, we will highlight various frameworks and systems employed by profit-driven and nonprofit organizations alike, providing valuable insights to help you determine the most suitable approach for your own organization.

Watch: Examples of Strategic Plans from Real-Life Organizations 

Strategic Plan Example  - The Bank Hapoalim Vision:  To be a leading global financial services firm, with its core in Israel, focused on its clients and working to enhance their financial freedom.

Bank Hapoalim, one of Israel's largest banks with 8,383 branches across 5 different countries as of 2022, has recently provided insights into its latest strategic plan. The plan highlights four distinct strategic priorities:

• Continued leadership in corporate banking and capital markets
• Adaptation of the retail banking operating model
• Resource optimization and greater productivity
• Differentiating and influential innovation

Check out their strategic plan here: Strategic Plan (2022-2026)

We talked to Tagil Green, the Chief Strategy Officer at Bank Hapoalim, where we delved into various aspects of their strategic planning process. We discussed the bank's strategic planning timeline, the collaborative work they engaged in with McKinsey, and the crucial steps taken to secure buy-in and ensure successful implementation of the strategy throughout the organization. In our conversation, Tagil Green emphasized the understanding that there is no universal template for strategic plans. While many companies typically allocate one, two, or three days for strategic planning meetings during an offsite, Bank Hapoalim recognized the significance of their size and complexity. As a result, their strategic plan took a comprehensive year-long effort to develop. How did a Large Global Organization like Bank Hapoalim decide on what strategic planning timeline to follow?

"How long do you want to plan? Some said, let's think a decade ahead. Some said it's irrelevant. Let's talk about two years ahead. And we kind of negotiated into the like, five years ahead for five years and said, Okay, that's good enough, because some of the complexity and the range depends on the field that you work for. So for banking in Israel, four or five years ahead, is good enough. "  Tagil Green, Chief Strategy Officer, Bank Hapoalim 

Another important aspect you need to consider when doing strategic planning is stakeholder engagement, We asked Tagil her thoughts and how they conducted stakeholder engagement with a large employee base.

Listen to the Full Conversation with Tagil:

Strategic Planning and Execution: Insights from the Chief Strategy Officer of Israel's Leading Bank

Strategic Plan Example: Region 16 and DEED (Joint Strategic Plan)

Mission Statement: We engage state, regional, tribal, school, and community partners to improve the quality and equity of education for each student by providing evidence-based services and supports.

In this strategic plan example, we'll explore how Region 16 and DEED, two government-operated Educational Centers with hundreds of employees, aligned their strategic plans using SME Strategy's approach . Despite facing the challenges brought on by the pandemic, these organizations sought to find common ground and ensure alignment on their mission, vision, and values, regardless of their circumstances.

Both teams adopted the Aligned Strategy method, which involved a three day onsite strategic planning session facilitated by a strategic planning facilitator . Together, they developed a comprehensive 29-page strategic plan outlining three distinct strategic priorities, each with its own objectives and strategic goals. Through critical conversations, they crafted a clear three year vision, defined their core customer group as part of their mission, refined their organizational values and behaviors, and prioritized their areas of focus.

After their offsite facilitation, they aligned around three key areas of focus:

• Effective Communication, both internally and externally.
• Streamlining Processes to enhance efficiency.
• Developing Effective Relationships and Partnerships for mutual success.

By accomplishing their goals within these strategic priorities, the teams from Region 16 and DEED aim to make progress towards their envisioned future.

To read the full review of the aligned strategy process click here

Download Now Starting your strategic planning process soon? Get our free Strategic Planning Template

Strategic Plan Example: (Government Agency) - The City of Duluth Workforce Development Board

What they do:

The Duluth Workforce Development Board identifies and aligns workforce development strategies to meet the needs of Duluth area employers and job seekers through comprehensive and coordinated systems.

An engaged and diverse workforce, where all individuals, regardless of background, have or are on a path to meaningful employment and a family sustaining wage, and all employers are able to fill jobs in demand.

The City of Duluth provides an insightful example of a strategic plan focused on regional coordination to address workforce needs in various industry sectors and occupations. With multiple stakeholders involved, engaging and aligning them becomes crucial. This comprehensive plan, spanning 82 pages, tackles strategic priorities and initiatives at both the state and local levels.

What sets this plan apart is its thorough outline of the implementation process. It covers everything from high-level strategies to specific meetings between different boards and organizations. Emphasizing communication, coordination, and connectivity, the plan ensures the complete execution of its objectives. It promotes regular monthly partner meetings, committee gatherings, and collaboration among diverse groups. The plan also emphasizes the importance of proper documentation and accountability throughout the entire process.

By providing a clear roadmap, the City of Duluth's strategic plan effectively addresses workforce needs while fostering effective stakeholder engagement . It serves as a valuable example of how a comprehensive plan can guide actions, facilitate communication, and ensure accountability for successful implementation.

Read this strategic plan example here: Strategic Plan (2021-2024)

Strategic Plan Example: McDonald's (Multinational Corporation)

McDonald's provides a great strategic plan example specifically designed for private companies. Their "Velocity Growth Plan" covers a span of three years from 2017 to 2020, offering a high-level strategic direction. While the plan doesn't delve into specific implementation details, it focuses on delivering an overview that appeals to investors and aligns the staff. The plan underscores McDonald's commitment to long-term growth and addressing important environmental and societal challenges. It also highlights the CEO's leadership in revitalizing the company and the active oversight provided by the Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors plays a crucial role in actively overseeing McDonald's strategy. They engage in discussions about the Velocity Growth Plan during board meetings, hold annual strategy sessions, and maintain continuous monitoring of the company's operations in response to the ever-changing business landscape.

The McDonald's strategic plan revolved around three core pillars:

• Retention: Strengthening and expanding areas of strength, such as breakfast and family occasions.
• Regain: Focusing on food quality, convenience, and value to win back lost customers.
• Convert: Emphasizing coffee and other snack offerings to attract casual customers.

These pillars guide McDonald's through three initiatives, driving growth and maximizing benefits for customers in the shortest time possible.

Read the strategic plan example of Mcdonlald's Velocity growth plan (2017-2020)

Strategic Plan Example: Nike (Public Company)

Nike's mission statement is “ to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world .”  

Nike, as a publicly traded company, has developed a robust global growth strategy outlined in its strategic plan. Spanning a five-year period from 2021 to 2025, this plan encompasses 29 strategic targets that reflect Nike's strong commitment to People, Planet, and Pay. Each priority is meticulously defined, accompanied by tangible actions and measurable metrics. This meticulous approach ensures transparency and alignment across the organization.

The strategic plan of Nike establishes clear objectives, including the promotion of pay equity, a focus on education and professional development, and the fostering of business diversity and inclusion. By prioritizing these areas, Nike aims to provide guidance and support to its diverse workforce, fostering an environment that values and empowers its employees.

Read Nike's strategic plan here

Related Content: Strategic Planning Process (What is it?)

The Cost of Developing a Strategic Plan (3 Tiers)

Strategic Plan Example (Non Profit) - Alternatives Federal Credit Union

Mission: To help build and protect wealth for people with diverse identities who have been historically marginalized by the financial industry, especially those with low wealth or identifying as Black, Indigenous, or people of color.

AFCU partnered with SME Strategy in 2021 to develop a three year strategic plan. As a non-profit organization, AFCU recognized the importance of strategic planning to align its team and operational components. The focus was on key elements such as Vision, Mission, Values, Priorities, Goals, and Actions, as well as effective communication, clear responsibilities, and progress tracking.

In line with the Aligned Strategy approach, AFCU developed three strategic priorities to unite its team and drive progress towards their vision for 2024. Alongside strategic planning, AFCU has implemented a comprehensive strategy implementation plan to ensure the effective execution of their strategies.

Here's an overview of AFCU's 2024 Team Vision and strategic priorities: Aligned Team Vision 2024:

To fulfill our mission, enhance efficiency, and establish sustainable community development approaches, our efforts will revolve around the following priorities: Strategic Priorities:

Improving internal communication: Enhancing communication channels and practices within AFCU to foster collaboration and information sharing among team members.

Improving organizational performance: Implementing strategies to enhance AFCU's overall performance, including processes, systems, and resource utilization.

Creating standard operating procedures: Developing standardized procedures and protocols to streamline operations, increase efficiency, and ensure consistency across AFCU's activities.

By focusing on these strategic priorities, AFCU aims to strengthen its capacity to effectively achieve its mission and bring about lasting change in its community. Watch the AFCU case study below:

Watch the Full Strategic Plan Example Case Study with the VP and Chief Strategy Officer of AFCU

Strategic Plan Example: (Small Nonprofit) - The Hunger Project 

Mission: To end hunger and poverty by pioneering sustainable, grassroots, women-centered strategies and advocating for their widespread adoption in countries throughout the world.

The Hunger Project, a small nonprofit organization based in the Netherlands, offers a prime example of a concise and effective three-year strategic plan. This plan encompasses the organization's vision, mission, theory of change, and strategic priorities. Emphasizing simplicity and clarity, The Hunger Project's plan outlines crucial actions and measurements required to achieve its goals. Spanning 16 pages, this comprehensive document enables stakeholders to grasp the organization's direction and intended impact. It centers around three overarching strategic goals, each accompanied by its own set of objectives and indicators: deepening impact, mainstreaming impact, and scaling up operations.

Read their strategic plan here  

Strategic Plan example: (Municipal Government)- New York City Economic Development Plan 

The New York City Economic Development Plan is a comprehensive 5-year strategic plan tailored for a municipal government. Spanning 68 pages, this plan underwent an extensive planning process with input from multiple stakeholders. 

This plan focuses on the unique challenges and opportunities present in the region. Through a SWOT analysis, this plan highlights the organization's problems, the city's strengths, and the opportunities and threats it has identified. These include New York's diverse population, significant wealth disparities, and high demand for public infrastructure and services.

The strategic plan was designed to provide a holistic overview that encompasses the interests of a diverse and large group of business, labor, and community leaders. It aimed to identify the shared values that united its five boroughs and define how local objectives align with the interests of greater New York State. The result was a unified vision for the future of New York City, accompanied by a clear set of actions required to achieve shared goals.

Because of its diverse stakeholder list including; council members, local government officials, and elected representatives, with significant input from the public, their strategic plan took 4 months to develop. 

Read it's 5 year strategic plan example here

Strategic Plan Example: Silicon Valley Clean Energy

Silicon Valley Clean Energy provides a strategic plan that prioritizes visual appeal and simplicity. Despite being in its second year of operation, this strategic plan example effectively conveys the organization's mission and values to its Board of Directors. The company also conducts thorough analyses of the electric utility industry and anticipates major challenges in the coming years. Additionally, it highlights various social initiatives aimed at promoting community, environmental, and economic benefits that align with customer expectations.

"This plan recognizes the goals we intend to accomplish and highlights strategies and tactics we will employ to achieve these goals. The purpose of this plan is to ensure transparency in our operations and to provide a clear direction to staff about which strategies and tactics we will employ to achieve our goals. It is a living document that can guide our work with clarity and yet has the flexibility to respond to changing environments as we embark on this journey." Girish Balachandran CEO, Silicon Valley Clean Energy

This strategic plan example offers flexibility in terms of timeline. It lays out strategic initiatives for both a three-year and five-year period, extending all the way to 2030. The plan places emphasis on specific steps and targets to be accomplished between 2021 and 2025, followed by goals for the subsequent period of 2025 to 2030. While this plan doesn't go into exhaustive detail about implementation steps, meeting schedules, or monitoring mechanisms, it effectively communicates the organization's priorities and desired long term outcomes. Read its strategic plan example here

By studying these strategic plan examples, you can create a strategic plan that aligns with your organization's goals, communicates effectively, and guides decision-making and resource allocation. Strategic planning approaches differ among various types of organizations.

Private Companies: Private companies like McDonald's and Nike approach strategic planning differently from public companies due to competitive market dynamics. McDonald's provides a high-level overview of its strategic plan in its investor overview.

Nonprofit Organizations: Nonprofit organizations, like The Hunger Project, develop strategic plans tailored to their unique missions and stakeholders. The Hunger Project's plan presents a simple yet effective structure with a clear vision, mission, theory of change, strategic priorities, and action items with measurable outcomes.

Government Entities: Government entities, such as the New York City Development Board, often produce longer, comprehensive strategic plans to guide regional or state development. These plans include implementation plans, stakeholder engagement, performance measures, and priority projects.

When creating a strategic plan for your organization, consider the following key points:

Strategic Priorities: Define clear strategic priorities that are easy to communicate and understand.

Stakeholder Engagement: Ensure your plan addresses the needs and interests of your stakeholders.

Measurements: Include relevant measurements and KPIs, primarily for internal use, to track, monitor and report your progress effectively.

Conciseness vs. Thoroughness: Adapt the level of detail in your plan based on the size of your organization and the number of stakeholders involved.

By learning from these examples, you can see that developing a strategic plan should be a process that fits your organization, effectively communicates your goals, and provides guidance for decision-making and resource allocation. Remember that strategic planning is an ongoing process that requires regular review and adjustment to stay relevant and effective.

Need assistance in maximizing the impact of your strategic planning? Learn how our facilitators can lead you through a proven process, ensuring effectiveness, maintaining focus, and fostering team alignment.

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Strategic Plan Template

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Prepared for:

​ [Client.FirstName] [Client.LastName]

​ [Client.Title] [Client.Company] ​

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Executive summary

Problem statement.

In recent feedback sessions, (percent) % of

your customers experience a need for (declare customer need, such as faster delivery, accessibility, or a cheaper product).

In surveys of customers who have chosen the competitors (product) , they mentioned that (price/delivery/accessibility, etc.) and (price/delivery/accessibility, etc.) was a problem (percent) % of the time.

To best serve your existing customers, you need to develop a series of (product/service/initiative) and sell it (at/with a better price point/faster delivery/improved accessibility, etc.) .

Proposed solution

Your new (product/service/initiative) should begin (at/with) (percent) % (cheaper/faster delivery/more accessibility, etc.), with the potential to increase it to (percent) % depending on (what could prevent your product from succeeding, like marketing, amount of employees, etc.).

In order to offer (these prices/improved accessibility/faster delivery, etc.) , you should do the following:

Pain point 1

(How to improve pain-point #1)

Pain point 2

(How to improve pain-point #2)

Pain point 3

(How to improve pain-point #3)

Note that our proposed solution will not affect the overall quality of your business or brand.

With our proposed solution, your brand could (breakout into new markets/reduce manufacturing costs, etc.) . These new offerings could bring in $ (profit amount) , which would help your business's financial projections at the end of Q1/Q2/Q3/Q4/year).

Your company

! The following information discusses what your company currently looks like.

Mission statement

Core values/principles.

(What does your business want to accomplish for its customers?)

(What is your vision, is it to become the best in your industry?)

Goals and objectives

(What are your objectives? Gaining more customers, expanding the company to 100 employees, or getting more investors?)

Product or service development

! We recommend your business creates the following products/services.

Product/service description

(Product/service description)

Pricing model

(Pricing model, including one-time costs or subscription costs)

Delivery capabilities

(Includes resource requirements for delivery, design ideas, and performance projections.)

Delivery system

(How you’ll deliver the product: online, shipment, etc.)

Critical element suppliers

(Includes the supply chain, such as inventory management, packaging strategy, storage and delivery strategy, regulatory compliance, safety, financial models, and data integrity and control.)

Marketing research

! Based on data, your business should be targeting the following customers.

Your competition and market status are how we determine if you’re aligning with industry marketing outcomes.

(Create a customer avatar that includes their age, gender, marital status, children, location, occupation, job title, average income, education, goals, values, challenges, point points, and common objections.)

Competition

(Choose at least 3 competitors, preferably direct competitors, in your industry to use for your SWOT analysis.)

Market status

(How is your market performing?)

Marketing goals

! Based on data, we believe your business should commit to the following

marketing goals.

Consumer climate

(How much do you expect your consumers to spend?)

Market share

(What portion of the market share do you expect to have?)

Diversification

(What industries or areas do you want to invest in?)

Distribution channels

(What direct and indirect distribution channels do you want to invest in? Retailers, wholesalers, or agents?)

Marketing plan

! Based on research, your business should include the following marketing initiatives.

Strategy and tactics

Customer markets.

(What are your main marketing strategies and tactics?)

(What customer markets are you targeting? Primary and/or secondary?)

Market positioning

Advertising research.

(How do you want your customers to view your brand or product?)

(How will you conduct market research? What is your strategy?)

Public positioning

Test marketing.

(Will your public positioning be based on product characteristics, price, quality/luxury, product use, or on the competition?)

(What markets, besides your direct market, should you test?)

Cross-selling

(Where are your cross-selling opportunities?)

SWOT analysis

! Based on research, this chart represents your and your competition’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities for growth, and potential threats. Use this chart to improve on your offerings.

Self: (What are you doing right? Why do your customers like you?) ​

Competition: (What is your competition doing right? Why do their customers like them? Can you capitalize on their strengths?)

Self: (What are you doing wrong? What do your customers say they want you to improve? How can you improve on these problems?) ​

Competition: (What are they doing wrong? What do their customers say they want them to improve? How can you capitalize on these problems?)

Opportunities

Self: (Where are there opportunities for growth in your company based on your and your competition's weaknesses and your strengths?) ​

Competition: (Where can your business improve and capitalize on your competition’s customers? When can you implement these changes?)

Self: (What projects are you creating at the moment? What could go wrong, and how has your competition implemented a similar project?)

Competition: (Are you aware of new projects your competition is implementing? What could go wrong? Could your business do it better?)

See risk factors and contingencies for possible financial shortfalls.

Financial plan

! Below are your total costs regarding your employees, office expenses, and utilities. Your sales are covered in the “projected revenue” charts. The final two charts, “projected quarterly expenses” and “projected yearly revenue and expenses,” cover your total costs.

Projected costs for the year

Your projected costs for (year) is as follows:

Projected quarterly revenue

Your projected revenue for (year) is as follows:

Total yearly sales:

Total yearly returns:

Net profit:

Projected quarterly expenses

Your projected quarterly expenses for (year) is as follows:

Projected yearly revenue and expenses

Your projected quarterly expenses for (year), (year), and (year) are as follows:

Assessment and review

! The below chart includes our assessment and review of the following categories.

Analytics and tracking

Financial analysis.

(What are your results for tracked metrics and KPIs?)

(How is your company doing financially?)

Customer surveys

Market share analysis.

(What do your customers say?)

(What percentage of the market share do you currently own?)

Market survey

(Where is the market headed in your industry?)

Risk factors and contingencies

! Risk factors regarding your business are indicated below. If you limit the number

of risk factors and contingencies in your business, you’ll be able to meet your financial projections.

Revenue Shortfall

(Do you expect a shortfall? What can you do to prevent this?)

Pro Forma Invoices

(Are your Pro Forma invoices accurate? By how much?)

Critical Ratios

(What is your critical ratio percentage? How can this be improved?)

Budget Variance

(Will your budget be higher or lower than projected costs?)

Financial Audits

(How accurate are your financial audits?)

! Below are the sources we used to find the data we needed to conduct your strategic plan.

Research: Clients

(Use existing reviews, own analysis, data analytics, websites, surveys, product/service usage, audience insights, one-on-one conversations, Google research, heat mapping, social listening, and more to conduct your research.)

Research: Competition

Research: environment.

*Please go back to your executive summary to see how we used our findings.

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Strategic Plans for Long-Term Growth: Examples and Strategies

Small to midsize businesses (SMBs) make up the vast majority of businesses in the US, according to the US Chamber of Commerce, and they are widely considered to be engines of innovation in the overall economy. But for many founders of these organizations, creating and maintaining strategic plans to keep those ships sailing smoothly five, ten, or even twenty years into the future can be immensely difficult. Don’t worry, though: We’ve got you covered. In this article, we’ll guide you through strategic planning examples and approaches for small to midsize companies in all types of industries. With a little foresight, you can ensure the strategic planning process is an effective means of building a company you’ll love forever .

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?

How many types of business plans are there, what is the goal of strategic planning.

• How Do I Become a Strategic Leader?

4 Examples of Strategic Planning Strategies

The strategic planning process in 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 plans are one of three essential business plans used 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 team members 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 team members 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 Focus Filters such as your company’s Vision, culture, Core Values, and goals . Envision how you see the company 5–10 years from now.
• What you need to do to get there. You come away from your planning sessions with a road map 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 your organization needs. These goals are connected to your organization’s Vision .

How Do I Become a Strategic Leader? 

Strategic leadership, also known as strategy execution, 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 Vision.

Strategic leadership 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 team members 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, leading, and coaching .
• 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:

1. Purpose-driven

Align your strategic plan with the Vision as you understand it.

2. Actionable

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

3. Measurable

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.

4. 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 Senior Leadership Team and team members from your company and possibly other stakeholders.

When should strategic planning be done?

You should plan strategically for startups and newer organizations from the start. But even if your company is a more established small or midsize business, 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 either 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?

1. 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 . Your strengths and weaknesses are directly related to your current competitive advantage within your industry. They're what you use to balance challenges to your success. They also influence the likelihood of increased market share in the future.

2. Define your unique Vision.

What would success look like for you in three years? Five years? Ten years? Articulate that in your Vision. Formulating purpose-driven strategic goals articulates why your company does what it does. Your organizational values inform your Vision and connect them to specific objectives.

3. Determine your company’s value.

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

4. Set your organizational direction.

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

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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 both mid-level goals and the individual goals team members must accomplish to achieve overall outcomes. This helps everyone see how their performance will influence overall success, which improves engagement and productivity.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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 specific time frames. Key performance indicators align performance and productivity with long-term strategic objectives. 

11. 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 team members. Addressing their concerns will help build a culture that understands how to champion change.

• 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 team members 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? If you prefer a more traditional approach, there's lots of templates out there to help you create a plan document with pen and paper whether you're a for-profit or nonprofit entity .

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's Core Values .
• Create Core Values, a niche, and long-term goals that are accessible to everyone in your company.
• Create a Vision that lets you know what needs to happen now.
• 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 by either using our default categories or making custom ones that meet your company’s specific needs. While you can include information about your Vision, goals, SWOT analysis, and key performance indicators from the start, here are some examples of custom options you could add to help more effectively implement your strategic plan: 

• Executive Summary
• Elevator Pitch
• Compelling Why
• Industry Analysis
• Marketing Strategy
• Operations Plan
• Financial Projections

Your Vision and goals are also completely integrated with all other features on Ninety, such as Scorecards, Rocks, To-Dos, Issues, Org Chart , Meetings, 1-on-1s, and more:

• Create a clear game plan 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 if it's still in progress.

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 .

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20 Free Strategic Plan Templates (Excel & Cascade) 2024

There are no shortcuts to success when it comes to driving profitable business growth. It's hard. It's challenging. It's a grind. But you know what makes it even harder? Lack of guidance. No direction. No accountability.

That's why we compiled our best-of-the-best, most popular, crème de la crème strategic plan templates to help you achieve business goals faster. And they are yours—for free.   You can use these templates to build strategic plans for your business, different business functions, or teams. Or you can use them as an aid in your analysis as part of the planning process.

101,347 strategy pros have already used them and added them to their strategy playbook. What are you still waiting for?

In this article, you will get:

• 20 free strategic plan templates that will help you to build a roadmap and execute it
• A quick rundown of 7 steps you shouldn't miss in strategic planning

What Is A Strategic Plan Template?

A strategic plan template is a tool that helps leaders translate business strategies into actionable steps with a clear roadmap , projects, deliverables, budgets, and owners. It provides a decision-making framework and ensures that all initiatives and resources within an organization align with the overall business strategy.

Think of it like a map that helps you navigate from point A to point B. It lays out roads and milestones to help you get to your destination, all while keeping you focused on your company goals and business objectives.

In other words, a strategic plan template helps you create alignment and focus across all levels of your organization to maintain momentum and successfully execute your strategies .

And the best part is that it allows you to monitor performance in one place without having to switch between spreadsheets and disconnected systems. This simplifies identifying areas for improvement and measuring progress in real-time. With a well-integrated system, data errors are reduced, and performance analysis and strategy reporting become easier.

With the right template, you'll be able to keep your team (or teams) on track and identify red flags before it's too late.

20 Strategic Plan Templates To Turn Your Goals Into Action

Success doesn't follow a set path—that's why this article gives you multiple free strategic planning templates . Each is for a specific use case or team within your organization. Plus, you can pick between Cascade or Excel version—whichever works best for you.

1. Strategic Planning Template

If you're tired of using complicated spreadsheets for strategic planning, you'll love the Strategic Planning Template —Cascade version!

This Cascade template offers you a better way than Excel and other static tools. It's packed with pre-filled examples and features that will help you create a clear roadmap with timelines, KPIs, goals, and owners. You'll be able to bring in your team and collaborate to transform goals into results faster than ever.

And there's more! 👀

You'll also get access to additional features like Dashboards , Timeline View, and Strategy Maps . This will help you pinpoint performance at any given moment and track progress so you can take corrective action before it's too late.

You'll be able to plan, execute , measure, and adapt your strategic plan in one place. You can even create multiple strategic plans and link them together so you have full visibility into performance.

Looking for a way to save time and automate your reports?

Cascade makes it easy for you with powerful Reports . With this template, you'll get access to integrations that will help you automatically track key performance metrics and pull data into reports that can be easily customized to fit your target audience's needs. Whether you need an in-depth analysis, a high-level executive summary, or a detailed progress report, Cascade has you covered. Effortlessly generate various types of reports to provide insights and drive informed decision-making across all levels of your organization.

📽️ How to use this free strategic plan template? Check out this quick video:

Start by tweaking the objectives, goals, and KPIs to meet your needs, and start executing your strategic plan right away!

💡Best for: This is a general, pre-filled strategic planning template, so you can use it as inspiration and set your own strategic goals. It's suitable for outcome-oriented teams at any level of organization, regardless of industry or company size.

👉 Click here to get your FREE Strategic Planning Template (Cascade version)

2. Strategic Plan Template (Excel)

Not feeling ready to elevate your strategic planning and execution to the next level?

Our free strategic plan template in Excel (spreadsheet) format will help you fill out key elements of a strategic plan, including the vision and mission statement, strategic objectives, and key performance indicators (KPIs). With this plan template, you can also add an executive summary and create a one-page strategic plan that you can quickly share with your team or leadership.

👉 Download your strategic plan template in Excel here .

However, Excel isn't the best way to create a strategic plan . Here's why:

• You usually end up with multiple strategic planning documents that are difficult to align and track in real-time.
• When you are using manual methods, using spreadsheets to track performance, you run the risk of errors.
• You spend too much time collecting data and pinging your team members to collect the latest information on progress.

Excel is a great starting point for strategic planning, but you should consider the Excel alternative to streamline strategic planning and execution— Cascade , the strategy execution platform designed for teams of all sizes.

“ Cascade provides a readily accessible platform for hosting our strategy and enables us to generate live updates at the push of a button. It has increased transparency and accountability for our Strategic Priorities and has allowed us to remove silo working and improve alignment . The real game changer from my perspective is the reporting function. Cascade has turned a labor-intensive manual process into something which can be completed in minutes . ” - Enterprise user, Source: G2 review .

3. Business Strategy Plan Template

Like the general strategic planning template above, the Business Strategy Template is loaded with features that will help you achieve business goals faster.

You'll be able to set your organization's strategic direction, long-term goals, business objectives, and KPIs to measure progress.

This strategic business plan template will help you communicate business priorities, break down siloed teams, and gain real-time visibility into what's happening across the business.

💡Best for: This is a pre-filled business strategy template, so you can use it as inspiration and streamline your business planning process. It can be used by leadership teams in organizations of any size, including enterprises and startups.

👉 Click here to get your Business Strategy Template.

4. Operations Plan Template

Operations are the core engine of an organization's performance. With this Operational Plan Template , you'll be able to plan your company's operational strategy in a way that helps your employees maximize the resources you have and gain a competitive edge.

You can build a high-level strategic plan for your operations or set goals for each of your departments. This will help you keep your teams accountable for progress and have visibility into what's happening in your key areas.

By using Reports , you can build tailored progress reports and provide up-to-date information to your executive team at any time. This will help you save time, ensure accuracy, and build trust with your board by giving them insights into the company's performance.

On top of that, you can link your operational plan template with the overarching business strategy. This will help you stay aligned with strategic goals, and your teams will have the needed context to make aligned decisions on a daily basis.

💡Best for: Chief operating officers (COOs) and operations teams that need to align day-to-day operations with business goals and ensure they deliver on performance.

👉 Click here to get your free Operational Plan Template.

5. Human Resources Plan Template

A strong HR Strategic Plan Template is very helpful not only in the hiring process but also in defining the workplace culture and the types of people your organization wants to work with. With this template, you can set KPIs and track progress toward set targets in real time.

💡Best for: Business leaders, HR managers, and HR teams that need to support business goals with a clear HR roadmap.

👉 Click here to get your free HR Strategy Template.

6. Balanced Scorecard Template

A balanced scorecard (BSC) is a strategic planning tool that helps organizations track, monitor, and execute their business strategy.

This template will help you set goals, KPIs, and projects for each of the four perspectives within the balanced scorecard framework.

You'll also get access to Dashboards where you can set up real-time dashboards to monitor progress within each perspective. Using the Cascade template, you will have a complete view of your balanced scorecard in one place.

💡Best for: Strategy teams, business leaders, and managers that are using a balanced scorecard methodology in their organizations.

👉 Click here to get your Balanced Scorecard Template.

7. OKR Template (Excel)

In recent years, OKRs have become one of the most popular performance management frameworks. Some are raving fans, and others cringe at their mention. If you fall into the first category, here's the OKR template that'll help you set and meet your OKRs.

You can use it to set OKRs at a company, team, or individual level.

💡Best for: Business and team leaders who are already familiar with the OKR framework and want to track performance.

👉 Read more and grab your OKR Template here.

8. Digital Transformation Plan Template

A digital transformation goes beyond implementing digital tools in your processes. It requires an organization-wide shift. This Digital Transformation Strategic Planning Template will help you build a digital transformation plan that takes into account all areas of your organization that need to change.

You'll be able to define focus areas, set clear goals, KPIs, and projects, which are all needed for a successful transformation.

Digital transformation is the responsibility of the whole organization. Using this strategic plan template, you'll make sure your team has the context and the right information so they can help you implement digital transformation initiatives across the organization.

Another key benefit of this template is that you'll have all the data centralized in one place. This will help you make informed decisions and keep your digital transformation strategy from failing.

And yes, you can connect it with your favorite business tools , including Power BI, Tableau, Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Microsoft Outlook.

💡Best for: Leadership, CIOs, transformation managers , and teams responsible for developing a digital transformation roadmap and implementing initiatives across the organization.

👉 Click here to get your Digital Transformation Strategic Planning Template.

9. IT Strategy Template

This Cascade IT Strategic Plan Template will help you outline your bold initiatives to transform, modernize, and optimize your IT landscape. Bring in your IT team and collaborate on shared goals.

Also, you'll be able to link your IT strategic plan to your business strategy and ensure the executive team understands how IT projects help achieve business goals. You'll be able to demonstrate the interdependencies across IT initiatives that impact financial performance.

This template will help you prioritize key IT initiatives to support business outcomes and keep track of progress.  

💡Best for: CTOs, CIOs, IT directors, and IT teams that are responsible for IT strategic planning and implementation.

👉 Click here to get your free IT Strategic Plan Template.

10. Change Management Plan Template

Need a template to build a change management plan that will support your business strategy? Look no further.

This Change Management Plan Template will help you define a clear timeline, action steps, and clear expectations for those who will be involved in change implementation.

💡Best for: Leaders who own the change strategy and need to make a plan and monitor key metrics associated with change initiatives.

👉 Click here to get your Change Management Template.

11. Digital Marketing Strategy Template

Build your digital marketing plan with this free template. You'll be able to set goals, assign owners, and track the performance of key marketing metrics. This Digital Marketing Plan Template can be your living document as you scale marketing activities and serve as a North Star for your marketing team.

💡Best for: This template is designed for marketing teams aiming to expand their presence virtually and businesses aiming to go global or gain an international customer base. Digital content creators, project management teams, social media managers, digital CRM analysts, e-commerce executives, public relations specialists, and user experience specialists might also find this template useful.

👉   Click here to get your FREE Digital Marketing Strategy Template.

12. McKinsey's 3 Horizons Strategy Template

This strategic planning template is based on McKinsey's Three Horizons Framework . It helps you organize the organization's goals into three timeframes:

• Horizon 1: Short-term initiatives and projects that will help you achieve business goals within a few months or a year. The focus of this horizon is to maintain and defend your core business.
• Horizon 2: This horizon focuses on extending your current business models that will pay off in 2 or 3 years.
• Horizon 3: Long-term strategic initiatives and investments that will create new business models or products in 3-5 years. Or later - depending on your strategic planning cycles.

The key benefit of the Three Horizons template is that it gives you a complete picture of your three horizons. On top of that, you'll be able to update key goals and initiatives with just a few clicks.

💡Best for: Leadership and strategy teams who are responsible for strategic planning at a company level.

👉 Click here to get your Three Horizons Strategic Plan Template.

13. Retail Strategic Plan Template

This Retail Strategic Plan Template provides an example of a corporate strategic plan for companies in the retail industry. You can use it as inspiration to develop a strategic plan for your retail business

💡Best for: Strategy teams and business leaders within the retail industry.

👉 Click here to get your FREE Retail Strategic Plan Template.

14. SWOT Analysis Template (Excel)

A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool that helps you identify the internal strengths, weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats that can impact the organization's growth initiatives and pursuit of its goals.

You can also use it to perform a competitive analysis but you need to look at it through different lenses—from the competitor's perspective.

💡Best for: Leadership, strategy teams, and other functional teams that are responsible for formulating a strategic plan.

👉 Click here to download your SWOT Analysis Template.

15-17. Internal Analysis Toolkit

In this collection, you will find 5 different templates to help you with internal analysis, including:

• Gap Analysis Template
• McKinsey 7S Framework Template
• Core Competencies Analysis

An internal analysis is an important step before drafting a strategic plan. It will help you carry out your competitive analysis, identify your current situation, and set action plans and relevant strategic goals.

💡Best for: Leadership, strategy teams, and other stakeholders that are involved in the strategic planning process.

👉 Get your internal analysis toolkit here.

18. VRIO Strategy Template

What’s the point of analysis if you don't use those insights to solve your business problem?

VRIO analysis helps you look at your resources and skills to see where your business is lacking. This is important if you want your business to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

Once you've found your gaps, you need to make a plan and set goals that will help you develop the missing resources and capabilities.

This VRIO Strategy Template will help you set clear strategic objectives, assign KPIs, and monitor performance so you can gain a competitive advantage and a market leadership position.

💡 Best for: Strategy teams, COOs, and portfolio managers who are in charge of business development and business strategic planning.

👉 Click here to get your free VRIO Strategy Template.

19. Nonprofit Strategic Plan Template

Our Nonprofit Business Plan Template provides you with a comprehensive framework to develop a strategic plan specifically tailored to the unique needs and challenges of nonprofit endeavors. It serves as a roadmap, guiding you through the strategic planning process and ensuring that your nonprofit's initiatives are aligned with your core mission and objectives.

💡 Best for: Nonprofit leaders, board members, and teams dedicated to advancing nonprofit missions.

👉 Get your Nonprofit Business Plan Template here

20. Operating & Financial Model Template (Excel)

This template is your go-to for turning numbers into smart moves. You can establish your financial projections, automate your P&L statements, key financial and operational metrics, and even gain access to real-time automated dashboards.

With our Operating & Financial Model Template in Excel format, you'll grasp what your financial and operational metrics are really saying and act on these insights. Keeping a close eye on these key indicators will allow you to approach your planning process with clear data rooted in reality.

👉 Get your Operating & Financial Model Template here!

📚 Read our article to learn more about this template : The Ultimate Operating & Financial Model Template (Free Spreadsheet)

👀 Did you find what you were looking for? If not, you can explore our template library with 1,500+ free strategic planning templates. You can select between various strategic planning templates tailored for business leaders, specific departments, or industries.

5 Steps You Shouldn't Miss In The Strategic Planning Process

Here's a short recap of each step so you know what to keep in mind before diving deep into the strategic planning process.

Step 1: Decide on your key metrics

How can you build a strategic plan if you don't know where you want it to take you?

This is the moment where you define your desired future state and align on the key metrics the whole company will need to work on to get there.

These should be no more than 4-5 and present in every strategic discussion.

💡 Pro Tip : To be able to set realistic key metrics for the future, you need to understand where you are today. Maybe you have a clear diagnosis of your current state, but if you don't, we suggest you assess it before setting these metrics. But beware of analysis paralysis! Make a quick analysis and move.

Step 2: Choose your focus areas

Now that you know where you need to go, you can give your plan a little structure by setting focus areas. These are the strategic priorities that you'll want to focus on to achieve those key metrics you defined in the previous step.

📚Recommended reading : Strategic Focus Areas: How To Create Them + Examples

Step 3: Define your strategic objectives

Strategic objectives are high-level statements that outline exactly what you want to accomplish by a specific deadline.

In other words, it is something that can be tangibly achieved and should contribute to achieving at least one of your strategic focus areas.

📚Recommended reading : How to Write Strategic Objectives .  

Step 4: Assign projects & set KPIs

Projects and KPIs will ensure you move forward toward achieving your strategic objectives.

Projects will determine the actions that you'll carry out to achieve the objectives, and your KPIs will help you understand and measure the progress toward them.

Having projects and KPIs in place will provide a clear roadmap with important milestones you need to hit to get closer to achieving your key metrics.

💡 Pro Tip : KPIs are necessary for any business, whether public, private, or non-profit, so think about the KPIs that are more relevant to your organization. To make them realistic and achievable, we suggest you use the SMART methodology.

📚Recommended reading:

• How To Create Effective Projects
• How to write KPIs

Step 5: Constantly monitor and iterate

Things don't always work out the way we plan.

Part of building your strategic plan is to monitor its progress toward the goals you set. With real-time tracking, you can quickly pinpoint those things that aren't working and adapt fast to get back on track. That's why strategic planning must be an iterative process .

🎁 Bonus Tip: Don’t forget your core elements—Vision Statement & Core Values

This is not a step in your planning process, but it's an important consideration.

Always remember to align your strategic plans with the overarching core elements of your organization:

• Vision statement— your company's North Star that guides the direction
• Mission statement —the “why” behind your company's existence
• Core values— the behaviors you celebrate and preach as a company
• How To Write A Good Vision Statement
• How to Create Company Values

Now that you know the steps you need to effectively plan your strategy, get your FREE strategic planning template to streamline the process!

Use Cascade To Plan And Execute Your Strategy 🚀

Too often, strategies live in the minds of intellectuals, spread through the organization via a fancy PowerPoint once a quarter. In truth, this approach will never work.

Organizations today are operating on razor-thin margins, and leaders need to be able to guarantee organizational-wide alignment, real-time visibility of the progress, and accelerated decision-making to maximize efficiency.

This is where Cascade becomes your favorite business tool. Cascade is the #1 strategy execution platform that helps organizations embrace a strategy rooted in reality.

With Cascade, you get less chaos, more visibility, and faster results. By connecting your metrics, initiatives, and investments to your business performance, you'll be able to make better decisions, faster.

Here's what you get with Cascade:

• Streamline strategy development by simplifying complexity.
• Directly link your business data to core initiatives.
• Gain insight into the synergy of various organizational plans.
• Monitor activity interactions, log dependencies, blockers, and risks.
• Utilize dashboards and reports to assess strategic performance and share with stakeholders.
• Enjoy over 1,000 integrations with popular business tools like Teams, Jira, Airtable, Microsoft Outlook, Power BI, and more.

Streamline your strategic planning process with our tested and proven strategic plan templates .

What is the purpose of a strategic plan?

A strategic plan helps you build a roadmap to get your business or team from where it is today to where it wants to be in the future. It provides strategic clarity to all involved stakeholders, so they can make informed decisions on a daily basis.

How do you write a strategic plan?

One of the most effective ways to write your strategic plan is to choose one of the strategic planning models and follow step-by-step instructions. Read more in this in-depth overview of the 5 best strategic planning models.

What are the 7 elements of a strategic plan?

The seven elements of a corporate strategic plan are vision, values, focus areas, objectives, KPIs, projects, and initiatives . You can write a strategic plan for a team or department focusing only on five key elements—without vision and values.

Who should use a strategic planning template?

Anyone in a leadership role who needs to align their team (or teams) on specific goals, objectives, and initiatives, should use a strategic planning template. It's also helpful for anyone who needs to create a visual representation of their strategies, so they can be communicated and implemented across the organization.

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The Ultimate List of Strategic Planning Templates (2024)

Written by: Idorenyin Uko

Strategic planning is a key driver of business success. It doesn’t just map out your vision for your company’s growth but also explains how you’ll get there. Even the most successful organizations depend on strategies to boost profitability, value and impact.

However, strategic planning doesn’t stop at the corporate level. Every type of business plan created at the business and functional level—from sales to marketing to finance to project plans—ultimately feeds into the larger strategic plan.

Whether you're mapping out a business strategy, launching a new initiative or improving your business process, you will need the right tools and templates. That's why we’ve created this ultimate list of strategic planning templates to guide you through your journey.

Let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

General strategic plan template, marketing strategic plan template, human resource strategic planning template, designer strategic planning template, sales strategic planning template, project management strategic planning template, financial strategic planning template, training & development strategic planning template.

• Strategic planning is the process of developing strategies, executing them, and assessing their impact on organizational objectives.
• It involves analyzing an organization's current situation, identifying challenges and opportunities, setting objectives and developing strategies to achieve them.
• Strategic planning provides a clear direction for your company, aligns resources and efforts toward common goals and ensures your company is well-positioned to achieve long-term success.
• Visme provides an extensive library of templates you can use for strategic planning at the corporate, business or functional level.

1. Brand General Strategic Plan

Develop a robust strategic plan for your company using this stunning template. It captures everything you need for strategic planning—company vision and mission, goals, implementation strategies, resource allocation, measurement and evaluation.

Use it as a guide to make decisions that move your company in the right direction. You can also deploy this strategic plan template as a communication tool to keep internal and external stakeholders focused and engaged.

The monochromatic color scheme conveys a sense of simplicity and elegance. With Visme’s intuitive editor, you can edit content, change images, utilize custom colors and input your typefaces, logo and other visual assets.

2. Company Strategic Business Plan

Entering a new market or launching a new product? This strategic business plan provides detailed information about your business, where it's headed and a clear roadmap of how you'll achieve your goals. It can serve as a guide for decision-making, allocating resources and managing the organization to secure long-term success.

The dark-themed background gives it a sleek and sophisticated appearance, while the white font, shapes and widgets create visual contrasts. Use stock photos , animated widgets and graphics from Visme’s library to boost your readers' engagement.

3. Strategic Communication Plan

Leverage the power of this professionally designed communication plan template to craft a robust communication strategy. Be it for a business, nonprofit or governmental organization.

This visually appealing template—tailored for clarity and impact—is equipped to outline your objectives and strategy.

The rich blend of gray, yellow and dark green hues allows you to convey your strategy with precision and visual appeal. Thanks to Visme's intuitive drag-and-drop template editor, customizing this template is painless. You can easily enhance every page of this document to match your brand identity .

4. Change Control Management Plan

Change is inevitable and businesses aren’t left out. That’s why you need a change management plan to ensure things don’t get out of hand.

Use this template to communicate change, develop an action plan, provide training and support and ensure changes are implemented in a controlled manner.

This change control management plan template explains the process and procedure for switching to hybrid work. It helps you plan ahead, identify risks, manage the strategic planning process and mitigate the impact.

However, you can tweak it to manage any change happening across your organization. Easily navigate the Visme editor with the shortcut tool. All you need to do is press the forward slash (/) on your keyboard and then use the search bar to find any feature.

5. Merger and Acquisition Exit Strategy Plan

Our final pick for this category is a merger and acquisition exit plan. With this template, you can develop a business exit strategy . It defines how you’ll merge with another company or sell a controlling interest to another profitable investor.

In addition, this template covers everything you need about the M&A exit strategy, plus the different stages you’ll need to go through to close the deal. The geometric and minimalist design gives the plan a modern look and creates a powerful visual impact.

6. ​​AI Tech Strategic Marketing Plan

Develop a comprehensive marketing plan for your business using this template. It strikes an excellent balance between text and visual content, helping your team understand which steps to take and track progress toward your company goals.

This marketing plan starts with a flowchart of how the product works and how it stacks against other competitors. The other pages share relevant information like SWOT analysis, key value proposition and promotional strategies. Visme has an extensive library of flowcharts, diagrams, timelines and other widgets for displaying information in an engaging way.

7. Software Brand Go-To-Market Strategy Plan

Launching a new product or service or expanding into new markets? This visually striking go-to-market strategy plan is just what you need to launch your product with confidence and drive sales over the top.

Beyond its vibrant orange theme, the charts, maps and widgets make this IT strategic planning template easy to read and understand. Edit this template to easily establish product market fit , identify the right target market profiles, draft a marketing plan and develop a solid sales and distribution strategy.

Personalize this document for your business using Visme’s brand wizard . Simply enter your web URL and let Visme automatically pull design elements from your website and suggest customizable branded templates.

8. SaaS Marketing Plan

If you’re looking for an energetic marketing plan for your business, this template is for you. Featuring a rich blend of lively colors, this template streamlines your planning process and paves the way for success. It comes with relevant sections that address every facet of your marketing strategy, from goals and target personas to pricing and promotion.

When fleshing out your plan, you can leverage Visme's AI text generator to create your first draft, proofread your content or adjust your tone.

9. Marketing Strategy Presentation

Want to communicate your marketing strategy to stakeholders, team members or decision-makers? This simple yet modern template provides the perfect structure to help you do that.

With segments dedicated to market research, competitor analysis, SWOT analysis and key performance indicators, this template provides a detailed blueprint for your marketing team.

This flexible marketing strategy template is designed for SaaS-based businesses yet can be tailored to other industries as needed. With Visme’s Presenter Studio , you can record your presentation so your audience can view it at their own pace.

10. Business Employee Engagement Action Plan

A study by Gallup shows that companies with a highly engaged workforce are 22% more profitable than disengaged ones. Drive effective employee engagement for your business with this customizable template. The summary page captures the employee engagement goals, while the subsequent pages include the engagement score, focus areas and action plans.

What we love about this template is that it uses different shades of red across the entire document. This color combo instantly grabs attention and evokes emotions. If you’re short on time, you don’t need to create your action plan from scratch. Use Visme’s AI document generator to create your strategic plan in seconds.

Just describe in detail the document you want to create and the chatbot will propose styles for you to choose from. Choose the one that matches your needs and watch the tool unleash its magic. You can customize every part of the document using the tools in Visme’s editor.

RELATED: 11 Practical Employee Engagement Strategies to Improve Your Work Culture

11. Leadership Succession Plan

Your organization's continued growth and success rely on robust succession planning . With this easy-to-use template, you can map out the development, promotion and transition of leaders within your organization.

Whether you are running a small business, a non-profit or a large corporation, this modern-looking template will help ensure you are prepared for the future. Customize it to suit your specific needs and align your team with your vision.

You can browse our visual assets library to find icons , stock photos , videos and other elements that match your theme. Feel free to change colors, resize them and add texts and shapes to draw attention to important information.

12. Corporate Human Resources SOP Plan

Creating a standard operating procedure is crucial for establishing a consistent and efficient process within your HR department. Not only does it serve as a guide for HR professionals, managers and employees, but it also eliminates confusion, errors and inconsistencies in HR practices.

With this standard operating procedure plan, you can easily streamline your corporate HR activities. This template covers all the essentials—objectives, onboarding, performance evaluations, recruitment, and payments.

If you don’t like the images in this template, you can generate unique visuals with the help of Visme’s AI image generator . You have the luxury of choosing from several output styles—photos, paintings, pencil drawings, 3D graphics, icons, abstract art and more.

13. HR Employee 30-60-90 Day Plan

Onboarding a new HR hire or providing a roadmap for existing employees? Creating a 30–60–90 day plan facilitates a smooth transition into their role and sets them up for success.

This template lays out a detailed plan structured around key priorities and deliverables. With its visually striking design, vibrant colors and easy-to-edit elements, this template brings clarity to an employee’s early days on the job.

Enhance your reader’s experience with Visme’s interactive and animation features . You can link slides, pages or content blocks to objects or external web pages that reveal more information about each section.

14. Creative Business Plan

Put together an eye-catching business plan with this creative and customizable template. It features a sleek design, captivating visuals and easy-to-read sections, making it perfect for presenting innovative ideas and plans.

Although it’s designed with creative industries in mind, this business plan template can be adapted to suit any type of project or venture. The attractive visuals spread across the different pages make this business plan stand out from the competition.

Edit this elegant, creative business plan template to captivate your investors and bring your vision to reality.

15. One Page Logo Design Brief

When designing a website or logo, a design brief is an essential strategic plan document. This logo design brief template wears two hats.

Firstly, this design brief sets the direction for the design work, providing a structured foundation for the designer to follow. Secondly, it acts as a reference point, giving clients an idea of what to expect.

Easily download this design in multiple formats —image (JPG or PNG), PDF with bleed marks for professional printing or PDF without bleed marks for regular printing. You can also share your brief using a link or embed it on a website or blog with a code.

16. Rebranding Creative Brief

Planning to redesign your logo or revamp your brand image? Use this creative brief template to highlight key changes in your brand assets and target audience information.

The beauty of using this template is that it is 100% customizable. This design can be easily tailored to your style preferences. Make your content stand out by choosing the perfect typeface from Visme’s wide range of modern and classic fonts.

Easily customize this template for multiple design projects or clients using Visme’s Dynamic Fields . It auto-populates custom fields across your projects with a single click.

17. Product Market Expansion Sales Plan

If you’re looking to capitalize on opportunities beyond their existing product offerings or geographical locations, this document has everything you need to secure stakeholders' buy-in.

This strategic sales plan outlines how your company intends to grow sales and market share by expanding into new product lines or entering new markets. It features gorgeous colors, high-res images, creative icons, eye-catching fonts and a brilliant design layout.

Notice how the target market breakdown by methodologies or industries uses multi-colored charts while the timeline page deploys colored progress bars. Visme offers over 20+ charts , graphs , maps and 30+ widgets for your data visualization needs.

18. Company Territory Sales Plan

Identifying the right business location and optimizing your sales strategies gives you a competitive edge. With this sales plan , you can maximize the potential of your sales team. It lays a solid foundation for hitting sales targets and growing revenue.

The eye-catching colors, appealing fonts and sophisticated layout make your sales plan stand out. Notice how the template uses multiple charts and widgets to visualize numbers. Use this plan as a framework to identify crucial markets, analyze customer demographics, set performance metrics, allocate sales resources and devise effective sales techniques .

19. Sales Action Plan

Unlike the previous sales plan, this sales action plan is concise and to the point. This one pager template zooms in on the specific steps and tactics needed to execute your sales strategy.

Use this professional action plan template to turn your plan into actionable steps that helps you surpass your sales target. The bold image doesn't just capture the essence of your brand; it also reinforces your journey. Edit it to fit your brand’s style or keep it as it is—the choice is yours.

20. Sales Strategy Presentation

Whether you're presenting your sales strategy to internal teams, executives, investors or potential clients, it’s important to put your best foot forward. This template gives you a creative head start, empowering you to present your sales strategy in a compelling way. It is also perfect for showcasing your company’s sales strategy, financial report or budget plan.

The sprinkle of royal blue on a gray-themed background adds a touch of elegance to the design. Notice how the blue color calls attention to key elements like headers, CTAs, charts and widgets.

The multiple features and customization options are what make Visme special. You can add more pages and change the color of fonts, backgrounds, charts and other elements. Choose preset color palettes or set up your own palette and use them in as many designs as you want.

21. Project Action Plan'

Project action plans are essentially roadmaps for your project. They outline the tasks, timelines, resources and responsibilities needed to achieve project goals and objectives.

With a detailed action plan template, your team can stay on track and within budget. Use this project action plan to build consensus on project objectives, timeframe and how work should be done. It comes ready with all the essential sections, a clean layout, engaging visuals, eye-catching fonts and beautiful colors.

22. Construction Work Plan

Projects, regardless of size and complexity, require a detailed work plan to succeed. This project work plan template is perfect for describing how work will get done, helping your team stay organized and focused.

The bright and modern color palettes throughout the pages evoke balance and harmony. Each page is adorned with carefully curated images and graphics that illustrate key concepts and contribute to the overall visual allure.

Use this template to provide a visual reference for the objectives, scope, tasks and team members responsible for every aspect of the project. It covers key steps to take over the course of a project, breaking them down into as much detail as possible and assigning individual activities to certain departments or people.

23. Ecommerce Website Development Project Plan

Organize and manage your web development project with this project plan template . This template provides a holistic view of every aspect of your project, including the specifics, wireframe, user story, features, timeline, milestones and budget.

Packed with stunning visuals, elegant fonts and eye-catching color schemes, this project plan template is perfect for any tech product development.

Not sure how to create a wireframe or mockup for your project? Thanks to its drag-and-drop technology, Visme’s wireframe software makes it easy for you to create high and low-fidelity wireframes.

Whether you’re creating a project plan or designing a wireframe , take advantage of Visme’s collaboration tool . Invite your team members to edit, comment or leave feedback on different sections of your plan.

24. General Workflow Implementation Plan

Whether you’re implementing a new workflow or optimizing an existing one, this template can help keep things organized. It highlights the steps involved in implementing the workflow, from the point of integration to training your team to the final migration.

The process diagrams and step-by-step instructions make the workflow easy to understand. You can even create a checklist of processes to ensure nothing slips through the cracks. Or edit the flowchart to map out and streamline your business process.

And don't worry if you're not a design expert. This implementation plan template is simple to edit, with eye-catching visuals, easy-to-read layouts and a plethora of customization options.

You can even make the process design a collaborative effort with the help of Visme’s workflow feature . You can assign an entire project or sections of it and manage progress, deadlines and corrections—all in one place.

25. Product Sales Budget Plan

Stay on top of your financial goals with this outstanding product sales budget plan template.

This strategic business planning tool covers all essential aspects of sales budgeting, such as revenue targets, cost of goods sold, sales expenses and cost allocation for marketing and promotion initiatives.

The sleek visuals, customizable text and adaptable color options offer a stellar representation of your company's financial objectives. With this template, you can set realistic sales targets, allocate resources efficiently, identify growth opportunities and provide a basis for performance evaluation.

When working on your finances, you don’t need to input data manually. With just a few clicks, you can easily connect your table or charts to live data available on third-party apps like Excel and Google Sheets.

26. Startup Financial Planning Workbook

If you’re an entrepreneur or startup founder, this financial planning workbook is a must-have. It addresses the financial aspects of starting a business, enabling you to budget, forecast and make informed decisions. You can even share with investors so they clearly understand your financial position.

This strategic planning framework template has everything you need in a planning workbook—from amazing visual elements, such as colors, icons, images and data widgets, to several empty spaces. The green theme shows your company is still in its growth stage. In addition, the blend of gray, dark and light green adds a professional touch and increases visual interest in your document.

If you’re interested in capturing financial data, Visme has your back. Simply click Data on the left pane of the editor, drag and drop tables, charts and graphs and customize them according to your needs.

27. Company Financial Budget

A financial budget is a critical component of your company’s strategic planning process. Designed for businesses of all sizes, this financial budget template is a reliable framework for managing your company's finances.

This annual strategic planning template features a sleek and organized layout, customizable tables and clear visualizations, ensuring your financial data stays organized and easily accessible. It breaks down revenues and expenses into categories, offering a clear overview of the company's financial landscape. At a glance, stakeholders can view financial performance and make sound, informed decisions.

If you’ve created your financials with Excel or Google Sheets, you can simply copy and paste the tables into your template. Download and share your financial budget in PDF format for offline viewing.

The HTML download option will preserve the interactivity and animation effects. Or generate a shareable link for your stakeholders to view online and leave feedback.

28. General Employee Development Plan

Investing in your employees' growth and development improves productivity, employee engagement and retention. This employee development plan template provides a structured framework for building a skilled and engaged workforce.

The captivating color scheme, elegant fonts and visuals make the document engaging. Utilize it to identify training needs, set learning objectives and plan appropriate training activities for each employee in your organization.

This document captures employee profiles, including their current roles, target positions and professional goals. Other key sections are skills assessment, training plan and evaluation. If you plan to share this training plan on your LMS, Visme lets you download your projects in LMS-ready formats, including SCORM and xAPI .

29. Onboarding Employee Training Plan

Onboarding training is a structured program designed to help new employees integrate into a company smoothly.

With an employee training plan template, you can effectively plan and manage every aspect of the program. It also ensures that new hires understand their roles, feel acclimated to the workplace and can contribute effectively from the start.

The best part about using this template is that it saves time for your HR team. It can be easily customized for different employees, roles or teams. The sleek and intuitive design will enhance the overall onboarding experience, making it more enjoyable and effective for new employees.

30. Product Knowledge Employee Training Plan

Equip employees with in-depth knowledge about products with this vibrant employee training plan . It empowers employees to better engage customers and close more deals.

This training plan provides information about the training objectives, knowing the product, helping customers know the product and when to escalate to management.

The decision table further explains how sales reps should engage the different customer categories and expected outcomes. Turn this table into a decision tree that visualizes your decisions and improves your process using Visme’s tree diagram maker .

After you’ve published your training plan, you can monitor how stakeholders have engaged with it using Visme’s analytics .

Supercharge Your Strategic Planning with Visme

Strategic planning puts your company in the driving seat for success. However, this process can become a significantly tough nut to crack without the right strategic planning tools and templates.

This is where Visme comes in handy. In this article, we’ve rounded up 30 strategic planning templates you can use in your business.

From strategic business plans to sales, HR, financial and project plans, each template is crafted to help you chart courses that drive long-term business success. Beyond its professional templates and powerful editing tools, Visme offers AI-powered tools, real-time collaboration, interactive data visualizations, flowcharts, diagrams, analytics and much more.

Sign up to discover how to supercharge your strategic planning and position your business for success.

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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..

One-Page Strategic Plan

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

Company Strategic Plan

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

Department Strategic Plan

Company SWOT

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

Department Action Plan

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

Individual Action Plan

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..

School One-Page Strategic Plan

School Full Strategic Plan

School Strategic Plan with Progress

Church Sample Strategic Plans

Church One-Page Strategic Plan

Church Full Strategic Plan

Church One-Click Strategic Plan

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

Church Roadmap

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

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A Really Helpful Strategic Planning Example

Ted Jackson

Ted is a Founder and Managing Partner of ClearPoint Strategy and leads the sales and marketing teams.

Read this step-by-step break down of a fictitious strategic plan example.

Table of Contents

In the normal course of operations, it can be easy to lose your grasp on what a strategic plan is (or should be). The best examples of good strategic plans all set clear priorities for an organization and focus employees and resources on established goals. While a strategic plan does share common elements with a business plan, or even execution plan, it is very distinct from both of those things.

If you’re still feeling a bit murky on strategic planning, here’s how to launch a sample strategic plan step by step. Meet Upward Airlines, our fictitious company that’s about to launch its strategic planning process.

Upward Airlines Strategic Plan Example

Let’s imagine Upward Airlines has a 2017-2022 strategic plan that’s coming to a close. Now’s the time to create a new strategy for 2023-2028. The airline’s strategic plan needs to include goals and the general plan of action on how to achieve them. Think of a strategic plan like a flight plan. Just like an airline has a final destination, like Hong Kong, and predetermined routes to get there, including departure times, direction, connecting airports, etc. Your business has the same kind of plan for its future growth.

But for Upward Air, it takes more than just one flight to get where the company wants to go. The strategic plan is a five-year outlook on its operations, fleet, pilots, customers, and more. The airline can’t simply take the old plan and change the dates —it needs to complete the full planning process, which includes two phases: 1) an assessment of the company’s current situation in preparation for plotting a new strategy, and 2) the implementation of a strategic planning framework that will guide the plan’s management and execution. (Upward Air would also benefit from strategy software to help with execution—more on that below!)

Let’s take a look at both these phases in a bit more detail.

Phase 1: First, prepare for a new strategy.

A company’s mission and vision determine in large part the direction it is headed, but there are numerous ways to get where you want to go. Upward Airlines needs to develop a strategic plan that has the best chance of success given the company’s current strengths and weaknesses and external factors that could impact its course of action.

So before diving into plan-building, Upward Airlines will assess the relevant situational aspects using one or more of the analysis frameworks below.

Environmental Scan

An environmental scan is the process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data about a company’s external opportunities and threats. These range from political and economic factors to competitor developments. One of the most popular methods used to perform an environmental scan is the PESTEL analysis.

When Upward Airlines conducted its environmental scan in this imaginary strategic plan outline, it found several things to inform its 2023-2028 strategy:

• Several new low-cost airlines have emerged and increased competition for routes to major cities.
• Bigger, established airlines have added perks like free WiFi and additional seat upgrades.
• Pricing for flights has changed dramatically across the industry in the past five years.
• Upward Air has saturated its current geographic footprint since its last plan.

SWOT Analysis

Using the data from the environmental scan, Upward Airlines next performs a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. This high-level analysis helps organizations identify where they’re leading and where they’re lagging , so they can shape their strategic goals accordingly. Upward Air’s SWOT analysis revealed:

• Strengths— A consistent marketing message about no charges for checked luggage and a standardized in-flight experience.
• Weaknesses —An aging fleet that was falling behind on technology.
• Opportunities —Allow people to bring their own devices (no programming overhead), and possibly modernize the fleet with new seats that allow for more people on the same planes.
• Threats— Competitors have copied the low-cost marketing message but added last-minute, hidden costs and confused the market.

Other Analysis Frameworks

SWOT and PESTEL are the most common ways to assess the internal and external landscape, but there are other approaches you can also take to help you better understand your company and identify the right path forward. These include:

• The Blue Ocean Strategy
• The Valuable, Rare, Inimitable, and Organized (VRIO) Framework
• The McKinsey 7S Framework

Your Take: Preferred Methods To Prepare For A New Strategy

We asked for feedback from the business community about which frameworks they prefer for strategic planning analysis, and here’s what they said:, "by examining your organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (swot) you examine the internal and external fields of view. one can build in feedback from other frameworks such as pestle, but stay focused on the items that are going to make the biggest impact for your organization and your aims, today and in the future." —catrina clulow of cut through marketing.

"I think the best strategic planning framework is the SWOT analysis. It considers internal and external factors—both critical when making decisions about strategy. Additionally, it forces you to think about both positive and negative aspects of a situation, which can help you develop a more well-rounded and comprehensive strategy."       —Kate Zhang of Katebackdrop

" SWOT helps companies identify their weaknesses and strengths. That’s why it’s popular among businesses, as it helps them cut back on costs and create a unique demand for products/services."      —Dan Shepherd of VEI Communications

"The 7S Framework analyzes an organization’s effectiveness based on seven key factors: strategy, structure, systems, shared values, style, staff, and skills. By looking at these factors, you can get a good overview of where your company is today and what needs to be done in order to reach the next level."   —Erik Pham of Health Canal

"The McKinsey 7S Framework is based on the idea that, for an organization to succeed, seven internal organizational components must be in balance. These factors are separated into ‘hard components,’ which are simple to identify and have an impact, and ‘soft elements,’ which are more complex to define and affect. The model's layout is meant to assist businesses in determining which components you need to modify in order to reach/maintain alignment or reach a higher level of performance. In my opinion, the 7S Model is the best option for businesses looking to compare their current state to their desired state; change their organizational structure or align with a chosen strategy; or model the implications of future organizational changes. Our experience at Restoration1 has shown that the 7S Framework is useful for comprehending the organizational implications and resource requirements required to carry out a strategic plan; but it is not very effective when it comes to assisting organizations with the execution and communication of their plans."     —Steve Elliott of Restoration1

"The Blue Ocean strategy aims to create ‘uncontested market space’ or a new market altogether. This is done by creating products or services that are unique and meet the needs of a specific target market. You want to be the only game in town when it comes to your product or service."      —Loran Marmes of Medicare Solutions Team

"For our high-level objectives, a PEST analysis is key because we want to make sure we’re being active and intentional when it comes to our company-wide, long-term goals. There’s little scope for us to control socio-political context, so we make use of a PEST analysis to stay plugged into the wider discourse, and ensure we act quickly and responsively to the shifting contexts of tech and business landscapes."     —James Lloyd-Townshend, CEO and Chairman of Frank Recruitment Group

  "A company needs to be able to address matters on its product value, rarity, and imitability (VRIO). This will help it maneuver any future occurrences as an organization and use the circumstances to its advantage for productivity, growth, and profitability."   —Steve Hruby, D.C. of Superhumn

Using the results of the environmental scan, SWOT, or other methodology, the final piece of the preparation phase is to identify key changes your organization needs to make, which can then be plotted out on a shift slide.

A shift slide defines a spectrum of where a company sits for a strategic area and how it can “shift” along that spectrum to reach where it actually needs to be. (If you need to take a step back and reevaluate your goals prior to plotting them on a spectrum, here are examples of strategic planning goals and objectives. ) Sometimes shift slides involve big changes, such as modernizing an aircraft fleet, and sometimes it’s simply a change in brand positioning.

Continuing with our strategic plan example, Upward Airlines decided it needed a customer perception shift slide to evolve the way flyers saw its brand. Its spectrum was to move from being thought of as a “no-frills airline” to “freedom in the skies.” A marketing shift was also needed, positioning Upward Airlines as “one cost,” instead of just “low cost,” and focusing on standardizing expectations for customers.

Phase 2: Implement a strategic planning framework to guide the plan’s management and execution.

Once you’ve identified a path forward, you’ll need a framework in place to help carry it out. (This is a necessity, because strategy execution is a lot more challenging than it might seem.) Similar to the first phase, there are multiple frameworks for organizations to choose from. There’s no “right” one—only the one that best matches your company’s way of doing things, or perhaps reflects a change you’d like to make with regard to improving strategy execution.

Also, keep in mind that you can combine strategic planning frameworks. Some organizations use elements of two or more frameworks to create a custom approach. Great! Every organization manages differently; your planning model should reflect your approach.

Below is a roundup of some commonly used strategic management frameworks.

Balanced Scorecard

A Balanced Scorecard (BSC) forces you to take a balanced view of strategy because it incorporates four different perspectives: financial, customer, internal processes, and learning and growth. It also helps you achieve high-level goals (objectives) through its structure, which uses measures (key metrics) and initiatives (projects) to align business actions with goals. The Balanced Scorecard remains a popular choice since its inception in the early 1990s. You can read more about it here.

Below is Upward Airlines’ Balanced Scorecard as it would appear in ClearPoint strategy software, showing three categories and their associated objectives, measures, and initiatives.

Strategy Mapping

Associated with the Balanced Scorecard framework, a strategy map is a visual representation of the four perspectives. Creating one is beneficial because it forces you to think through what you’re trying to accomplish and how you’ll get there. It also serves as an excellent way of communicating your strategy to employees.

Upward Airlines’ strategy map showed some of the key learnings:

• Setting new financial goals with a differentiated model based on very low ticket prices
• Making low prices possible with a low-frills experience and high utilization of their standard fleet
• Improving operational efficiency by accelerating ground turnaround and focusing on direct routes
• Investing in personnel through higher compensation and flexible union contracts

Objectives & Key Results (OKRs)

The OKR framework is a simple way to set, track, and measure goals on a repetitive (usually quarterly) basis. Everyone knows their direction and aim, and works at a fast, consistent pace to get there. In short, objectives are what you want to accomplish; key results define how you’ll get them done. Key results are aggressive but always measurable, time-bound, and limited in number.

Hoshin Planning

The Hoshin Planning approach aligns strategic goals with projects and tasks to ensure that efforts are coordinated. This strategic management model is less focused on measures and more on goals and initiatives.

Strategic Horizons

This McKinsey framework requires the categorization of growth goals into three different “time horizons”:

• Core business—focuses on immediate revenue-making activities
• Emerging opportunities—focuses on extending existing activities into new areas
• Blue sky—focuses on taking your business in new directions

The idea is that in order to grow, organizations must allocate their resources across all three horizons, a scenario that allows you to maintain your core business while continuously striving to innovate.

This is by no means a complete list of strategic management frameworks; you can read about even more here. It’s also important to realize that you may change frameworks as your business grows.

Your Take: Preferred Strategy Management Frameworks

Below are some of the business community’s thoughts around these frameworks and their advantages:.

"The Balanced Scorecard is the best strategic planning framework because it takes a more holistic approach instead of just focusing on one business aspect. I can focus on my customers, finances, internal process, and company culture, helping me track the company’s progress and achieve goals."   —Simon Bacher of Simya Solutions

"I favor strategy mapping because it provides a great visual representation of how effective your company is at creating value. I am a former baseball player so I connect really well with how strategy mapping fits within our dashboards."    —Viktor Holas of Wise Barber

" Strategy mapping allows employees to see how their jobs affect the company's strategic objectives. It helps workers align quickly with the company system."    —Brandon Walsh of Interly

" Strategy mapping is the best strategic planning framework because it helps visualize the relationship between an organization's strategic goals and the specific tactics or initiatives that will be used to achieve them. This provides a clear roadmap for senior leaders and managers to follow as they allocate resources and make decisions. Additionally, strategy mapping can be used to track progress over time, allowing organizations to course-correct as needed."     —Becca Klein of BeccaKlein.co

"A strategy map is the only framework that elegantly displays the entire network of cause-and-effect relationships between elements of the strategy. It also provides the template for measurement and for educating and aligning the entire organization around the strategy."    —Amie Devero of Beyond Better Strategy and Coaching

"The best strategic planning framework is McKinsey's Strategic Horizons , because it helps you stay focused on expanding your business and developing new sources of income. Many businesses are fixated on increasing their present profit margins, which is fantastic in the short term but poses serious dangers to their companies due to changes in the market, consumer demand, or rivalry."      —Nick Bolshaw of Inyouths LED Mirrors

“The McKinsey Strategic Horizons framework is great for creating future revenue streams and sustaining growth within your organization. In many organizations, the focus is on increasing profit margins. Despite being great for the short term, your business faces significant risks without diversity. In some cases, this is due to changes in the market, customer demand, or competitive activity. "It is the best strategic framework because a framework like this can be applied to the vast majority of organizations and industries. Especially popular among startups and fast-growing organizations, it helps keep a balance between cash flow and growth." — Alice Smith of Cicinia

"I believe Objectives and Key Results is the best strategic framework because it keeps things simple at its core: It focuses on where a company wants to go and the key things needed to get there." —Tim Connon of ParamountQuote

"With many strategic planning frameworks, it’s easy to get lost in the ‘how’ and forget about the ‘why.’ I consider OKRs the best framework to kick off your campaign because it’s hard to get lost in the details when your objectives and desired results are clearly laid out for you." —Matt Caiola, CEO of 5WPR

"Many well-known organizations consider OKRs to be an invaluable strategic planning framework because it transforms ideas into measurable actions and encourages teams to perform at an optimum level. The core idea of OKRs is to create goals that are way above the standard, making it the best and ideal approach to consistently hit company targets or even surpass them." —Adam Garcia of The Stock Dork

Make sure your plan succeeds with the help of strategy reporting software..

No strategic planning example is complete without mention of strategy reporting software.

The strategy execution phase is where most plans fail. Why? Because your plan alone doesn’t include crucial elements that coordinate and sustain your activities over the long term, like monitoring and reporting on progress. Maintaining focus and directing activities over a period of three to five years is an ongoing exercise that requires dedicated leadership and a systematic approach.

That’s where strategy management frameworks— and strategy reporting software like ClearPoint —come in.

ClearPoint helps organizations follow through with their activities, allowing them to adapt when internal or external conditions change, work as a unified team, and identify and react to performance problems. It also helps combat strategy fatigue by keeping your goals front and center for employees at all levels.

Interested in learning more? Here’s a great summary of how ClearPoint boosts your chances of success.

What are strategic planning models?

Strategic planning models are frameworks used to guide the strategic planning process. Common models include:

- SWOT Analysis: Identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to inform strategy. - Balanced Scorecard: Measures performance across financial, customer, internal processes, and learning & growth perspectives. - PEST Analysis: Examines political, economic, social, and technological factors that impact the organization. - Porter’s Five Forces: Analyzes competitive forces within an industry to understand market dynamics. - OKR (Objectives and Key Results): Sets clear objectives and tracks key results to measure progress. - Hoshin Kanri: Aligns an organization’s functions and activities with its strategic objectives through a systematic planning process.

What is strategic planning in business?

Strategic planning in business is a systematic process where an organization defines its strategy, direction, and decision-making processes to allocate resources effectively. It involves setting long-term goals, identifying the necessary actions to achieve those goals, and establishing metrics to track progress. Strategic planning helps businesses adapt to changing environments, prioritize initiatives, and align efforts across the organization.

Why is strategic planning important in business?

Strategic planning is important in business because it:

- Provides Direction: Clarifies the organization’s vision and long-term goals, guiding decision-making and actions. - Aligns Resources: Ensures resources are allocated to initiatives that support the strategic objectives. - Enhances Performance: Sets measurable goals and tracks progress to drive continuous improvement. - Facilitates Adaptation: Helps businesses anticipate and respond to market changes and challenges. - Engages Stakeholders: Involves employees and stakeholders in the planning process, fostering commitment and alignment.

How is strategic planning done?

Strategic planning is done through the following steps:

- Define Mission and Vision: Articulate the organization’s purpose and long-term aspirations. - Conduct a Situational Analysis: Use tools like SWOT, PEST, and Porter’s Five Forces to assess internal and external environments. - Set Strategic Objectives: Establish specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals. - Develop Action Plans: Create detailed plans outlining the steps, resources, and timelines needed to achieve the objectives. - Implement the Plan: Execute the action plans while ensuring all stakeholders are aligned and engaged. - Monitor and Evaluate: Continuously track progress using key performance indicators (KPIs) and make adjustments as needed.

How can strategic planning improve the performance of an organization?

Strategic planning can improve the performance of an organization by:

-Focusing Efforts: Ensures all activities and initiatives are aligned with strategic goals, maximizing impact. - Enhancing Efficiency: Helps prioritize initiatives and allocate resources effectively, reducing waste and redundancy. - Driving Accountability: Establishes clear goals and performance metrics, holding individuals and teams accountable for results. - Supporting Decision-Making: Provides a structured framework for making informed decisions based on data and strategic priorities. - Fostering Innovation: Encourages proactive thinking and innovation to stay competitive and adapt to changing environments.

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Strategic Plan Templates

32 great strategic plan templates to grow your business.

Having a strategic plan is essential for every business . However, developing takes resources and time and most importantly, commitment of the experienced employees of the organization. When employees settle down to form a strategic plan, the core aim is to prioritize goals and plan for the achievement of overall long-term organizational aims. The plan helps an organization in spelling out where the firm will go in the future and how they are going to get there.

Table of Contents

• 1 Overview to Strategic Planning
• 2 Strategic Plan Examples
• 3 Importance of Strategic Planning
• 4 Sample Strategic Plan
• 5 Strategic Planning Process
• 6 Strategic Plan Templates
• 7 Final Word

Moreover, strategy looks over as to why certain steps would be taken, while strategic planning outlines how those goals will be achieved. If you are a business owner , you will find the following information interesting in your aim for strategic planning.

Overview to Strategic Planning

A strategic plan is a document that is used to improve communication between the organizational goals and the organization. It outlines the actions needed to achieve those aims, goals and objectives. Considering strategic planning, it is basically a roadmap to achieve and accomplish the specified goals. It is an organizational activity held by the veteran employees of the company.

They decide upon the priorities in order to fulfill the short-term and long-term goals. This planning ensures strengthening of the business operations, focused energy, resources and everyday tasks . Additionally, it is a disciplined effort made by the employees that guides the organization and the overall workforce as to what should be done and how it should be done, with a focus on the future growth of the organization.

Strategic Plan Examples

Importance of Strategic Planning

Precisely, strategic planning is the formalized road map determining how the company will execute any particular strategy. When you get a sense of direction through strategic planning, it becomes easier for you to follow the path and take the business to an extraordinary level. For effective strategic planning, your company should give a careful thought to the strategic objectives it outlines. Let’s explore why strategic planning plays a vital role for organizations.

Highlights the Mission

One of the basic and most important elements in formulating strategic planning is defining the mission. The mission is important to every organization because it provides a purpose for the vision of the organization. It enables the employees and management to align the specifics of the decisions and actions with a clearly defined direction. When formulating your strategic plan, you should ensure that your mission is defined in a way that it broadens and gives a chance for growth to both, the management and the employees.

Also, it should be narrowed down suitably. For instance, if you are a non-profit organization and are formulating a mission “To help people and humanity”; this will be considered as a very broad scope. It can be made more specific and narrowed down if it is formulated in this way: “To help the needy by providing them with an allowance on a monthly basis.” Now you see that this mission statement is clearer as well as actionable. Veteran strategic planning teams will ensure that they devise an actionable mission statement.

Decides and Devises Goals

One of the main functions of strategic planning is to formulate goals. The goals have to be measurable and specific. Additionally, they have to be expressed in terms of timelines, quantities, and concrete objectives. Moreover measurable goals are really essential for an organization as they enable employees and managers to assess the pace of developments and the progress.

When you are devising goals, you should ensure an objective like “To stimulate the sales by 50% during the upcoming year” instead of “To grow exponential sales.” When talking about goals, make sure that you do not devise general statements as they sound ineffective as well as unproductive. On the contrary, devising specific and numeric goals will help you in achieving the objective in a fixed time frame.

Evaluating the Progress

Strategic planning can help in evaluating the progress. Based on the previous information, you can get an idea of what your company has done, has been doing and how it can achieve the goals in future. Additionally, if your company is unable to achieve the goals and developments, you can then decide upon new strategies after evaluating it, in terms of the market share. For instance, if you are a leading software house and one of your competitors comes up with some really good innovative software, you will have to redefine your strategies and come up with new policies in order to gain the competitive edge.

Once you recognize that there is a need for a strategic plan, you will then realize its importance. There are certain organizations who still have not truly understood the need for strategic planning. Those who know and realize its importance though, ensure its effectiveness. If you are also a business owner , then you should ensure effective strategic planning for your firm.

Sample Strategic Plan

Strategic Planning Process

Basically, there are different types of frameworks and methodologies for strategic management and planning, but there are no absolute rules and regulations regarding the right framework. In fact, most of them follow a similar pattern and have almost similar features. Let’s explore the major steps under the strategic planning process.

• Step # 1: Identifying the mission and objectives for the organization

Step # 2: Evaluating and doing the environmental scanning

• Step # 3: Formulating the strategy for the organization
• Step # 4: Implementing the strategy for the company
• Step # 5: Evaluating and controlling the overall strategy for the organization

Step # 1: Identifying the Mission and Objectives for the Organization

The first step in the strategic planning process is devising the mission and objectives for the organization. In general, the mission statement determines the business vision of the firm. Until and unless the purpose of the organization is made clear and devised properly, the organization will not be able to function smoothly. Additionally, the purpose of the firm and the static values guide the company in the pursuit of future opportunities.

Suggested by the business vision, the leaders of the company should define measurable and specific financial as well as strategic objectives under this step of strategic planning. When including financial objectives in the planning, you should include sales and earnings growth . Additionally, the strategic objectives include business position, reputation and market share. Make sure that both the missions are clearly defined.

In this step of the strategic planning process, the environmental scanning includes the following components.

• Internal components of the company (Internal evaluation)
• Analysis of the company’s industry (Task Evaluation)
• Evaluation of macro and micro environment (PEST Analysis)

The internal analysis of the company will identify the firm’s strengths and weaknesses while the external analysis will reveal the threats and opportunities for the business. Collectively making SWOT analysis , the firm is able to see their internal and external environment under one platform. Moreover, industry analysis can be done using Michael Porter’s five forces.

It includes evaluations on the basis of the five external forces including suppliers, customers, industry rivalry, entry barriers, and substitute products. Each and every aspect is defined under the environmental scanning and explained properly so that the veteran strategists can have everything in front of them and make appropriate decisions.

Step # 3: Formulating the Strategy for the Organization

Each and every step in the strategic planning process is connected and linked to one another. Therefore, after getting information from the environmental scan, the firm has to devise strategies. They have to first match the opportunities from the industry and the strengths from the firm while addressing its external threats from the industry and weaknesses within the firm.

This will help them in developing the competitive advantage over its rivals and formulating strategies to attain superior profitability. The competitive edge can either be based on differentiation or cost. Generally, the firms choose three industry independent strategies given by Michael Porter from which they can choose.

Step # 4: Implementing the Strategy for the Company

Once the strategists decide upon which strategy they should use , they can then implement the selected strategy by means of budgets, programs and procedures. Implementation of the strategy can have a significant effect on the company’s success. This is why implementation should be done carefully. Often, the strategic plans devised, are not implemented properly.

This is why it is necessary for the strategists to look over both, the decision as well as implementation process of the organization. Additionally, employees must be careful in making the strategies and it should also be supported by effective logistics. In smaller businesses, the implementer is often the one who devises the plans initially, but in larger organizations, the implementers and planners are not the same. The strategy is implemented by means of budget, programs and procedures.

Step # 5: Evaluating and Controlling the Overall Strategy for the Organization

When the implementation is done, it is necessary for the implementers to look over everything and monitor it. Controlling helps in monitoring and adjusting things as needed. Controlling and evaluation can be done based on the following steps.

• You should define parameters to be measured.
• You should target values for those parameters.
• You should also perform measurements.
• You should also compare measured results to the pre-defined standards.
• You should make necessary changes if required.

Companies who devise strategic plans often opt for strategic plan templates. Strategic planning identifies the gap between the current and desired future state. Once it’s made, it determines how to close those gaps and how you can raise the bar and achieve your goals. Here are some important factors that are to be taken into consideration in every strategic plan template.

Introductory Statement

The introductory statement will determine as to why the strategic plan is being developed. Also, it will highlight who are the authors and until what time period it will last.

Background Statement

This is the section which provides necessary background information about the firm such as management structure, history and supporting partners and agencies. You can also use this section as a brief business statement describing your business.

Organizational Structure

This is the section where you should include information relevant to your business’s operations, from the staffing to the governing authorities .

This is the main element that highlights the principles on which the organization stands and stands for. Along with this, mission and values are also determined to guide the company culture.

Problem Statement

There are some strategic plans that include a problem statement determining discrete or key issues that need to be addressed.

SWOT Analysis

This is the main aspect in devising a strategic plan. This is the detailed section where strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities are examined and evaluated.

As mentioned above, the strategic planning may include both, short term and long term goals . Most importantly, both of them should be measurable and actionable.

Evaluation and Executive Summary

The methods for evaluation are spelled out in the strategic plan. Evaluation would help in controlling the aspects that have been implemented. Also, the key performance indicators (KPIs) will document the progress. Besides evaluation, the final summary will conclude everything and help the investors and employees quickly understand your plan.

Templates for business strategic plans give you opportunity to devise strategic plans in a comprehensive manner. These templates have sections for SWOT analysis, goals, research, resources, risks and many more other options. Additionally, it provides structure for your firm’s strategic planning process. Business owners often look for strategic plan examples. These templates will act as guides for evaluating the business, identifying the development and growth opportunities and devising the strategic plan.

We have a variety of templates available for free. You can check out and download templates for devising strategic plans from our main website at any time.

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Blog Business 15+ Business Plan Templates for Strategic Planning

15+ Business Plan Templates for Strategic Planning

Written by: Joan Ang Feb 17, 2022

If you’ve just had a new business idea that’s worth funding, or come up with a marketing strategy that can double your company’s revenue — it’s time to put your great ideas down on paper using a professional business plan template. 

Take a look at Venngage’s fully customizable, easy-to-edit  business plan templates  that can help you bring that one-of-a-kind idea to life. Simply pick a template you like and start editing for free — no design experience required.

Click to jump ahead:

Detailed & professional business plan samples, crisis management and continuity business plans, simple business plan templates for beginners, faqs about business plans.

If you’ve already got all your data and information ready and just looking to transform them into a compelling, professional business plan, here are the templates for you. All of these templates are populated with meaningful information that can easily guide your inspiration and help you create your own business plan in no time.

Related : 15+ Business Plan Examples to Win Your Next Round of Funding

Monochromatic architecture business plan template

Monochromatic colors allow you to highlight many details easily without making them shine or stand out too much from the other elements. It does take some delicate layout and asset planning, though. Luckily, you can just leave these details alone by editing the name of this report and the data it contains. Easily edit this template using Venngage’s convenient template editor.

If you’re not in love with this color scheme, you can always change it using My Brand Kit . Have your brand colors and logos automatically extracted with Autobrand:

And add them to your business plan design in one click:

Simple interior design business plan template

Image-centric, magazine-style strategic business plans always grab attention without being intimidating. The cover image sells the content that includes your plan’s executive summary, approach and eventually the deliverables. 

If you want to replace the cover photo with one of your office’s, simply double click the photo and upload your own:

Red simple business plan template

Strategic business plans don’t have to look like top-secret government documents that are “for your eyes only.” They can attain magazine-level attractiveness by using a coherent theme, such as this free business plan template that you can fully customize. 

The red, high-contrast appeal of this theme, text layout and overall format make it a splendid choice for a comprehensive strategic business plan template.

Related : How to Create a Business Plan to Win Over Investors (7+ Business Plan Templates)

Green interior design business plan template

The color green is always easy on our eyes  because they’re sensitive to it . The neutral green theme of this template makes it easy to focus on the cover image’s layout and theme. Plus, the paragraphs on the text are easy to understand, thanks to the neutral colors and magazine-style layout. 

Minimalist architecture business plan template

Minimalism is a beautiful design concept because it showcases the power of layouts when it comes to documents and presentations. The concept is pleasing because it gives low visual stimulation while maximizing the focus on vital information in your reports. 

Design consultant business plan template

While it has a strong magazine feel to it, this Venngage template has a topic-oriented characteristic because of its text-heavy sections that still appear pleasing to view and read. The template relies on the clever use of images, white spaces and icons. Exchange these assets easily by using Venngage’s web-accessible editor.

Return to Table of Contents

Crisis management requires swift organization and work. We know you’re under a lot of pressure when you’re going to use these templates for your presentation, so we made sure that they’re presentation-ready that require minimal edits. They’re all free business plan templates as well!

Simple crisis communications plan template

Here’s a quick crisis communication plan you can use in any impending report. 

If you’re not familiar with creating a crisis communication plan, this free business plan template already contains all the sections you need: table of contents, escalation frameworks, roles and responsibilities, and tips to maintain an effective response plan.

Related : 10+ Crisis Communication Plan Templates for Leaders + Managers

Crisis communications plan template

Urgent planning situations won’t need you to sacrifice style and coherence with a paragraph-heavy layout. Sure, we can do away with the photos to maintain our reader’s focus, but we can use a bullet layout with subheaders, bullet points and more. 

A light-colored theme makes it easy for readers to comprehend the colors. While this template focuses on crisis control, you can change its purpose by customizing its elements using Venngage’s built-in web editor.

Emergency response plan template

This Venngage template is perfect for plans on how to deal with emergency situations. The template focuses on content and uses minimal colors and contrasts to set the reader’s focus on each data detail. 

If you’re in a hurry to set up your strategic business plan, you can edit this template’s content with Venngage’s easy-access editor within minutes before your presentation.

Not sure where to start with designing your business plan? No graphic designer to help you out? These beginner strategic business planning templates for Venngage guarantee a presentation-ready report in no time. Just use its built-in editor to change some small details to suit your brand, and you’re all set!

Yellow simple business plan template

Readers want a seamless reading experience, which means authors must have an excellent document layout with related photos that don’t take away the spotlight from the project data. This Venngage template is perfect for such a purpose because it has an excellent balance of content and images. Fully customize it with Venngage’s built-in editor.

Simple gaming business plan template

You’re probably too busy testing games or even playing games to make a layout. But, your department needs you to create a games-related strategic plan. Say no more because here’s a template that’s made just for this purpose. If this layout isn’t perfect enough for your needs, you can always use the web editor to switch out assets and data.

Contracting company business plan template

If you’re quite busy with your daily work, you can always use pre-made layouts for your upcoming strategic planning presentation. This Venngage template is text-heavy and uses icons, but construction contractors will want to use these so that their clients have complete information on the project. Customize this as your project needs with the help of Venngage’s powerful web editor.

Professional business action plan template

Beginners can have an excellent magazine-style report appeal using this Venngage template. With an attractive cover photo and excellent use of negative space, this template can help you make professional reports without sacrificing time and substance. You can fully customize this template with Venngage’s top-notch web editor.

Colorful hospitality business plan template

The hospitality industry knows plenty about design, layouts and the effective use of assets. This Venngage template uses a wide color palette that gives it a basic appeal to readers and helps the latter focus on the topic and data. If the colors don’t work for you, or you have a better idea about the fonts and layout, you can fully customize this template with Venngage’s convenient web editor.

Business consultant continuity plan template

Need to present a plan on how to continue operations during emergency situations? This template should help. Photos have a great role to play because they set the mood and background for the report. Some reports are suitably photo-centric, while some, such as this Venngage template, work well with minimal or background use. 

You can switch out the template’s banners, data, and fonts using Venngage’s built-in editor.

Got some questions about business plans? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

What’s a long-term strategic business plan?

Everyone makes plans that have a set of steps and approaches that lead to your ultimate goal. It’s the same for business plans.

A business plan is a written document that outlines a company’s strategy for success, including its mission statements, its vision, operational plans and financial projections. These plans give your business a clear, short-term direction with dedicated sets of processes and procedures that can improve the business’s production and efficiency to meet its short and medium-term goals.

What’s included in an effective business plan?

A professional business plan typically has the following sections: 

• Table of Contents
• Executive summary
• Company description
• Market analysis
• Organization and management
• Service or product line
• Marketing and sales
• Funding request
• Financial projections
• An appendix

A business plan can span a dozen or more pages because it presents the big picture, as complete as possible, to reassure others to invest in you.

For more information on how to create the best business plan, visit our post: How to Create a Business Plan to Win Over Investors (7+ Business Plan Templates)

In summary: Unlock your business’s potential with these business plan templates

It can be difficult to create the right business plan, especially when you’re not sure what it should look like. Rest assured, because we have tons of business plan templates that are full of meaningful information to help you.

Choose one of Venngage’s professional, fully customizable business plan templates and start adding your data, and you’ll have your own business plan in no time. No design experience required.

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Business Strategic Plan

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

• 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

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

• Apple Pages

Size: 32 KB

New Business Strategic Plan Template

Size: 36 KB

I.T Business Strategic Plan Template

Size: 30 KB

Business Strategic Action Plan Template

Size: 33 KB

HR Strategic Business Plan Template

Size: 24 KB

5 Year Strategic Business Plan Template

Size: 26 KB

30-60-90 Day Strategic Business Plan Template

Strategic Business Marketing Plan Template

Strategic Communication Business Plan Template

Size: 39 KB

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Size: 41 KB

HR Strategic Plan Template for Small Business

Size: 34 KB

ABCDE Business Strategic Plan Example

Editable Business Strategic Plan Example

Size: 63 KB

Enterprise Strategic Plan Example

Size: 27 KB

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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Size: 69 KB

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Size: 46 KB

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.

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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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Strategic Plan Template

Use this free Strategic Plan Template for Word to manage your projects better.

When a company wants to map out its long-term business objectives and how it’ll get there, they use a strategic plan. Our free strategic plan template captures all topics that any company needs to define, so everything is aligned with the overall mission and vision of the company. More than that, the free strategic plan template guides you through the actions, resources and costs that will help you get there.

What Is a Strategic Plan?

A strategic plan is a document that company leaders use to capture the company’s future vision, goals and objectives. Unlike a business plan that focuses on short-term goals of serval months to several years, a strategic plan looks at the mid-to-long-term goals such as 3-5 years but is often longer than that.

The strategic plan should be easily shared as it provides a map for the whole company to follow in order to meet its goals. The strategic plan isn’t only shared, but it’s thoroughly understood by company employees, customers, business partners and investors.

Strategic planning and the strategic plan that comes from this process isn’t a one-time occurrence. Teams should conduct strategic planning regularly to quickly respond to changes in the business, industry, legal and regulatory conditions. As conditions shift, so should the response plans.

Why You Need a Strategic Plan Template

A strategic plan template is a great tool in that it’s already laid out for you. Everything you need to define is outlined and saves you the time and effort of creating a new document. Templates are great for creating an archive of consistent documentation, especially as historical data can influence your current strategic plan.

In more general terms, all businesses need a target or direction to work towards. Strategic plans are like the roadmap that gets you there and defines the landscape. If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll never know when you get there. That’s true from the highest executive to the newest employee as well as customers, investors and so on.

Strategic plans also help you track your goals across departments. Each department can then set its own goals to help the business achieve its larger goals. These various initiatives can be monitored and tracked with key performance indicators (KPIs). This can be extended to business units, teams and even individuals so everyone is working towards the same goals.

A strategic plan template is only a static document. To implement that plan you need project management software. ProjectManager has online roadmaps that allow you to manage all the projects that feed into your company’s overall mission. You can track your tasks, budgets, resources, processes and more, so you know you’re always progressing. Of course, you can build a strategic plan with milestones in the software, too. Try ProjectManager today for free.

Who Should Use This Strategic Plan Template?

The free strategic plan template can be filled in by any number of people depending on the business. Usually, though, this responsibility falls on the shoulders of the owner or top business managers.

However, sometimes specialists are employed or the whole company becomes involved in the strategic planning process. In fact, more voices provide a wider perspective. One person should oversee refining those different perspectives in order to rein in the possible chaos of too many chefs in the kitchen.

Once the strategic plan is finalized, it should be shared among the company. The strategic plan template acts as a guide to keep the long-term goal in sight and how to get there. For some businesses, the customer should also be aware of the strategic plan. Other companies will want to share the strategic plan with investors.

How to Use This Strategic Plan Template

When you download our free strategic plan template for Word, you’ll find it’s broken up into sections. The free template is completely customizable so you can add or subtract as many sections as you need to flesh out your strategic plan. What we provide you with is the backbone of any thorough strategic plan, which is as follows.

1. Executive Summary

To start, you want to summarize what will follow. That’s all the executive summary is; a short introduction to the important information that’ll be fleshed out in the strategic plan. It gives an overview to investors and stakeholders.

2. Vision Statement

A vision statement is a statement that declares the mid-to-long-term goals of the company. Think of it as the target you want to hit with your strategic plan. What this statement should do is project your company into the future and in so doing help to define the plan and execution of getting you there.

3. Mission Statement

The mission statement is a short description of the purpose of the company. It should be no longer than one to three sentences at most and explain what the company does, who it serves and how it’s different from its competitors. But more than a dry definition, it should be inspirational, offering direction and focus for employees and giving customers a clear picture of what they can expect from the company.

4. SWOT Analysis

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. A SWOT analysis is used to assess those four aspects of the company. This is how a company can capture its current performance and build a strategy to achieve its future goals. But beyond internal factors or charting the company, make sure to explore external factors as well. This provides a fuller picture of how a company can carve a route to reach its objectives.

5. Business Goals

Business goals should define the target that a company is aiming for in the future. By doing this, a company has a way to measure its success, communicate these goals to its employees and ensure the company is going in the right direction.

6. Marketing Plan

The marketing plan outlines a company’s advertising strategy. It can be used to generate leads and reach a target audience, outreach and PR campaigns. Also included is how the company will measure the effectiveness of the initiatives.

• Market research:  Uses competitive analysis, testing, surveys, etc., to determine the target audience and what needs the company is fulfilling or pain point it’s resolving.
• Marketing campaigns: These include promotions, value propositions, differentiation factors, pricing, distribution channels, etc., to see the product or service.
• Marketing KPIs: Using various metrics will help the company measure the success of its campaigns.

7. Operations Plan

The operation plan is an outline of the strategic plan’s goals and how the company plans to meet them. It’s an action plan that shows team members what they’re responsible for in achieving the goals of the strategic plan.

8. Financial Projections

When making financial projections for a company’s strategic plans they should include a forecast of the income statement, the balance sheet and the cash flow statement. These financial projects like the strategic plan are mid-to-long term.

Identify the team members with the skills and experience who will be responsible for executing the operational plan set forth in the company’s strategic plan.

Other Templates to Help with Your Strategic Plan

The free strategic plan document template for Word is a helpful tool to outline a company’s mid-to-long-term objectives. We have dozens of other free templates for Word and Excel that can help you manage every phase of a project, from planning to closure. Here are just a few of the free templates that we offer for download that are related to strategic planning.

Executive Summary Template

If you need help with the executive summary portion of the free strategic plan template, this free executive summary template is a great asset. It breaks down the points you’ll want to capture for an effective executive summary and is a valuable tool to complete that section of the strategic plan.

Marketing Campaign Template

The marketing plan is another section of the strategic plan that can be fully fleshed out with the free marketing campaign template. It outlines all the steps you need to introduce your product or service to market. It has fields to collect the goals of the campaign, identify the target audience and much more.

SWOT Analysis Template 

We’ve included a small SWOT analysis table in the free strategic plan template, but you might want more space to capture this important data. If so, use our free SWOT analysis template for Word, which you can then attach to the strategic plan template. This colorful template helps you see where you are and offer guidance to get you where you want to be.

ProjectManager Is a Robust Planning Tool

Free templates are a great way to gather information and develop a strategic plan, but they’re not as good at managing that plan once you implement it. You need more robust tools, not static documents or spreadsheets. ProjectManager is online project management software that connects teams and helps them plan, manage and track their progress in real time.

Track Progress with Real-Time Dashboards

You’ve put the strategic plan in the Gantt chart and can now see the roadmap in a visual timeline. But to make sure you keep to that schedule you need to have a way to monitor progress and performance. Our real-time dashboards track metrics such as time, cost and more all in real time so you can respond quickly to changes that threaten your goals. Unlike other lightweight tools, there’s no configuration or set. It’s ready when you are.

Work How You Want with Multiple Project Views

Gantt charts are great for managers, but they’re not the ones who are will execute the strategic plan. It’s a group effort that involves every department in the company from marketing and sales to IT and manufacturing, and they all use different tools. That’s why we offer multiple project views that share the same real-time data whether you’re using a list view, the visual workflow of a kanban or a calendar to capture important dates. Everyone is working from a single source of truth.

Related Content

Strategic planning is a big subject and we’ve only scratched the surface. If you want to learn more, you’re in luck. ProjectManager isn’t only a great tool to create and manage your strategic plan, it’s also the online hub for all things project management. We have free blogs each week, tutorial videos, eBooks, white pages and, of course, free templates. Here are a few links to follow and read more about strategic plans.

• 15 Free Word and Excel Templates for Business
• Strategic Planning in Business
• Strategic Planning Models: An Introduction to 5 Popular Models
• A Quick Guide to Strategic Initiatives 

ProjectManager Helps You Reach Your Strategic Goals

ProjectManager is award-winning software that helps you plan, manage and track your strategic plans. Our collaborative platform connects everyone across departments and time zones. With features that help you manage risk, tasks and resources you’re more likely to adjust to changes in the market and hit your target. See why teams in organizations as varied as NASA, Siemens and Nestle use our tool to deliver success. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

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How to write a strategic plan and what it should include

As Abraham Lincoln once said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

Whether you’re a lumberjack or not, there’s a powerful truth to Lincoln’s wise words. And that’s the importance of planning.

Coming up with a solid strategic plan is a crucial aspect of any business. How can you expect to achieve your objectives if you don’t know what you’re aiming for? And how can you efficiently reach your goals without deciding on the appropriate method first?

You need a plan. More specifically, you need a strategic plan.

Sharpen your axes and get comfortable because we’re going to give you a step-by-step guide on how to write a strategic plan like a total boss.

• What is a strategic plan?

A strategic plan is a document that lays out how an organization plans to realize its long-term ambitions. Think of it as your roadmap. It establishes the direction a company is going to take by considering its goals and objectives. But it also includes the specific actions you are going to take to achieve your goal.

A strategic plan should essentially answer three questions:

• Where are we now?
• Where do we want to go?
• How will we get there?

There are a lot of terms around strategic plans that sound similar. But it’s important for your team to understand what each of them means and how they are different. Let’s clarify some common terms:

• Strategic plan is your roadmap document.
• Strategic planning is the process of developing your strategic plan.
• Strategic planning meeting is the session or event during which strategic planning takes place.
• Strategic planning frameworks are the tools and methodologies to help your team develop different elements of your strategic plan.
• Strategic planning model is the overarching approach for how you are going to structure your strategic ideas. You should decide on which model you are going to use before you begin the strategic planning process.
• Why is a strategic plan important?

Now you know what a strategic plan is. But why do you need one? Here are just some of the reasons developing a strategic plan is so important to your organization

Helps you come up with goals that direct your actions

How can you expect to get anywhere if you don’t know where you’re going? A key aspect of the strategic planning process is establishing goals and objectives. These goals will help build momentum within your team and keep them focused on the overarching goal of the business.

Keeps you on track toward achieving your goals

A well-written strategic business plan gives your organization direction. As well as what you want to achieve, strategic plans require you to get specific about how you are going to achieve your goals. Having this plan of action in one consolidated document helps your team stay on track and achieve their goals faster and with more efficiency.

Focus your resources better

Taking the time to write a well-thought-out strategic plan means carefully considering what actions are going to best serve your company. This prevents wasting time, money, and effort on projects that are not going to take your business to where it wants to go.

The clarity that comes from a strategic plan sets you up for successful resource allocation, which is essential for growing your business.

Aligns team members

A robust strategic plan becomes a source of truth for your team. It keeps all team members on the same page regarding the company’s mission and strategy. When confused about why they are doing something or how they fit into the bigger picture, they can refer to the team’s strategic plan.

As well as team members, a strategic plan keeps stakeholders in the know. They should be involved in the development of the strategic plan so that the goals and strategies are aligned with their expectations.

• What is included in a strategic plan?

These are the key elements that make up a strategic plan.

Vision statement

The vision statement gives a clear picture of what your organization wants to achieve in the long run. It is an aspirational statement that describes the ideal future state of your business.

Many great vision statements use emotional language to paint a picture of what impact the group hopes to make on the world. For example, IKEA’s vision statement is “To create a better everyday life for the many people.”

Mission statement

While a vision statement looks toward the future, a mission statement considers the present. It should describe the core purpose of the company and why it exists. Your mission statement should provide context for all other goals and actions.

IKEA’s mission statement is “to offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them.”

Your objectives are what you plan to achieve. They are the specific results that your organization wants to accomplish within a certain time frame. Strategic objectives aim to bridge the gap between your overall vision and the goals needed to achieve it.

Strategic objectives can be financial, growth-related, or customer-related. An example of a strategic objective is “Enter three new foreign markets in the next five years.”

This section of your strategic plan is where you turn the focus from your vision to execution. Your strategy is the blueprint for how to achieve your goals and objectives.

If your objective is to “Enter three new foreign markets in the next five years,” you need to develop a strategy for how you are going to do this. Which markets are you going to target? What products or services are you going to introduce? What are the current market trends? Asking and answering these questions will help you design a specific market entry strategy.

This is where strategic planning frameworks become so useful. For example, the Ansoff Matrix helps you evaluate opportunities for growth. Also known as the product-market expansion grid, the Ansoff Matrix helps you review the potential risks and opportunities of each growth plan option.

By using frameworks like the Ansoff Matrix, you can analyze each strategic option. All the data gathered and your team’s insights on this data will help determine your strategic approach.

After writing a strategic plan and implementing it, you need to track its progress. Metrics are a way for you to measure the success of your actions. If you find that your strategic plan isn’t giving you the results you expected, you can make changes to your strategic approach.

Metrics can be milestones, such as launching a product or completing a certain project. Or your metrics can be quantifiable performance measures, like KPIs.

• How to write a strategic plan

Now that you know what a strategic plan should include, here’s a step-by-step guide on how to write a strategic plan for your business.

1. Hold a strategic planning meeting

No man is an island, especially in the realm of strategic planning. You want to get your entire team involved in the strategic planning process. To ensure everyone is part of the process, you need to hold a strategic planning meeting . This meeting is about collaboration and openly sharing ideas around your strategic plan.

Start by making an invite list and sending out calendar invites to the people you want to attend the session. This should include people from different departments, executives, and stakeholders.

2. Use a template

To save you time and hassle, use a customizable Strategic Planning Template . Businesses have been writing strategic plans for years and years, so there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Using a template will also help ensure that you don’t miss out on any important aspects of the strategic planning process.

3. Determine your position

Before you look towards the future about where you want to be, you need to understand where you currently stand. This means looking internally at who you are as a company and conducting market and competitor analysis to fully understand your external environment.

A popular method for taking stock of your company’s current position is a SWOT analysis . This framework helps you map out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your business.

4. Decide where you want to go

Now it’s time to look toward the future and decide on what you are aiming for. This is where you articulate what you want to achieve. Some examples of thought-provoking questions to ask your team include:

• What do we want to accomplish?
• Where do we want to be?
• How many products would we sell?
• How many countries will we be based in?
• Who would our customers be?

This part of writing a strategic plan is where you develop the strategic objectives, goals, and action items. We’re big fans of setting OKRs: Objectives and their related Key Results. This OKR Template will ensure your business goals are structured and clearly defined.

5. Decide how you are going to get there

Now that you know where you’re going, you need to decide how to get there. This phase involves deciding how you’re going to make your goals a reality. And that means coming up with an action plan.

An action plan is a detailed set of lists outlining the steps you are going to take to complete your objectives. Our Action Plan Template promotes clarity and transparency around assigned tasks. As a team, you need to decide who needs to do what and by when. Everyone should be aware of their role in executing the overall strategic plan.

• Tips for writing a strategic plan

Keep these tips in mind when writing your strategic plan to make the process more efficient.

Use the right tools

Developing a strategic plan has a lot of moving parts. From running a strategic planning session to capturing your team’s ideas, there’s a lot to stay on top of. But an online collaborative tool like Miro can make the process a whole lot easier.

With Miro, you collaborate with your team from anywhere, at any time. Not to mention safely store all your mindmaps , boards, and diagrams in one consolidated place. To get a real sense of what’s possible, have a look at our list of features .

Be SMART with your goals

Whenever you create goals or objectives, ensure that they are SMART . This means they should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. It’s no use coming up with a long list of impressive goals that aren’t realistic or focused.

Don’t be afraid to change your plan

Strategic plans aren’t set in stone. They should be used more as a guideline that is adjusted as needed. Your company will no doubt face new challenges or identify new opportunities as time goes on. So it’s important to revisit your strategic plan and make necessary adjustments based on changes in your organization’s environment and situation.

Strategic plans are usually developed for the next two to five-year period. Some companies reconsider their strategic plan every year, while others hold strategic planning sessions every quarter.

It’s up to you and your team how often you revisit your strategic plan, but the key takeaway is that you should be open to changing your plan.

• Get starting writing your strategic plan

We’re not going to lie to you — creating a strategic plan isn’t the easiest process to execute. From capturing your company’s vision to measuring your strategy’s success, there’s a lot to do. But that shouldn’t deter you.

Knowing how to write a strategic plan is a valuable skill to have, no matter what industry you’re in. And tools like Miro are there to make the process a whole lot easier and more efficient.

Miro is your team's visual platform to connect, collaborate, and create — together.

Join millions of users that collaborate from all over the planet using Miro.

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3 Business Strategy Examples to Inspire Your Own

• 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 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.

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.

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 .

About the Author

More From Forbes

Strategic plan template: what to include in yours.

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A strategic plan is a roadmap to grow your business. To help you succeed, use this proven strategic plan template , and the information below details the 13 key sections you must include in your strategic plan.

Section 1: Executive Summary

The Executive Summary of your strategic plan should be completed last, and this section merely summarizes each of the other sections of your plan.

The Executive Summary is important since it will help other key constituents, such as employees, advisors, and investors, quickly understand and support your plan.

Section 2: Elevator Pitch

An elevator pitch is a brief description of your business. Your elevator pitch is included in your strategic plan since it’s key to your business’ success, and often times should be updated annually. Here’s why it’s important: if your employees can’t clearly and concisely articulate your business to others, you inevitably miss out on tons of sales and other opportunities.

Section 3: Company Mission Statement

Your company mission statement explains what your business is trying to achieve. While it may seem unimportant, it’s not. You see, for internal decision-making, your mission statement guides employees to make the right decisions; decisions that are in line with helping the company achieve its mission. For external parties, such as investors, partners, and customers, your mission can inspire them to take the actions you want.

Section 4: SWOT

The reason to include a SWOT analysis (analysis of your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) in your Strategic Plan is to help you determine the best opportunities to pursue to achieve your growth goals. It also helps you identify which strengths you must develop in the near future to improve your company.

Section 5: Goals

Setting and achieving goals is the hallmark of successful companies and is a critical element of your strategic plan.

They key is to first identify your 5 year or long-term goals. Next, identify your one-year goals; that is, what you must achieve in the next year for it to be successful and to put your company on the right trajectory to achieving your 5 year goals.

Then work backwards two more times to determine your goals for the next quarter and the next month. Ideally you update you strategic plan monthly to modify this section.

Section 6: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Great businesses understand their metrics and KPIs. By tracking your KPIs, you know exactly how your business is performing and can adjust as needed.

For example, a basic KPI such as Total Sales is critical for understanding if the company is performing well. “Underlying” KPIs are equally as important. For example, if sales are affected by 1) number of visitors to your website, 2) number of visitors who complete a contact form, 3) number of proposals you issue to these leads, and 4) the proposal closing ratio, then each of these KPIs should be tracked. Then, if for instance, the number of visitors to your website decreased, you would know and fix this immediately, rather then waiting until sales plummet later.

So, it’s critical to identify the KPIs you will track in your business and list them in this section of your strategic plan.

Click “next page” below for sections 7 to 13 of your strategic plan or here for the proven strategic plan template .

Section 7: Target Customers

In this section of your strategic plan, you will identify the wants and needs of each of your target customer groups. This is important in focusing your marketing efforts and getting a higher return on investment on your advertising expenditures. This is because the more you can “speak” directly to your target customer wants and needs in your marketing, the better you will attract them.

Section 8: Industry Analysis

Your industry analysis doesn’t have to be a comprehensive report on what’s going on in your market. However, you should conduct an analysis to ensure the market size is growing (if not, you might want to diversify), and to help identify new opportunities for growth.

Section 9: Competitive Analysis & Advantage

Similarly to your industry analysis, your competitive analysis doesn’t have to be a thorough report listing every detail about every competitor. Rather, in addition to defining who your key competitors are, you should list their strengths & weaknesses.

Most importantly, use this analysis to determine your current competitive advantages and ways to develop additional advantages.

Section 10: Marketing Plan

In addition to your strategic plan, I recommend you develop a comprehensive marketing plan describing how you will attract prospects, convert them to paying customers and maximize your lifetime customer value.

Include a summary of your marketing plan in your strategic plan.

Section 11: Team

The team section of your strategic plan ensures you have the human resources to execute on the opportunities you’ve identified and to achieve the goals you established in section 5 of your plan.

Here you should list your current team members and identify the types of people you need to hire in the next year to achieve your goals.

Section 12: Operations Plan

Your operations plan helps you transform your goals and opportunities into reality. In this section of your plan, you will identify each of the individual projects that comprise your larger goals and how these projects will be completed. Finally, you’ll map out each of your initiatives, ideally in a Gantt chart, so you know when each project will start and who will lead them.

Section 13: Financial Projections

The final section of your strategic plan is your financial projections. Your financial projections help in multiple ways. First, you can use a financial model to assess the potential results for each opportunity you consider pursuing.

Also, once you determine the opportunities you will pursue, your financial projections will map out the goals. For example, you’ll know exactly how many new customers you must attract in the next month, and at what price point, to achieve next month’s goal.

You should develop your complete strategic plan each year, and then update it monthly as actual results come in and you gain more clarity and intelligence. While you will rarely achieve the precise goals established in your strategic plan, scores of research show that you’ll come much closer to them versus if you didn’t plan at all. So, develop your strategic plan today , and achieve the goals you desire.

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How to Write a Business Plan

Last Updated: August 8, 2024, 7:52 am by TRUiC Team

Writing a business plan can be an intimidating endeavor. Whether you’ve decided to start a business , or you already have a business and need to write a business plan to apply for a loan or to pitch to investors , we cover the process in-depth.

Recommended: Our business plan generator walks you through topics like marketing and financial projections so that your business is prepared to succeed.

What Is a Business Plan?

The  traditional business plan is typically a 20 to 40-page formal document  that describes what your business does, what your objectives are, and how you plan to achieve them.

It lays out your plans for operating, marketing, and managing your business, along with your goals and financial projections.

There are many different types of business plans, depending on the stage of your venture and the purpose of your business plan. In the earliest stages of your business idea, you may want to start small with a  three-sentence business plan , or perhaps by sketching out a  lean canvas  or  business model canvas .

Once your  business idea  has been developed, you’ll be ready to begin  writing your business plan .

Why Do You Need a Business Plan?

Writing a business plan requires you to think through all of the key elements of your business. This gives you insights into the challenges you’ll face and the strengths you bring.

A business plan is also often requested by lenders or investors when you are ready to seek financing.

While many companies do not need a formal business plan unless they are planning on  seeking investors  or  applying for a business loan , writing a business plan has extensive benefits.

The process of writing your business plan allows you to take an in-depth look at your  industry ,  market , and  competitive position . It helps you  set goals , determine your  keys to success , and  plan your strategies . It also allows you to explore your  financial projections  and manage cash. So, even if you do not need a formal business plan, the process of planning may still reap huge rewards.

Your Audience

You need to  think carefully about who is going to read  your business plan.

Although you might begin writing a business plan only to convince yourself, there are a number of stakeholders who may end up reading your business plan.

Your plan might be read by your:

• Partners or potential partners
• Board of directors
• Senior management team
• Current employees
• Employment candidates

Outside the organization , the following stakeholders may want to read your business plan before they decide to do business with you:

• Distributors
• And independent contractors

Think about your primary audience when you are writing your business plan. What are the aspects that are most important to them? This is where you will want to put the majority of your focus.

For example,  lenders will be most interested in your financial projections  — your cash flow statement and balance sheet.

Investors might be most interested in your business model, the uniqueness of your product or service, and your competitive advantage.

Partners, your senior management team, and current employees  might be most interested in your strategic plans- your vision, your operational plan, and your organizational plan.

Find Sample Business Plans in Your Industry

One great resource you should check out before sitting down to write your business plan are  sample business plans  in your industry.

Not only will you have the  opportunity to gain insights  on your industry and your competitors, you also might be able to find troves of industry and market research that will make conducting your own analysis of the industry and market much easier.

To find example business plans in your industry,  try searching the web for  “ your industry  business plan example.”

Writing Your Business Plan

Once you have spent some time looking at sample business plans in your industry, it is now time to  start writing your business plan . An easy place to begin is by outlining the major sections you will need in your plan.

What you need to include in your business plan will depend on the type of business you are creating, your business model, and who your intended audience is.

Common business plan sections include:

• Executive Summary —  a high-level overview of your business or business idea
• Venture Overview —  a description of your company, vision, mission, and goals
• Product or Service Description —  a detailed description of your product or service
• Industry and Market Analysis —  an analysis of the industry and market you compete in
• Marketing Plan —  your overall strategy and specific plans to capture market share
• Organizational Plan —  the legal form of the business and the key players
• Operational Plan —  how you will operate the business and your key resources
• Goals, Milestones, and Risks —  short and long-term goals, milestones, and risks
• Financial Statements —  Financial statements or the projected financials of your business

Not every type of venture will require every one of these sections  to be included in their business plans. However, most business plans will at least include an executive summary, venture overview, a description of the products and services, and some form of financial projections.

Executive Summary

As suggested in its name, an  executive summary is a summary of the key points in your business plan . This is your first chance to convey to readers the what, why, who, and how of your business or business idea.

Although there is no set structure for an executive summary,  a good executive summary should summarize :

• The problem you are solving
• Your solution
• Your target market
• Any competitive advantages
• The team you’ll build
• Goals and objectives
• An overview of your financials or financial forecast

If you are writing your  business plan for the purpose of acquiring funding , you will also need to discuss the amount of funding required, the purpose of the funds, as well as how your investors will get paid back.

The executive summary should be clear and concise . Ideally, this section should be one to two pages and typically follows either a synopsis or story approach, depending on the intended audience.

In the synopsis approach, you would provide a brief summary of each of the key sections of your business plan. In the story approach, your executive summary reads like a narrative, allowing you to tell the “story” of your business or idea.

With either approach to writing the executive summary, the information you want to convey remains the same. The executive summary needs to provide an overall picture of your current business or business idea.

The executive summary should include:

• A brief description of you and your venture,
• The problem your product or service is solving,
• Some information on your target market, including size, potential, & competition, and
• The solution you are offering.

The executive summary should also include:

• A statement of where you are now,
• A statement of your objectives and future plans,
• A list of what you see as keys to your success, and (if you are seeking investors)
• Any relevant financial information such as start-up costs, funding required, and how you will use investor funding.

Although the executive summary is the first section in the business plan, because it is a summary of the rest of your business plan, it is often written last.

Venture Overview

The venture overview is a top-level depiction of your company.

It contains the:

Description of the Venture

• Vision Statement
• Mission Statement
• Goals & Objectives
• Keys to Your Success

The first part of your venture overview is a description of your venture.

The description of your venture should include what you do (a brief description of your products or services), the value you provide to customers, your current operating status or a brief history of the venture, and a short description of the industry or niche in which you compete.

How to Write a Vision Statement

After describing your venture, a vision statement is a very simple, 5 to 10 word sentence or tagline that expresses the fundamental goals of your firm. Good vision statements reflect your company’s long term passion and purpose, often in a way that evokes emotion.

Take a look at the vision statements below for some inspiration:

Disney —  To make people happy. Oxfam —  A world without poverty. Stanford —  To become the Harvard of the West. Marriott —  To be the #1 hospitality company in the world. Microsoft —  A computer on every desk and in every home; all running Microsoft software.

How to Write a Mission Statement

After having crafted your vision statement, you should also create a mission statement. A mission statement explains your company's goals in terms of what you do for your customers. A good mission statement should tell your reader what your company does, who you do it for, and why you do what you do.

Check out these excellent examples of compelling mission statements:

Patagonia —  “Our Reason For Being: Build the best products, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”

Trader Joes —  “Our mission is to give our customers the best food and beverage values that they can find anywhere and to provide them with the information required to make informed buying decisions. We provide these with a dedication to the highest quality of customer satisfaction delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, fun, individual pride, and company spirit.”

Facebook —  "Founded in 2004, Facebook's mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what's going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them."

Goals and Objectives

In this section of the business plan, break down your most important short-term and long-term goals and objectives.

Aim for five to seven of your most important short and long term goals.

This subsection of your venture description should be kept short. You will come back to your goals at the end of your business plan.

However, your key short-term and long-term goals should be highlighted early on in your business plan as well. The rest of your business plan will act as evidence of how you plan on achieving your goals.

Keys to Success

Your keys to success are your insights into what it takes to be successful in your industry, market, or niche.

Your keys to success can include several of the most important milestones that you will need to accomplish in order to achieve your goals.

These may include providing high quality products and services, your ability to attract customers or users and gain market share, or even your ability to develop the technology to deliver your products or services.

Your keys to success may also include the major milestones that you will need to reach along the way in order to achieve your vision. You will come back to your milestones and objectives at the end of your business plan.

Product or Service Description

The product or service description section is where you will go into detail in describing your products or services.

Not only will you describe your product in more detail, you should also discuss the uniqueness of your product, and what gives you an advantage over your competitors.

These are the three main parts of the Product (or Service) Description:

Description of Products or Services

Uniqueness of product, competitive advantage.

In this subsection of your business plan, describe the products or services you will provide, why they are a fit in the market, and how you will compete with similar products and services.

Begin by clearly describing the products or services you will provide. Make sure to explain the features and characteristics of your products and services. Your product or service description does not have to be highly technical. Rather, in addition to describing the features, focus on highlighting the advantages and benefits associated with your products or services.

Also, let your reader know why your product or service is needed. How does your product or service differ from those offered by your competitors? How does it better fill your customers wants and needs?

This is where you tell your reader why your solution is unique. Is it different from everything else out there? How is it different? Why would potential users choose your product or service over your competitors? In order to stand out, you need to distinguish yourself in some way.

To describe your product or service’s uniqueness, you may want to come up with a unique value proposition (or unique selling point). A value proposition is a short description of what you do, who you do it for, and how this benefits them.

A value proposition is similar to a mission statement. However, it differs in that a mission statement is written from the perspective of the company, while a value proposition is written from the perspective of the customer.

Your value proposition should be the center of your customer messaging. It should be front and center on your website, in your marketing materials, and in your advertising.

Here a few examples of great value propositions:

Dollar Shave Club —  A Great Shave for a Few Bucks a Month. No Commitment. No Fees. No B.S.

Unbounce —  Build, Publish, & A/B Test Landing Pages Without IT

Freshbooks —  Small Business Accounting Software Built for You, the Non-Accountant

Skype —  Skype Keeps the World Talking, for Free. Share, Message, and Call - Now with Group Video on Mobile and Tablet Too.

What makes you better than competitors?

Does your  competitive advantage  come from superior products and services, customer service, technical support, logistics, price? What are the factors that give you an advantage over your competitors?

Clearly defining your competitive advantage is important.

Your competitive advantage is not just some abstract concept. It is at the core of how you deliver value to your customers. Your competitive advantage lays the foundation for your business model and should be a key component of your strategic plans.

Common areas where businesses find competitive advantages include:

• Intellectual Property
• Resources/Capital
• Economies of Scale
• Knowledge/Experience
• Connections and Network
• Customer Service
• Technical Support
• Customization
• Brand Recognition/Loyalty

Industry and Market Analyses

The  industry and market analysis  is the “big picture” view of your industry and market.

Conducting an industry and market analysis is going to take a good deal of research. You will likely need to research your industry, your competitors, and your customers. But do not rush through this section of your business plan.

A good understanding of your industry and market is critical to your success. By understanding the forces at play within your industry, you will be better able to find additional ways to create value that will allow you to succeed in the current and anticipated competitive environment.

Conducting an industry and market analysis can be intimidating, especially if you do not know what to look for or how to find the information you need. In the next section, we will discuss what should be included in your industry analysis. Then, we will tell you where to begin looking.

Industry Analysis

The industry analysis is a big picture analysis of the industry you will compete in. What does your overall industry look like today? There are a number of insights that will help you assess the attractiveness of your idea and form a big picture view of the industry and segment you are considering competing in.

Key insights to be alert for include:

• The dominant economic features of the industry
• The industry’s driving forces
• The industry’s competitive environment
• The competitive position of major players and key competitors
• Key industry success factors

To arrive at meaningful insights from your industry analysis, try to find answers to the following questions:

• What primary products or services are provided by your industry?
• What is the size and trajectory of the industry?
• What was the annual growth rate of the industry over the past year? Three years? Five years? Ten years?
• What is the forecasted annual growth rate over the next three years? Five years? Ten years?
• What is the average profitability of firms in your industry?
• What trends are affecting your industry?
• Who are the major customer segments served by your industry?
• Who are the major players in your industry?
• Who will be your key competitors in your industry?
• What key factors determine success or failure?

Industry Research

Now that you have a better idea of what to look for, you will need to know where to begin your search. There are a number of great free resources to begin looking for industry research. However, the first step is to determine the industry you are in.

While by this point, you should have some idea of the industry you are in, it is not always so clear. You could try an internet search to see what information you can find on your industry, but you will also want to find the NAICS code. You can do a  NAICS Code Lookup  and find the  NAICS Code for LLC  that matches your industry.

Here, you use the NAICS identification tool to drill-down through a list of industries to find the appropriate NAICS code for your business.

Once you know your industry, you can begin collecting more information about the industry trends and trajectory.

www.Bizstats.com  provides free industry statistics including industry averages for income statement revenues and expenses, balance sheets, and key financial ratios. This is very helpful in making financial forecasts and setting benchmarks.

The US Census Bureau also provides several tools to help you conduct industry research:

• The  Economic Census  provides information on employer businesses, including data sorted by industry, state, region, and more.
• Statistics of US Businesses (SUSB)  provides additional data on US businesses by enterprise size and industry. Both of these tools may help in conducting your industry analysis.

Target Market Analysis

Once you have a better understanding of the industry, you can begin to narrow down to your target market. In this section of the business plan you describe who your target market is and what you know about them.

What is a target market?  Your target market is the specific group of customers to whom your product is intended. And no, it is not everyone. Although many new venture founders would like to sell their product or service to everyone, you should focus your efforts on your most likely customers.

Narrowing your target market requires understanding the three types of markets for your products or services. Your venture’s market can be narrowed down into three categories, the TAM, the SAM, and the SOM.

The  total available market (TAM)  is the total market for your products and services. Everyone in the universe who might be your customer.

The  serviceable available market (SAM)  is the subset of the total market that you can actually reach. Although anyone in your universe might be your customer, you are limited in your ability to reach them all.

The  share of market (SOM)  is the subset of the serviceable available market that you will actually reach. These are your most likely customers. Your target market.

Target markets can be segmented in many different ways. The idea is to narrow down to your most likely customers. This is where your focus should be.

Ways you can segment the market include:

• Demographic  (e.g., age, gender, family size, education, income)
• Geographic  (e.g., country, state, region, city, neighborhood)
• Psychographic  (e.g., benefits sought, personality, social class, lifestyle)
• Behavioral  (e.g., benefits sought, usage, attitude, loyalty)

Once you understand who your target market segments are, you will be able to start determining how you can reach them. To do this, consider:

• Where does your target market get information to make purchasing decisions?
• What is it they are looking for when considering buying this product/service?
• What will your target market pay attention to?

Market Research

To determine your target market and conduct a market analysis, you will most likely have to do market research.

Market research is the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data related to your target market and target customer to support strategic decision making.

There are  two types of market research : secondary market research, and primary market research.

Secondary market research  is the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data that has already been collected for other purposes. Secondary market research may include the collection of data from a number of sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau, consumer agencies, and for-profit organizations.

Primary market research  is the collection of new information to gain a further understanding of the problem at hand. Primary market research involves you collecting the data or hiring a market research firm to collect data for you. This is you going out and actually collecting the opinions of your potential customers.

Common methods of primary market research include  customer observation, focus groups, customer surveys, and customer interviews .

Because  primary market research typically takes more time  to complete and may incur  significant costs , secondary market research is often conducted before conducting primary market research. This allows you to gather enough insights that you can narrow your primary market research to those more likely to be your customers.

To begin conducting secondary market research, consider these sources:

Think with Google  provides a number of free tools and resources to help you find and understand your target market. From tools like Find My Audience and an Insights Library to a wealth of information on customer trends and the consumer journey, Think with Google is a valuable tool in conducting your market analysis.

City Town Info  provides free statistics on people and places, colleges and universities, and jobs and careers. You can search for data on more than 20,000 U.S. communities at the city and state levels.

Google Trends  is another useful tool for conducting market research. Google Trends allows you to explore what people are searching on the internet. You can examine trending topics, see trends by year, or search your own topic to discover interest over time, by region, or by related queries.

Social Mention  allows you to conduct a real-time social media search for topics across more than 100 social media platforms. Social Mention provides you with information on the sentiment behind topic mentions, top keywords, top hashtags, and the social media platforms where these topics are being discussed.

Needless to say, there are several other great sources for both industry and market research. The key is to get creative to find the data and information to both guide your strategy as well as justify your business opportunity.

Competitive Analysis

Once you understand your industry and market, you should also include an analysis of your major competitors.

Your competitors may include anyone offering alternatives to your solution that people are using now to solve the same problem.

You will want to understand and  explain who your competitors are along with their market share , price, major competitive advantages and disadvantages, and what makes your product unique from theirs.

Start by identifying the major competitors within your industry. You should focus on your closest competitors. Those that compete with you directly.

Next, for each competitor, describe their strategies, their strengths, and their weaknesses. In doing so, try to answer the following questions:

• What are their primary products and or services?
• Who are their target customers?
• What differentiates your product or service from theirs?
• What is their pricing strategy?
• What is their marketing strategy?
• What is their main message or value proposition?
• What are their strengths and weaknesses?
• What are their competitive advantages?

You should complete a competitive analysis for your top three to five competitors. Doing so will allow you to gain a much better perspective on the competitive landscape and may provide insight into how you can distinguish yourself from your competitors and even how you can take advantage of areas where your competitors fall short.

Marketing Plan

The  marketing plan  depicts the overall strategy your venture pursues to capture market share.

The marketing plan describes all aspects of marketing for your venture, including the  product, price, place, and promotion . This includes a big picture view of your marketing strategy, your planned marketing mix, as well as your pricing strategy, sales strategy, and advertising strategy.

The marketing plan should be well informed by your industry and market analysis. By now, you have a plethora of knowledge about who your  target customer  is, the problem and pain points that you are alleviating for them, and how your competitors are positioned. All of this knowledge allows you to hone your marketing plan to reach your target market with the right message in the channels they turn to for information.

Marketing Strategy

The first section of your marketing plan is your marketing strategy. Your marketing strategy refers to your overall strategy of how you will market your product. How will you get your message out to your potential customers?

Your marketing strategy should consider the four essential elements of marketing:

The 4 Ps of Marketing:

The product is everything the customer gets, whether it be a physical product, a service, or an experience.

It is what you deliver. This includes the product or service itself, along with its branding, packaging, labeling, and even benefits.

The price is what you charge. What the customer gives you. Your business plan should discuss your pricing strategy and where this fits in your marketing mix.

Are you competing on price and thus offer low pricing? Or are you focusing on value at a medium price point? Or maybe you are positioned as a luxury label or item, and compete at a high price point? Why did you choose this strategy? Does it fit with your target market and within your marketing mix?

Location refers to where your customers find you, or where you find them.

While much of today’s marketing is done online, location is still as important as ever. Once you understand the place, you will have a much better idea on how to deploy your marketing mix. Where do your ideal customers get their information? Where do they shop? What forms of social media do they use?

Promotion is how you tell customers about your products and services.

Simply put, promotion is how you raise awareness of your products, services, or brand. Promotion strategies may include public relations, content creation and curation, marketing, and advertising.

But, keep in mind, your promotional strategies should be focused on one thing: your target customer and the strategies and messaging that works for them.

Your Marketing Mix

Your marketing mix is how you allocate resources to the marketing channels that you plan to pursue. In this section of your marketing plan, you will describe the marketing messaging and channels that you plan to use, and why these are appropriate for your target market.

Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing, or content marketing, is a form of marketing designed to draw traffic to your website by providing valuable content to your target market. This is often achieved by posting useful web content, content, videos, and blogs.

The idea behind inbound marketing is pretty simple- by providing knowledge and information on your products, services, and other information that is valuable to your customers, you generate more leads and, hopefully, more sales.

Social Media Marketing

With over 3.5 billion people around the world using social media, social media marketing is another powerful tool to reach potential customers.

Social media marketing has many advantages, including allowing you to get your message in front of your specified target audience at little to no cost.

Although there is an overabundance of social media channels to choose from. Focus on the ones that your target market uses to get their information.

For instance, if your target market is middle age or older people, you may want to focus on platforms that are more popular with these demographics such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. However, if your target market is teen agers and young adults, you are more likely to find them on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.

The Power of Video Marketing

Do not forget to discuss the use of video marketing in your marketing mix.

In both inbound and social media marketing, video has begun to play an increasingly important role. Video marketing can be employed in inbound marketing, email marketing, and social media marketing to serve a variety of purposes. The most common uses of video marketing include explainer videos, presentation videos, testimonial videos, sales videos, and video ads.

Not only can video marketing be used in a variety of methods and contexts, it is a highly consumed type of advertising. In fact, in 2020, 96% of consumers watched an explainer video to find out more about a product or service. Video works. And marketers believe this too. 92% of marketers who utilize video marketing say that it is a key part of their marketing strategy.

Email Marketing

Depending on the type of venture your company is, email marketing may also be an important element in your marketing mix. A good email marketing strategy balances gaining new customers with keeping your existing customers engaged with your company.

Although you do not want to overdo it, and a lot of email marketing seems “spammy”, email marketing can be very effective in the right form. Welcome notes, confirmation emails, informational emails, newsletters, digital magazines, promotional emails, and seasonal and birthday campaigns are just a few of the many types of email marketing.

Referral Marketing

Another common type of marketing in a company's marketing mix is referral or recommendation marketing. Referral or recommendation marketing can take many forms. Referral marketing might include good old organic word-of-mouth marketing wherein you ask customers for referrals, or even a formal system for rewarding customers who refer new clients.

Pricing Strategy

The Marketing Plan section of the business plan should also describe your pricing strategy. How are you going to price your products and services?

There are a number of ways you can approach pricing:

Markup Pricing —  Markup pricing is pricing based on your costs, plus a predetermined markup. The amount you mark up your product or service is usually expressed as a percentage, known as the gross margin. Markup pricing is most often found in high volume manufacturing industries where manufacturers must cover the cost of the products they are making.

Competitive Pricing —  Competitive pricing is pricing based on your competitors prices for similar products or services. Competitive pricing is most often seen in products or services where there are numerous competitors or substitutes.

Value Pricing —  Value pricing is pricing based on the value or perceived value that you deliver to your customers. In value-based pricing, you set the prices of your products and services in line with what the customer believes your product or service is worth. Value-based pricing is most often seen in higher value products and services, those that cater to self-image, or those that are niche or unique.

Penetration Pricing —  Penetration pricing is setting a low initial price, and then raising it as demand increases. Penetration pricing is designed to capture market share. It is a strategy often used by a new business or in launching new products and services. The idea is to set the price low enough to draw customers from your competition.

Price skimming —  Price skimming pricing is setting a high initial price and then reducing this price as the market evolves. Price skimming is most often used on new or trendy products and services. As initial demand slows and alternatives or competitors emerge, the high initial pricing must then be lowered to stay competitive in the market.

Sales Strategy

A  sales strategy  is how you plan on selling your products or services to your target market. This includes your sales channels (where will your product or service be available for sale) as well as how you will sell your product or service.

Your sales strategy depends on your business model and the nature of your business. If your business involves retailing, food services, or personal services where your customers come to you to make a purchase, your sales strategy may be quite simple (or even unnecessary to income). However, if your business involves personal selling, you may need a more thought-out sales strategy.

Some questions to ask to determine and document your sales strategy in your business plan:

• Will your products or services be available on your website?
• On a third-party website?
• In retail locations?
• In your own stores?
• In other retail stores?
• Directly to consumers? (Business to Consumer or B2C)
• To businesses? (Business to Business or B2B)
• Cold calling?
• Networking?
• Inside salespeople?
• Outside sales representatives?
• Sales through strategic partners?

Advertising Strategy

An advertising strategy is how you plan to use sponsored, non-personal messaging to reach and inform potential customers of your product, service, or brand.

Your advertising plan should describe the mediums you are going to advertise in , who you are targeting advertising in these mediums, your advertising message(s), and your advertising budget. A good advertising plan is also measurable, so be sure to consider how you are going to measure the effect of your advertising strategy to see if it is working.

Advertising Mediums

The most common advertising mediums typically fall into the categories of traditional advertising and digital advertising.

Traditional advertising  includes print advertising such as newspapers, magazines, flyers, direct mail, and even billboards, as well as radio and tv advertising.

Digital advertising  includes email advertising, search engine advertising, website advertising, social media advertising, influencer advertising, among many, many more.

The secret to finding the right advertising strategy and advertising mediums for your business is knowing where to find your most likely customers. Where is your target market, and where do they go to get their information?

Organizational Plan

The organizational (or management) plan describes:

• The legal form of the business
• Its organizational structure
• The background and roles of the leadership team
• Key personnel that are already in place or you will need to fill.

Organizational Type and Structure

The first part of your organizational plan describes your  organizational type and structure . Who owns your company? And what is its legal business structure?

There are four primary types of organizational structures:

Sole Proprietorships

Partnerships.

• Limited Liability Companies (LLCs)

Corporations

Sole Proprietorships and Partnerships are  informal business structures , while LLCs and Corporations are more  formal business structures .

The best type of structure for your business will depend on your business’s particular characteristics and needs. A partnership structure may be the best choice for some businesses, while an LLC or a corporation might work better for others.

Sole proprietorships  are an informal type of business structure. While many businesses start out as sole proprietorships because they are an informal business structure the owner is liable for 100% of the business's liabilities and risks. Thus sole proprietorships are typically not the preferred ownership structure for small businesses.

Similar to a sole proprietorship, a  partnership  is also an informal type of business structure. While a sole proprietorship involves only one owner, a partnership is a business structure with two or more partners where there is still no legal distinction between the owners of a partnership and their business.

An  LLC  is a formal business structure that distinguishes the owners from the business itself.

LLCs offer the personal liability protection of a corporation with the pass-through taxation of a sole proprietorship or partnership.

It is the simplest way of structuring your business to protect your personal assets in the event your business is sued.

LLCs can be owned by one or more people, who are known as LLC “members.” An LLC with one owner is known as a single-member LLC, and an LLC with more than one owner is a multi-member LLC.

LLCs require operating agreements . Operating agreements are legal documents that outline the ownership and member duties of your LLC. This agreement allows you to set out the financial and working relations among business owners ("members") and between members and managers.

Recommended:  Learn  how to form an LLC  in your state using our free guides.

A  corporation  is a legal business entity that is owned by shareholders, run by a board of directors, and created through registration with the state.

Corporations offer limited liability and tax benefits but are required to follow more complex operating procedures than their counterpart, the limited liability company (LLC).

Ownership and Executive Team

Now it’s time to sell the single most important element in your business plan. You!

This subsection of your business plan tells readers who is in your  ownership and executive team  and outlines the accomplishments of your team.

You should include a  short profile on each member  of your ownership and executive team that will play a role in company decision making.

Who is on your ownership and executive team? What roles will each perform? What knowledge, experience, and accomplishments do you and your team bring to the table? What roles do you still need to fill, and how and when do you plan on filling them?

It is well known that many investors consider the experience and ability of the ownership and management team to be just as important as the idea itself. Do not pass over this opportunity to highlight how your knowledge, experience, and accomplishments set you up to succeed.

Also, remember that when you are writing your descriptions of your ownership team, talk about your accomplishments- as opposed to experience. Accomplishments signify that you have a track record and can get things done.

Key Personnel

This section of the business plan highlights the  key personnel associated with the business . This may include members of the management team outside of the owners and executive management, the board of directors, and any outside advisors.

Here, include profiles on each key figure associated with your company, focusing on their accomplishments and the knowledge and skill they bring to the business.

Operational Plan

The  operational plan  describes how you will operate. The processes, strategies, and resources that you will use to operate your business on a daily basis.

This includes descriptions of production (if you produce a product) or the process you will use to carry out your service. The operational plan may also include, as necessary, descriptions of your logistics and supply chain, physical resources and needs, human resources and needs, technological resources and needs, and timetables for carrying out your plan.

Production Plan or Service Description

The  production plan or service description  explains how you are going to make and deliver your product(s) or provide your service(s). Although the production plans for products and services may look slightly different, both describe how your company will operate in the day-to-day.

If you are making a product , the production plan is where you will describe the process for making the product. What are your methods of production? What are the steps in your processes? How will you ensure quality? Maintain inventory? Handle Logistics?

If you are providing a service , the production plan is where you can describe the process you go through providing that service. What are your service methods? What will your sales and customer service look like? What is the customer experience like?

Most importantly, which of these might give you an advantage over your competitors? If you have any superior methods, processes, or other advantages, make sure to highlight them in your production plan or service description.

Logistics and Supply Chain

This section of the business plan describes your logistics and where you fall within the supply chain in your industry.

If you produce a product , you should discuss how you source materials, where your materials come from, and who your suppliers are. You will also need to discuss how you handle inventory, how you warehouse, and how you distribute your product(s).

If you are a service business , you may still have to discuss how you source materials used in your service, who your suppliers are, and how you handle inventory.

Physical Resources

In this section of the operational plan, you  describe the physical resources  that you have and the physical resources that you need to acquire. Think through everything you might need. This will become important when it is time to make financial projections.

• What facilities, machinery, equipment, and supplies do you require?
• Do you require raw materials?
• Who will be your primary suppliers?
• Secondary suppliers?
• Do you have back up suppliers and contingency plans if you cannot acquire raw materials?

Technological Resources

You should discuss the technological resources that you are developing, have, or need to create or acquire.  Technological resources may include  any software, applications, or websites that you have or will need to create, outsource, or purchase.

• What hardware or machinery will you require?
• What software or applications will you require?
• Can you purchase the software and applications you need?
• Are the software and applications you will need off-the-shelf or specialty?
• Will you have to create the software and applications you need?
• Do you need a website?
• Will you create and maintain your website inside the company or have it created and maintained by someone else?

Human Resources

Here, you describe the people that are a part of your team, and the human resources that you need to add to your team, hire, or outsource. Since you have already described the ownership and management team as well as key personnel, this section is more focused on production level workers and lower management.

• How much staffing will you need?
• What skills will your staff require?
• What will your staffing typically look like?
• How will you recruit, train, and retain employees?

Goals, Milestone, and Risk

The  goals, milestones, and risks section  of your business plan is the place to outline your goals, set key milestones, and explore and explain your preparation for the risks you will face.

Goals lay the foundation  of where you intend to take your company and how you are going to get there. It is important to ascertain the short and long-term goals for your company.

Your goals should be connected to your mission and vision, your business model, and your strategic plans. They should also reflect your ambition to move the company forward and are often reflected in  key performance indicators (KPIs) , such as numbers of users and customers, revenues, expenses, retention, satisfaction, and other indicators of performance.

Here are some questions to help you develop the goals for your company:

• When do you expect to break even?
• What do you expect your revenue to be in one year? Three years? Five years?
• What market share do you expect to capture in the next year? Three years? Five years?
• Where do you plan to expand from here?
• What KPIs do you need to achieve or improve?
• When do you expect to implement major objectives?
• What level of customer satisfaction do you hope to achieve?

When developing your goals, in addition to defining what your goals are, you also need to consider the  how , the  when , and the  who . First, consider  how  your goals will get accomplished? What actions need to be taken to achieve your goals? What milestones do you need to accomplish along the way?

Your  goals should also include your plan on  when  you plan on attaining each goal . Not only will your readers be curious about when you plan to achieve your goals, due dates and deadlines make for really powerful motivators.

Finally, you should also determine  who  is going to be responsible for working toward each goal. In a sole-proprietorship or startup it may be you, the business owner, or your founding team. However, as your organization grows, it will become more and more important to define who is responsible for pushing toward and achieving each goal.

SMART Goals

Your goals should be SMART:  S pecific,  M easurable,  A ttainable,  R ealistic, and  T imely.

• Specific —  Your goals should be clear and specific. They should be narrow enough that you can determine the appropriate steps to attain them. In addition to  what , in planning your goals, do not forget to be specific about  how ,  when , and  who . How will your goals be attained? When do you anticipate achieving them? Who is going to be responsible?
• Measurable —  Your goals should be measurable. There should be some objective metric or performance indicator by which you can tell if you have met your goals? How are you going to measure your goals? What metrics or performance indicators will you use? How will you know if you achieve your goals?
• Attainable —  Your goals must also be realistic and attainable. For a goal to be attainable you must be able to achieve it. Do not be afraid to push yourself, but setting unrealistic goals will cast doubt on your entire business plan. Ask yourself, can your goals be accomplished? By you? What will it take to attain them?
• Relevant —  Your goals also need to be relevant. To be relevant, they should contribute to the mission, vision, and success of your venture. Do your goals align with your company’s values? Are they within the scope of and aligned with your operational plan? Your marketing plan? Are they within the budget?
• Timely —  Your goals should also be timely and time-bound. Their process and progress should be clearly defined and they should have a starting and ending date. Without a timeframe, there is no sense of urgency, or motivation to get started. Make your goals time-bound. How long do you expect it to take? When do you plan on getting started? When do you anticipate achieving each goal?

Milestones are important events in your venture’s growth  that mark significant change or stage of development.

Creating a list of milestones can act as a checklist of what you need to accomplish for your venture to reach its goals. They tell the story of how you are going to get from where you are to where you are going.

Milestones might include major events and accomplishments, such as:

• Forming an LLC
• Writing a Business Plan
• Securing Seed Capital
• Develop a Prototype
• Begin Production
• First Major Sale
• Reach 10,000 Downloads
• Achieve 1,000 Paying Customers

It is alright to list a few milestones that you have already completed. Or to leave them in your business plan once you complete them. Accomplished milestones show that you are making traction.

Milestones act as a signal to potential investors and other stakeholders what to expect from your venture and when to expect it. They also signal whether the venture is progressing and growing as expected.

Implementation Timeline

The  implementation timeline is where you describe where your company is in its lifespan . You should set a timeline to reach your goals and milestones. This should include a short-term timeframe as well as where you anticipate being in the long term.

This section of the business plan should not be long. A simple chart will do. You can find several free timeline templates online to plug in your milestones and the time frame you expect to achieve them.

You will also want to include a section in your business plan showing that you understand the  critical risks that your business may be subject to . The risks you will face in your business include both internal and external risks. These are any areas that expose your venture to any kind of loss- assets, customers, sales, profits, and reputation, among others.

By exploring your assumptions and identifying possible risks in those assumptions, you can show that you have assessed and are prepared to handle risks and threats that may arise. There are several tools available to analyze business risks, including  SWOT Analysis and contingency planning .

SWOT Analysis

You may want to conduct a SWOT analysis or even include it in your business plan. A SWOT analysis is an analysis of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

A SWOT analysis can help you understand your industry and market, your venture, and the strategies that you should pursue.

To conduct a SWOT analysis, you will need to assess factors both inside and outside your venture.

Here is how to conduct your own:

• What does your company do well?
• What are your company’s advantages?
• What do you do better than your competitors?
• What unique or low-cost assets do you have access to?
• What does your company not do well?
• What are your company’s disadvantages?
• What do your competitors do better than you?
• What needs to be improved?
• Where can you improve?
• Where can you grow?
• How can you turn your strengths into opportunities?
• How can you turn your weaknesses into opportunities?
• Do the trends of the industry or market represent a threat?
• Is the number of competitors growing?
• Do changes in technology or regulation threaten your success?
• Do your weaknesses represent a threat?

Contingency Plans

After assessing your risks and your SWOT analysis, you should address any major threats or risks that your venture faces with contingency plans.

Contingency plans are plans to help mitigate these risks by establishing a plan of action should an adverse event happen.

Contingency plans show that you understand the threats and risks to your venture, and you have a plan in place to lessen the damage should these risks emerge. There are various ways to prepare for adverse events. One is through planning- identifying alternatives and determining the best course of action. Another is business insurance.

Business Insurance

Business insurance  protects against risk from several sources. The type of business insurance you will need varies greatly depending on the nature of your business.

While there are standard types of coverage like  general liability insurance ,  professional liability insurance ,  workers’ compensation ,  insurance for commercial property  and  commercial auto insurance , there are also insurance policies that cover specific business activities and specialized equipment.

You can bundle most of these into what is called a  Business Owner’s Policy (BOP)  by a trusted insurance provider to get you started doing business.

Financial Statements

Your  financial statements should include detailed projections of your income statement , cash flow statement, and balance sheet for the first year. You should also provide quarterly projections for the first three (or preferably five) years as well.

You also will likely need to include some sort of financial statement in your business plan. If you are a new venture, you will supply  pro forma  financial statements.  Pro forma  financial statements are simply financial projections.

Financial statements  can help you to evaluate the cash needs of your venture, determine whether your venture is feasible and desirable, compare your expected returns with the alternatives, identify milestones and benchmarks, and demonstrate the value of your venture to investors.

Financial Assumptions

Before you begin completing your financial statements, you should first sit down and  list the assumptions you will rely on to project your financial statements .

These should include projections concerning your:

• Initial revenue level per month
• Your growth and factors affecting growth
• Your inventory and inventory turnover
• And your operating expenses.

One of the  biggest mistakes new ventures make is in making unrealistic assumptions .

Remember, revenue assumptions are key assumptions in determining whether your business will be viable. However, many entrepreneurs are overly optimistic about their revenue assumptions and tend to underestimate their expenses.

In order to make more accurate financial assumptions, back up your assumptions with data whenever possible. To find data to back up your assumptions, look for things like industry averages, market trends, and comparisons with similar ventures. You should already have a substantial amount of this data from your industry and market research.

Pro Forma  Income Statements

The   income statement , also known as the  profit and loss statement , is a statement that shows the projections of your venture’s income and expenses over a fiscal year. On the income statement, you will detail your revenue and sources of revenue based on the assumptions you have made. You will also detail your anticipated expenses and use these to estimate your net income.

The typical income statement includes:

• Revenue —  the total amount of sales, or revenue, projected to be brought in by your business.
• Cost of Goods Sold —  the total direct cost of producing your product or delivering your service.
• Gross Margin —  the difference between revenue and cost of goods sold.
• Operating Expenses —  this section of your income statement details all of the expenses associated with operating your business. Common operating expenses might include rent, utilities, office
• expenses, salary expenses, and marketing and advertising expenses, among others.
• Total Operating Expenses —  the total of your operating expenses, excluding interest, depreciation, and taxes.
• Operating Income —  the difference between your gross margin and operating expenses.
• Interest, Depreciation, and Taxes —  this section of your income statement lists your non-operating expenses- expenses such as interest, depreciation, amortization, and taxes.
• Net Profit —  the total of how much you actually made. This is calculated by subtracting interest, depreciation, and taxes from your operating income.

Pro Forma  Cash Flow Statements

The  cash flow statement  is a financial statement that shows when and where cash (and cash equivalents) flow in and out of your venture. This tells you how much cash you will have on hand at any single point in time.

• Cash from Operating —  Cash flowing into and out of your venture from operating, beginning with “cash on hand.” Cash flowing  into  your venture from operating includes cash from sales, payments from credit sales, investment income, and any other types of cash income related to operations. Cash flowing  out of  your venture from operations, your expenses, includes costs of raw goods, materials, inventory, salary expenses, office expenses, marketing and advertising expenses, rent, interest, taxes, insurance, or any other expenses that are paid by the venture.
• Capital Cash Flow —  Cash flow, in or out of the venture, for capital assets such as the purchase or sale of fixed assets.
• Cash from Financing —  Cash flow from financing includes cash flowing in or out of your venture relating to venture financing activities. Inflows of cash from financing include the investments by founders or owners, any loans taken out during the period, or the issuance of any equity. The outflow of cash from financing may include the payment of the principal of any loans, along with the repurchase of any outstanding equity.

Pro Forma  Balance Sheet

The  balance sheet  is a financial statement that balances a venture's finances at a specific point in time. It describes how much the company is worth. The balance sheet uses  the  accounting equation:  assets = liabilities + equity . In fact, these are the main components of the balance sheet:

• Assets —  Resources that hold economic value. A business's assets include current assets and fixed assets.  Current assets  are resources that can be accessed in the short term. These include cash, accounts receivable, inventory, and other currently available resources.  Fixed assets  are resources that are intended for long-term use but hold economic value. These include land and buildings, machinery and equipment, furniture and fixtures, vehicles, and other fixed resources.
• Liabilities —  What the business owes. Like assets, a business’s liabilities are also current liabilities and long-term liabilities.  Current liabilities  are liabilities that are due within 12 months. Current liabilities include accounts payable, loans, and taxes.  Long-term liabilities  are liabilities that are due after one year. These include long-term loans, notes, and other long-term debts.
• Equity —  What the owners or shareholders own. Equity is also composed of two parts: Capital and Retained Earnings.  Retained earnings  is the amount of profit that has been retained by the company over the life of the venture.  Capital earnings , then, is what’s left. It is what has been invested. For new ventures, this may be the founder’s or early investors’ initial investments. For larger corporations, this would be the value of their shares of stock.

Break-Even Analysis

The  break-even analysis  shows you how much you have to sell before you break even. The break-even analysis uses fixed and variable costs in order to determine the sales volume you have to attain to reach a break-even point. This is the point where your sales volume covers both your fixed costs and your variable costs.

The  break-even point  is most often expressed as a number of units. You can calculate the break-even point by dividing fixed cost by the average profit per unit (average price per unit minus the variable cost).

Break-Even Point = Fixed Costs/ Profit Per Unit (Avg. Price - Avg. Variable Costs)

You can also calculate the break-even point in terms of $ of sales. To calculate the break-even point in $ of sales, you can divide total fixed costs for the period by the contribution margin ratio (net sales minus total variable cost / net sales).

Break-Even Point ($ of Sales) = Fixed Costs / Contribution Margin Ratio Contribution Margin Ratio = (Net Sales - Total Variable Cost) / Net Sales

Startup/Funds Required

If you are writing your business plan for the purpose of seeking funding, you should conclude your business plan by describing the investment opportunity.

With your financial projections in place, you will now be able to determine the amount of startup capital or investment you require.

This is because the funding you need is highly dependent on your profit and loss, cash flow, and break-even point. With well-researched assumptions and the evidence to back them up, you are ready to make the case that your business is worth the investment and will be able to pay it back or reward investors in the future.

In this section of the business plan, you will need to explain the amount of funding you are requesting as well as describe what those funds will be used for. The startup funding request will need to cover all expenses (maybe even your own personal expenses) at least until you reach your break-even point.

Business Plan Appendices (Optional)

If you have additional evidence to support your business idea, your business model, or your ability to achieve your goals and meet your financial objectives, you may want to consider including it as an appendix to your business plan.

Additional / Optional Evidence

Owners’ Resumes —  One thing you may want to consider including in your business plan is the resume for each owner. Investors often invest as much in the startup team as they do in the idea itself. Illustrations of Product —  Another helpful appendix is pictures or illustrations of your product. These are especially helpful for new products or those which are difficult to depict with words. Storyboard of Customer Experience —  If your business is a service business, you could also consider including a storyboard depicting your customer’s experience. Customer Survey Results —  You can also include any market research that you have conducted in an appendix. Showing that you have solicited feedback from real customers or potential customers provides further credence to your venture and venture idea.

Develop Your Business Idea

Before writing your business plan, it is important to take some time to develop your  business idea .

If you are starting a new company, there are likely many details of the venture that have not been fully worked through. If you already have an existing venture, the following tools can also be useful in evaluating your business model:

• A three-sentence business plan

The Lean Canvas

The business model canvas, three-sentence business plan.

An easy place to start is with a  three-sentence business plan . The three-sentence business plan is easy to construct, and consists of three parts:

• your product or service
• your market and marketing
• your revenue model.

Your Product or Service

The first sentence of your business plan clearly yet simply states your business's primary product or service. This includes the what and the where.

Example:  “CoffeeMe is an upscale bakery and coffee shop specializing in imported coffees and international delicacies that will be located in downtown Atlanta.”

Your Market(ing)

The second sentence of your three-sentence business plan describes who your target market is and how you will promote to them.

Example:  “CoffeeMe’s target market is urban professionals living and working in downtown Atlanta, marketed and promoted through traditional advertising, company partnerships, and social media.”

Your Revenue Model

The third sentence of your three-sentence business plan explains your revenue model. How will you make money?

Example:  “CoffeeMe’s revenue model includes one-time retail sales as well as a unique subscription model featuring all-you-can-drink coffee for subscribers.”

Put it all together, and you have your three-sentence business plan:

Example:  “CoffeeMe is an upscale bakery and coffee shop specializing in imported coffees and international delicacies that will be located in downtown Atlanta. CoffeeMe’s target market is urban professionals living and working in downtown Atlanta, marketed and promoted through traditional advertising, company partnerships, and social media. Our revenue model includes one-time retail sales as well as a unique subscription model featuring all-you-can-drink coffee for subscribers.”

Another useful tool for developing your business idea is the  Lean Canvas . The Lean Canvas takes a problem-solution approach to helping you plan your business, focusing on the problems you are solving for your customers.

The Lean Canvas helps you describe and visualize your problem, solution, customers, value proposition, key performance indicators, and competitive advantage.

The steps to complete the Lean Canvas are:

• Define your target customers or users
• List the problems you are solving for them and how they are currently solving those problems today
• Describe your solution
• Explain your unique value proposition
• Describe your revenue streams
• Depict how you will reach customers
• Define the key metrics that will tell if you are doing well
• Detail your cost structure
• Explain your unfair advantage

The Lean Canvas, created by Ash Maurya, and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License:  https://leanstack.com/lean-canvas

The  Business Model Canvas  helps you describe and visualize the key aspects of your venture including your customers, value proposition, infrastructure, and revenue and cost models.

If you have already completed a Lean Canvas, you will already have several of the central parts of the Business Model Canvas complete.

The steps to complete the Business Model Canvas are:

• Explain your value proposition
• Describe how you interact with customers
• List the key activities that you will need to do to deliver on your value proposition
• List the key assets that you will need to deliver on your value proposition
• Describe the key partnerships that you will need to put in place to deliver on your value proposition

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• Disaster recovery planning and management

Example disaster recovery plan for small businesses

Small businesses make significant investments in it infrastructure. they must protect those investments from unplanned and potentially destructive events with a dr plan..

• Paul Kirvan

Technology disaster recovery plans are necessary for businesses of every size. A small business disaster recovery plan protects and recovers critical IT infrastructure assets after a disruptive event.

DR plans provide step-by-step procedures for recovering disrupted systems and networks, helping them return to normal operations. The goal of these processes is to minimize any negative impacts to company operations. DR plans are essential for ensuring that a business can continue to deliver its products and services in the aftermath of a crisis.

The scale and details of a small-to-medium business ( SMB ) DR plan are typically less complex than those for a large enterprise but no less necessary. The key is to have the resources and procedures for recovering critical systems, networks and data the organization needs to function.

Included in this article is an example disaster recovery plan for small business. This template is a solid first step that can facilitate the initiation and completion of an IT DR plan. The structure of this article and the template is consistent with established national and international standards for IT disaster recovery .

Why create a DR plan specifically for small business?

Regardless of the type and size of the business, a DR plan provides a structured approach for responding to unplanned incidents that threaten an IT infrastructure. These can include threats to software, networks, processes and people.

Protecting an organization's investment in its technology infrastructure and its ability to conduct business are the key reasons for implementing an IT DR plan. Considering that businesses of any size depend on technology, DR plans should be on every CIO's short list. Support from senior management is the primary starting point for a small business DR plan, especially with funding and a project budget .

Get started with goals and analyses

Once management approval has been received to develop a DR plan, IT and DR teams should begin by completing a risk assessment to identify potential threats to the IT infrastructure. A risk assessment can also be used to identify potential vulnerabilities and single points of failure that could cause a disruption or outage.

The goal of a risk assessment is to determine which infrastructure elements are most at risk to the organization's business. For a small business with less than 100 employees, this could be any hardware in the data center, key applications the business uses, and networking resources. If the organization uses external cloud resources, the assessment should consider risks that might affect their ability to recover from an incident.

When an incident -- internal or external -- negatively affects the IT infrastructure, the business could be compromised, resulting in loss of business and reputational damage. Identifying risks and threats to the infrastructure is a key activity. For smaller organizations with fewer resources, attention to detail is critical.

It might be advisable to conduct a business impact analysis (BIA), which identifies the most important activities the organization performs. BIAs also correlate the key functions with the technologies needed to support them. This information, coupled with data from the risk assessment, results in a DR plan design that focuses on protecting the most essential systems and functions.

What do you need for a DR plan?

It is essential to have the right players during the planning process as well as a team ready to respond to system disruptions. Coordination with business unit leaders, particularly those who are responsible for the mission-critical functions, helps zero in on the technology requirements needed to sustain business operations. Senior leaders define recovery time objectives and recovery prioritization.

The DR planning process identifies critical IT systems and networks; links them to mission-critical business functions; prioritizes recovery times; and delineates the steps needed to restart, reconfigure, and recover operations.

A comprehensive IT DR plan also includes relevant supplier contacts and sources of expertise for recovering disrupted systems.

In today's business environment, both large and small businesses use cloud-based services to supplement existing IT resources. Data storage is a key use for cloud services, and many cloud vendors offer DR services of their own. The flexibility and relatively low cost of cloud DR make it a good option for small businesses.

In addition to securely protecting data, databases and applications, hardware devices must also be protected in a DR plan. Having one or two spare servers ready to use if an existing server fails is one way to minimize the consequences of a device failure. Backup power, such as uninterruptible power systems , is also essential.

Considering how much small business technology can be deployed today from hosted sources, one could make the argument that in-house DR is unnecessary for SMBs. Such a decision should be carefully made and in consultation with third-party resources to make sure they can support the technology needs of a business.

Limitations and benefits of a DR plan

Among the less tangible benefits of a DR plan is peace of mind. Aside from that, it is good to know how to manage disruptions to IT systems and return them to normal. In situations where the technology is on site, a DR plan -- even if it is only a few pages of who to call and what systems to fix first -- is far better than having no plan at all.

By contrast, SMBs using hosted systems for most of their infrastructure will still need to know who to call, what to say, and how to work on an interim basis while the third party fixes operations.

One of the key activities to perform with a DR plan is a periodic test . This will determine if the right systems are being addressed and the recovery steps have been validated. Periodic testing ensures that backup systems and data are accessible, and the organization has contact information for all necessary parties, within and outside the organization.

Regrettably, testing is perhaps the one activity most SMBs fail to perform, and it increases the risk of damage from a disruptive event.

Another challenge with DR plans is keeping them up to date. Changes in technology, installation of new patches, changes to storage devices, updates to key applications and other events should be added to DR plans but often are not.

Additional resources to develop an IT DR plan

In addition to the plan template attached to this article, the National Institute for Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-34, Contingency Planning for Information Technology Systems , is a helpful resource for building a DR plan.

This standard covers several areas of DR organizations can include in a plan. Helpful additions from this standard might include the following:

• Add a vulnerability assessment component to the risk assessment to identify and address any potential weak points.
• Identify preventive controls that reduce the effects of system disruptions and can increase system availability and reduce life cycle costs.
• Conduct plan testing, training and exercising to improve plan effectiveness and overall company preparedness.
• Consider the plan as a living document to be reviewed and updated regularly to remain current with system changes and business requirements.

SMB considerations

While this article addresses disaster recovery from a general perspective, the SMB template is designed to be flexible yet comprehensive enough to address the key business and technology issues an organization might face in a disaster. An SMB might decide that the focus is recovering critical system and network resources. As such, other sections of the template can be omitted.

Staffing can be a challenge in an SMB. In some organizations, there might be only one or two employees who can lead a recovery effort. Organizations with a one- or two-person IT department might be challenged to respond in an incident.

It might be necessary to consolidate DR plan data and procedures into a one- or two-page document. As long as emergency contacts are up to date for crisis communications , procedures are current, and backup resources are in place, SMBs can likely make it through all but the most devastating events.

How to use the template

The included template is designed to be flexible for most SMBs, and users can delete sections that don't apply to their business. Key sections to review include emergency contacts, recovery and restoration procedures, and any other activities needed to return the IT infrastructure to normal.

Following is a summary of the plan template and its sections:

• Information Technology Statement of Intent . This sets the stage and direction for the plan.
• Policy Statement. It is important to include an approved statement of the organization's policy regarding the provision of disaster recovery services.
• Objectives. These describe the main goals of the plan.
• Key Personnel Contact Information. Key contact data should be included early in the plan. It is the information most likely to be used right away and must be easy to locate.
• Plan Overview. This describes basic aspects of the plan.
• Emergency Response . This describes what needs to be done immediately following the onset of an incident.
• Disaster Recovery Team . This lists members and contact information of the DR team.
• Emergency Alert, Escalation and DR Plan Activation. These list steps to take through the early phase of the incident, leading to activation of the DR plan.
• Media. This includes tips for dealing with the media during and after a crisis.
• Insurance. This summarizes the insurance coverage associated with the IT environment and any other relevant policies.
• Financial and Legal Issues. This lists actions to take for dealing with financial and legal issues.
• DR Plan Exercising. This underscores the importance of DR plan exercising.
• Appendix A – Technology Disaster Recovery Plan Templates. This includes sample templates for a variety of technology recoveries. For some organizations, these templates might be sufficient by themselves as DR plans.
• Appendix B – Suggested Forms. These are ready-to-use forms that will facilitate the plan completion.

Paul Kirvan is an independent consultant, IT auditor, technical writer, editor and educator. He has more than 25 years of experience in business continuity, disaster recovery, security, enterprise risk management, telecom and IT auditing.

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Effective Strategies for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Reorganization

A thorough Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization strategy involves a combination of pre-filing planning, effective team building, and robust planning to achieve a successful restructuring outcome. A thorough risk assessment, stakeholder analysis, and financial statement review are vital in identifying potential pitfalls and areas of vulnerability. Assembling a team with diverse skill sets and establishing clear roles and communication channels is imperative. A viable business plan, debt restructuring terms, and asset valuation disputes resolution are also critical components. By understanding these key elements, companies can navigate the complex Chapter 11 process and emerge stronger on the other side.

Table of Contents

Pre-Filing Planning and Preparation

Prior to filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, thorough pre-filing planning and preparation are vital to secure a successful reorganization and optimize the likelihood of a favorable outcome. This initial phase is critical in setting the foundation for a smooth and efficient bankruptcy process. A detailed risk assessment should be conducted to identify potential pitfalls and areas of vulnerability, enabling the company to develop strategies to mitigate these risks. A thorough stakeholder analysis is also pivotal, as it helps to identify key stakeholders, their interests, and expectations. This analysis enables the company to develop effective communication strategies and manage stakeholder expectations throughout the bankruptcy process. Additionally, pre-filing planning and preparation involve reviewing and analyzing financial statements, identifying potential claims and liabilities, and evaluating options for restructuring debt. By investing time and effort in pre-filing planning and preparation, companies can substantially improve their chances of emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a stronger, more sustainable position.

Building a Strong Reorganization Team

As a company prepares to navigate the complexities of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, assembling a strong reorganization team with the necessary expertise and experience is crucial to driving a successful restructuring process. A well-structured team with diverse skill sets can provide a comprehensive understanding of the company's financial situation, identify areas for improvement, and develop effective strategies for restructuring.

Effective team dynamics are critical to a successful reorganization. Leadership roles should be clearly defined, and open communication channels established to ensure seamless collaboration. By building a strong reorganization team, companies can increase their chances of successfully navigating the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process and emerging as a stronger, more competitive entity.

Crafting a Viable Business Plan

A thorough business plan is crucial to a successful Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. This plan must address key areas, including financial projections analysis, operational efficiency improvement, and debt restructuring strategy. By carefully crafting a viable business plan, debtors can demonstrate a clear path forward, increasing the likelihood of a successful reorganization and emergence from bankruptcy.

Financial Projections Analysis

Accurate financial projections are crucial to crafting a viable business plan, as they enable stakeholders to gauge the company's potential for recovery and profitability in the post-bankruptcy period. Financial modeling plays a vital role in creating a comprehensive business plan, allowing companies to forecast future performance and make informed decisions. To develop reliable financial projections, companies should consider the following key factors:

• Revenue growth : Projected revenue increases should be based on realistic market analyses and industry trends.
• Expense management : Accurate forecasts of operating expenses, capital expenditures, and debt repayment obligations are essential to creating a sustainable business plan.
• Cash flow management : A detailed cash flow projection helps identify potential liquidity issues and informs strategies for managing working capital.

Operational Efficiency Improvement

Optimization of operational efficiency is critical to crafting a viable business plan, as it enables companies to streamline processes, eliminate waste, and allocate resources effectively to drive profitability and competitiveness in the post-bankruptcy period. By streamlining processes, companies can reduce costs, enhance productivity, and improve overall performance. This can be achieved by identifying and eliminating non-essential activities, automating manual tasks, and implementing lean manufacturing principles.

Supply optimization is another key aspect of operational efficiency improvement. Companies can achieve supply optimization by implementing just-in-time inventory management systems, negotiating better deals with suppliers, and improving logistics and distribution networks. This can help reduce inventory costs, improve supply chain visibility, and enhance overall operational agility. By implementing these strategies, companies can create a more agile and responsive operational framework that is better equipped to respond to changing market conditions and customer needs. By focusing on operational efficiency improvement, companies can create a solid foundation for long-term viability and competitiveness in the post-bankruptcy period.

Debt Restructuring Strategy

Effective debt restructuring strategy is vital to crafting a viable business plan, as it enables companies to reorganize their financial obligations and allocate resources effectively to drive profitability and competitiveness in the post-bankruptcy period. A well-structured debt restructuring strategy involves a thorough risk assessment to identify potential threats and opportunities, allowing companies to develop a tailored approach to manage their debt. This involves financial modeling to forecast cash flows, assess debt sustainability, and determine the ideal debt-to-equity ratio.

To achieve a successful debt restructuring strategy, companies should consider the following key elements:

• Debt prioritization : Identify and prioritize critical debts to guarantee timely payment and minimize potential disruptions to business operations.
• Creditor negotiations : Engage in open and transparent communication with creditors to negotiate debt reductions, extensions, or conversions to equity.
• Debt-for-equity swaps : Consider swapping debt for equity to reduce debt burdens and attract new investors.

Negotiating With Creditors and Stakeholders

Effective negotiation with creditors and stakeholders is a critical component of a successful Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. This process involves addressing the interests of various parties, including creditor committees, and resolving disputes related to asset valuation and debt restructuring terms. By maneuvering these complex issues, debtors can create a foundation for a viable reorganization plan that satisfies the needs of all stakeholders.

Creditor Committee Formation

During the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process, a creditor committee is often formed to facilitate negotiations between the debtor and its stakeholders, playing a pivotal role in shaping the restructuring plan. The committee, typically composed of the seven largest unsecured creditors, serves as a representative body for all creditors. Effective committee dynamics are essential in representing the interests of all stakeholders and that a mutually beneficial agreement is reached.

Key aspects of creditor committee formation include:

• Trustee Selection : The committee selects a trustee to oversee the bankruptcy process, managing the debtor's assets in the best interests of all stakeholders.
• Committee Dynamics : The committee's internal dynamics can profoundly impact the negotiation process. A cohesive and well-organized committee can facilitate more effective negotiations and better outcomes.
• Representation : The committee must guarantee that all stakeholders, including secured and unsecured creditors, are adequately represented in the negotiation process.

Asset Valuation Disputes

As the creditor committee works to shape the restructuring plan, asset valuation disputes often emerge as a key point of contention in negotiations with creditors and stakeholders. These disputes can substantially impact the debtor's ability to reorganize and emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. To navigate these disputes, it is crucial to understand the principles of asset valuation and the methodologies used to determine fair market value.

Fair market value is the price that a willing buyer would pay for an asset in an arm's-length transaction, assuming both parties have equal bargaining power and access to the same information. Appraisal methods, such as the income approach, market approach, and asset-based approach, are used to estimate fair market value. The debtor and creditor committee must agree on the valuation methodology and assumptions used to determine the fair market value of the assets.

Accurate asset valuation is critical in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, as it directly affects the amount of debt that can be restructured and the recovery for creditors. By understanding the principles of asset valuation and the appraisal methods used, debtors and creditors can effectively negotiate and resolve valuation disputes, ultimately leading to a more successful restructuring outcome.

Debt Restructuring Terms

In debt restructuring negotiations, creditors and stakeholders scrutinize the terms of the proposed plan, seeking to optimize their recovery and minimize potential losses. A well-crafted debt restructuring plan is vital to achieving a successful Chapter 11 reorganization. Effective debt restructuring involves negotiating with creditors and stakeholders to reach a mutually beneficial agreement.

Key terms in debt restructuring negotiations include:

• Debt Consolidation : Combining multiple debts into a single, more manageable obligation, often with a longer repayment period and lower interest rate.
• Financial Leverage : The use of debt to increase the potential return on investment, which can be a critical component of a restructuring plan.
• Interest Rate Adjustments : Negotiating reduced interest rates or payment deferrals to alleviate cash flow burdens and facilitate debt repayment.

Managing Cash Flow and Operations

Approximately 75% of Chapter 11 bankruptcies fail due to inadequate cash flow management, highlighting the critical importance of maintaining a tight grip on financial resources throughout the restructuring process. Effective cash flow management involves maintaining adequate cash reserves to meet ongoing operational expenses, debt service, and other obligations. This requires careful forecasting and planning to guarantee that cash inflows and outflows are balanced, and that sufficient liquidity is maintained to absorb any unexpected expenses or revenue shortfalls.

In addition to cash reserves, inventory management is another critical aspect of managing cash flow and operations during Chapter 11 restructuring. Implementing efficient inventory management systems can help reduce inventory costs, minimize waste, and optimize working capital. This can be achieved through strategies such as just-in-time inventory management, vendor-managed inventory, and inventory rationalization. By streamlining inventory management processes, companies can free up working capital, reduce costs, and improve overall cash flow management. By prioritizing cash flow management and inventory optimization, companies can increase their chances of successfully emerging from the Chapter 11 restructuring process.

Implementing Cost-Cutting Measures

Cost-cutting measures are essential to a company's survival during Chapter 11 restructuring, as reducing expenses can help mitigate the financial strain of debt obligations and operational inefficiencies. By streamlining operations and eliminating unnecessary expenditures, companies can conserve cash, improve profitability, and increase their chances of a successful reorganization.

To achieve cost savings, companies should focus on the following areas:

• Supply Chain Optimization : Analyze and renegotiate contracts with suppliers to secure better prices, reduce inventory levels, and implement just-in-time delivery systems.
• Workforce Optimization : Implement process improvements to reduce labor costs, such as cross-training employees, consolidating job functions, and implementing flexible staffing arrangements.
• Operational Efficiencies : Identify and eliminate non-essential costs, such as redundant facilities, unnecessary travel, and excessive utilities expenses.

Executing a Successful Exit Strategy

Having stabilized their financial position through cost-cutting measures, companies can now focus on developing a thorough exit strategy that outlines a clear path towards emergence from Chapter 11 restructuring. A well-crafted exit strategy is vital for a successful reorganization, as it enables companies to shift from bankruptcy to post-bankruptcy growth. This involves identifying key performance indicators, setting realistic milestones, and allocating resources accordingly. Companies should also explore strategic partnerships to strengthen their position in the market. This can include collaborations with suppliers, customers, or even competitors to drive revenue growth and improve operational efficiency.

A successful exit strategy should also consider the company's capital structure, ensuring that it is optimized for long-term sustainability. This may involve negotiating with creditors to restructure debt or exploring alternative financing options. By executing a well-planned exit strategy, companies can emerge from Chapter 11 restructuring with a solid foundation for post-bankruptcy growth. This enables them to regain competitiveness, rebuild stakeholder trust, and ultimately achieve long-term success.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can i file for chapter 11 bankruptcy as an individual?.

As an individual, you cannot file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy solely as an individual; however, if you are a sole proprietor, you may file for Chapter 11, which can provide personal liability protection and reorganization opportunities.

How Long Does a Typical Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Case Take?

The duration of a typical Chapter 11 bankruptcy case substantially varies, with average case timelines ranging from 12 to 18 months, although complex cases can take 2-5 years or more to resolve, depending on factors such as debt size and stakeholder negotiations.

Is Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Only for Large Corporations?

While often associated with large corporations, Chapter 11 bankruptcy is also accessible to small businesses facing financial constraints, providing a viable solution for restructuring debt and reorganizing operations to achieve long-term viability.

Can I Sell Assets During the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Process?

During Chapter 11 bankruptcy, debtors can sell assets, but must follow strict sale procedures, including obtaining court approval, conducting asset valuation, and providing adequate notice to stakeholders to promote transparency and fairness.

Will I Lose Control of My Business During Chapter 11 Bankruptcy?

During Chapter 11 bankruptcy, debtors may not necessarily lose control of their business, as they can maintain Financial Autonomy through Debt Restructuring, allowing them to reorganize and restructure debt while retaining operational control.