Successful strategic planning examples offer a wealth of knowledge to companies that are trying build a long-term vision. These examples also provide companies a yardstick to measure the success of their own strategic plan. Though at the same time, it’s also important to understand that there’s truly no “one size fits all” formula when it comes to creating a plan.
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What is Strategic Planning?
Strategic planning is an organizational process that is performed by company’s leaders. Through strategic planning, companies are able to outline future goals and decide how they plan on achieving these goals. You can think of it as a roadmap for your business and use it to plan your next move.
The most successful strategic plans are able to predict what problems your company might encounter down the road along with solutions on how to tackle them.
How is Strategic Planning Conducted?
The process is initiated keeping the company’s objectives and vision in mind. For better clarity, a SWOT analysis is conducted to highlight company strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and of course, possible threats. All these factors are collectively kept in mind while designing a plan. Most companies focus on three important components namely scenario planning, issues planning, and vision planning.
Towards the end of the process, a financial assessment is also conducted based on previous records and future projections. This exercise provides companies an insight into how to make better use out of the organization’s financial performance.
Strategic Planning Outline
Here are some important components you should include in your company’s strategic plan:
- Executive summary
- Company description
- Vision, value and mission statements
- Strategic analysis (as mentioned earlier, SWOT analysis is usually preferred)
- Action plan
- Explanation of future tactics and strategies
- Thorough evaluation and monitoring methods
- Operating and budget plans
It’s also worth noting that a bigger company would require a more detailed and organized plan as opposed to a smaller firm.
Strategic Planning Examples
For better clarity, we’ll be offering your explanation of strategic plans. Some of our strategic planning examples include:
Nike
Nike is undisputedly the most sought out athletic wear brand there is, soaring way ahead of its competitors. This was all made possible with Nike’s incredibly competent marketing department that was able to generate high brand awareness.
Additionally, Nike’s employees are encouraged to think outside the box and experiment with new ideas and novel products. The gist of Nike’s strategic plan emphasizes its contributions to increase market share and emerge as the leading name in the athletic market.
The brand also follows a value-based leadership strategy that ensures that customers receive valuable products for their high-value services. With further improvement in product lines and product mix, Nike has the potential to expand its distribution channels across the world.
Over the years, Nike has also gained a competitive edge by collaborating with technology-based companies like Apple by manufacturing competitive products. For instance, Nike introduced shoes with sensors that could be connected to iPod devices. This made it possible for users to record pace, distance and time.
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company requires no introduction, it’s among the biggest multinational brands in the world. It is best known for its popular flagship product Coca-Cola, one of the most loved beverages that one could think of. As far as Coca-Cola Company’s strategic planning is concerned, the company is always looking for innovative ways to improve their position in the market.
For instance, because of the increasing demands of no-sugar or low-sugar drinks, Coca-Cola has introduced a number of new products to cater to this new market.
The company is also shifting its goals to become a more consumer-centric brand. It was brought to light that consumers were in greater need of products that contained less sugar and were more natural. At present, the company is working to introduce products that are healthier and offer more nutrition.
Another important element of the company’s plan includes offering more convenient, smaller packaging.
Wrapping it up
Developing a strategic plan provides companies the chance to move forward and create a common understanding. These plans offer tailored answers to questions that might pop up every day. We hope you’ve benefitted from these strategic planning examples. If you have something to add, please let us know in the comment section below.
