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From Specifications
to Gold
by Jit Agarwal |
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| Development
Management
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Mapping out the
strategy and plan for a business is a core requirement before embarking on any
endeavor. Hence, a business plan has come to be viewed as the cornerstone of
strategic thinking necessary for a company's successful entry into the market.
There are many stories and often just as many myths as to what makes a solid
and successful business plan. While it is not possible to cover all the areas
of a good business plan in such a short article, we will explore three main
business areas that any successful plan will cover.
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Why This Road: The first question often asked of any business is,
"Why do you exist?" Why does the market need what you are providing?
A solid business plan looking to outline a roadmap for success will answer this
question first. In answering this question the first step is to identify the
core customers the business will serve with goods and services. Customer
analysis should be deeply based in current customer scenarios and objectively
understand their needs and motivations. Often a good place to look for good
customer insight is 3rd party research organizations, trade groups or specific
customers in the market that may be familiar to you or your network. There is
no better source, than those you know in the industry, to give you the
"kernels of wisdom" to help you explain why you are going into this
business. After the customers have been identified and their needs assessed,
the next step is to articulate the core customer requirement your business is
focused on addressing. If one can crystallize the customer's "area of
pain," the insight this provides, will trigger the "aha"
realization for why this business needs to exist in the market. A graphic
representation or case study example is often the best way to depict the
customer's pain. The more visually compelling image of customer need you can
create, the easier it will be for others to understand why you have picked this
particular road as the right one for your business.
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What's The Destination: The next area a good business plan should map
out is what the enterprise is looking to do in the market. Now that customers
have been identified and their needs articulated, what the business will do
about the situation becomes the logical question. To answer this question the
business plan should first examine the most likely product or services it will
launch into the market to address the customer's needs with minimal impact to
the surrounding market and ecosystem. After all the focus of the company is to
solve the customer's need. Not to try to take over the world. Remember your
business plan should only bite off that which it can chew. Furthermore, the
plan can propose the creation of prototype products and services that represent
solutions for the customer and recommend testing them in market with a few
representative customers. The benefit of using this approach is that it may
also give you early feedback on many factors like market acceptance, other
market factors and purchase inclination. To complete the analysis around what
the company should do in the market, make sure to examine products and services
from current market providers. Examining their offerings with an understanding
of what is complimentary, competitive and supplementary will help you identify
your own destination. Competitive analysis was covered in detail in a prior
article, "The Lay of the Land." The key elements to pull out of your
competitive analysis are the unique and compelling aspects of your products or
services versus the competition. This is what will enable you to win in the
marketplace and what matters most. Once you have clearly articulated what it is
that you will build for the market, how it compares to other offerings and what
it does that is unique versus competitors then the destination for your
business is clear.
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How Do We Get There: The final area a good business plan should map out
is the process by which the business will get to its destination by using its
chosen road. The first step in articulating the execution strategy is to
identify all of the key steps in the process necessary to take the products and
services out to the market. This includes key business steps like corporate
identity, funding, human resources and operations. It also includes key product
or services oriented steps like design, development and launch. All of the
individuals responsible for making the business a success should participate in
this effort and a comprehensive list should be quickly compiled. The next step
is to place all of these steps in the process into a timeline with timeframes.
This will give all working to drive the business a sense of what needs to
happen and when in order to make the business successful. Implied in this
timeline is also a level of priority associated with certain steps, as it's not
likely a step would be articulated in this timeline, if it weren't important
and necessarily a priority before others later in the timeline. After the
timeline is created the final step is to assign various individuals based on
availability and core competency to drive each of these steps to successful
conclusion on the proposed timeframe. Having a clearly articulated series of
steps, followed by a prioritized timeline coupled with an individual
responsible for executing these steps; answers the question of how your company
will get there.
Net net, a good business plan
will enable your organization to successfully establish a unique position in
the market. If one of the tips mentioned above enables you to effectively
launch your enterprise into the market, then you've taken your first step
towards achieving the desired end-game.
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