Summary:

Mr. Baldwin highlights key elements in any new product development process. These elements should include market intelligence equipped to provide well-thought-out analyses of potential new products and markets; Development capabilities sufficient to develop the new products specified by the market intelligence; production capabilities appropriate to make the products developed; marketing and sales abilities to promote and sell the products; distribution/logistics with the capacities to stock and deliver the products as needed. All of these elements must be included for a successful new product launch.

Article Quote:

“By properly analyzing your customers’ wants and requirements, what your competition is offering and what your company is capable of delivering, market intelligence should help your company focus its product development process on those projects which show the best possibilities for success in the future.”

Link: http://www.cssp.com/strategicplanning/blog/?p=528

By far the most relevant element in any new product development strategic plan is gathering market intelligence. Developing a clear understanding of what customers want, what the competitors are offering, and coupled that with an accurate financial analysis of what your company is capable of producing, marketing, and delivering is critical to a successful launch.

After launch, monitoring results of the strategic plan with performance technology that allows users immediate visibility on the various departments and their performance gives executives greater control over the entire process.

For more on strategic planning, see http://www.performancesolutionstech.com/category/strategicplanning/

Summary:

Kerry Martin asks, “What’s strategic about having a fixed plan in a year of constant change?”  She points to the turbulence of economic events in 2009 and how they have rendered many strategic plans useless. Using an outdated or irrelevant strategic plan that was developed in a different economic environment is wasteful. Instead companies need to remain flexible and adjust their strategic plans accordingly.

If budgeted projections need to be pared down, preemptively adjust your tactics to find more efficient ways to accomplish your long-term objectives. By finding alternative ways to accomplish the long-term goal, companies may avoid losing entire campaigns.

Article Quote:

“For this New Year, make the resolution to be proactive with how your marketing plan or overall business model is assessed; don’t wait for 12 months to start over.”

Link:http://thestrategicfirm.wordpress.com/2009/12/23/proactive-strategic-planning/

Implementing and  monitoring a strategic plan should go hand in hand. Changing business factors dictate the need for adjusting strategies. Using scenario planning while developing your strategic plan can help avoid sudden pitfalls. However, even the best strategists cannot plan for every scenario.

In order to monitor your plan, it needs to be in front of the eyes and on the minds of everyone in the organization. Getting everyone involved in executing the plan increases the chance for success. Strategic planning and execution software developed to perform these tasks allows leadership to see, in minutes, how well the strategy is performing.

For more on strategic planning, see http://www.performancesolutionstech.com/category/strategicplanning/

Summary:

Through SWOT analysis, executives can develop a greater understanding of what position the company is currently in and more importantly – how to advance to the next level. Lou Schultz defines SWOT, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in this article and gives several examples of relevant questions to ask when performing SWOT analysis.

The top questions Shultz gives for each topic area are: Strengths – what do you do best? Weaknesses – what are your organization’s most critical vulnerabilities in the eyes of your customers? Opportunities – where are the unmet needs? and Threats – in what areas of markets and products are you in the declining phase? These of course are just a few of the questions organizations need to address when assessing their companies. Follow the link below for a complete list of questions from each area.

Article Quote:

“Research and discussion of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats will reveal areas to be shored up or strengthened and other areas to be exploited in your planning activity.”

Link:http://www.parkrapidsenterprise.com/event/article/id/21307/group/News/

Strategic planning should include swot analysis to gain a better understanding of the company’s position within the market. However, it is not the only tool available when developing a strategic plan. By starting with the mission and vision of the company and moving on to a planned outcome of events, organizations can begin to develop a strategy for planned objectives. Tactical plans can then be developed and should be viewed as small steps along the path of the strategic plan.

For more information on strategic planning, seehttp://www.performancesolutionstech.com/category/strategicplanning/