Why Is Strategic Planning Important to a Business?

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Why Is Strategic Planning Important to a Business?

Strategic planning provides a road map to help your business get from where you are now to where you want to be. Milestones are expressed in specific terms, as quantifiable objectives that measure whether you're proceeding as planned and, if not, how far you've gone off path.


 
Long-Term Objectives

Long-term strategic objectives help you think in terms of big picture goals and overarching visions. The farther in the future you're planning, the more difficult it is to set specific goals. You may project an intention to open five stores in the next ten years without knowing what the real estate market or demand for your product will look like that far into the future. This objective can still be useful because it provides a general time frame, a schedule and a plan for ongoing growth. It will still be relevant, even if you only open four stores in five years. Long-term objectives provide distant milestones that help you orient your shorter term decisions. For example, if you plan to eventually open five stores, you can build supply chain relationships based on your intention of eventually doing considerably more business with these suppliers. Or, you may approach your branding as an effort that will start off small but build on memes and themes over time.

Short-Term Objectives

Align the short-term objectives in your strategic plan with your longer term goals. This syncing allows you to make incremental steps while also proceeding in a clear direction. If you plan to open five stores in ten years, you'll need to open them one by one, and the opening nearest at hand is your most urgent goal. It's easier to be specific with shorter term objectives, and the more specific you are, the better able you'll be to assess your progress. If you plan to open your next store in two years, you can base your timeline on this objective, making plans to finalize your lease and financing in six months, complete major construction after a year and half, and spend the final six months on finishing work, furnishing, collecting inventory and training your staff.


Strategic Planning as a Team

Strategic planning is an important tool for bringing your team together and motivating them to work in tandem. If your managers and staff know the company's short- and long-term goals, it's easier to stay on task and rein in projects and individuals when they're veering off track. Strategic objectives provide a shared sense of purpose, a shared language to gauge progress. They also provide milestones to celebrate, once they have been achieved.

Source: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/strategic-planning-important-business-2671.html