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Business Planning 101
SELLING YOU ON YOUR BUSINESS! You’ve probably heard it said that a business plan is a selling document. While it is very true that your business plan will be an invaluable aid to you in selling your business to others, you may not have considered...
Does your culture support or sabotage your strategy?
"An organization's capacity to execute its strategy depends on its "hard" infrastructure--its organization structure and systems--and on its "soft" infrastructure--its culture and norms."
Amar Bhide
(Harvard and Columbia)
Is your organisation...
Three Steps to Give Your Strategic Plan Traction
We all agree Strategic Planning is a critical part of a company's success. All too often, however, strategic plans stall before they ever make it to execution - or they gradually lose momentum. The organization is then left in a vulnerable and...
Tips to maximize the sale of your business
Question: How can I maximize the amount of cash I receive when I
sell my business? Answer: Acquire every last after tax dollar
and get paid in cash. Also, follow three critical steps before
proceeding:
1. Preplan the sale of your business....
Who do you talk to?
Many of you reading this will be running businesses, or parts of, whether they are your own or not. This means that you have many things to deal with on a day to day basis plus trying to do the long-term thinking needed to lead and run the business....
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Competitive Marketing Analysis
The keyword in this phrase gives us a hint - "competitive". The
competitive marketing analysis is an in-depth study of your
business's competition and the markets available to you in order
to ensure your advertising and public relations budget dollars
are spent where they will be most effective. In order to perform
strategic planning for your firm's future, it is imperative to
know who the competition is and exactly what you are up against
to ensure that your market share is sufficient for your firm's
future. Increasing market share is the goal of any competitive
marketing analysis. Identifying the Competition Who is the
competition and how can they be located? Since you know exactly
what products or services your firm provides, you can locate
your competition by identifying other producers or providers in
the same market that you supply. This is not a difficult task;
it does, however, require some research. Competing suppliers are
not hiding; they advertise just as your firm does.
The yellow pages of your local telephone book can be the
starting point for competition identification. Research the
Internet searching for press releases and publications which use
descriptions similar to your products or services. Government
agencies, Dunn and Bradstreet, business magazine features or
employment of a private research firm can reveal a great deal
about your competition and how they operate. Shop Your
Competition If you want to know first-hand about your
competition, shop with them. For example, if
Associated Websites
you are in the
restaurant business, eat at local restaurants that are similar
in price range and clientele to your establishment. If you are a
plumbing business, have someone contact the competition and
learn prices of service calls and specific products. Knowing as
much about the competition as possible allows your marketing
analysis to include details rather than generalities. Unbiased
Comparisons In order to truly analyze your firm's strengths and
weaknesses, you need unbiased sources willing to compare your
firm and the competition. You can employ market researchers, use
surveys, form focus groups to obtain completely unbiased
opinions on what you are doing right and wrong and how your
competition stack up to your business.
Measure your strengths and ensure these strengths are maintained
or improved upon. Identify your weaknesses and create a plan to
improve those areas significantly. After you implement your
plan, go back to your unbiased researchers and obtain another
comparison to ensure that your implementation of your strategic
plan has been effective.
About the author:
Matt Bacak became "#1 Best Selling Author" in just a few short
hours. Recent Entrepreneur Magazine's e-Biz radio show host is
turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success
Stories. Discover The Secrets To Unleash The Powerful Promoter
In You! Sign up for Matt Bacak's Promoting Tips Ezine ($100
value) just visit his website at http://www.powerfulpromoter.com
or http://promotingtips.com
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