Strategic Planning | Teik Oh

How to define your “why”?

Jul 08 2018

Since Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk “How great leaders inspire action” and his book “Start With Why” everyone has been inspired by the need to understand and define the higher purpose of your business – not what you do but why you do it.

The premise is that people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

I have spoken often enough about the power of a clear vision – a strong vision statement sets the target for your business to work towards. I have also spoken, in marketing terms, about how you should not swell the features of your product but the needs that it meets.

The higher purpose – your “why” – is an extension of these two principles: “People don’t buy what you do,” how boring, “people buy why you do it,” that’s inspirational.

But if you’re confused about your higher purpose, how do you find and define it?

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Make Your Vision Come Alive

Jun 12 2018

I’ll bet that when you started your business you didn’t just decide to start it because you “wanted to make money”. Even if you didn’t formally work on it or you may not even have been conscious of it, I’ll bet that when you started your business you had an idea of what you wanted to achieve at the end of the day.

You might have called it your dream or your goal, or perhaps your vision, but I’m sure that deep down inside you had a very clear picture of what you and your business would be like at the end of the day. You “saw” yourself serving your customers, helping them and giving them solutions, you “felt” the pride and the achievement you would put into the business, and I think you would have smiled when you thought of how you would feel and the lifestyle it would give you.

Am I right?

That feeling and that idea are what I call your business vision. How can you harness those deep down desires into making your business successful?

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The SWOT Analysis

May 08 2018

The SWOT Analysis is an extremely useful management tool.

The acronym stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

The tool is explained as one of 55 useful management tools in my book “55 Really Useful Management Tools” available from Amazon.

You can use the SWOT Analysis during planning exercises in order to understand where your business or one part of your business is at the current time. You can use the SWOT Analysis to review a process or procedure to see whether it can be improved. You can even use the tool to review the performance of a team member or team itself. It has multiple uses as an analytical tool.

But what is it? And how do you use it? Read More

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What’s In A Marketing Plan?

May 01 2018

I quote this old adage all the time: “Businesses don’t plan to fail; they fail to plan.”

So I hope that as you read this, you have been influenced by me yammering on about how you really need to have some planning in your business and have – at least – prepared and are implementing a business plan! Some people have even written to me to tell me that they have even prepared a long-term strategic plan to help them grow.

And yet, most of the time, the small business owners I speak to have not prepared a marketing plan. They don’t really know what a marketing plan will do for them, and what it might contain. Read More

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Creating Meaningful Goals And Objectives

Mar 13 2018

Writing down your goals and objectives is all part of business planning.

But how do you choose your goals and objectives, and do your flow from one to the other?

Many people sit in a business planning workshop, and when getting to the “Goals” part of the discussion, start plucking their wish list out of the air. Then, when asked for their objectives, they usually repeat the goals, but in more detail.

Goals should not come from a wish list or a to-do list. Goals should come as a direct result of examining where you are now, where you want to go, and how to get there from here. While some of your wish list may have come from some consideration of a vision, you need a more process-driven approach.

You can download your free worksheet on how to create meaningful goals and strategies to follow the process.

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Increase your sales through a highly focused marketing plan!

SMART Marketing: In this book, the owners of a small business are led through the SMART Marketing 7 Step Process to produce a marketing plan targeted at their most desirable customers. Any business can use these principles and in 4 to 6 weeks implement a plan to get them through the door! Find out how...

The SMART Marketing Workbook: Companion to “SMART Marketing”, this workbook sets out the SMART Marketing process in 7 workshops for you and your staff to complete questionnaires and templates that at the end, form the marketing plan you need to sell your REAL product to your REAL customer! View now...

Category - Strategic Planning

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How to define your “why”?

Make Your Vision Come Alive

The SWOT Analysis

What’s In A Marketing Plan?

Creating Meaningful Goals And Objectives