Completing the Corporate Puzzle
In the last post we talked about the first three of the 7 specific areas you need to consider in building your business. Here are all seven again:
Primary Aim
Strategic Objectives
Organizational Strategy
Management Strategy
People Strategy
Marketing Strategy
Systems Strategy
These 7 areas will fine turn your plan for the ultimate level of success. Today we are going to cover the last four.
Think of constructing your business model like planting a tree. At first, it’s so small and weak you wonder if it will even make it through the night. But, you keep watering, fertilizing and nurturing it. Your ideas will grow the trunk and each of these strategies will extend out as the branches of your now strong tree. Finding the perfect employees, vendors/suppliers, strategic partnerships and other relationships will make your tree flourish with leaves and flowers.
Management Strategy
The way you structure your management system is not only essential to your growth, but the happiness of your employees and, ultimately, your customers and clients. This strategy is results-oriented and doesn’t depend on the people, but the actual system itself.
A management strategy is simply a set of standards that include goals, rules, a mission statement and other concrete things that tell (1) your employees how to conduct themselves, (2) your management team how to grow your business and (3) your customers and clients what to expect. These standards should all be aligned with your business goals.
People Strategy
You need to put together a people strategy that shows your employees how you feel them, about their job performance and about their dedication to your business. They need to understand “why” they are doing specific tasks and also receive ongoing opportunities for growth and development.
One of the best approaches you can take is a strengths-based approach that provides opportunities for your team members to operate in their strengths zone and can dramatically increase their engagement and productivity as well as enhance customer retention and profitability. To learn more about this approach, read here.
Finally, you need to build a community within your company. There needs to be support, appreciation and respect. The more “at home” an employee feels, the better they will perform and the higher their level of loyalty.
Marketing Strategy
Marketing is, of course, essential to the success of any business, but it also must work cohesively with the other strategies you’re using. There are two major pillars of a successful marketing strategy - the demographic and psychographic profiles of your customers.
The psychographic tells you what your customers are most likely to buy and the demographic tells you who they are, which can help you learn why they buy specific items. Without this information it simply doesn’t matter how good your business prototype is. So, you need to become an expert in the demographic and psychographic profiles of your target market.
Systems Strategy
There are three types of systems in every business:
Hard Systems
·Soft Systems
·Information Systems
Hard systems are systems that have no “life.” Examples of hard systems include the color on the office walls, a computer, and the various machines, furniture and fixtures necessary to conduct the business that you're in.
Soft systems are those that could be living. Information systems encompass everything else, including customer data, product information, financial…anything that incorporates data and quantitative information.
The most important of all three systems are the soft systems, which include the sales systems your business uses. Within your sales system, the two keys to success are: structure and substance. Structure is what product or service you sell, while substance is how you sell those products and services.
All three systems are essential to the success of your business and while they all have their own very specific roles, they all must work together to get the job done.
We can help you work through all of these areas and give your business a jumpstart that puts you ahead of your competition right from the start.. Contact Tiso Transformational Coaching to discuss next steps in building your business.