It’s May. Is your business blooming?
Back in December, the Underwire Newsletter posed 3 questions related to business planning for 2011. Now it is time to see how things are going.
Did you work out how to answer yes to the 3 big questions?
- Would you say your company is becoming more effective at meeting customer needs?
- Have you recently implemented a large-scale innovative campaign or several small-scale innovative pilot projects?
- Are you collaborating more with others outside your firm?
The most successful businesses we work with at Boxcar Marketing are those who do a comprehensive business review annually, as well as quarterly reviews that focus on a specific aspect of the strategy, such as a Customer Review, an Innovation Review, or a Partnership Review.
A useful planning cycle may look like this:
Setting aside time throughout the year to revisit the plan is an important factor in keeping your business on track.
At Boxcar Marketing, we are fans of the Plan-Do-Study-Act Model.
Before we try to solve a problem, we define it. Before we try to change a process, we understand it. Before we make any changes, we determine the most important issue or the issue having the biggest impact on the business. And then we get started. The process looks like this:
Plan
Involve team members affected by potential changes. Determine what data will be collected (how and when). Agree upon who will study the data and suggest recommendations. Plan a test.
Do
Try out the theory.
Study
Analyze the results.
Act
Based on the results, maintain the plan, modify the plan or add to the plan. i.e., go back to Step 1: Plan
When our small changes are successful, we solidify those changes by implementing them at a wider level, establishing systems to support the changes, or identifying ways in which further improvements can be made. In this case, process makes perfect!
