Checklist for Business Objectives & Strategies

by Tom Burgum, Lancaster SCORE 

 

 

Here’s a checklist I developed to help my SCORE clients evaluate their readiness to prepare a business plan.  It’s not about the plan, which will change constantly.  It’s about the planning process … and answers to the questions:

SCORE Marketing Expert Tom Burgum

“So what?  Now what?  Why you?”

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  • Segment customers to more effectively meet their needs
    • Create customer value and competitive advantage by segment
    • Determine ‘cost to serve’ for each segment and key customer
    • Prioritize and focus on top opportunities
    • Grow market share … profitably

 

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  • Offer distinctive solutions
    • Accelerate the introduction of successful new products, services
      and systems
    • Differentiate customer benefits/value from competition
    • Sell solutions, not just products and/or services
    • Sell the ‘experience’ you offer
    • Focus on the buying process, not the selling process
    • Build ‘switching costs’ [what customers would lose if they switched to your competitor]        

• • Enable a best-in-class, empowered, focused workforce
    • Continuously improve the capabilities, capacities and effectiveness
      of your team, including ‘outside’ accountants, lawyers, etc.
    • Engage employees as ‘owners’—what’s in it for them?  Do they have a stake in the outcome … or are they just ‘coin –operated’
    • Recognize and reward contributions
    • Earn their trust
  • Maintain an unassailable cost advantage vs. your competition
    • Best-cost supplier
    • Invest in people and technology
    • Focus on continuous improvement
    • Focus on return on investment
    • Focus on “ROT’ – return on time.  It’s a finite resource.

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