What is strategic planning explain the tools used in strategic planning process?

Strategic planning involves considering potential internal and external impacts on the organization and then mapping out an approach to deal with these impacts. From a marketing standpoint, strategists consider customer needs, competitive factors and organizational advantages and analyze them using a different strategy implementation tools.

Strategic planners use a variety of tools for strategic planning to help develop and implement ways to ensure that the strategies and tactics developed are appropriate and plans can be effectively put into action.

SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis is a tool used in strategic planning to identify and, ultimately, prioritize the organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It's one of the most commonly used business-management strategy models because of its ease of use and practical nature. Because it doesn't require extensive training to use, many small businesses use this as a regular strategy planning method.

The process involves a brainstorming session where participants create a list for each of these areas based on previously gathered data and information. Once the lists are created, a ranking process is used to prioritize the items so that the top items in each category can be used to provide a basis for the development of objectives, strategies and tactics.

Porter's Five Forces Model

Michael Porter developed his Five Forces Model and introduced it to the world in 1980 in his first book, "Competitive Strategy." The model provides a basis for companies engaged in strategic planning to consider the critical forces that are impacting it.

These forces include existing competition between suppliers, the threat of new entrants to the market, the bargaining power of buyers, the power of suppliers and the threat of competitive products or services. Using information regarding these factors, sales and marketing teams can make projections and set tactics to help meet a company's objectives.

Mind Map Tools

Mind maps are visual tools used in strategic planning to show how various items relate to each other. A mind map is a diagram that presents words, ideas or images linked to an initial central theme or idea.

Mind maps are a form of brainstorming and was popularized by psychologist Tony Buzan in 1976, and has bee widely used ever since. The process starts with an initial question or problem that is written in the center of a large piece of paper or on a whiteboard. Additional ideas or concepts are then tied to and branched out from the central idea. Planners look at how different concepts intersect and can be combined to create tactics for growth.

A Balanced Scorecard

The Balanced Scorecard is a method used to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of strategic plans. According to the Balanced Scorecard Institute, it has been popularized by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, who wrote about it in their book "The Balanced Scorecard" in 1996.

It is a way for organizations to track progress on strategic planning goals across various categories that are balanced against each other to ensure appropriate focus across all areas. This reduces the chances that one department's or team's efforts will conflict with another area of the company.

Posted on Aug 11, 2022 at 07:08 PM

Strategic planning tools are helpful in better managing strategic plans and designing a practical planning system. Strategic planning tools are usually used to integrate the planning model and to achieve the goals set by the company.

What tools are helpful in the strategic planning process? How can they be used for planning? Many tools are mentioned, and each has special significance and specific ways to integrate them into the planning processes. You can learn about it all in this article.

What is the concept of strategic planning?

The development of corporate and institutional strategic plans is the step taken by corporate leadership, which includes the vision for the future of defining overall goals by identifying systematic steps to follow to reach all desired goals.

 Strategic planning and business planning differ. Strategic planning represents the preparation of a long-term plan. But Business planning is a process aimed at a short-term plan to achieve goals.

Strategic planning can take 3 to 5 years to fully implement, while business planning has a shorter implementation time, ranging from a few months to several years.

Strategic planning helps design a plan, translated according to a plan document. The document is used to discuss and follow up on that plan, for example, by workers, employees or partners.

Balanced strategic business planning needs proper support and methodologies. Strategic planning tools support, promote and improve this planning through attention to managing the strategic planning system and operational excellence.

The most popular strategic planning tools

1. Visioning

Future vision or thinking about the strategic planning process is essential in planning. It is an essential tool that involves long-term thinking, which is what the organisation wants. This tool helps in knowing the institutional objective, as this process identifies the most likely customers, how they think, and many marketing aspects.

This analysis is helpful in decision-making towards the most appropriate projects in the organisation and in enhancing performance for leaders. They will know how to work better after being informed about the organisation's vision. They will follow the strategic methodology according to the vision. This highlights the importance of looking ahead to the strategic planning process.

2. Metrics

It is one of the tools and methods of strategic planning or strategic analysis. The measurement tool assesses the company's current status, provides the management graphic information for the company's access, and analyses the business results.

The tool consists of computational data, figures and statistics, and planning is futile without a functioning system for staff to determine their daily activities. By analysing benchmarks by leaders, they will follow a methodological method according to standards, know when to work on a specific area, and know whether to work well at the current stage.

In short, a Measurement is an essential tool for managing any project with the proper strategic planning, the same as implementing a balanced scorecard approach to your strategic plan. 

3. Pestel Analysis

The company's external environment assessment tools must be used to identify factors affecting the enterprise's business, such as social, environmental and economic factors.

Pestel analysis is one of these tools, and this analysis helps evaluate Market Share. It also gives vulnerabilities, the risks, and when SWOT analysis is carried out. Hence strategic marketing planning can be developed.

4. SWOT Analysis. 

It is a strategic analysis and planning tool that relies on sharing ideas among employees, discussing risks to their company, identifying opportunities for the company and how to benefit from them, and identifying weaknesses.

This tool provides a range of helpful information, which may only need to be developed to be valid for use in the company's internal projects. These projects solve crises to remove barriers to the company's success.

All a leader has to do is ask participants to identify the company's strengths and weaknesses and discuss the strengths of the company's aspects from the marketing side. For example, what makes the company a strong competitor in the market, and the weaknesses, where the aspects that impede the company's progress are discussed.

At the end of our article, 

Strategic planning tools are multiple. Suppose you want to manage strategic planning to achieve the overall success of your company. In that case, these tools will bring your company to the excellence of competitors, and you can acquire skills in management and leadership through the management best training courses in London.

What tools are used for strategic planning?

What is strategic planning?

What are the 7 stages of the strategic planning process?

What are the 6 planning tools and techniques?