What Are the Key Planning Factors for Competitive Success in Business? (2024)

I’m always on the hunt for relevant info and I loved this - one of the best articles I’ve seen on this topic for a while. Here are a few paragraphs as a taster...

Knowing Customer Needs

Businesses achieve success because they bring products and services to the marketplace that precisely and completely address customers’ current needs, wants or problems. The company must provide these solutions at a price that the customer views as reasonable given the value of the benefits provided. Part of planning is identifying the top customer needs at the present. You must also determine whether the company is capable of meeting these needs or successfully solving the customer’s problem.

Understanding Competitors’ Strengths and Weaknesses

A business plan can be compared to a football coach’s game plan. It describes the weaknesses of current competitors and how to attack them. The plan also makes the case for how to best use the company’s strengths to attract customers -- the best strategies to deploy, much like the plays a football coach chooses because he believes they have the greatest chance of being successful. The more time you take to closely study your competitor’s strengths and weaknesses, the more likely it is you'll be able to devise strategies to defeat them.

Finding Markets That Are Large or Growing

Competitive success is more likely in markets that are expanding at an impressive rate -- where large numbers of customers are entering the market and actively searching for the types of products or services the company is offering. In stagnant or declining markets, the company must pull customers away from its competitors. If the competitors have earned a high level of customer loyalty, taking their customers can be extremely difficult. Business planning helps a business owner identify the fastest growing or largest markets that present the greatest opportunities.