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Strategic Business Planning: Initial Benchmark

An opportunity to benchmark your current strategic capability and maturity in your organisation.

Step 1 of 18

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Please complete this initial benchmark assessment of your business at the beginning of your Strategic Business Planning for B2B Programme.
Company:*
Full Name:*
Job Title*
Email*
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Business Context
Please answer the questions below to help us understand the current situation in the business.
Q1) What is the growth ambition of the business? (specify as absolute revenue target, % growth, etc. in a specific timeframe)*
Q2) What are you hoping to achieve by undertaking this programme?*
The rating scale in the questions below is: 1 = low confidence, 10 = high confidence
Q3) How confident are you that you have the conditions and resources in place to achieve this ambition within your required timeframe?*
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Q4) How confident are you that the company's vision and objectives are clear, understood and being acted upon across the business?*
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Q5) How confident are you that your team has the motivation and attitudes to deliver against your current growth plan?*
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Q8) Across the business, please rate the team’s collective skills in the following areas (using a scale of 1-5, where 1 = low, 5 = high):
• Financial planning*
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• Forward planning (strategic or operational)*
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• Analysis of business sales history*
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• Detailed understanding of changing customer needs*
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• Coordination of resources*
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• Delegation*
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• Appetite for change*
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• Ability to execute business change*
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In what time frame do you need to complete your strategic business plan if there is a deadline?*
- Next 3 months
- Next 3-6 months
- Next 6-9 months
- No real deadline

Growth Benchmark
In this section we need to establish a strategic business planning benchmark for your business before you commence the programme. This will be repeated at the end of the programme and we would expect to see reasonable progress over that time.

In this assessment you are required to select the statement which most resembles your business status in each area. It is critically important that you only select the statement where you meet all criteria provided. If you do not meet all criteria, please select the previous statement.

If you're an on the Elite programme, at the beginning of the coaching sessions, your coach may need to discuss your benchmark with you to verify the accuracy of the benchmark.
Goals & Objectives*
- There is a basic revenue and profit goal set for the business for the next 3 years.
- The business has financial as well as non-financial goals and objectives in place that are reviewed annually.
- The business has detailed financial and non-financial goals and objectives in place that are defined and broken down into short term and long term goals that the business measures itself on.
- The business has detailed financial and non-financial goals and objectives in place that are defined and broken down into short term and long term goals. The business reviews them on monthly basis to ensure the business is on track to achieve its goals.
- The business has detailed financial and non-financial goals and objectives, defined and broken down into short term and long term goals. The business has a further level of breakdown of the company goals which are translated as personal/individual goals for every employee in the business with the aim that if all employees achieve their goals, the business collectively achieves its overall goals and objectives. These company and individual goals are reviewed and maintained on monthly basis.

Growth Strategy*
- There is an ambition to grow the business. There are broad percentage growth figures set annually but there is no formal strategic plan.
- There is a financial growth plan for the next 3 years that includes high level numbers of year on year growth, areas of growth and impact of those increased numbers on the business.
- There is a documented growth strategy within the business which includes the financial and non-financial growth metrics. The growth strategy also includes how the business is going to achieve the growth targets.
- The growth strategy is comprehensively defined in the business with the breakdown of product/service areas and geographic market targets that will deliver the growth targets. The business growth strategy also includes how the business is going to achieve the targets. The progress is measured quarterly against set metrics to ensure growth plans are on track.
- The business has a comprehensive growth strategy with defined breakdown targets and how each breakdown target is going to be achieved. There are devolved responsibilities in the business for different elements of the growth strategy. These are reviewed and reported on monthly basis. The business has a dedicated forum where the market insights are shared with the board to identify new opportunities that can supplement the growth strategy of the business.

Growth Accelerators & Inhibitors*
- The business reacts to the inhibitors for the business as and when they are identified.
- The business usually reacts to the inhibitors and accelerators of growth but there is a way/process to deal with these within the business.
- The business actively identifies the business growth inhibitors and accelerators and deals with them in a structured way that is defined within the business.
- The business proactively identifies the business growth inhibitors and accelerators. There is a proper action plan to make the most of the accelerators and mitigate the inhibitors. The responsibilities are also assigned as part of the action plan.
- The business proactively identifies the growth inhibitors and accelerators. There is a documented action plan with assigned responsibilities. The action plan is regularly reviewed and updated to register any changes to the accelerators and inhibitors. There is a forum to discuss them and plans are defined to deal with them.

Market Research & Analysis*
- The market research and analysis is gathered from the experiences and interactions of the individuals in the business but not widely shared across the business. There is no process in place to formally document intelligence gathered.
- The market research and analysis is gathered and captured from different individuals and functions in the organisation through a forum. It has been documented but is not updated for more than a year.
- The business has a structured market research and analysis framework to develop market insights for the business. It also captures the market intelligence from the individuals in the business. It is documented and updated annually.
- The business has a structured market research and analysis framework to develop market insights for the business. It also captures market intelligence from the individuals in the business. It is documented and updated regularly. The market insights are produced and reviewed on quarterly basis to inform the business.
- The business has a comprehensive and structured market research and analysis document updated annually. For every new product or geographic market, research is undertaken to develop an informed view of the market. The document is reviewed on quarterly basis as part of the board agenda where business decisions are made based on the market insights and strategic direction of the business is adjusted accordingly.

Revenue Streams*
- The business has high-level financial targets for revenues and profits that are updated annually.
- The business has a documented financial plan with more details around the different existing and current potential revenues.
- The business has a defined and documented financial plan which identifies and segments the revenue into new/recurring or geographic/product categories, etc. which is updated and measured at the end of every financial year.
- The business has a defined and documented financial plan with details and targets revenues for each product/service and geographic market category. These are reviewed regularly and future revenue opportunities and potential funding opportunities are identified and discussed in the business.
- The business has a defined and documented financial plan with specific sales/revenue targets for each of the product/service and markets which are reviewed regularly. The business manages and reviews the financial plans and has a structured forum involving different functional departments to identify opportunities to extract further value from the market and further improve the financial results of the business.

Cost Structure*
- The business does not have a defined budget to support the growth plans. Spend is adhoc and focuses more on committing resource time which is typically not costed by the business.
- The business has an overall budget with spend allocated to broad categories.
- The business has a well defined budget which has allocated spend & contingency to various activities throughout the year. Financial Accounting processes track and control expenditure.
- The business has a well defined budget with a high level of detail in allocated/planned expenditure. There are defined processes to manage and control expenditure. Spend in new activities typically requires internal trade-offs to sacrifice spends in other areas.
- The business has a well defined budget and is receptive to justifiable spends beyond budget where there is a sound business case. There are defined processes which encourage business financial agility to manage spend or diverting funds into more effective activities.

Targeting & Segmentation*
- The business (and key sales/marketing resources) have business contacts in relevant target organisations. The identification and targeting of new contacts is frequently opportunistic and ad-hoc.
- The target market is defined and the business has developed target lists, based on market knowledge and historical customer data. These lists are added to as resources in the business become aware of new relevant targets.
- The target market is defined and the business has sufficient lists of relevant target organisations for current needs. Some form of segmentation is being used to focus sales and marketing resources and activities.
- The target market is well defined and the business uses segmentation strategies to target and prioritise key market segments. Processes are in place to regularly review the target market to update and supplement target lists with new contacts. These systems are subject to regular review.
- The target market is well defined and the business uses sophisticated segmentation strategies to target and prioritise key market segments. The effectiveness of the segmentation is regularly reviewed and refined. Systems and processes are in place to regularly review the target market to update and supplement target lists with new contacts and current market intelligence. These systems are subject to regular review.

Customer Relationship*
- Customer relationships are managed by nominated individuals without any formal guidelines, structures or processes. These relationships are managed on an adhoc basis.
- Customer relationships are managed by nominated individuals to an agreed generic process which may not be documented but is largely consistent across the team.
- The business has defined customer relationship management processes in place, which may use or follow a CRM system. There is either a nominated champion or a regular forum in the business where these relationships are reviewed.
- The business has well defined customer relationship management systems and processes in place. This includes key account management plans for higher priority customers. These relationships, plans, processes and systems are proactively managed across the business to maximise the value of customer relationships.
- The business has well defined customer relationship management systems and processes in place. This includes key account management plans for higher priority customers. These relationships, plans, processes and systems are proactively managed across the business. There is a regular of customer relationships, new customer acquisition and potneital lifetime customer value. The business proactively collaborates with customers to gather feedback to focus marketing and sales activities and the overall business direction.

Marketing Channels*
- The business focuses primarily on direct communications to the target market contacts. There is limited ad-hoc use of other channels to market.
- The business uses a range of marketing channels to engage target market contacts, which are known and familiar to the business. New channels are only reviewed where the business becomes aware of other channels being successfully used within the industry by others.
- The business has a defined process, possibly around the marketing planning cycle, to review, select and plan use of marketing channels. There is a basic level of measuring enquiries and sales generated by channel.
- The business has a defined process, possibly around marketing plan review stages, to review, select and pilot use of new marketing channels. This contingency is catered for within the marketing plan. There are defined decision making processes for increasing or reducing use of specific channels, based on results, to operate within budget and achieve marketing objectives. This process is subject to review.
- The business has systematic processes for identifying, piloting and rolling out campaigns through new and relevant marketing channels. The business has established sophisticated measurement and controls which enable it to continuously review and evaluate the effectiveness of the channels to market used. These systems are subject to regular review.

Value Proposition*
- The business has a value proposition which is a functional description and is generic. This is an inconsistency in the use of the statement in different marketing/sales collateral.
- The business has a value proposition which is functional and also defines generic business benefits to the customers. It is consistently used in marketing/sales collateral and business development meetings.
- The business has a value proposition which has been developed using the knowledge of the customer and their needs. It is customer value focused and defines the value the product/service brings for them. It is consistently used in all collateral and meetings.
- The business uses a structured framework to develop value proposition for its different user profiles i.e. market segments, identifying the customer needs(gains/pains) and how the product/service addresses them and add real value for the customer.
- The business uses the structured framework to develop value proposition for different customer profiles. There is an added layer of sophistication where the value proposition is tailored for every individual within that user profile and the gains/pains are reassessed to address the specific needs of the customer.

Key Activities*
- The business has in place the key activities it needs to operate the business. The business reviews its key activities as different needs are identified or issues are raised. There may be a lack of consistency in how activities are performed within functional areas.
- The business has its key activities identified for all the different functional areas of the business. Key people are familiar with managing and delivering the activities required to ensure consistency, however there may be no formal processes defined for key activities.
- The business has its key activities identified for all the different functional areas of the business. Key people are familiar with managing and delivering the activities and processes are defined for ensuring consistency, this may not be to a defined industry standard.
- The business has its key activities identified for all the different functional areas of the business. All resources within functions are familiar with delivering the activities and processes which are defined to a recognised industry standard. The business has allocated budgets and performance criteria for each functional area which gets reviewed on regular basis. The business has a dedicated forum where the performance of all key activities is reported and decisions are made.
- The business has its key activities identified for all the different functional areas of the business. All resources are familiar with delivering the activities and processes are defined to a recognised industry standard. The business has allocated budgets and performance criteria for each functional area which gets reviewed on regular basis. The business has a dedicated forum where the performance of all key activities is reported and decisions are made.The forum proactively seeks knowledge on the latest industry developments and identifies performance improvement initiatives to innovate their activities and continually improve their performance.

Key Resources (Physical, Financial, Intellectual, Human)*
- The business relies on the existing key resources it has in place to operate the business. These key resources are identified and acquired on on-going basis to satisfy the needs of the business. There is no active management of intellectual resources like patents, copyrights, databases within the business. Human resources are informally developed through on-the-job learning with little or no external training provided.
- The business has identified the key resources in all areas required to operate the business. These include physical resources, financial resources, intellectual resources and human resources. There is a means to identify gaps in capability and address these through on-the-job learning and occasional use of external training.
- The business has identified the key resources in all areas required to operate the business. There are defined processes in place to manage all resources within the business. The business has a process, typically part of an annual review, which enables it to plan on-the-job and off-the-job training and development of resources in key skill areas.
- The business has identified its key resources (physical, intellectual, financial, human). The business proactively manages these resources within a defined structure and with performance measures in place for all resources. The performance of these resources are subject to reviewed on regular basis. The business has a process, typically part of an annual review, which enables it to plan on-the-job and off-the-job training and development of resources in key skill areas. The business routinely seeks advice from recognised experts.
- The business actively manages its key resources for the business. There is a forum for management to regularly review the status of key physical and intellectual resources and how these can be improved in line with the latest industry developments. The effectiveness of the resources and these processes is subject to review. There is a dedicated budget allocated to updating and upgrading key resources and an active focus on retaining highly skilled human resources.

Key Partners*
- The business is not proactive about key partnerships. It gets approached by the partners and loose agreements are formed with the partners (at times documented).
- The business gets approached by the potential partners but it is selective about them. Each partnership offer is assessed by the business and some form of formal agreement is made.
- The key partnerships are needs driven within the business. Where the business identifies a need for a key partnership, it approaches potential partners after careful assessment and forms formal documented partnerships with them.
- The business proactively looks for key partnerships to support the growth of the business. The partners are carefully selected and formal partnership agreements are put in place. The partnerships are regularly reviewed at a dedicated forum and someone in the business is responsible for managing/maintaining key partnerships. The forum also evaluates existing partnerships and potential future partnerships.
- The business has key partnerships in place with formal agreements. These partnerships are managed by a nominated champion in the business. The partnerships are regularly reviewed within the business at a dedicated forum to evaluate the value delivered by them. There is a collaborative working environment between the partners and they meet regularly with the aim to improve the partnership, discuss collaborative innovation opportunities and business model improvements. It is also a platform for shared learnings and intelligence sharing.

Risk Management*
- Risks are are dealt with on adhoc basis as and when identified.
- Risks are documented at board level and the business has an agreed means of managing risk as they occur.
- The business identifies the risks using a structured framework that covers all areas of the business and external risks to the business. A further qualification of the likelihood of the risk and potential impact of every risk is also identified in a risk log maintained within the business.
- The business identifies and logs the external and internal risks to the business. Every risk identified has a level of likelihood and potential impact assigned to it. These risks are reviewed on quarterly basis to register any changes and a nominated resource in the business is assigned to mitigate the most likely / high impact risks where possible.
- The business has a regularly maintained risk log with all the internal and external risks identified with their likelihood and impact. A nominated resource in the business is assigned to manage and mitigate the risks. These risks are regularly reviewed, reassessed and reprioritised every month/quarter at a forum to ensure risk profile of the business is updated.

Action Planning*
- There is no formal structure for translating strategy into action and managing the progress of actions.
- The actions to deliver the strategy are clearly identified and understood. There is some form of review of actions that takes place within the financial year.
- The actions to deliver the strategy are clearly identified and understood. A person is responsible for managing and tracking actions through an appropriate internal forum.
- The actions to deliver the strategy are clearly identified, understood and delegated to key responsible team members. There is consistent tracking of actions and progress through a regular management forum.
- The actions to deliver the strategy are clearly identified, understood and assigned to key responsible team members. There is consistent tracking of actions and progress through a regular management forum. Actions are aligned with personal objectives and embedded in the appraisal process. Actions are regularly reviewed, reassessed and reprioritised every month/quarter at a forum to ensure progress to plan and corrective action taken where appropriate.

Next Steps
The information you have provided will be used to develop spider chart analysis of the current situation of strategic business planning within the business. This will also help you to identify and understand the areas of improvement in the business. Some of these will be addressed as part of this programme Please click on the submit button below to return your completed benchmark assessment. Thank you!

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