BUSINESS UNIT STRATEGIC PLANNING

1. Business Mission
2. SWOT Analysis

The overall evaluation of a company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats is called SWOT analysis. It involves monitoring the external and internal marketing environment.
(a) External environment (opportunity and threat) analysis
A business unit has to monitor key macroenvironment forces (demographic-economic, natural, technological, political-legal, and socialcultural) and significant microenvironment actors (customers, competitors, suppliers, distributors, dealers) that affect its ability to earn profits.
A major purpose of environmental scanning is to discern new opportunities. A marketing opportunity is an area of buyer need and interest in which there is a high probability that a company can profitably satisfy that need. There are three main sources of market opportunities:

(i) To supply something that is in short supply. This requires little marketing talent, as the need is fairly obvious.
(ii) To supply an existing product or service in a new or superior way. There are several ways to uncover possible product or service improvements: by asking consumers for their suggestions (problem detection method); by asking consumers to imagine an ideal version of the product or service (ideal method); and by asking consumers to chart their steps in acquiring, using, and disposing of a product (consumption chain method).

(iii) Often leads to a totally new product or service.
Opportunities can take many forms:
(i) A company may benefit from converging industry trends and introduce hybrid products or services that are new to the market.
(ii) A company may make a buying process more convenient or efficient.
(iii) A company can meet the need for more information and advice.
(iv) A company can customize a product or service that was formerly offered only in a standard form.

(v) A company can introduce a new capability.
(vi) A company may be able to deliver a product or a service faster.
(vii) A company may be able to offer a product at a much lower price.
To evaluate opportunities, companies can use Market Opportunity Analysis (MOA) to determine the attractiveness and probability of success:
(i) Can the benefits involved in the opportunity be articulated convincingly to a defined target market?
(ii) Can the target market be located and reached with cost-effective media and trade channels?
(iii) Does the company possess or have access to the critical capabilities and resources needed to deliver the customer benefits?
(iv) Can the company deliver the benefits better than any actual or potential competitors?
An environmental threat is a challenge posed by an unfavorable trend or development that would lead, in the absence of defensive marketing action, to lower sales or profit. Threats should be classified according to seriousness and probability of occurrence.

(b) Internal environment (strengths/weaknesses) analysis .Each business needs to evaluate its internal strengths and weaknesses.
The business does not have to correct all its weaknesses, nor should it gloat about all its strengths. The business should limit itself to those opportunities where it possesses the required strengths or whether it should consider opportunities that mean it might have to acquire or develop certain strengths.

3. Goal Formulation
4. Strategic Formulation
5. Program Formulation and Implementation
6. Feedback and Control