7 Most Popular Strategic Plan Templates to Grow Your Business

Your organization’s success is influenced by the meticulousness of your vision and planning irrespective of your size or the industry you are into. The strategic plan templates provide a roadmap for achieving the measurable goals. Also, such a plan will upsurge your chances of accomplishing objectives within the stipulated budget and time. Let’s understand what is needed to formulate this plan.


What is Strategic Planning?

Strategic planning is an organizational activity that is exercised to focus energy and resources, set priorities, and ensure that stakeholders and employees are working towards common objectives.

Also, it aims to strengthen operations, assess and amend the organization’s course in response to a shifting environment, and establish agreement around envisioned results.

It is a cautious effort that yields fundamental actions and decisions. It shapes and guides what a company is, what it does, why it does it, and who it serves. It is the procedure of recording and creating a direction of your business by measuring both where you are now and where you are heading to.

A well-documented strategic planning process can play a crucial role in your business’s success and growth because it states to you and your team of employees how best you can respond to challenges and opportunities.


What to Include in a Strategic Plan?

Elements of a Strategic Plan

A strategic plan is a dynamic presentation or document that specifies your company’s current situation, sketches your future strategies, and demonstrates to you how the company will get there. Forming a strategic planning template includes utilizing a suitable format and layout with the proper elements to signifying your strategy.

Below mentioned are the major parts that must be included in a strategic plan:

  1. Mission Statement

    A company’s mission statement elucidates what its business is aiming to accomplish. Why does it hold a significant value?

    Because for any internal decision-making process, this statement leads your employees to make apt decisions. These decisions are in tune with the company’s mission, culture, and statement.

    Even for external parties, namely, partners, customers, and investors, it is this mission that can motivate them to take the steps you require.

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  2. Executive Summary

    The strategic plan’s summary should be finished at last. This segment simply summarizes every other segment of your whole plan. Why is writing a summary necessary?

    Because such a narration will help other main constituents, for example, advisors, investors, and employees understand your business plan and company culture and its examples quickly.

  3. Goals

    Business planning and realizing goals is the trademark of efficacious companies and the main element of your entire strategic planning process. What to make – long-term or short-term goals?

    The key is to recognize your long-term or 5-year goals first. Next, classify your 1-year goal; specifically, what you must accomplish in the subsequent year for it to be prosperous and to put your organization on the right route to succeeding in your 5-year goals.

    Then work in reverse two more times to define your goals for the next quarter and the following month. Preferably you appraise your strategic plan template once a month to amend this segment.

  4. Elevator Pitch

    An elevator pitch is a brief business statement of your company. This elevator pitch is encompassed in your strategic plan as it is important to your company’s success, and must be updated yearly. Why is having an elevator pitch fundamental?

    If your team of employees cannot concisely and clearly communicate your business and its activities to others, you may inevitably miss out on loads of opportunities and sales. So, seize the day with an effective elevator pitch of your company offerings!

  5. Financial Forecasts

    The financial estimates in your strategic plan help in multiple ways. How?

    First, you may utilize a financial model to evaluate the prospective outcomes for every opportunity you think is pursuing.

    Furthermore, once you decide the opportunities you are about to pursue, your financial forecasts will chart the goals. For instance, you will know accurately how many new consumers you must entice in the coming month, and at what amount, to attain the month’s objective.

  6. Action Plan

    Your action plan aids you to convert your opportunities and goals into a reality. In this segment of your strategic plan, you will categorize each of the discrete projects that encompass your strategic objectives and how such projects will be accomplished.

    Lastly, you will outline every initiative, preferably in a Gantt chart, so that you gauge when the projects will begin and who will take a lead on them.

  7. Industry and Competitive Analysis

    An industry analysis does not have to be an all-inclusive report on what is happening in the market. Nevertheless, you must conduct an analysis to make sure that the market scope is growing. If it is not so, you might need to diversify and help recognize new opportunities for progress.

    Moreover, you may define who are your main competitors as well as list their weaknesses and strengths. Most essentially, use such analysis to decide your prevailing competitive benefits and ways to build additional benefits. 

  8. SWOT Analysis

    Wondering why SWOT analysis be included in a strategic plan?

    The motive to contain a SWOT analysis (examination of your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) in your plan is to assist you to elucidate the preeminent opportunities to follow to realize the set goals. It also aids you in classifying which strengths must be developed in the coming times to enhance your company’s productivity

  9. Target Consumers

    Here, you will identify the needs and wants of your target consumer groups. Why is considering the target audience necessary?

    It is important in directing your marketing efforts and getting a huge return on investment (ROI) on your advertising expenses. In this way, the more you ‘speak’ to your target customers’ needs and wants directly in your marketing strategy, the better you will entice them towards your brand.

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  10. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

    Successful businesses comprehend their KPIs and metrics. By tracking your KPIs, you know precisely how your operations are performing and can regulate as required. How? Let’s find out through an example.

    For instance, if sales are affected by the number of visitors to your website, those who complete a contact form, proposals you present to these leads, and the proposal closing ratio, then every KPI must be tracked.

    At that time, if for example, the number of visitors to your site declined, you would recognize and fix this matter straight away, instead of waiting till the sales drop later. Therefore, it is crucial to classify the KPIs you will trace and list them in this segment.


Free Strategic Plan Templates to Use

Here are some customizable strategic planning templates. They present a collaborative and real-time work execution platform that authorizes you to manage, report and plan strategic initiatives effectively.

  1. Simple Strategic Plan Template

  2. Human Resources Strategic Plan Outline Template

  3. Nonprofit Strategic Plan Template

  4. One-Page Strategic Planning Template

  5. IT Strategic Planning Document Template

  6. Strategic Marketing Plan Free Template

  7. Social Media Strategy Plan Template

FAQs

The key elements of a strategic plan are mission, vision, goals, strategy, SWOT Analysis, tactics, and approach.

To write a strategic plan, you must include a company description or elevator pitch, mission and vision statement, goals, summary, industry and competitive analysis, target consumers, financial forecasts, and action plan.

A basic strategic plan template aids a company to elucidate its plan to attain its business goals. Strategic planning includes documenting goals and listing a mission statement. These strategic templates render a clear vision of what lies on the map. They aid you to get things planned out, organized, and assist you to check off tasks from your ‘to-do’ list more competently.

Conclusion

Organizations who contrive strategic plans opt for these strategic plan templates. Such planning detects the loopholes between the existing and desired imminent state.

With CloudTutorial, create strategic planning templates with custom roles and permissions designed for your team in your corporate wiki. Such plans will define how to carry out operations and fill the holes. Henceforth, you can set higher standards and accomplish your business objectives.

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