objectives of business plans

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9 Main Objectives of Business Plan

April 16, 2019 | By Hitesh Bhasin | Filed Under: Business

A recent study has shown that a vast majority of businesses fail due to the lack of a proper business plan. The business plan can you help arrive at the proper objectives for your business. Of course, having a complete overview of the business may be a difficult task, especially when you are still planning your business.

So what is a business plan and what objectives of an organization does it serve? We will attempt in helping you understand the concept better.

Table of Contents

What is a Business Plan?

Any business plan has two purposes to serve. To begin with, it helps you run your business with a cohesive vision based on where you would want to see the business in a year from now. It serves as a roadmap to achieve the business goals you have set for yourself.

Another purpose that you need to have a business plan is to show to the financial institutions and banks that you have access to the business roadmap. Banks want to make sure that you have a clear vision for developing your business ahead so that their risk factors are mitigated to a greater extent.

Objectives of Business Plan

The major objectives that a business Plan looks to achieve include the following elements.

1) Dedicating enough time for planning

A workable business plan cannot be created overnight. It is bound to take its own time to develop. So, a perfect business plan will attempt to spend enough time and hard work to achieve successful implementation. This should be one of the crucial stages in a business plan.

A complete analysis of the current situation is the key to evolving plans. Review the situation through brainstorming and other techniques to define the goals.

2) Create goals and objectives

An organization depends heavily on the business plan to arrive at the description of business it performs. There are several areas that a company will focus on if it wants to realize its objectives, understand the market that it is planned to operate in and the strategy to achieve the goals.

Lack of a business plan will leave the management without any means to check out the theories on how to operate the business. In essence, a business plan will help a company to test different methods in reaching the best standards and policies.

3) Evaluating performance

A business needs proper planning and control over the activities for enhanced performance. It will be an essential step towards achieving the long term survival of the organization as a whole. The business plan also comes with a financial part to it and used for comparing the actual performance with the estimated one.

The ability and provision for such a control and evaluation procedure are what offers you a great advantage in checking the success of the operations. This way, you will be able to detect issues like production or delivery delays, or even increasing production costs.

4) Gauging business strategy and applying due correction

A Business plan is what would assist you in assessing the efficiency of your strategies for achieving business goals. In an ideal condition, a business needs to have the planned results with which the actual results can be compared, and the way forward is decided.

If any of the strategies are found to be unsuccessful in achieving the relevant results, it may be a perfect idea to ditch the strategy or take corrective actions. It is wise to have a good business plan so that the management does have a reference with which it can have a healthy comparison of the actual result achieved.

5) Arranging financial resources

A business plan can be much helpful and instrumental in acquiring adequate business financing. Like we stated already, banks and lenders look for a proper business plan before lending you any sort of finance.

A business plan should be prepared in such a manner that the banks will have a clear understanding of the business perspective that the owner has. The lenders will be able to get to the root of the actual vision shared by the promoters and the methods of operation that will be employed.

Being financially viable is one of the prime objectives of a good business plan.

6) Stay consistent

This should be yet another objective that a business plan needs to be focussed with is being consistent. A good business plan should place proper value on the exact process and its adherence to the planned goals.

Sticking to a consistent schedule will work wonders in achieving the planned goals effectively. This will also help the employees and other staff to fall into a proper routine. This will help the concept of planning to be a part of your business culture .

7) Keep your goals ’SMART’

No, we are not referring to SMART as in the word intelligent. We mean your goals in the business plan should be S-M-A-R-R-T ( Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time-Bound) to achieve success.

This will help you achieve the business goals as laid out in the business plan effectively and efficiently. It would be practical to have your team member analyze the goals set so that you will get back to a realistic approach.

8) Performing SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis is one of the best options you would want to go with when it comes to focus on an effective business plan. Having perfect knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of your organization helps you come up with a better insight into the realistic goals.

The SWOT analysis also takes into account the opportunities and threats that the organization can come to face to face. This will assist you to focus on the positive factor and take corrective actions against the negatives.

9) Marketing Analysis

Marketing forms an integral part of a business and so does with the business plan. This part of the business plan should be focussed on determining the potential of your product or service while letting the business owners know more about future customers.

The marketing analysis part of the business plan should ideally provide you with a means of understanding your industry as a whole.

In Conclusion

In essence, a perfect business plan is what would help you configure your business in a more positive manner. It would help you foresee the unforeseen circumstances and take corrective action even before you face the situation in actual.

It takes into account the strategy on how to run the business along with the possible risk factors associated and the marketing avenues available in the long run.

Liked this post? Check out the complete series on Business

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About Hitesh Bhasin

Hitesh Bhasin is the CEO of Marketing91 and has over a decade of experience in the marketing field. He is an accomplished author of thousands of insightful articles, including in-depth analyses of brands and companies. Holding an MBA in Marketing, Hitesh manages several offline ventures, where he applies all the concepts of Marketing that he writes about.

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• 22 types of business objectives to meas ...

22 types of business objectives to measure success

Clear business objectives help you achieve your mission statement and long-term company vision. These objectives can range from financial objectives to organization specific objectives. Take a look at 22 types of business objectives you can set—plus, learn when to use business objectives vs. 14 other goal frameworks. 

Whether you work at a small business, a start up, or as a team lead at a larger enterprise, as a key business owner, you’re responsible for identifying the business objectives that will help your organization hit its long-term goals. Setting goals and strategic objectives is the best way to know where you’re going and how to get there. 

In this article, learn about 22 different types of business objectives and how to make them achievable. Then, take a look at the 15 different types of goals you can set, depending on why you’re setting those goals.

What is a business objective? 

Business objectives are the results you are aiming to achieve in order to accomplish your longer-term company vision. Think of business objectives as metrics to measure your overall business success.

Hitting your business objectives means you’re on the path towards achieving larger company goals. As such, business objectives should focus on large-scale organizational impact. Good business objectives are measurable, specific, and time-bound. 

22 types of business objectives

Set business objectives based on factors that measure and impact your organization’s success. For example, you might set the following business objectives:

Financial business objectives

1. Profitability: A profitability-focused business objective is important if your company is relying on outside investors. Achieving—and maintaining—profitability ensures your long-term success so you can make progress towards your overall company mission. 

2. Revenue: Revenue-focused business objectives help you balance your income with your costs in order to stay in business. You might set business objectives to achieve a certain annual revenue goal, or to increase revenue by a certain percentage over a period of time. 

3. Costs: Costs refer to how much money you’re spending on your business. Reducing costs can help you increase revenue and achieve profitability. Business objectives related to cost can help you control production or operations cost to improve your business’s financial performance. 

4. Cash flow: Cash flow refers to the money moving into and out of your business. Cash flow can be positive—when you’re making more than you’re spending—or negative—when you’re spending more than you’re making. Similar to profitability, a cash flow-oriented business objective can help set you up for long term financial success. 

5. Sustainable growth: In order to grow as a business, you need to grow sustainably. Setting business objectives around sustainable growth can help you plan your financial projections, employee costs, and other financial considerations. 

Customer-centric business objectives

6. Competitive positioning: A big element of your business strategy is thinking about how your product or service compares to others in the same market. By setting a business objective focused on competitive positioning, you can ensure your product or service reaches parity with what’s expected in the market, or use competitive positioning to outdo your competitors in a key area. 

8. Customer satisfaction: In order to succeed as a business, you need happy customers. Focusing on a customer satisfaction-based business objective can help you better serve your customers. Depending on the business objective, this might focus on a customer advocacy program, a better help desk, or something similarly customer-facing. 

9. Brand awareness: Your brand is what makes your organization stand out from the crowd. Brand awareness is an important way to understand how your customers think of your brand, and how aware they are of your distinct brand vs. your competitors. Understanding—and increasing—brand awareness is a key part of your long-term marketing strategy .

10. Sales: You’ll often find business objectives related to improving or refining the sales cycle. This could include anything from reducing customer acquisition cost (CAC), developing better lead tracking, increasing cross-selling, or something else.

11. Churn: In business, your churn rate refers to how many customers you lose over a set period of time. Reducing churn is a great way to increase your revenue and ensure your customers are satisfied with the product or service you provide. 

Internal business objectives

12. Employee satisfaction and engagement: Part of your business is how your employees feel about working there, too. Increasing employee satisfaction and engagement leads to happier employees, reduced burnout , and more effective teams. 

13. Employee retention: A key internal business objective is how long your employees spend at your company. Increasing tenure and reducing turnover can help you achieve more complex projects with knowledgeable employees. 

14. Company growth: In order to grow your business, you also need to grow the number of people you employ. Growing your company sustainably can be difficult—which is why businesses often set company growth as a key business objective. 

15. Organizational culture: Organizational culture is the ideals, values, and group norms that shape how team members interact within your company. Good culture drives employee engagement and increases retention, which is one of the key reasons so many companies set organizational culture-focused business objectives. 

16. Change management: Smoothly implement large-scale organizational change with change management . Though you typically won’t see organizations set this type of business objective year after year, it can be a helpful objective to set if you have large changes on the horizon. 

17. Productivity: At Asana, we don’t think of productivity as “doing the most you can,” but rather as a way to optimize your time and get your best work done. Increasing employee productivity can help your teams achieve their high-impact work more efficiently. 

18. Employee effectiveness: Teams don’t just need to be efficient—they also need to know the right things to work on. The best companies aim for efficiency and effectiveness—which is where an effectiveness-based business objective comes into play. To learn more, read our article about the difference between efficiency and effectiveness . 

19. Diversity and inclusion: A big part of a welcoming company culture is making sure your employees feel like they belong. Investing in diversity and inclusion programs can help your business be more welcoming to your current and potential employees. 

Regulation related business objectives

20. Quality control: Implementing quality control measures as a business objective can help you ensure your product or services are at the level you want them to be. This in turn leads to better customer relationships and overall increase in revenue. 

21. Compliance: If your business has any compliance needs to meet in the near future, setting those compliance requirements as a business objective will ensure you hit your targets on time. 

22. Sustainability or waste reduction: Some businesses set business objectives to reduce waste or increase sustainability. While this may not directly impact your business, proving that you’re environmentally minded can help you reach specific audiences you’re targeting. 

Which goal framework is right for you?

Figuring out exactly what type of goal you need to set can be tricky. Each goal framework is slightly different—and implementing the right one can help you achieve success. 

The type of goal you set will depend on the business activities you’re running and the specific goals you have. If your goals have a set time frame, you may want to go with short-term objectives, whereas larger goals have their own unique frameworks. 

If you’re not sure where to start, check out these 15 goal frameworks for different situations: 

1. Business objectives: Set goals based on operating factors that impact your company’s long-term success.

2. Business plan : Also called a business strategy plan. Document your business’ goals and plan out how you’ll get there.

3. Vision statement : Set an organization-wide North Star.

4. Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs) : Set organization-sized stretch goals .

5. Company values : Align your team around core principles. 

6. Strategic plan : Clarify your three to five year company goals during the strategic planning process. 

7. Strategic goal : Set the goals you want to achieve by the end of your strategic plan.

8. Critical success factors : Clarify the high-level goals you need to achieve in order to achieve your strategic goals. 

9. Strategic management : Execute against your strategic plan in order to achieve your company goals. 

10. Business goals : Set predetermined targets to achieve in a set period of time.  

11. Objectives and key results (OKRs) : Set and communicate annual company goals.

12. Key performance indicators (KPIs) : Set quantitative goals.

13. Project objectives : Share what you want to achieve by the end of a project.

14. Project deliverables : Identify a project’s output.

15. Project milestones : Mark specific checkpoints along a project’s timeline.

More goal setting resources

Clear goals are critical to keep your organization functioning. In addition to business objectives, check out our goal setting resource hub for tips on setting goals and achieving high-impact results. Then when you’re ready, get started with Asana for goal tracking. With Asana , you can connect your company goals to the work that supports them—all in one place. 

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