Businesses urged to adopt strategic planning for competitiveness

Operators of small and medium size businesses have been urged to adopt strategic planning to drive growth, improve efficiency and compete favourable amid the country’s accelerating inflation rate.

Adegboyega Adebajo, lead advisor at Amethyst and Ashlar Advisory Limited while speaking at a webinar themed, ‘Maintaining Competitiveness Amidst Rising Cost, noted that strategic planning helps businesses sustaining value and quality, improve their customer relationships and efficiency, and avoid unplanned activities and risky transactions to maintain their financial stability.

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Adebajo stressed the need for businesses to be strategic rather than reactive, setting clear goals and objectives to navigate economic challenges effectively.

“You need to have a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. We need to be able to sit down and think it through, look at the context we’re in, look at all we’re doing, and have a sense of where we’re going, that is the only way to be competitive amidst the current state,” he said.

He further explained the importance of making informed choices, having a clear vision for the future of a business and how it drives strategy to navigate through difficult times.

He advised businesses to differentiate between essential and non-essential expenses to remain competitive, to know the impact of rising living costs on consumers and the need to adjust spending habits.

“We need to be very mindful of how we define our wants and how we spend money in such a way that we are either unable to be competitive or as individuals who are consumers, we do not have a budget that will meet all the needs we want.”

“We must be able to ascertain those needs, and be mindful of wants. Why spending money on a Mercedes Benz? Probably money you really don’t have, when you can get a Toyota and it can do for you, exactly what the Mercedes Benz is actually also doing for you,” Adebajo said.

He emphasised the importance of maintaining value and quality in products or services even when costs rise in order to sustain customer loyalty.

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“Is your product or service still offering the same value it offers? Is it a product or service that consumers are so certain of that regardless of the price, they would still want to buy it?” he asked.

According to him, rising prices are a positive reflection of growth in any society, and economy. “Economic policy is not to make zero inflation, in fact, deflation or negative inflation can really, really be terrible,” Adebajo said.

He reiterated the importance of being strategic and making informed choices in business decisions, and the need to prepare for potential challenges and navigate them effectively.

He also encouraged businesses to stay proactive and adaptable in the face of changing economic conditions.