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To remain strong and financially successful, family businesses must understand and recognize the importance of strategic planning. It’s crucial to always be willing to change and develop new strategies for their business. Rather than sticking to the old ways or how it’s always been done, no matter how long the family business has been around, it is essential to embrace rather than dismiss the changes in technology, the hiring process, new age marketing, and generational challenges.

Especially in this climate of change and uncertainty for small and family-operated businesses due to the pandemic, strategic planning has never been more critical. 

Positioning Assessment 

The first step in strategic planning is assessing the positioning of the business. To assess your business’s positioning, define what you do for your clientele or patrons and the proven outcome. When defining the proven outcome, it should be fact and not aspirational. The proven outcome is what you have and can guarantee to deliver. This helps find the specific audience you are servicing and the need your business is fulfilling. Once you have defined your business’s positioning, you’re set to create a strategic plan. 

A New Direction

As a family business, it’s imperative for everyone to be on the same page about goals and objectives. After you know the unique positioning your family business holds, take the time to discuss the new direction the business will take. This can be something as big as expanding the business to new locations or even as small as the new deals you will offer customers. When you have shared ideas on where to take the business next, you’re able to build a strategic plan that fits the vision of your business’s future.

Be Open to Change

As mentioned before, it is crucial to embrace rather than dismiss changes. Even if the same business plan has been working for your business for years, it’s imperative to adjust to changing times. For example, when the pandemic hit many businesses that had been around for years quickly fell off the map. To put themselves back on the market, they had to change their ways and find a new strategy to do business. This meant offering delivery, outdoor seating, switching to online menus, and having a stronger social media presence to bring in more customers.

Those who adapted to the change were able to keep their doors open and some even found greater success than they had before the pandemic. Businesses that remained unmoved and continued business as usual were met with a harsher fate and many closed for good. This is why it’s imperative to not fear change but instead embrace it and plan strategically. A family business is nothing without a plan for success and looking towards the future.