Budgeting & Forecasting

The final step of developing the strategic plan is to develop the budget and build a forecast of business growth.  At this stage, we use the detailed model of your new vs. previous pricing/service structure, consider marketing and sales activity levels chosen, and simulate the stream of business that should result.

Naturally, there will be some time lag between your growth initiatives and the boost in your business.  Further, if you are very close to zero profit margin, your organization may go into the red for a short time while your investment begins to create revenue.  This is precisely why we provide detailed spreadsheet models of expected revenues and expenditures: to fully prepare you for any financing you may require.

Effect of Marketing on Your Business

By creating a range of revenue scenarios, we will be able to evaluate whether 1, 10 or 100 new customers (or customer retention – assuming they are buying a broader, modified offering) will be sufficient to repay the investment to your business growth strategy, and move your organization significantly forward. This will provide clarity as to the minimum expectations that should be set for the plan, and set specific objectives for your sales, marketing, and online marketing team.

Once budgets and forecasts are in place, we can go about tracking the performance of your plan.