Strategies are usually written down in an unstructured manner on PowerPoint slides or in Word documents. Then the research of related data sources and data begins followed by a review to improve the planning.

A new approach allows structuring and systematizing strategic planning by using a reference model for strategic planning. This model consists of a set of strategic entities and their relationships. By defining and using strategic entities as well as their attributes, strategies can not only be structured but also processed in an automated way. Associated data sources can be automatically searched, enabling instant augmentation of strategy planning, which can dramatically improve strategic planning data as well as speed up strategic planning execution.

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Here is an example:

Strategic goals are formulated based on the strategic entity Target customer. A strategic entity has an associated data schema. Here is the overview of the composition of the Target Customer strategic entity.

Here is a brief description of the strategic entity, the data objects it contains, and a few attributes that we will use below to formulate strategic goals.

Target Customer

These are all aspects relevant to customers of the target company. Assigned data objects are:

• Customer of the target: Target customer is a recipient products and services of a target company. The target customer is described in the target business model by assessing the customer´s problem that is solved by target products and services, the value for the customer, the relationship to the customer and the customer segment.

  • Attribute: Loyalty

•  Customer relationship of the target: Customer relations of the target are all (contractual) relations of the target company with its customers.

• Customer segment of the target: This is a segment from the set of customers of the target. The segment is often formed to address different subsets of the target's customers differently.

  • Attribute: Number of customer segments

• Problem of the target customer: This is a problem of a target customer that can be addressed by products and services of the target.

• Value for the customer of the target: This is the value proposition of the target to customers and reflects the value that customers anticipate in using the target's product or service. 

• Target product functionality: This describes a feature of the target's product or services.

• Target product feedback: This is the feedback of customers regarding certain product features of the target products.

Formulate strategic goals

Examples of strategic goals related to Target Customer could be:

Strategic Goals for this entity

• Improve customer loyalty

• Develop 3 customer segments by 2024

• Increase customer loyalty by 3% annually

But these goals are still unstructured. Let's give the goals a certain structure.

Strategic goals have a structure that can be determined by the following elements: (verb, attribute,KPI, data object,timing) where KPI and timing could also be omitted. Of course, the recommendation is to always specify these two elements as well.

Improve customer loyalty therefore becomes : Increase (verb) Loyalty(attribute) in the Customer of the target (data object). KPI and Timing have been omitted.

Here for our examples again:

Strategic Goals for this entity

Improve customer loyalty : Increase Loyalty  in the Customer of the target

Develop 3 customer segments by 2024 : Develop Number of customer segments 3(KPI) in the Customer segment of the target  by 2024 (Timing)

Increase customer loyalty by 3% annually: Increase Loyalty  by 0.03  in the Customer of the target each year.

With the help of this structuring, an automation of subtasks of strategic planning is simplified, as outlined above. The automatic augmentation of strategic planning with figures from data sources that support the planning is now possible without manual intervention.

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