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What are three or four components of a well-thought-out, achievable, and reasonable business strategy?
Strategy formulation begins with the systematic analyzing of the factors that can affect the company from both the inside and outside. The first component is the determination of the company’s mission and vision, which sets the long-term direction of the corporation (Aileron, 2015). The second element is the for the business to perform a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis. The SWOT allows the firm to examine the inside factors and the outside global environment that influences that affect the business. Based on the SWOT, the firm can select the strategy that best positions the organization to achieve its mission and goals. Furthermore, developing and setting strategic objectives that define what the company must achieve (Aileron, 2015). Accomplishing this highlight the firm’s priorities and communicates the plan of action to meet the company’s mission and vision.
What mistakes do companies make when developing their strategies? 
There are a multitude of mistakes that companies make when developing their strategy. One of those oversights is the activity of reviewing the plan after it is created. According to Aileron (2011), “to ensure the plan performs as designed, you must hold regularly scheduled formal reviews of the process and refine as necessary (para 11). Another issue is a common error that is made with a variety of business functions and activities and that is the lack of communication and collaboration. The absence of communication and collaboration leads the strategy not being understood, which results in failure to gain buy-in. Not having the support of the entire organization will make it difficult to implement and get the engagement needed for the strategy to be successful. Lastly, the misstep of not aligning the brand strategy with the business strategy. According to Acker (2014, as sited in Uggla, 2015), “the dynamic nature of the business strategy will require continual modifications to the brand portfolio strategy to make it more relevant for the business strategy (p. 8). Disregarding the association of the brand and business strategies can result in the inability to achieve desired growth and goals due to brand not reflecting the business and vice versa.  
References:
Aileron. (2011, October 25). Five steps to a strategic plan. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/aileron/2011/10/25/five-steps-to-a-strategic-plan/#3199e5254645 (Links to an external site.)
Uggla, H. (2015). Aligning Brand Portfolio Strategy with business Strategy. IUP Journal of Brand Management, 12(3), 7-17. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,cpid&custid=s8856897&db=bsh&AN=111807907&site=ehost-live (Links to an external site.)

Respond to…

What are three or four components of a well-thought-out, achievable, and reasonable business strategy?
Ultimately, the three main components of a business strategy are determining where the organization is, where the company would like to go and the path to get there.  In order to properly execute the plan each component must be reviewed thoroughly and frequently.  To gain a sufficient perspective regarding the company’s current standing the organization must gain awareness regarding the company’s position from both an internal and external point of view. The way that the company perceives themselves could be different than how customers perceive the company.   The first step to developing a strategic plan is being realistic about the company’s current position to develop a concise plan regarding the vision of where the company should go (Aileron, 2011).  After identifying the company’s current position, the organization must then decide where the company should go and devise a plan by setting goals and objectives. The best strategy to create growth within an organization is to enhance the company’s customer service experience (Pauvonic, 2017).
What mistakes do companies make when developing their strategies? 
When devising a plan it is important for the organization to continuously evaluate the business strategy.  As forecasting is not definite, as time progresses the organization must reevaluate the strategy from projected figures to correlate with actual trends. It is essential for the organization to keep up with the actual results during the imlementation of the strategy. 
According to Urde as stated by Uggla, “although many business owners claim that the brand is the company’s most important asset, very few companies have actually integrated the brand strategy with their business strategy, the company’s vision with the brand vision, the business development process with the brand extension process, and their company’s values with their brand values” (Urde, 2003). It is important for the organization to align their business strategy with the brand that the company is trying to create.  By doing so, the organization can ensure the entire direction of the organization is aligned. 
References
Aileron. (2011). Five steps to a strategic plan. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/aileron/2011/10/25/five-steps-to-a-strategic-plan/#3199e5254645
Paunovic, G. (2017). The single strategy you need to fuel business growth right now. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/12/06/the-single-strategy-you-need-to-fuel-business-growth-right-now/#35b9fdd42c59
Uggla, H. (2015). Aligning brand portfolio strategy with business strategy. IUP Journal of Brand Management, 12(3), 7-17. Retrieved from http://www.iupindia.in/Brand_Management.asp