It might seem hard to keep up with the ever-changing market, but there are different strategies that can give your business the upper edge, and differentiate your products and services from others. It all comes down to precise planning and functioning group dynamics, so below I have shared some insight on how to make your business an actual competitor and a threat to others in the same market.

LO#1: What is the difference between mission & vision in business

The vision statement focuses on tomorrow and what the organization wants to become. The mission statement focuses on today and what the organization does. While companies commonly use mission and vision statements interchangeably, it’s important to have both. One doesn’t work without the other, because havingpurpose and meaning are critical for any business. Skrabanek (2018)

A mission statement is the core of a business, it basically implies what the company does. When there is a clear mission statement, there are objectives, and it is up to the team to figure out how to reach those objectives. Basic mission statement questions could be something like: 

• What do we do?
• Who do we serve? 
• How do we serve them?

Over time, this will mold the culture within the company, how it operates as a whole. A solid mission statement can motivate a team to perform at their best, even with simplest of tasks. Although, If the mission is weak, it can have the exact opposite effect. Skrabanek (2018)

Another way to look at it is that mission statements describe the company’s mission as it is now and for the near future. So if the company is undergoing major changes, it would make sense to revise the mission statement so it is current. Hawthorne (2019)

A vision statement means the future of the business, where they want to see themselves in the future – this provides purpose for the company. Vision statements might look like the following:

• What are our hopes and dreams?
• What problem are we solving for the greater good?
• Who and what are we inspiring to change?

A strong vision statement promotes both internal and external growth, and it helps teams to focus on what really matters the most. On the other hand, if there’s no clear vision, there won’t be anything for the employees to work towards to, no destination. Skrabanek (2018)

A vision statement is a view into the future with hope and a positive outlook. It describes a company’s inspirational, long-term plan for what they’ll be able to accomplish, who they will help, and how the company will then be perceived. Pahwa (2019)

Sometimes vision and mission, as concepts, are used interchangeably, but they aren’t the same; when a company has a vision, they have a goal, and then missions can be organized in order to reach that goal. In the end, they are more or less tied, and both are needed in order to perform at a high level.

LO#2: How mission and vision lead to strategy?

When a company has a vision, they have to set up missions in order to move towards the goal. However, it would be wise to formulate some sort of a strategy for the missions, how they’re going to play out on paper. Without a good strategy, a team might have to work harder for an objective, that would take another team half the time. In order to perform efficiently and meet business expectations, strategy is key.

“A business strategy can be defined as the combination of all the decisions taken and actions performed by the business to accomplish the business goals and to secure a competitive position in the market.

It is the backbone of the business as it is the roadmap which leads to the desired goals. Any fault in this roadmap can result in the business getting lost in the crowd of overwhelming competitors.” Pahwa (2019)

A functioning company has a vision, but they also need a strategy to achieve it efficiently, and therefore there should be a scheme on how to execute missions. “While an objective is defined clearly in the business plan, the strategy answers all the whats, whys, whos, wheres, whens, & hows of the fulfilling that objective” (Pahwa 2019). So basically, “Strategic plans may involve changing the mission statement to reflect a new direction of the organization. Highlighting the benefits of the change and minimizing the deficits will help employees and the public buy into the change” according to Hawthorne (2019), and these plans may also “require a marketing strategy, which could include the vision statement to also help inspire consumers to work with the organization”.

According to Sonkiya (2014) strategic options may include:

• The development of market or product or
• In some diversified cases, both the market and product development.

And strategic options could be:

• Increase Market (sale in customers),
• New Product (like product enhancement, product line extension, and products at different quality levels)

So, looking at Sonkiya’s options practically, a strategy should be put together in order to achieve the vision, which would be increasing market, so that teams can start working on missions to further improve the sales. Or, in another case, if a company was to come up with a new product, there should be strategic planning in order to come up with a competitive product. When this is done, the vision is set, and different departments can start working on perfecting the product.

LO#3: What are the strategies to keep up successfully in a changing market? 

In the everchanging market, strategies, missions, sometimes even vision have to be changed, in order to stand out. Below are ten different strategies, that should help a company in defending its position in the market, and gain advantage. 

1.Know the competition. 

You have to know who you are up against, what they have to offer, and what are their strengths and weaknesses. This will give a clearer picture of how to compete against others and come up with something that no one else can offer.

2. Know your customers.

One of the most important things in running a business, is keeping your customers satisfied, because their expectations may change all of a sudden, due to a bad experience or competition. Find out what it takes to keep your customers happy, and then surpass their expectations to make an impact in them.

3. Differentiate.

Try to be original. Even if you’re offering a similar product or service that your competitors are, try to make the experience most memorable, even if your product was just as good as everyone else’s. There must be a reason why consumers want to choose your business over others.

4. Step up your marketing. 

You really have to put yourself out there, in the beginning of a business at least. Spread the word about your product, make people familiar with it, and make them realize that you have exactly what they want, and it would be worth it to even consider it. Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive; one could put up posters or take advantage of the virality of social media, imagination is the only boundary here.

5. Update your image. 

Keeping your image updated means taking care of web pages, the physical store, customer relationships, products and services. All this comes down to the vision of the company, how do they want to be perceived. Keeping up with trends and a high quality of services is a good starting point.

6. Look after your existing customers. 

Your customers are the competitors’ target, and therefore keeping up and improving customer service is a key element in operating a business. Having to find new customers is way more expensive than keeping and taking care of the existing ones. Customers’ needs should always be at least taken into consideration, and also most preferably met; give room to new ideas and requests by compromising, for example giving out a better offers or loyalty bonuses would make customers more devoted.

7. Target new markets. 

Increase your range and set foot into different markets, it could increase your customer base and make your business more stable. Before doing anything impulsive, go through different markets and look for those with potential customers, similar to your current ones. Just remember that different markets might require new approaches.

8. Expand your offer. 

Think about what new products or services your customers might be interested in.

9. Be the best employer. 

Employees are the ones who make everything happen, the parts in the business’ machinery that operate the whole system, so look for people with attributes that match the requirements. Attracting skilled workers takes more than just a competitive wage. People are usually attracted by a good working atmosphere, flexible work hours, and a structured career development.

10. Look to the future. 

You should always plan ahead, more or less, so you can expect the unexpected; a good idea would be to have a sense of where you want to be in the upcoming years. Keep up with the development in your sector and follow consumer trends, but also invest in new technology.

(Marketingdonut 2019)

All together, what it takes to be a competitor in the harsh markets, is a clear vision, a strategy or a plan on how to achieve that vision practically, and a good set of employees that are motivated to work together for the good of the business. For this to turn out as planned, everyone, from all levels of the hierarchy, must understand what they are doing, how and why; it all comes down to communication.

References:

Hawthorne, M. 2019. The Purpose of Mission and Vision Statements in Strategic Planning. Smallbusiness.chron.com. URL: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/purpose-mission-vision-statements-strategic-planning-13161.html. Accessed: 30 September 2019

Makertingdonut. 2019. Ten ways to keep ahead of the competition. Marketingdonut.co.uk. URL: https://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/marketing-strategy/ten-ways-to-keep-ahead-of-the-competition. Accessed: 30 September 2019

Pahwa, A. 2019. Business Strategy: Definition, Levels, Components & Examples. Feedough. URL: https://www.feedough.com/business-strategy-definition-levels-examples/. Accessed: 30 September 2019

Skrabanek, B. 2018. Difference Between Vision and Mission Statements: 25 Examples. ClearVoice. URL: https://www.clearvoice.com/blog/difference-between-mission-vision-statement-examples/. Accessed: 30 September 2019

Sonkiya, S. 2014. Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies and Tactics. iZenBridge. URL: https://www.izenbridge.com/blog/vision-mission-objectives-strategies-and-tactics/. Accessed: 30 September 2019

This is common question nowadays, and we can consider it by pondering…

• What kind of skills and competences are businesses looking for?
• What teaching methods schools have to offer to meet the business expectations?
• How do you keep up your motivation in order to stand out?

Employability depends and consists of one’s knowledge in what they do, the skills needed for a job and the ability to apply them, and also the overall attitude towards topics in hand. So, what is it that businesses are looking for? According to Career Skills (TARGETjobs), ten most appreciated skills that recruiters want from their potential employees are…

1. Commercial awareness: understanding the common thread, how the business operates, what to do in order for the business to keep on ticking, what are the goals and how does that particular company compete in the marketplace.
2. Communication: how well can one communicate through written and spoken language, and the ability to also listen to others.
3. Teamwork: being able to build a positive, encouraging relationship with co-workers in order to improve the working efficiency.
4. Negotiation and persuasion: being able to define what you want to achieve, but also understand others and where they’re coming from, and being able to reach a consensus that is appealing to all.
5. Problem solving: the ability to solve problems and resolve issues, and approach them from different viewpoints.
6. Leadership: showing the ability to motivate colleagues, assign and delegate tasks, set deadlines and lead by setting an example to others.
7. Organisation: this is about how you manage yourself and your time. You have to be able to prioritize, be productive and work efficiently.
8. Perseverance and motivation: employers want to be sure that the person they are hiring is capable of getting the job done, even when it gets hard.
9. Ability to work under pressure: this means being able to stay on top of the situation and not give in to stress in overwhelming situations and crisis.
10. Confidence: being confident in yourself, your colleagues and the business you are applying for. One shouldn’t confuse confidence with arrogance though.

In order for students to meet the business expectations, schools should teach more about self-awareness, since that is the key of self-development and -improvement. The more aware people become, the more they can learn about themselves and what they like, what works for them and how they as individuals learn the best. Since every person operates and learns differently, it is nothing but absurd to apply the one same teaching method to everyone. Knowing that teachers can’t teach everyone in the class separately, for it would be too time consuming, they should wake up the life-long learner within students. Help them understand what they don’t understand, teach them the possibilities of self-examination and the potential behind it. That might be enough to spark curiosity in a young mind, and the earlier this happens the better. In a way, it could be compared to exponential growth of self-knowledge, but not quite, since there is no clear physical evidence of the development. Students should also be able to practice those skills that are favoured in the business world, so arranging situations where they can act out and practice business meetings for example would be more than vital.

What I do to keep up my motivation is that I try to stay true to myself. I set goals for myself depending on what I’m enthusiastic about, and don’t let meaningless opinions affect what I believe in and what I’m striving for. I surround myself with people who I catch positive and encouraging vibes from. I try to be realistic about my goals and focus on what’s important. I’m writing my own diary to further understand myself and how I work and why, and turn past difficulties into my strengths. I also find it motivating to motivate others in chasing their dreams, because I know the human mind is capable of things that are out of our imagination, and anyone can do anything they set their mind into. It’s just that I find it hard to motivate myself sometimes, but it’s much easier to inspire others, since I don’t have to do anything but talk and try to spark some motivation in them.

There’s also a more meta, “Why are we here?” way to think about motivation. The great Jewish Rabbi Hillel (alive around the time of Jesus), famously said, “If not you, then who? If not now, when?” If you truly let those words sink in, it’s hard to be slacker.

(Suzanne Gerber on How To Stay Motivated And Accomplish Anything 2013)

KEYWORDS:

• Business competency
• Professional identity
• Motivation
• Education
• Skills
• Experience
• Labour markets
• Contacts

REFERENCES:

https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/career-planning/273051-the-top-10-skills-thatll-get-you-a-job-when-you-graduate

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2013/07/19/how-to-stay-motivated-and-accomplish-anything/

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