How Do You Create An Organizational Strategy?

After months of meetings, endless analysis, and countless revisions, your company has developed a five-year plan complete with measurable benchmarks. 

Now you just have to figure out how to get there. 

Organizational strategy solves this common conundrum by establishing a clear and communicable roadmap for achieving long-term goals in the face of ever-changing business environments. 

Why Is Organizational Strategy Important? 

Organizational strategies provide a framework to ensure essential decisions regarding resource allocation, sales and marketing efforts, production processes, etc., align with your company’s long-term vision. 

Organizational strategies also streamline tough decision-making by providing a common ground every member of your business can use to approach challenges like emerging growth opportunities, shifting market conditions, evolving consumer behaviors, and pressure from competitors. 

Finally, organizational strategy is important because it prevents organizations from losing alignment through the various levels of its structure. Organizational strategies ensure the responsibilities and roles of every individual, from the CEO to brand-new interns, support the long-term success and goals of the company.

What Are The Different Types Of Organizational Strategies? 

It’s essential to gain a comprehensive understanding of the different types of organizational strategies before creating one.

There are five main categories of organizational strategies businesses can employ across industries to boost sales and create long-term success. 

1. Corporate Level Strategies – Corporate-level strategies focus on the overall direction of an organization. These strategies provide valuable guidance regarding large-scale strategy shifts, the allocation of business resources, and the deployment of business units.
2. Competitive Level Strategies – Competitive-level strategies revolve around uncovering weaknesses in competitors’ processes, pricing strategies, marketing, and sales campaigns to identify growth opportunities in your industry. 
3. Business Level Strategies – Business-level strategies provide a roadmap for identifying and capitalizing on the unique systems, strategies, and offerings that allow companies to dominate specific industries or markets.
4. Functional Level Strategies – Functional-level strategies provide a roadmap for implementing corporate, competitive, and business-level strategies at the departmental or functional level. Functional-level strategies focus on actionable strategies that can be deployed to allocate assets and efforts at the “ground level.”
5. And Operating Level Strategies – Operating strategies are the most action-oriented category of organizational strategies. These strategies aim to smooth the introduction of corporate, business, and functional organizational initiatives by providing an efficient implementation framework.

Within these five categories, four common sub-types of organizational strategies have been leveraged into long-term success by businesses around the globe. 

1. Product and Innovation Strategies – A strategy that pursues growth through the research, development, and popularization of new or improved products and services. 
2. Revenue and Sales Strategies – A strategy that seeks to bolster long-term growth by scaling sales and revenue through a variety of expansionary tactics. 
3. Service Strategies – A strategy that aims to capture customers and cultivate industry-leading brand loyalty through exceptional customer service.
4. And Process Strategies – Efficiency-first strategies that seek to boost profitability by eliminating operational bloat, waste, and redundancies that narrow profit margins and divert resources. 

What Are Some Examples Of Organizational Strategies?

Deciding which organizational strategy is most applicable to your company will require an in-depth examination of your business’s long-term mission, organizational structure, values, and positioning in your unique competitive landscape. 

With that said, let’s take a look at three common examples of organizational strategies companies can implement. 

1. Focus Strategies 

Focus strategies aim to identify and serve valuable or untapped niches within an organization’s target market. For example, instead of competing against Toyota in the larger automobile market, an emerging vehicle company may elect to create rugged, no-frills, off-road capable vehicles and exclusively seek out buyers in the commercial market. 

2. Cost Leadership Strategies

Cost leadership strategies seek to attract customers and boost profit margins by eliminating waste at every organizational level, allowing the company to pass these savings along to price-conscious customers. 

3. Differentiation Strategies

Differentiation strategies aim to win distinction (and sales!) by providing a product or service that stands out from others in the industry or market. Common paths toward differentiation include product/service innovations, exceptional customer service/experiences, and providing a higher level of quality than the competition.

How Medallion Partners Stand Out In Executive Search 

Medallion Partners is a boutique executive search firm that specializes in connecting world-class candidates with exciting organizations and helping organizations define their goals and path forward. 

Looking to work on organizational strategy for your company? For 15 years, our organizational strategy consulting team has been helping our clients ask the right questions, define goals, create an organizational plan, and execute that plan for long-term success. 

Contact us today to take the first step toward mapping out your company’s future success.