Key Characteristics of an Enterprise | Corporate Strategy [UPDATED 2023]

There are businesses out there that consistently generate millions of dollars in annual revenue, and then there are businesses that struggle to make it barely. What’s the difference between the two? Successful businesses operate under an enterprise strategy. An enterprise strategy is defined as – the broadest form of business strategy within its business and deals with the issues that affect the organization. All the top-performing companies that we know today such as Amazon, Apple, Nike, Starbucks, etc., all share a common factor in their success, and it is that they all have an enterprise strategy.

Enterprise strategy, otherwise known as corporate strategy, comprises four main elements. Industry Analysis, Core Competencies, long-term planning, and financial structure are all part of the strategy and must be done efficiently and effectively to ensure success. It’s essentially the broadest form of strategy within a business.

Industry Analysis is the research that is done to determine the success of the industry and will give you an insight into any potential challenges. Core Competencies involve determining what makes your business different from your competitors.

By deciding what makes you different from others, you can create strategies that focus on what makes you better than your competitors. Long-term planning involves utilizing historical data to predict the business’s future, not everything can be planned and turn out the way you expect. Still, long-term planning will help to give your business some sort of vision and guide. The financial structure is an essential element in an enterprise strategy because it gives you an idea of what your business can achieve at specific points in your business’s timeline.

Now that you’re understanding enterprise Strategy, we have a few characteristics that will help you identify the successful elements of an Enterprise strategy.

Key Characteristics of Enterprise Strategy

Objective Analysis

When conducting research for internal and external analysis, it is important to remain unbiased. When you consider all facts, comments, and data, you are able to take all the information into perspective. However, if you remain biased, you only see information from your perspective, which defeats the purpose of your analysis. An analysis is meant to determine the good and the bad. By remaining unbiased, you will also have the opportunity to open the door to unseen insights.

Having a Clear Purpose

One of the elements in an enterprise strategy is Core Competencies, where your business determines its focus and what it does differently than competitors. It must be clear to your audience what exactly your business does and what its niche is. For example, Amazon is known for its shipping empire for everything from clothes to food. By focusing on what your business does best, you will not only build a strong, recognizable brand but be able to achieve a sustainable, successful effort.

Determine Realistic Goals

When creating an enterprise strategy, you must create goals. These goals should be clear and aspirational, but they should also be realistic. Focus on what you can realistically achieve and keep in mind as your business grows, you can change its goals as it becomes more successful.

Utilize Strategies That Fit Your Values

There are tons of strategies that businesses can use. Use the number of strategies out there to your advantage and only use strategies that match your values.  In addition, consider the strengths of your organization and utilize them where ever you can use them in your strategy. By using strategies that fit your values and utilize your organizational strengths, you will achieve better results.

Transparency

An enterprise strategy should be transparent to everyone within your organization. If your employees play a part in your strategy (which they probably will) be sure to make it clear to them how their efforts are contributing to this strategy. This will remind your team that there is a purpose in their work and will be kept in their mind, so they can enhance their performance.

Monitored and Measurable

Every enterprise strategy should be able to be monitored and measured. Without any monitoring or measurements, you wouldn’t know just how effective your strategy is. The plan should always be monitored to ensure it is on track and successful, and if it’s not, it can always be changed. Without monitoring, your plan can easily get off track.

Actionable

An enterprise strategy serves as a guide for your organization. Once you have determined goals, you must have a strategy that can easily be implemented.

Internal Capability

When it comes to any corporate strategy development or planning, resources should always be kept in mind. If your plan requires any sort of resource, you want to make sure you have access to these resources or the plan can fall apart. If you don’t consider the resources, an increase in threats can face your organization.

Keep Moving Forward

Although enterprise strategies require you to look into the past for data, strategic planning is all about the future. It’s important to think and plan ahead and remembers always to look forward. Your enterprise strategy development isn’t about where you are now but the decisions you make and how you plan to get there.

In conclusion, the most successful businesses did not become successful without strategic planning. When creating an enterprise strategy, it’s important to identify these characteristics and make sure they match all of these characteristics.

About Joseph Studios

Joseph Studios is a full-service agency that specializes in enterprise strategy. Joseph Studios has a team of strategy experts who will do all the research to ensure your business is successful and can outperform the big corporations. When you work with the management team at Joseph Studios, you will have a strategy manager assigned to you who will help develop an effective enterprise strategy. You will also have a project manager to work with you and ensure all work is effective and delivered on time. And in addition, you will be able to work with all our marketing specialists for strategies such as SEO, Social media, and PR.

To learn more about enterprise strategies and how Joseph Studios can help you formulate a successful strategy, contact a marketing expert today.