Creating a business roadmap
Now we've outlined what a growth plan is and how to write one, let's look at turning it into an actionable plan.
A business roadmap is a visualisation of an organisation's major objectives. This is a strategic document that lights the way to success. Your business growth plan is pivotal to your roadmap, as it allows you to explore the intricacies of your big picture goals.
You may have heard this terminology used in relation to project or product management; the concept is transferable and provides a succinct and flexible document which factors in key goals, dates and plans of action relevant to all stakeholders.
How to use your growth plan to build a roadmap for success
Detailed business growth plans are vital, but they can be difficult to pick through - a roadmap will illustrate an overall, cross-departmental strategy that sends a clear message. Here's how to use your growth plan to build a roadmap for success:
Identify key milestones
Break down the big picture goals. Think about what you want to achieve in 1 week, 1 month, 6 months, a year. A good place to start is to determine your end result and then work backwards, identifying the steps that will help you get there.
Once you've identified these milestones, set targets against them. For example, you might decide that your key milestone is to achieve £1m in sales in the next financial year. Now you can allocate this into monthly or quarterly targets along with your chosen strategies to meet them.
Break down your milestones
Your growth plan should offer detailed, short-term strategies broken down into smaller actions and steps, so you can see exactly how to achieve your long-term goals. For example, to achieve your key milestone of £1m in sales in the next financial year, you'll need to raise £100,000 in Q1, £300,000 in Q2 and so on.
You can now align these targets with the promotion and sale of new products, or the implementation of another growth strategy. The roadmap helps you to see the end goal, break down actions, manage time effectively, and organise resources.