Here's how you can stay ahead in a competitive market with strategic decision-making.

Research is the most important phase of Marketing Strategic Planning. Few organizations conduct adequate external research, prior to making major decisions. Markets', Customers' & Competitors' data and information are certainly helpful research projects. In addition, Consumers', Products', Services', Industries', & National Micro + Macro Economic research are the key parameters or "big picture" context for long term strategic planning. Information is only powerful, when it is relevant & exclusive. Nowadays, especially with AI-2 (Artificial Intelligence), (a technological resource) information is cheap and often irrelevant. The most successful organizations will ensure their AI-1 (Actual Intelligence), (Human resources) are in control.

Strategic Planning should be systematic within organizations, but employees & consultants create confusion by new terminology & industry specific acronyms. Words like Goals (What) & Strategy (How) are wrongly used interchangeably. Strategic Thinking is rarely comprehended. Strategic Thinking is the spiritual thinking discipline we apply in our minds. It organizes our thoughts & analyses. We then structure our thinking to form a Strategic Plan others can follow. Strategic Thinking conceptualizes our global Vision of the organization. The Vision defines our Purpose, Aims, & Culture via Criteria & Parameters. The Strategic Plan then details the 5 basic resources: Human, Physical, Informational, Technological & Financial, we deploy..

Innovation is change. Change creates new. New creates opportunities. A standardized Strategic Planning structure is the key to synergy of Resources. Each Goal has Strategies, Each Strategy has quantified Objectives. Each objective has Programmes. Each Programme deploys Functional Business Systems (Marketing/ Accounting/ HR/ Finance/ etc. These systems deploy the 5 resources as INPUTS, which are PROCESSED, which OUTPUT a new mix of these resources. Each Programme has Objectives & Strategies, which are implemented by Projects with Tactics deployed by Sub- Function Business Systems (Mktg- Advertising, Research, Distribution, Selling, Promotion...) These then have Timetables, which trigger Performance Reviews and Strategic Plan Revisions.

Although loyal customers are the secret to brand loyalty, it is crucial to not merely measure sales volumes, but also to measure customer feelings. As market cabals dominate local markets, especially in the telecommunications industry, they must recognize the higher than normal product & service dependency their customers acquire. Building fire-walls of automated recordings and self- service security & problem solving networks, may be inexpensive, but most customers dislike this impersonal interaction. AI-2 will not overcome a dislike of machine to customer inter- action. This corporate "service" trend will likely become the Achilles Heal for new competition to exploit. Planned obsolescence of consumer devices may bring down the cabals.

Financial Resources have ruled/ destroyed every failed organization. Yet the success of growth organizations can be attributed to effective deployment of the other 4 basic resources: Human, Physical, Informational & Technological. Very few organizations have audited these resources, nor understand how they are inter- changeable & create more financial resources. The global monetary system has adopted Fiat money supply, which transformed Equity Capitalism to Debt Capitalism. Interest expense + investment commissions cause negative cash flows, insolvency & bankruptcy. Financial resources have flowed out of the consumers to major global corporate cabals & sovereign wealth funds. Consumer market financial exploitation is not sustainable.

The most important thing is Comprehensive Industry Analysis: Gain a deep understanding of current industry trends, customer preferences, and best practices. Match these insights with your current offerings to identify gaps and opportunities. Focus on Core Aspects: Prioritize network availability and customer service, as these are fundamental to customer satisfaction and retention. Ensure these areas receive the utmost attention and resources. Innovative Offerings: Develop and introduce differentiated products and services, and consider strategic partnerships to enhance usage and appeal. Loyalty Programs: Implement referral programs to foster customer loyalty and encourage word-of-mouth promotion.