An action plan is a business management tool that helps a manager move his or her business from point “A” to point “B”; in other words, determine the steps toward the goals set for the business.
To exemplify this with market data, according to the E-commerce Trends 2018 report, 94% of e-commerce companies intend to increase their marketing investments to improve their business results.
That is, your focus is on improving revenue, and investing in marketing is one of the actions necessary to achieve that goal. In this case, of course, it is still necessary to determine expenses, other influencing elements, and who will be responsible for this effort.
The action plan is so practical and efficient that even freelancers use the tool to organize their careers and personal activities.
But to achieve good results, it must be well designed and understood. In this post, we show you what you need to know about developing an action plan. Join us!
What is the action plan?
The first step to using it is understanding its concept – after all, there are several models, supporting tools and ways to build it. It is a management tool that lists, in topics, what actions are necessary to achieve a goal.
This allows you to break down a company’s core objective into a variety of tasks, organize them chronologically, and determine who will be responsible for completing them, for how long, with what resources, and with what budget .
It is a widely used tool and therefore many applications and systems were developed with its principles of shared organization and responsibility. Here are some of them:
Todoist
With this application , it is possible to record teams and tasks in a calendar that organizes activities, indicates who is responsible for completing them, and allows the inclusion of attachments that are crucial to the achievement of an action plan.
Therefore, if a company decides to create an action plan for an event that will take place, it can list:
- who will be responsible for management;
- indicate the deadlines for completing each step;
- attach supplier’s quote;
- establish deadlines for decision-making, among other details.
Trello
Also very well known, Trello has the same functionality as Todoist and other solutions. It allows you to determine whether a step has been completed or not, create alarms on approaching a deadline, as well as different classifications for tasks.
That is, a manager can create lists and action plans for different aspects of his or her life, professional or personal, and manage everything in a single application in an organized and efficient way.
Other applications include Schedule Planner and Evernote. In addition to organizing actions, they ensure the productivity of the people involved.
Let’s take a closer look at their contributions to the business!
What are the main benefits of the action plan for companies?
The action plan brings excellent results to the business, even if it is used to organize only the actions of its manager, for example. Among its benefits, we can list:
Larger goals are broken down into smaller steps.
Aiming for a big goal in small stages makes it more feasible to achieve it and brings emotional gains.
This is mainly because small victories are attractive and make the professional see his activities with more control over the difficulties and challenges of the moment.
Deadlines and priorities are organized
Some actions are more urgent or necessary than others at each stage of the business, and having them all assigned allows the manager to determine the order of execution more accurately. Therefore, the progress of the plan will be optimized, avoiding rework or delays.
The most capable professional is chosen for each function
The use of the action plan and the consequent segmentation of tasks ensures that the company can also determine the responsibilities of each member of its team according to their specialties.
In addition, it makes it clear to all employees what responsibilities they must work with, as well as understanding the steps on which the success of their execution depends. This creates a sense of commitment to teamwork.
The routine is organized
Action plans can also be used for recurring tasks within a company. It can be used, for example, by a Digital Marketing agency that wants to determine which first actions on digital media and social networks should be scheduled for its new clients .
Using apps like Todoist, you can create different teams, determine which teams will be responsible for driving actions for each client, what actions need to be taken, and replicate this model every time new deals are closed.
How to make an action plan?
To make a good action plan or evaluate which applications and tools are most compatible with your business dynamics, it is important to understand what your steps and process are.
Action planning
The first moment of the plan is to determine all the actions required for the execution of the project.
Therefore, if the goal is to double sales, the basic requirement of the survey is to list the needs, such as:
- team building,
- recruitment,
- the exchange of machinery,
- develop a good content plan for the correct application of Content Marketing ,
- organizing campaigns in Google Ads,
- as well as other changes involved.
Execution and monitoring of actions
In these phases, those responsible for executing each task, the delivery time, the elements that will be necessary for its execution, among other aspects, are determined.
You can use traditional Excel spreadsheets , Google Calendar, or productivity apps like the ones in the previous topics.
However, at each completed stage, monitoring will notify the start of the next phase, ensuring that the schedule is completed successfully.
