Marketing and Strategy Services
Strategy and Marketing Assessments
Strategy Development
Strategy and Marketing Plans and Implementation
Industry Specialization
Facilitation for Marketing and Strategic Planning
Workshops


What is Strategy?

What does the word “strategy” mean? 

Hosfeld & Associates uses the term “strategy” to refer to an approach to achieving your objectives that takes into account challenges or obstacles you must overcome as well as the opportunities that you can leverage. 

In organizational life, strategy can be applied to a variety of objectives – cost-cutting, information management, quality improvement, etc.  When we work with a for-profit business, our work focuses on the goal of how an organization promotes its own long-term success and viability by offering something unique to the market. We focus on the questions “What business are we in?”, “In what unique way do we better serve our audiences,” and “How do we compete and cooperate in our field?” When we work with a non-profit organization, our work focuses on how to increase the impact of that organization's mission or vision.

What is “strategic planning”? 

There are many forms of strategic planning. For us, strategic planning is a process of discovery where organizations identify the path to their next phase of growth. We design and facilitate strategic planning processes for businesses and non-profit organizations. They look very different, but all of our processes include: 
  • Evidence-based decision-making. We use research and data to determine what’s true and knowable about each client’s situation and to foster insight about its opportunities.
  • Collaborative processes. We make sure the right people participate at the right time to provide the information needed for good decisions, as well as to build engagement in the ultimate outcome.

What’s the difference between a strategic plan and a long-range plan?

A strategic plan is almost always long range in nature. But a long-range plan is not necessarily strategic in nature. Many organizations use long-range plans to think ahead about their desires for growth and change in the organization. Strategic thinking takes into account the problems or obstacles an organization will face and what opportunities it will exploit to achieve its growth goals.