Creating a 3-5 Year Strategic Plan for Your MSP or Technology Business in 11 Steps

Writing a 3-5-year strategic business plan helps to set long-term goals and objectives and then break those down into smaller, more manageable steps to ensure success for your technology business. Additionally, a strategic plan can help ensure that you are making decisions that are in line with your ultimate goals. A well-thought-out plan can help to keep your business and people focused as you work towards growing your MSP or technology business.

Before you begin writing the strategic plan, make sure you know the purpose and goal of the plan, as well as who will see it. Is it for your team only? Are you trying to impress investors or potential partners? If that’s the case, you may need to put this information into a more formal business plan presentation.

Your Vision

At C4, we always start with the end in mind. Having a clear vision of where you want to go and how you want to get there makes it easier to identify the steps needed to reach your goal. Where do you want to be in three or five years? How do you see your company evolving and growing? How do you envision your own role as an owner/shareholder? Do you anticipate launching new products or services? Will you expand into new markets? Is there an exit strategy?

Next, you’ll want to share this vision with everyone on your team. This will be your company’s North Star.

Identify Your Mission Statement and Values

A company’s mission, vision, and values are the core of its identity and are the foundation for all the decisions it makes. A mission statement is the overall purpose of an organization and the goals they strive to achieve. It is a declaration of what the company stands for and its core beliefs. To identify these, ask yourself what your company wants to achieve and how it wants to go about achieving it. What is the one thing that you do better than anyone else? The mission is a statement of what you are trying to accomplish; the vision is a description of what the company wants to become; and the values are the guiding principles that define the desired culture and behavior. By taking the time to identify and articulate these three elements, you can set your company up for success.

Write Your Value Proposition

A value proposition is a statement that defines how a company's products or services solve customers' problems or improve their situation. It is a promise of value that the company makes to its customers. Also called an “elevator pitch”, this briefly summarizes how your product or service works, why it’s needed, and why it’s better than other solutions.

SWOT Analysis

This is an assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with the business. To do a SWOT analysis, start by writing down a list of the strengths of your business. Consider any advantages you have or resources you can access. Next, list the weaknesses of your business. Think about any limitations you may have. Then, list potential opportunities that could help you achieve your goals. Think about any changes in the environment or any new technologies you could use. Finally, list out any potential threats that could hinder your progress. Consider any external factors that could potentially present a challenge. Typically, the strengths and weaknesses are internal to your business. The opportunities and threats are external factors. Once you’ve listed out the four elements of a SWOT analysis, you can use the information to develop a strategy to reach your goals.

Market Analysis

A thorough analysis of the target market, competitors, and industry trends. Who do you sell to? Be as specific as possible as you build out your customer personas. If your customers are in different verticals, segment them. Look at trends and customer needs and preferences. Also, find the size of your target market. Research the industry as a whole and what the growth rate looks like. Who are your competitors?

Your Solutions and Services

These are what you sell in response to the market needs and opportunities discovered above.

Objectives and Milestones

This is where you set clear objectives for the business. Start by determining what you are trying to achieve by when with the plan. What are your long-term goals? What do you want your business to look like next quarter versus one year from now? How does it look in three years? Milestones help you break down your plan into smaller, achievable goals.

Setting measurable goals for your business is an important part of achieving success. Each goal should have a timeline, a budget, and measurable results that can be tracked.

Measurable business goals for an MSP business could include increasing customer retention, reducing customer acquisition costs, expanding the customer base, increasing the average customer lifetime value, reducing the average time to issue resolution, and increasing the number of services offered. Additionally, you could set goals around increasing the number of reviews and ratings from customers, measuring customer satisfaction, and increasing the average revenue per customer.

Action Plan

Develop a plan of action that outlines how you want to grow your business and how you will achieve your goals, including timelines, resources, responsibilities, and strategies. Consider how you will market, manage, and grow your business. Assign tasks to team members. This section includes your operations plan, sales plan, and marketing plan.

Financial Plan

Do an analysis of the financial resources and projections needed to achieve the goals. Will you need additional funding? What do you anticipate the Revenue and EBITDA to be in the coming years? What does your cash flow look like?

People

Take stock of who you have available to you. Consider the skills and experience of your team. Are they in the right seats? Do you need to add partners? Fractional experts? Who doesn’t belong on your team? Highlight what makes your team unique and valuable.

Evaluation and Control

You’ll need a system for monitoring, evaluating, and adjusting the strategies and objectives of the strategic plan. As you move forward, pay attention to performance indicators, and adjust as necessary. This will ensure that you're always on track and ready to capitalize on new opportunities.

There’s no one way to write a strategic business plan. There are lean plans and more formal lengthy plans. Every MSP or technology services business has different goals, resources, and problems. Your vision for the future and how you will get there are most important.

Our team at C4 Solutions brings years of industry experience and PE intelligence in growing technology businesses toward a strategic exit. We partner with clients to grow with them. To learn more about our services, reach out to a member of our team today!

Written by Holly Mack