What Is A Strategic Assessment & How To Write One

Strategic management is crucial to keep any business aligned with its objectives. However, where do you begin to understand what goals to focus on and the steps needed to achieve them? 

A strategic assessment is a great place to start. Strategic assessments help organizations stay aligned with their vision and adapt to external and internal changes. In this article, we’ll detail how to write a strategic assessment to get you off to a successful start in the process. Keep reading for all the details. 

First, you’re probably wondering, “What is a strategic assessment?” The strategic assessment is a structured analysis of an organization’s current situation involving both internal and external factors. It serves as the foundation for informed decision-making and future planning. 

The purpose of the strategic assessment framework is to evaluate strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) while also considering market trends and the competitive landscape.

While this can feel like a complex process, Quantive StrategyAI can help simplify it. When your teams struggle to adapt to change in a busy workplace, Quantive StrategyAI helps bridge that gap by providing up-to-date information and facilitating smarter, faster decision-making. Whether tracking competitor performance or identifying market trends, Quantive ensures your strategic assessment is built on the most accurate data available.

A strategic plan assessment typically consists of the following: 

1. Environmental scanning: Involves analyzing external factors such as market conditions, economic trends, and regulatory changes. Things often pop up in the external market that influence your strategy and business goals, such as the development of new technology affecting business operations.  
2. Vision and mission analysis: Reviewing the organization’s vision and mission helps determine whether your goals still reflect its core values and direction. 
3. SWOT analysis: This is a core part of any strategic assessment. It helps identify an organization’s internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats. A SWOT analysis provides a snapshot of the organization’s current position and helps set the stage for future strategies.
4. Strategic goal setting: Strategic goals should be defined based on the SWOT, environmental scan, and the company’s overall mission. These goals will guide your next steps to facilitate focused action to improve business performance. 

Quantive can assist in each step of this process by providing AI-powered insights that help you select goals that best align with your mission, analyze KPIs, and get real-time monitoring and notifications so you can adjust as needed. 

Strategic Assessment Example

Here’s a quick example to give you an idea of how a strategic assessment can improve business performance,:

An IT company noticed increasing client wait times and internal inefficiencies. To address this, they conducted a strategic assessment using Quantive’s StrategyAI. 

After analyzing internal weaknesses, like outdated systems, and external factors, such as competitors’ use of automation, they identified new technologies to streamline operations. The company cut response times in half by implementing AI-driven customer service and cloud-based project management tools and improved team collaboration. 

Plus, the real-time tracking via Quantive’s platform helped them monitor progress and adjust to ongoing changes as needed. 

If you’ve been reviewing “How to write a strategic assessment PDFs” and other information, the process can feel pretty confusing. So, to help simplify it, we’ve broken it down into a quick four-step process you can follow. 

1. Define the scope and objectives: Start by clearly defining what the strategic assessment will cover and what objectives it aims to achieve. For example, is the goal to enter a new market or improve internal processes?
2. Data collection and analysis: Gather both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data could include financial performance, while qualitative data might come from customer or employee feedback.
3. Develop strategic recommendations: Based on the data collected, identify areas where improvements are needed and recommend specific actions. For example, if the SWOT analysis highlights a lack of digital capabilities, a recommendation might involve investing in new technology.
4. Implement and monitor the strategy: Once the strategy is in place, it’s crucial to monitor its progress regularly. This ensures that the strategy remains effective and allows for adjustments as necessary.

A well-structured strategic assessment report should clearly communicate key findings and actionable recommendations. 

1. Begin with an executive summary that provides a high-level overview of the main points. 
2. Then, detail the findings and analysis, presenting data from the SWOT analysis, environmental scanning, and market trends. 
3. Next, outline strategic recommendations to address the identified issues or opportunities. 
4. Finally, conclude with a specific action plan, including timelines, responsibilities, and KPIs to track progress. 

This structured approach ensures that stakeholders can easily understand and implement the strategy.

Strategy Evaluation Report Example

To give you an example, this is a very basic overview of what a strategic evaluation report would look like:

Executive Summary

This report evaluates TechCorp's strategy for expanding into international markets over the past year. The main goals were to increase international sales by 20% and establish a strong presence in three key markets: Europe, Asia, and South America. While significant progress has been made, some areas require adjustment.

Findings and Analysis

SWOT analysis:

• Strengths: Strong brand recognition and well-established supply chains.
• Weaknesses: Limited local expertise in new markets that caused delays in adapting product lines.
• Opportunities: High demand for tech products in Asia and Europe.
• Threats: Currency fluctuations and increased competition from local firms.

Market Performance:

• Europe: Sales growth of 15%, driven by partnerships with local distributors.
• Asia: Exceeded expectations with 25% growth, though some operational challenges were noted.
• South America: Underperformed with 8% growth, largely due to political instability and logistical issues.

Strategic Recommendations

Enhance local expertise by hiring regional managers to better understand local market needs.

Refine product lines to meet cultural preferences and pricing expectations in each market.

Strengthen the supply chain in South America by partnering with more reliable local logistics firms.

Action Plan

Timeline:

• Hire regional managers within the next three months.
• Adapt product lines for local preferences by Q2 of next year.
• Resolve supply chain issues in South America by the end of the year.

KPIs:

• Achieve 20% sales growth in Europe and Asia.
• Increase South American market share by 10%.
• Improve delivery times by 15% across all regions.

Quantive StrategyAI can help manage the strategic assessment process by providing AI-driven insights, real-time data tracking, and scenario planning tools. 

Whether you’re identifying market opportunities, setting strategic goals, or executing action plans, Quantive ensures your strategy is data-backed and adaptable. 

Ready to transform your strategic assessments? Contact us to learn more about how Quantive StrategyAI can help your organization drive better, faster decision-making.