Writing your Business Plan: Values & Philosophy Along with your mission and vision statement you need to convey your company’s core values and principles. A company’s values act as a "Guiding Beacon" that underpin your mission and vision and provide your business with a purpose beyond making a profit. There are many types of corporate values: Corporate Social Responsibility – Corporate social responsibility means behaving responsibly, and also dealing with suppliers who do the same. Becoming carbon neutral, reducing waste, procuring fair-trade products and only purchasing goods from foreign manufacturers that respect child labour laws are all examples of social responsibly. Customer Service – Without customer customers there would not be a business. Excellent customer service is crucial in the current business environment, it results in. ● ● ● ● ●
Increased sales Increased public image Survival in terms of competition Satisfied customers and greater job satisfaction for staff Repeat business and customer loyalty
Make sure your values include how your business will treats its customers.
Communication – In today’s knowledge economy one of the most valuable commodities is communication. Modern company's need to have a communications strategy and understand how to communicate to customers, suppliers, partners, employees and the media using traditional and emerging channels such as social media. Employee interaction Its important for a business to provide employees with a framework on how to interact with
each other, this helps form the culture of the business. This also lays the foundation of how your business is perceived by suppliers, partners and customers Quality It is a good idea to include your expectations in terms of output you expect from your company. Many business's state that they "strive for excellence", however try to make your expectation as tangible as possible. A great example of this is Fujitsu's quality statement: "We enhance the reputation of our customers and the reliability of social infrastructure." Innovation Innovation is the introduction of new ideas, goods, services, and practices. It’s not just about new technology. It’s about new ways of doing things: new methods and new processes. There are opportunities for innovation in everything we do: in customer service, sales, business development, operations and product development. Innovation helps businesses provide value and value allows them to become sustainable. Conclusion In a proliferated market place in most industries, your company values are one way of differentiating from the others and can help attract employees and customers. Modern businesses are encouraged to adopt a “triple bottom line” with social and environmental impact measured with financial performance.