Your company can glide to the top using a similar approach, dynamically positioning itself to anticipate the market s direction and competitors responses. That s one way strategic planning gives you an edge. Unlike operational planning, strategic planning focuses on where you need to be in three to five years. Failing to look ahead is like skating blindfolded. You never know how close you are to the goal.
Demographic data can be valuable to virtually any type of business.
Demographic information typically reflects long-term, systemic market changes likely to affect demand. Sometimes the changes are so subtle that you don t notice them until, like the frog in the pan of boiling water, you look around one day and discover that your market has evaporated and your business is dead. The more households that are formed, the greater the demand for residential housing. When fewer households are created, demand is lower. The outlook for household formations is important to any company dependent on residential housing construction as a direct or indirect source of revenue.