When talking about business cases, there is an important word that you must bear in mind. The term “business case” can be tricky because it can mean different things to different people.
Some seem to use the term loosely, so they may put any argument or reasoning into what defines a business case. This isn’t a good way to use the term, as your arguments don’t need to be logical to be considered a business case.
For example, if someone says their reason for buying a new car is because they wanted to show off how fast it was, then this would not be a valid business case. It is simply showing self-promotion, which doesn’t make the claim true.
That wouldn’t be a good way to prove the credibility of their car brand! Similarly, if someone claims paying $1,000 per month for rent is necessary to demonstrate how successful they are as person, then we know that can’t be factually correct. We all have limited resources we can spend, and being smart with money is one of them.
Using the cost/benefit analysis approach, determining whether or not a business case has been made is more stringent than using the less rigorous definition. A cost benefit analysis looks at both costs and benefits, making sure that each element outweighs the other. This makes sense, since only strong supporting reasons will convince others to back your ideas.
A common reason why business cases fall short is that people don’t know what numbers to use in their calculations. They may not have the necessary internal resources, or they might not take the time to look up those numbers.
But before you make your case, you need to know how much your company can afford to invest. If you don’t, then you won’t be able to tell whether or not its worth it!
What most businesses fail to do is calculate their return on investment (ROI). This is an important number that tells you just how effective of an investment you are making. It compares the costs of investing with the benefits derived from the investment.
The higher the ROI, the more efficient the investment was. The lower the ROI, the less profitable the investment was.
The next step in making your business case is creating a marketing plan. This will include all of the strategies and activities you have discussed so far, as well as new ones you want to implement into your business.
It’s important to remember that not every idea will work, but if you are careful about testing out only those that would make an effective difference, you will still leave yourself with plenty of opportunities to test things out.
You don’t need to spend money to do this, there are many free ways to test your ideas before investing in expensive materials or services. For example, you can create and test different social media posts, pictures, and videos to see what gets the most engagement from your audience.
By doing this, you will find it much easier to determine which types of content get the most reactions and therefore more traffic for your business.
The second part of making a business case is developing your organization’s strategic plan or mission statement. This should be done at a high level so that it can be understood by anyone in the organization, but still gives a clear picture of what the company wants to achieve.
Your mission statement should clearly state how you intend to accomplish your goal. For example, if your company’s mission is to make sure everyone has access to quality health care, then your healthcare services department’s job would be to ensure that people have adequate medical coverage.
If your company doesn’t have direct service offerings, you can always find something related to your company’s goals that others do – for instance, insurance companies are in the health care industry, so studying their strategies could help you develop your own.
A business case is different than an argument for or against something. It’s not meant to prove that your idea will work, but to show why your idea should be considered before someone else’s idea. In other words, it helps determine whether you should invest in your idea or not!
A business case comes down to two main components: proof of concept and feasibility. Proof of concept looks at whether what you want to do has been done successfully somewhere before. Feasibility examines if there are enough resources available to you and your team to accomplish your goal.
When creating a business case, try to keep these two parts separate as much as possible. Start with proving your concept, then add onto that by showing how well you have researched the market, and finally include evidence that shows how strong your finances are. You can always add into the conversation later.
It is very difficult to make a strong business case when there are no funds available for an investment or project. You need to understand your organization’s financial situation, determine how much money you have access to invest, and then create a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of all the potential benefits that investing in a product can bring versus the costs associated with buying that product.
If you run out of things to say during this process, then it is probably time to rethink your plan!
It is important to remember that even if you make a compelling argument, someone else may choose not to go through with the purchase because they do not want to spend their money that way. Or, they may be able to get the same result more cheaply somewhere else. Therefore, before making any final decisions, test the waters by putting some products up for sale and seeing what response you receive.
The next step in making a business case is identifying your target audience or market. Who are you offering your services to? What types of businesses would benefit from what you have to offer?
It’s important to know who your customers are before you can make a solid argument for why they should hire you instead of someone else. Your targeted customer base is determined by several factors, including what positions you hold, what products and services you use, and what areas of work you are familiar with – just to name a few!
Once you have identified your ideal client, determine if there are any events or activities being held that could use your skills or expertise. By going to these things and introducing yourself, you will be creating an opportunity to connect with those people and get more job opportunities.
By developing relationships with others, you create openings for employment. This is one of the most effective ways to find jobs quickly.
A small business owner’s first instinct when trying to convince someone of something is to try to prove how right they are. It can get pretty frustrating for you or them, especially if you have to do it several times!
Instead, think about what things might help their situation — maybe by offering a discount, talking about your quality of service, or creating an incentive. If those don’t work, then ask whether they know anyone who knows people that could be convinced to use your services.
Business cases should always start with asking why things are the way they are. And sometimes, all you need to do is make a simple argument like “This will help you succeed” to win over most people.
A web presence is one of the most fundamental ways to grow your business. Even if you’re not looking to build an online store, creating a well-designed website that captures people’s attention can help promote your products or services.
A good first step in developing your site is choosing a domain name. You can use our free tool to find great domain names here!
From there, it’s time to pick your platform. It doesn’t matter which software you choose — Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Explorer all work just fine.
Most people start out using a service like Google Sites or WordPress because they are easy to use and feature rich. However, you don’t have to stick with these providers. There are many free alternatives out there such as Blogger or Wix.
