For most of us, January is the month for planning so to help make that job a little easier, here are 24 questions to consider when developing strategies for your plan.

1. Where are we now?

2. What are your goals and objectives?

3. What environmental factors are affecting your business ..how can you minimise the threats and capitalise on the opportunities?

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Product
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4. Do you need to improve the quality or features of your product?

5. Does your range of product/services need to be rationalised to meet changing demand?

6. Is the manner in which your product (or service) is packaged, in keeping with your market positioning AND in line with the current needs of customers?

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Price
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7. How do your prices compare with your competitors now?

8. Is there scope for a price increase?

9. Manufacturers/Wholesalers ... can you or do you need to adjust your discount structure for resellers?

10. Can you reduce your product costs without affecting quality?

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Distribution
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11. Which companies/organisations represent alliance opportunities and how can you approach them?

12. Can after-sales and service improvement be made?

13. Can you move into new markets and customer areas and are there any that you should be withdrawing from?

14. Will improving your customer service levels lead to an increase in customer retention and referrals and if so, what can you do to achieve that?

15. Are there any niche markets you can tap into?

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Promotion
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16. Do you need to improve your sales conversion ratios and if so how? ... special offers, sales training, upselling or cross-selling?

17. Do you need to improve your average transaction value and if so how?

18. How can you increase the number of times a client does business with you during the year?

19.Does your cost per customer (CPC) need to reduce significantly?

20.Which promotional methods aren't working well on a CPE or CPC basis?

21.Which promotional methods are working well for you and how can you expand on them to further increase sales?

22.What can you do to increase referrals?

23.What do your customers think about your service levels, your product quality and what would they like you to be offering them in the future?