Companies that streamline their planning process are 1.8 times more likely to outperform their peers on revenue growth.

Annual strategic planning is essential, but it’s often a grueling process. Months are spent gathering market data, analyzing customer feedback, and studying competitors—all before you even get to the actual strategy discussions. But what if you could cut that time in half? AI could be the key to not only speeding up the process but also sharpening your focus on what really matters: strategy and execution.

The Secret Behind Faster, Smarter Planning

AI has incredible potential, but like any tool, it’s only as good as the way it’s used. To truly revolutionize strategic planning, AI needs to be taught “what good looks like.” It must understand how to synthesize market data, customer insights, competitive landscapes, and industry trends into a clear assessment that informs strategic decisions. Many companies spend up to half their planning time just getting to this point—analyzing where they stand before making strategic moves. What if you could radically reduce that long runway?

For example, we’ve taught our proprietary system, called Scout™, to leverage the best practices in market, customer, competitor, and trend analysis that we’ve honed over 25 years. Clients provide relevant market research and give us access to 5-10 customers for in-depth interviews. With these inputs, our intelligent system quickly delivers a clear, accurate picture of the current situation—covering everything from customer perceptions to competitive positioning—in hours.

Instead of spending weeks or months, teams using an intelligent marketing planning AI platform can begin strategic planning on the right foot, ready to make impactful decisions.

The Size of the Prize: Monetizing Faster Planning

A McKinsey study from awhile back appears to be the deepest dive into the time requirements and the costs of large company’s strategic planning processes.  It found that, on average, large organizations spend four to five months a year on strategic planning, tying up senior leadership and diverting attention from more urgent initiatives. Cutting that time in half is not just about efficiency—it’s about unlocking revenue-generating opportunities sooner. Savings in operational costs are realized, but more importantly, revenue growth is unleashed by accelerating decision-making.

The same McKinsey study estimated that companies that streamline their planning process are 1.8 times more likely to outperform their peers on revenue growth. That’s the real size of the prize: faster planning means faster execution, quicker go-to-market strategies, and ultimately, better financial results.

What Could You Do with the Time You Get Back?

By freeing up time previously spent on data gathering and analysis, you can focus on what drives long-term value:

1. Creative Strategy Development: With an intelligent AI planning system handling the analysis, you can spend more time developing innovative strategies that differentiate your brand and respond quickly to changing market conditions.
2. Customer Engagement and Research: You’ll finally have the time to connect directly with customers, gathering deeper insights and responding to their evolving needs in real time.
3. Deeper Data Insights: Rather than just skimming the surface, you’ll be able to dive into the data, identifying new trends and customer behaviors that could reshape your strategy for the better.

The AI Revolution in Strategic Planning

By leveraging AI to analyze customer research, trends, and competitive landscapes, you can cut the time it takes to build a powerful strategic foundation. More importantly, AI enables your team to start the planning process with a clear hypothesis grounded in real-time data. From there, your focus shifts to refining that hypothesis through additional customer input and spending the bulk of your time crafting strategies that drive growth.

No more wasted weeks bogged down by analysis. With AI, you hit the ground running, spending time where it counts: on strategy and execution.

Conclusion: Faster, Smarter, More Strategic

By cutting your strategic planning time in half, you’re not just speeding up the process—you’re making it smarter. Marketing planning AI platforms enable you to spend less time gathering data and more time developing game-changing strategies. What could you achieve with the months you get back?