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What Does a Strategy Analyst Do?

Nick Mann
Nick Mann

Working as a strategy analyst typically involves researching and analyzing industry trends and determining how to optimize a business. These individuals usually work with clients to develop an effective business strategy to maximize profits and stay competitive. Being successful in this career usually requires a person with strong mathematical abilities, interpersonal skills and a creative mindset. It's necessary to have at least a bachelor's degree in management for some positions, and a master's degree for others. Some primary duties of this position include communicating with the client, performing industry research, analyzing client performance, developing a strategy and presenting ideas to a client.

Before a strategy analyst can do anything, it's usually necessary for him to communicate with the client. During this time, he might go over the client's current circumstances and determine what the client's expectations are. For example, a client might want to know how effective her business is within a market and how to stay ahead of the competition.

A strategy analyst may spend time analyzing a client's performance in a particular industry by determining how much traffic the client's website receives.
A strategy analyst may spend time analyzing a client's performance in a particular industry by determining how much traffic the client's website receives.

After an initial client consultation, an analyst will often perform some industry research. For example, if a client is a clothing designer who sells merchandise through a website, a strategy analyst might perform research by checking competitor's websites, investigating average prices and looking at current fashion trends. Getting a clear idea of how each client's industry works and assessing the competition is helpful for creating an effective strategy.

A strategy analyst may help clients develop effective business strategies to maximize profits.
A strategy analyst may help clients develop effective business strategies to maximize profits.

Along with this, a strategy analyst will spend a considerable amount of time analyzing his client's performance. In the case of a clothing website, he may look into how much traffic the site receives, average time users spent on the site, customer demographics and conversion rates. This information will ultimately determine the type of business strategy that should be implemented.

After consulting with a client, a strategy analyst will conduct industry research, such as investigating average prices and looking at current fashion trends for a client who is a clothing designer.
After consulting with a client, a strategy analyst will conduct industry research, such as investigating average prices and looking at current fashion trends for a client who is a clothing designer.

The next phase of this job typically involves developing a strategy. Specifics of a strategy can differ considerably between clients, so a strategy analyst will need to devise an entirely individual plan for each client. For a clothing website, he may propose ideas like developing a new online marketing campaign or changing website navigation.

Presenting his findings to a client is an additional part of the job. Typically, this is the final phase of each project and involves presenting what was learned from industry research, competitor's information, snd client performance. Ideas for improvement will also be shared. For this, a strategy analyst will sometimes make use of tools like charts and graphs, or use computer-based presentations to demonstrate his findings.

Discussion Comments

Glasis

Strategy analysis is the key to improving the performance of any company. There is no such thing as a company that does everything perfectly and is getting the maximum revenue possible.

Although the factors analyzed may seem obvious, someone with a background in management should have their finger on the pulse of the market and be able to keep up with even the slightest changes that can effect a company's bottom line.

Since management is usually focused on the internal workings of a company rather than the external business environment, an independent analyst with a fresh, unbiased outlook can help immensely.

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    • A strategy analyst may spend time analyzing a client's performance in a particular industry by determining how much traffic the client's website receives.
      By: Yves Damin
      A strategy analyst may spend time analyzing a client's performance in a particular industry by determining how much traffic the client's website receives.
    • A strategy analyst may help clients develop effective business strategies to maximize profits.
      By: DragonImages
      A strategy analyst may help clients develop effective business strategies to maximize profits.
    • After consulting with a client, a strategy analyst will conduct industry research, such as investigating average prices and looking at current fashion trends for a client who is a clothing designer.
      By: adisa
      After consulting with a client, a strategy analyst will conduct industry research, such as investigating average prices and looking at current fashion trends for a client who is a clothing designer.
    • A strategy analyst assists fashion buyers to accurately forecast supply and demand of numerous clothing styles.
      By: Kenishirotie
      A strategy analyst assists fashion buyers to accurately forecast supply and demand of numerous clothing styles.