Business development requires a multi-disciplinary approach and there is no ‘one size fits all’ strategy. There are a plethora of activities, conceptualizations, methodologies, tools, frameworks, models, subfields, and buzzwords employed across industries and geographies when implementing growth opportunities for firms. Business growth strategy formulation is an intense process of studying the firm’s strengths and weaknesses, that are used to exploit growth opportunities if and when they present themselves.
From the birth of firms through incubators and seed accelerators, to boosting growth for small and medium firms by means of second stage business accelerators, to advising corporate giants through management consulting firms, business development constitute an important element any phase of the company life cycle.
An effective business development approach is to encompass several major steps in the evaluating process including: your identification of the opportunity; what are your committed resources; the actual development of your business proposal; market evaluation; competition; and your time restraints.
Implement – If your business is not at the stage to appoint a full time marketing director, at least hire an experienced business development professional to work with your company for a few days a month. A person that specifically focuses on business development will understand how to communicate potential business deals to perspective businesses in the right manner.
Hire A Business Development Expert
A business development plan is an essential tool for all prudent entrepreneurs if they wish to remain in business. In such instances boutique consultancy firms come in handy to for example support a particular project or give advice on matters related to a specific topic such as law, finance or HR. Larger corporations often make use of larger management consultancy firms to identify existing organizational problems and development of plans for improvement.
If the case exists where the top level business strategies have not been clearly defined and there are significant online marketing activities in terms of social media interaction, paid advertising and content creation and publication for search engine marketing purposes then the conclusion may be drawn that as a consequence there is no real foundation on which to base the digital marketing activities.
For that reason, there are a multitude of professional service providers in the field of business development. Make sure to always discuss details of the engagement process and the scope of the services to be delivered. Strategic focus, institutional strengthening, human resource training and financial strategy, are some of the dimensions that a second stage business accelerator may offer.
Business Development Strategies That Work
The Business Development Strategy is used to underpin your main Business Plan and essentially it sets out a standard approach for developing new opportunities, either from within existing accounts or by proactively targeting brand new potential accounts and then working to close them. During this phase cash flows stabilize and establishment of marketing networks and operational channels are completed. Hiring a consultant or consulting firm to act as a business development team for you company is a great route for many small businesses. In a new business development it is a visionary process, in which a direction for the venture can be identified and a systematic and orderly processes can be established as part of the overall business plan.
Plan – Once new business opportunities have been identified you will need to decide how you can best reach those new customers and markets. Given the growth stage in which your company finds itself it can indeed be worthwhile considering employing business development services in one way or another.
It’s critical to recognize that a business development team member is going to need to spend time out of the office meeting with companies, going to business events and other functions that may be fruitful in finding and meeting the right business partners, however if you are paying for someone to be at an event then make sure the business cards that are collected get scanned and retained by the company.
Digital Marketing As A Subset Of Business Development Strategies
So many professional service firms we meet bemoan the track record of most of their folk in developing new work and new clients in attractive niches. Moreover, no company can house all expertise internally, thus the advice from external business professionals may at times come in handy. A business development specialist is typically a cross between a marketing and a sales person. Hiring a development consultant is going to cost you money, but it’s important to see this as an investment for your business.
We must first look at the business development process itself. During this phase of its existence, businesses experience expansion of its activities and enhancement of its customer base. Large management consulting firms offer a more diverse set of services compared to boutique consulting firms and are often international in scope.
Business Development Steps And Strategies
Job titles continually evolve based on the changing needs of companies. While a consultants hourly rate may be higher than you’re comfortable with a deal can be put together much faster by a professional than someone trying for the first time to structure a business partnership. If you’re the typical small business starting, growing or even just surviving in a tough economic market with little or no credit, you also need business development strategies that don’t eat up your cash flow.
Business development involves all tasks and processes concerning both the analytical preparation, monitoring and support of growth opportunities. You will be left with a balance – i.e. “20{ad6554a6e5186ddcb027fd0a29d107a8f651fab1a911cf43207bf3de3114b9ba} of my business next year will come from new opportunities” – therefore you can then begin to allocate your selling time accordingly.
Strategic focus, institutional strengthening, human resource training and financial strategy, are some of the dimensions that a second stage business accelerator may offer.