Business Development

Business development is a set of activities, initiatives, and ideas that help improve a company. It encompasses strategies for boosting profits, business expansion, and partnerships for better profitability.

In this article, we’ll uncover the role of business development and review 7 business development strategies for your company.

What is the role of business development?

When business owners struggle to increase sales, expand to new markets, partner with other companies or organizations to improve profitability, they involve their teams in business development. This process applies to all departments: from marketing to sales, product to project management. Companies hire business development managers to set accurate goals and develop plans to reach them. Goals can include revenue growth, expansion to new markets, strategic partnerships, and more. Business development helps companies reach their targets based on the plan and under a specified budget.

To improve profitability, conclude a profitable partnership, and reach new locations, a business development manager should have a customer profile, SWOT analysis, market opportunities, sources of revenue, state of the industry, opportunities for business expansion, and other vital information.

Now that you know the role of business development, let’s review business development strategies.

7 Business Development Strategies

Every company that seeks growth needs to consider business development in its overall development strategy. There are many ways you can improve your brand. Some can be more powerful and helpful for reaching your goals than others. The main task is to find those that allow you to attain your targets.

1. Use networking opportunities. If you want to scale, you need to search for new opportunities and use most of your resources. You can enter new markets, reach new clients, and start partnerships. You need to find a unique approach to attain these goals.
2. Establish strong relationships with customers. Now when technology influences companies a lot, customers often lack real interaction with brands to select the right solution and lead them through the customer onboarding process. However, companies still need to be in contact with their customers. It’s necessary to preserve trust, credibility, and transparency. Research your clients to know them better and provide them with personalized offers, discounts, programs, etc.
3. Support communities and charities. To have partnerships with other successful businesses, consider getting involved in charity. More and more established companies care about social and environmental issues. They support different types of communities. Remember, you should find an organization that aligns with your goals and mission. For example, if your company is against animal testing, find a community that cares about animals and opposes animal testing.
4. Make use of social media. Customers can’t imagine their lives without social media, nor do the companies. With the help of these social networking services, entrepreneurs can build business relationships and connections. You can use Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram to promote your product, get in touch with customers, and sell. To give you an idea, if you use Facebook, you can set up SendPulse’s chatbot for your Facebook Messenger. This way, you can answer questions, help customers during the checkout and solve some technical issues.
5. Implement referral programs. If your company has an excellent reputation and loyal customers, you can consider referral programs. Your clients will help you increase the circle of your potential and existing customers. Reward them for referring friends. As a result, you’ll have more customers, sales, and revenue.
6. Gather a team of professionals. Your team plays an important role in your business success. That’s why you should hire your employees carefully. Use data-driven research and tests to identify people who can be useful for the development of your company. Select team members who have the talent to accomplish the tasks you set and reach the goals you define.
7. Provide people-orientated support. If you want customers to be happy with your company and stay, it’s a must to have consistent customer service. People who look for solutions can contact a specialist at any time. They need clear and prompt responses from support staff. Prepare your customer support team to be friendly, empathizing, and helpful. This way, your company can receive an advantage over competitors.

Congrats, now you know 7 great business development strategies that will help you fulfill your goals. Make use of these to increase your revenue, reach new markets, or partnerships.

References:

1. In this article, you’ll find out what business managers do.
2. This article defines the term and the top 3 skills for business development.

Last Updated: 21.03.2023