Effective Strategies On Business Development For Organisations

While a lot of companies still do not understand the actual role of business developers, most organisations worldwide are aware of the value they bring to the organization today. Over the past few years, the business industry has begun to understand the importance of business developers.

If you are one of those people who still want to know what it means to be a business developer, please find the time to read this.

Let us say you have just moved into a business development position from a sales or marketing background. Normally, big enterprises provide their employees with training and orientation. Small and medium size companies, on the other hand, usually lack such processes. If you find yourself confused about what to do, read on.

In this series of articles, I am going to discuss some business development strategies that successful business development managers adopt, to ensure success in their work.

These Business Development strategies are divided into three main parts-

• Business development activities
• Enhancing public image
• Increasing market exposure

Before I elaborate these points, it is important to understand that all the above can be done through many modes of communication and advertising, such as physically, online, through the radio, through banners and posters etc. This brings me to my next point – the importance of having a website for any business.

One of the most surprising things when you look at small businesses is how many of them don’t have a website. You would think that in this day and age everybody would know how important a website is for all businesses. Clearly that is not the case. Any business that does not have a website is missing out on one of the most powerful marketing tools available to them. If you are a small business owner reading this article and wondering how to get a website for your business, contact HyperEffects. They are they answer to all your website creation and maintenance issues and queries.

I am going to cover this subject in detail in my future articles, but the main reason that it is important for businesses to have a website is how people are likely to find you. These days most people will go online and research products and companies before they make a purchase. If you don’t have a website, you are missing out on all this potential business. Even if people don’t buy your product online, they are still likely to research it online. Hence, you must have a website so these people can learn about your business.

Back to business, in this article, i will provide a summarized review of what you as a business developer should do to add value to your company.

1) Business Development Activities

Market Research – Performing market research is highly important to understand your company’s current position and determine where it is headed. Perform research about the industry you are in, the geographical area you cover and the market segment you are targeting. There are many readymade reports about the industry, market and country available over the internet that can be useful for you. They inform you about market trends and values. You can then calculate your market-share out of the total market value.

Research for contracts, bids and opportunities of cooperation with other companies that your company can take, to increase its channels of revenue. Subscribe to industry related databases, forums and blogs; these can be of great value to you, as they provide detailed information regarding all projects and businesses within your area from concept to execution. This will save you plenty of time consumed normally in collecting information and vastly reduce your market intelligence efforts, use them wisely as leverage over your competition.

2) Competitive Analysis

Once you learn everything you can about the products/ services your company offers, you must learn about your competition in order to understand where you stand, compared to others. It will also help you determine your desired market positioning. Do the following:

Determine your company’s top competitors – set up a criteria or mechanism for comparison, choose different variables for the comparison- this could be in the form of strengths, weaknesses or price, product quality, exposure, brand reputation, etc.

In my next blog, I am going to write about some more helpful business development strategies. Keep coming back for quick tips to improve your business and don’t forget to leave your comments, they are my inspiration!