Business Development Principles
Kum Filteau
Having a vision and putting together a good team are among the factors that help predict success in business development. A successful developer also knows how to write a good business plan, which becomes the blueprint to build from.
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Business Development : It can be summarized as ideas, initiatives, activities, strategies, plans and program's aimed towards making a business better. This includes the vast areas of aspects such as increasing revenue, profitability, growth of an organization, improving client relationships by cultivating strategic partnerships, making appropriate strategic business decisions and identifying new markets for its services.
Moreover, sales is not the only method of driving revenue growth, nor is revenue the only indicator of successful business development. In addition to assessing the strength of your sales force and strategies, you should focus on creating industry partnerships, enhancing your current products or services, and identifying new marketing opportunities, as well as other wide-reaching methods of spurring business development.
This is a significant shift in behavior as small medium enterprises business owners have realized that existing clients play a more influential role in business success than new clients. It is also important to pursue new client relationships while continuing to engage loyal clients, and these efforts will no doubt look different depending on the type of approach and scope of your company. For business-to-business (B2B) or professional service firms, connecting with clients and building strategic relationships can help grow the business in new aspects.
You should aim to be proactive in your promotional efforts when seeking to develop your company and strive to clearly communicate both the quantitative and qualitative value presented by your products or services.
In conclusion, I would like to highlight that according to the recent researches it is captivated that small medium enterprises business leaders should ensure that all customer queries and end product requirements are addressed as quickly as possible. Recent researches also indicates that more than half of all business clients simply select the ones that solves their queries and revert to the clients requirement at the earliest.
Knowledge of the major players in your sector is necessary to position your company for success. Industry research can help you to identify consumer trends and best practices, as well as to determine the best way to stand out from the competition. Rather than modeling your operations after those of your leading competitors, you should leverage information about what similar firms have to offer in order to provide value to your customers.
One study by BIA/Kelsey and Manta revealed that returning customers can spend as much as two-thirds more than first-time buyers. Building relationships is a critical part of business development, serving to both drive revenue through customer loyalty and expand your customer base through word of mouth.
It is important to pursue new client relationships while continuing to engage loyal customers, and these efforts will no doubt look different depending on the type and scope of your company. For business-to-business (B2B) or professional service firms, connecting with clients on LinkedIn or sending personal notes to mark celebrations or accomplishments can put a personal spin on customer engagement. For larger companies that serve a wider consumer base, social media can be an excellent customer engagement tool that allows companies to reach broad or targeted audiences while providing opportunities for direct interaction.
Digitization can spur business development by helping to enhance customer service, improve operational efficiency, and bolster your brand identity. A quality company website is often one of the best places to start when seeking to make your mark in the digital world. Over 80 percent of consumers research companies online before making a purchase, while an estimated 94 percent of businesses turn to the Internet when seeking B2B services. In addition to providing accurate and up-to-date information about your company and its offerings, your website can offer value to customers through news updates, blog posts, and other sources of unique and useful information.
Online reviews can also weigh heavily on your digital reputation. A 2015 BrightLocal survey revealed that 92 percent of consumers rely on online reviews to assess local businesses, and 80 percent trust these reviews as much as recommendations from friends or family. You should consider making a profile on popular consumer review sites in order to monitor your reviews and respond to customer feedback, as necessary.
In addition, business leaders should ensure that all customer queries are addressed as quickly as possible. Research indicates that more than half of all business customers simply select the vendor that replies to them first. Even outside of the B2B sphere, effective communication in the form of quality customer service can drive business development by generating trust and brand loyalty.
The moving parts are your multiple business functions, the different markets you may be playing in, and the wide variety of ideas within your company about the direction your organization should be moving.
In order to sustainably Eliminate Waste in a Lean organization, we must build the identification and elimination of waste into our daily activities. At the team level, we must hold each other accountable for designing, practicing, and continuously improving processes in order to maximize the delivery of value to our customers. We have to discuss not only the work, but how the work is being done, and how we can deliver more value to our customers in faster, more sustainable ways.
This has to start at the top: Inefficiency at the executive level trickles into every other part of the business. Leaders need to show by example how to make decisions that are focused on the customer.
This is precisely why the Lean business principle of Build Quality Into the System is essential for Lean business development. This concept is fairly simple: In order to create a system that is built for growth, we error-proof the system by standardizing and automating as much as possible. We standardize and automate those things that are tedious, repeatable, or prone to human error, so we can focus the skills and efforts of our employees on innovation, growth, and continuous improvement.
Lean business development encourages organizations to build quality into the system by documenting, sharing, and aligning around good practices, credible sources of knowledge, and strong processes. Lean organizations create environments that guide employees to Build Quality In. They sponsor the tools that enable organizations to move faster and make better use of their talent.
Of course, in order for employees to be able to sustainably deliver quickly, they have to operate in an environment that permits them to focus. Limiting work in process (WIP) at the organizational level is absolutely critical if we want to limit WIP at the team and individual levels. We can only deliver fast if we manage flow.
Many organizations were started by a few people, operating in homegrown systems, relying on tribal knowledge to do a majority of their work. This type of infrastructure is necessary to get started, but unsustainable for any organization wanting to grow.
The Lean business principle of Defer Commitment is critical for Lean business development. This principle encourages organizations to make decisions at the last responsible moment, in order to continuously make decisions based on the most up-to-date, relevant, comprehensive information.
Lean business development relies on hiring and retaining the best people and creating environments to make sure that the best ideas are heard. This cannot be accomplished without a fundamental respect for people.
Lean aims to eliminate the overhead between the customer and the people responsible for delivering value to them. Lean organizations respect their employees by creating environments to allow them to do their best work. Focusing company efforts on respect for people creates an environment where the best ideas are heard, where good employees are retained, and where leaders are better able to understand the needs of their employees and their customers.
Rachaelle Lynn, a Certified SAFe Agilist, is a marketing manager and subject matter expert at Planview, a market-leading provider of project portfolio management, lean and agile delivery, project management, and innovation management software. Her experience in diverse B2B and B2C industries continue to drive her interest in the SaaS customer journey. Rachaelle holds a BA in Communication Studies from the University of Florida.
DWF Link aims to bring together business leaders of the future from all industries and sectors, and helps professionals starting out in their careers to expand their network, collaborate and build essential skills through a programme of webinars, training events and networking socials.
During DWF Link's Career Development Lab webinar, "the principles of business development", attendees will learn more about the essential strategies and tactics necessary to help foster growth and success in their organisation. They will develop an understanding of the fundamental concepts of lead generation and client relationship management that will enable them to clearly identify opportunities, cultivate partnerships and, ultimately, drive revenue.