Monthly Archives: July 2015

Business plan, business development plan, marketing strategy it’s all the same anyway…

In my line of business I come across many business owners who find marketing, sales and business development most unappealing. I think this is mainly born out of frustration of the fact that there is so much noise out there that it is hard to know what to do next. This is probably true for most things these days but it becomes difficult if you are unsure which way to turn and know that it’s affecting the future of your business in the way lack of sales, marketing and business development do.
So today I wanted to have a go at telling you why having a business development plan is good for your business. I can see you smiling as you think, well this is just another sales pitch…. Of course it is but that does not mean it won’t be useful so bear with me. In the words of Frank Zappa: “A mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it is not open.”

Reason number one: Start with the opportunities:
To move your business forward effectively , both in the short and long term, you need to understand your main opportunities including specifics such as what product/service will you promote to which target market. It sounds really obvious but I see too many businesses trying to be everything to anyone and ending up being nothing to everybody.

Reason Number two: set some goals:
Goals, preferably with numbers at the heart of them, are really important to ensure you are focused and able to measure your progress.

Reason number three: Adopt the strategies which are right for your business:
We live in a very noisy world which changes at a very fast pace. One minute we all have to write Blogs; then we must ensure our website is mobile; then everyone must have a Facebook page; Tweet regularly; the list goes on and on. If you start by working out your opportunities and target markets, then set some goals, it will be much easier to work out which strategies are right for your business based on who you are actually trying to reach.
A Business Development Plan will have these three elements at its heart and will therefore be key to growing your business and giving you some clarity over what to do next. The good news is we can help you with your business development plan if you so wish. The other news is that it would still fit within an overall business plan and could run alongside your marketing strategy document but it’s a start isn’t it?
Want to learn more? Check our business development plans’ testimonials on the website