Business development ranks high on every business’ priorities list – in theory. Practice often tells a different story. As the old saying goes, “Cobblers’ children rarely wear shoes.” In most industries, whether business-to-business or business-to-consumer, generating new business leads quickly falls down the priority list when day-to-day needs demand attention. There’s always another case to win, another patient to see or another prototype to make, leaving small businesses and services scrambling when profits dip.
Business Development Priorities
Committing to business development requires more than a few staff meetings talking about dream clients. It takes planning, time and investment. This often means that one or more employees must designate an inflexible part of their work scope to finding and developing new or organic-growth business. More importantly, peers and supervisors alike must respect this aspect of their job. When business development tasks don’t appear tied to strict deadlines or short-term profits, it’s easy to postpone them. This leads to disruption and potential failure in long-term growth. Designate a business lead or development team and allow them to fulfill this commitment.
In addition to a time commitment to new business development, a growing business must commit resources to trend research and development tactics. The days of the successful cold calls haunt the same long-gone nostalgia as phone book advertising. According to the Content Marketing Institute, while 88 percent of business-to-business marketers engage in content marketing, only 32 percent commit to a documented content marketing strategy. Considering an estimated 68 percent of online consumers indicate a they spend significant time searching branded content, that fact is absolutely insane. When a majority of development dollars were spent in traditional advertising, no one would approve a budget without a media plan. Why should business development be any different in the digital age? Give Mike a call at JOHO Marketing to discuss your media plan.
Recent Comments