Business development involves planning and strategies to move a company towards its goals, including restructuring management, expanding into new markets, and mergers and acquisitions. There is no set formula and the process can take a long time.
Business development is a term that refers to the variety of planning options and strategies that can help move a business towards its goals. The process of this type of strategic development can be applied to virtually any aspect of the company’s organizational structure. In the actual structure, business planning may involve finding ways to optimize the company’s existing structure or expand the company’s interest through acquisitions or mergers.
One of the most common manifestations of corporate development has to do with the reshaping of the management arm of the company. This may involve a process of phasing out certain management positions from the existing structure or creating new positions in an attempt to strengthen the management team. As part of this type of approach, business development may also require that one or more current executives be released from the company and replaced with individuals who possess the skills necessary to move the company forward. In this case, the business development team will handle the recruitment and assessment functions of potential hires.
Just as a management team can be revamped, business development can also be employed to change the current focus for clients. This may mean examining the potential to break into new markets with existing products or developing complementary products that will enable this type of expansion. Depending on the state of the underlying market, business development may also look at moving out of a shrinking consumer market while seeking market share in a different consumer market with newer products. For example, many typewriter manufacturers in the 1980s and 1990s gradually abandoned their core businesses and began to focus more on computer components and accessories as a way to continue operations.
The business development process can also be applied to the task of growing the company through mergers and acquisitions. In this scenario, project development will involve identifying potential target companies for takeovers or syndications resulting in a new and more aggressive company. The team will consider all possible outcomes of any given potential merger or acquisition and attempt to project whether the action could result in positive growth or permanently jeopardize the company.
There is no one tried and true formula for the business development process. The current structure of the corporate strategy will depend to a large extent on the current circumstances of the company and the area in which development is desired. In most cases, the process won’t be short-lived; business development is generally a process that takes place over a long period of time and can be adapted or refined as the project progresses.
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