Building an Effective Business Development Strategy Plan

Nick Rockwell

Content Marketing Manager

October 08, 2024

11 min read

The answer is a business development plan. As you perform daily activities, be it production or marketing, this document acts as a roadmap for your long-term journey. In this article, we will explain business development plan format, examine the importance of such a document, and show you how to write a business development plan.

What is a Business Development Plan?

A business development plan outlines the strategy for how to grow your company and achieve organizational objectives. It encompasses concrete actions and details all the things you need to take into account during implementation. Remember, it’s a living document. It is important to update your plan with new information as time goes on.

How to make a business development plan? Creating a business development plan entails considering your opportunities for growth, financial estimates and operational needs. It could also include your marketing strategy and initiatives to support the goals you’ve set. The document will help your team unite in their understanding of the mission and get them to pursue a shared vision.

Importance of a Strategic Business Development Plan

It takes a lot of work and time to prepare business development plans. But the benefits are apparent, especially when looking for funds to start a new venture because it shows that all options have been thoroughly considered.

To achieve success and growth in the long run, a comprehensive business development plan is a must. Clear goals and actionable insights aid companies in evolving their business in new directions. Let’s examine some strong arguments for the necessity of a strategic business development plan.

• Increase profitability: Creating a business development growth plan allows a company to recognize the most profitable markets and prioritize key areas for action. The document can also contain the revenue model of your business, together with its advantages and disadvantages.

• Enhance transparency: Transparency is an essential aspect of a good business as it benefits clients, employees, and stakeholders. It has the potential to increase staff retention and boost your sales. You can promote transparency by making sure that everyone in your company understands the objectives and their role in reaching them.

• Facilitate growth: Companies are always looking for growth opportunities. A well-thought-out business plan can help you enter new markets, attract more customers, implement effective workflows, and deliver innovative products or services.

8 Steps to Write a Strategic Business Development Plan

In short, business development plans chronicle the implementation of your business growth strategy. If you intend to write your first or update an existing one, you might be asking yourself, “How to build a business development plan?”

Below, you will find the principal steps one should take when writing a business development plan.

#1: Define Your Mission and Set Clear Goals

A company’s current mission and overarching vision are expressed in its business development plan. The best place to begin creating a strategic plan is to understand what your organization wants to achieve. Starting the planning process with an explicit purpose in mind lays the groundwork for your business to provide greater value over time.

Even if your purpose is to simply “earn more revenue,” to succeed, you must represent your wishes in specific, measurable terms. The SMART framework helps you in setting goals and objectives for your business. The criteria include the following:

• Specific

• Measurable

• Attainable

• Relevant

• Time-Bound

For example, if you manage a subscription box service, you can set your business objective as: “Boost customer retention by 20% over the next year by introducing a loyalty program and enhancing the unboxing experience with exclusive, personalized items.”

#2: Identify Your Target Audience

The initial phase of creating a company development plan involves identifying your target audience. Ask yourself a simple question: “Who are you trying to interest in becoming your clients?” To get an answer, you have to learn about how customers spend their time and money, the obstacles they encounter, and where they get their information. Concentrate on best fit clients to increase the chances of success.

A good way to find your target audience is to create buyer personas. These research-based profiles serve as fictional representations of your potential customers. If you already have some clients, analyze them first. You can do this by checking their social media accounts and collecting all relevant information, such as level of education, industry, job description, etc.

#3: Conduct Market Research

Market research is another stage in building a business development plan. Once your target audience has been identified, it is time to gather more data about their needs and preferences. It is essential to find answers to the following questions:

• What major problems do they have?

• How do they go about solving their problems?

• What specific services could benefit them?

• How can your goods or services help them in their current situation?

#4: Analyze Your Competitive Advantage

What sets your business apart? Is it a unique range of products or services? Multiple communication channels and reliable customer service? Cost efficiency? Acknowledging your competitive advantage and communicating it to potential customers is crucial.

The best way to find out your company’s current position and discover its competitive advantage is to conduct a SWOT analysis.

• Strengths: Positive qualities of your business.

• Weaknesses: Areas for improvement.

• Opportunities: Situations that might lead to favorable outcomes.

• Threats: Anything that could cause negative outcomes.

Every component of this technique is essential to the preparation and implementation of business development plans. It gives you a thorough understanding of your business from a number of angles, meaning you can identify possible threats and commercial opportunities.

#5: Develop Business Development Strategies and Tactics

Select the overarching strategy—or strategies—that will connect with interest, and win over potential customers. Which approach best suits the preferences and needs of your target audience? Which ones highlight your edge over the competition? Take a look at these common business development strategies:

• Advertising

• Content marketing

• Networking

• Referrals

After picking preferred strategies, you need to consider the tactics. They constitute an integral part of a business development action plan. Remember to find the right balance. It is necessary to have tactics that relate to each phase of a business development plan outline. At the same time, you must balance digital and traditional techniques. Here are some of the most impactful tactics to use:

• Public speaking

• Appearing on podcasts

• Making video blogs

• Digital advertising

• Offering consultations

Try Flowlu’s Mind Maps to structure your ideas and those of your team to understand the connections between your strategies and tactics. This way you will be able to visually present all pertinent information and map out your work.

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#6: Establish Key Performance Indicators to Monitor Implementation

The importance of measurable indicators cannot be overestimated. Simply put, if you can’t measure your success, you can’t be sure that your business development plan is actually working. Key performance indicators, or KPIs for short, are a useful tool for evaluating your corporate growth strategy.

What should a business development plan include? Implement metrics that align with your business’s objectives and strategies. The following metrics provide deep insights:

• Conversion rate: The efficacy of your marketing and sales processes.

• Win rate: A percentage of how many sales your team has closed successfully.

• Customer acquisition cost (CAC): How much you spend to interest new clients.

• Customer lifetime value (CLV): The total possible revenue generated from a single customer.

• Net promoter score (NPS): How likely are customers to recommend your brand to other people.

#7: Determine Your Budget

A budget helps you determine whether your ideas for a business development plan are worth the investment. For instance, if the financial impact of your strategy is greater than the projected returns, you may need to reevaluate your tactics. Since nothing is free, you need to be wise about how you spend your money. Invest in projects that will actually make a difference.

Not only should you outline how much money you’ll need, but also how you intend to obtain it. The sources could be equity capital investors, government grants, commercial mortgages, crowdfunding, etc. It is worth specifying the amount you want to borrow from each source, how it will be spent, and any potential roadblocks. Use Flowlu’s budgeting tool to allocate cash flow into categories, track where each dollar is going, and visualize how funds from each source will be distributed across your business needs effectively.

As your business grows, so will your expenditures. For instance, you might need to employ more staff members to assist with customer service, a bigger warehouse to facilitate logistical operations, or more modern equipment for production. All of these things should be reflected in your business development strategy plan.

#8: Monitor and Adapt Regularly

Now that your business plan for the development project has reached the implementation stage, it is time to evaluate how your ideas have been put into action. You can judge the effectiveness of your strategy by looking at key performance indicators.

A business development plan is never a final document. Markets fluctuate, consumer behavior shifts, and competitor businesses get better. In order to attract new customers and keep existing ones, you have to continuously reassess and tweak your strategy. Keep an eye on emerging market trends, get feedback from clients, and closely observe the activities of your competitors.

Example of Business Development Plan

If you are struggling to recall all the business development plan steps, here’s an example of a strategy we’ve come up with for Cap & Gown Boutique, a store, which specializes in selling custom graduation dresses and regalia. This is a simple business development plan for small businesses.

Business Objectives:

Grow market share by 10% and sales revenue by 20% within the next year through targeted marketing.

Target Buyer Persona:

Emily is a 22-year-old soon-to-be college graduate who is active on Instagram and TikTok. She is interested in fashion trends and frequently buys clothes online. Her aspiration is to find a stylish dress that would not look out of place at a commencement ceremony. Before making a purchase, Emily considers reviews and recommendations from online influencers.

Market Research

• Prom dresses market is expected to grow from 15.26 billion USD in 2024 to 19.9 billion USD by 2032.

• Spring is the most popular graduation season. According to Google Trends, searches for ‘graduation dress’ peak at the beginning of May.

• Despite the fact that most universities do not have a strict dress code, wearing a white graduation dress for the commencement ceremony has become a tradition in recent years.

SWOT Analysis

• Strengths: Cap & Gown Boutique focuses on a momentous event, which can attract customers across generations. Thanks to a user-friendly website and active social media channels, it streamlines sales processes and improves engagement with clients.

• Weaknesses: Sales mostly occur around graduation season, leading to potential cash flow issues in other times of the year. High return rate due to sizing and fit issues.

• Opportunities: Collaboration with influencers for exclusive deals or promotions. Personalized designs to enhance customer experience.

• Threats: Cap & Gown Boutique faces intense business competition from established retailers and ecommerce stores. Economic downturns could lead to reduced spending on formal attire.

Business Development Action Plan Example

Marketing Campaign:

In early spring, Cap & Gown Boutique will launch social media campaigns on platforms like Instagram and TikTok to showcase graduation dresses. Influencers will host giveaways or contests that encourage sharing content, such as photos or videos in dresses bought for graduation.

Focus on a Popular Color:

Cap & Gown Boutique will create white versions of most dress models to meet the market demand.

Metrics and KPIs

Cap & Gown Boutique will take into consideration the following metrics:

• Conversion rate

• Customer acquisition cost (CAC)

• Net promoter score (NPS)

Budget Example

• Marketing expenditures: $20,000

• Influencer partnerships: $30,000

• Production costs: $100,000

This sample of a business development plan should give you a good idea of what information to include in your own strategic document.

Conclusion

What is a development plan in business?A solid business development plan is an effective aid for continuous improvement of your company’s efforts. It assists you in setting goals and maintaining focus even when you're overburdened with daily responsibilities.

An organized strategic document can push your business to new heights. Putting a business development plan into action requires dedication from all people in your organization, but it’s only the start of an adventure.