Business Development for Startups (Part 4 - Closing)

As a closing series on business development for startups, this article will try to summarize and review what startups really need when building their business foundations. On first part conveyed that the scope of business development (business development) not only focused on sales (Sales). Moreover, there is a crucial role to play in ensuring that startup products and brands are in demand by the market share.

At this stage there are several things that must be done by a person who is responsible for business development. The first is to understand market share or in technical terms it is called "Know Your Customers", allocate special time to do research on it. Go outside, ask the people who will be the user base of the service. Accommodate as much input as possible before the business process actually starts.

Second, do an analysis of competitors. This is important, because products developed by startups often feel "unique" and have no competitors. Whereas competitors can be direct competitors and indirect competitors. Direct competitors are those who provide similar products or services. Meanwhile, indirect competitors are those who provide alternative products or services as substitutes.

Then as founder startups must have an open mindset. The problem is not small founder who feel they are already in the market niche, meaning that there are not many players there and the consumer segment is a special group. Instead, you have to think otherwise, that particular market niche will eventually be found naturally when a startup manages to explore a broad market share, comparing one to another.

Before walking out or to market , make sure the homework on the internal startup is complete. For example about the division of roles in business development. So that everyone knows where to report and where to connect. Make the business idea work effectively by clearly defining the portion of the work and targets that must be achieved within a certain time period.

Start business development

Business development can also be defined as a process of delivering solutions to people who are experiencing certain problems. So this is an important factor in the selection of the approach taken. Present a startup brand as a solution to a problem. Another thing that needs to be kept in mind is that business development does not always set the final goal on sales, there are other components that can be brought to strengthen startups, such as business relationships, strategic collaborations, to ways to expand market share.

Running a business development also cannot be done alone. Hire the right people, at the right time, to complete some business development related work. For example, the sales department, public relations, to representatives to help consumers. These people are important, because the task of business development doesn't just stop there deal happen, but there post-deal management which is also a crucial factor. Imagine if a product developed by a startup is recommended by its consumers to others.

In writing The second part We have discussed how the business development team conducts marketing planning. This planning is very important, to ensure each goal becomes clearer with measurable achievements. Several approaches can be taken, especially for startups with digital products. However, each market share is unique, for example startups working on a B2B business model, businesses need time to make purchasing decisions. Help them by providing resources that provide knowledge about solving a particular problem, for example by submitting newsletter form whitepaper or market research.

Luckily nowadays startups are presented with a wide variety of digital tools for marketing. Through online sites, social media, or email, what is known as marketing automation can be done. This section is discussed in third post. Marketing automation is a mechanism that marketers can use to deliver traction through a more "refined" approach. The model seeks to provide an understanding of the problems and solutions provided to consumers.

In conclusion, business development is a series of integrated processes, the end goal is to encourage startups to get various components to make the business grow – not just sales targets. Because growing a business requires a lot of things, income to keep operations running, partners to launch expansion, to loyal customers who always recommend solutions with their best testimonials.