Business Development

« Achieving business development goals by the consolidation of the core business and the development of new customers and market segments »

Two types of business development channels can be implemented: direct or indirect. Direct B2B business development involves internal sales structures traditionally distributed between account managers, new business developers, and, for customers requiring less interaction, sales operations. Indirect B2B business development leverages a network of distributors, partners and/or agents and involves category-specific organisation, processes and contractual terms. The choice, for every relevant customer or market segment, between direct and indirect business development depends on many factors such as, for example, the nature of the products or services, the size of the customers, or the available resources. 

While business development teams focus on capturing new markets, new customers and/or atypical opportunities in the sense of strategy, account managers focus on developing relationships and business with existing customers. Various forms of organisation and thus collaboration are applicable between more hunter-oriented profiles on the one hand and more farmer-oriented profiles on the other. Where appropriate, actions can be divided into two distinct and sequential processes: business development, responsible for acquiring new customers, and subsequently account management, responsible for maximising growth with each customer.

The development of existing customers often offers greater growth potential in the short and medium term than the acquisition of new customers. The objective is to achieve customer preference in the literal sense of the word. It is therefore not just about performance in general. It means true multidimensional differentiation, with potentially many consequences regarding the structure and culture of the organisation. It can therefore only be generated by a specific strategy developed at the highest level of the organisation. Its bottom-up development as well as its top-down implementation involves all the teams of the departments in charge of direct relations with the targeted customers.