What is business development?
Business development deals with the operational and strategic development of a company. This involves discovering and developing new business areas or new products so that the company can expand.
A business development manager (BDM) is responsible for ensuring that development and implementation in this area are carried out consistently and successfully. As a business developer, you're constantly on the hunt for new ways to develop your company.
The aim is for future customers to be satisfied overall with the company and its products. And turnover increases as a result.
What are the tasks of a business developer?
What does a business developer do? Basically, everything revolves around figuring out how to advance a company in a future-oriented way and how to help it to grow.
This might involve asking questions like:
· Where should the company be within a certain period of time (e.g. in 2 years)?
· Which customers and/or partners do we need to achieve our goals?
This means there are certain tasks that a business developer regularly has to take care of in a company:
· Develop new business areas, sales markets and products. This includes new customers and partners.
· Make forecasts to identify future trends.
· Create business plans and strategies.
· Identify and secure new market shares. Place the resulting new products on the market.
· Develop existing business areas.
· Carry out monitoring and reporting.
· Perform competitor analysis.
A business developer supports their company by responding to different economic conditions and markets.
Important requirements and expertise of a business developer
If you're interested in business development and want to find a job in this area, you need to meet some requirements and have certain expertise in order to start applying for vacancies:
· There are no specific degree programmes in business development. But you can specialise in business development as part of some MBAs or similar master's degrees.
· Business developers are used in all sectors and are desperately sought after. This is especially true in industries that are constantly on the lookout for new innovations and technologies.
· BDMs are particularly in demand in the fields of technology and science:
· Mechanical engineering
· Telecommunications
· Pharmaceuticals
· IT
· Chemistry
· Biotechnology
