The worsening US economic condition, complemented by the subprime crisis and increasing oil prices, has put both small and large businesses in a difficult situation. Rising costs have left many businesses with no choice but to curtail expansion plans.
To minimize the negative impact on business revenues, managers need to streamline business practices and formulate effective policies. To avoid getting hit by the crisis, and to maintain or even boost their sales figures, companies are increasingly looking for experts in business development consulting.
Business development consulting plays a robust role in protecting businesses from potential threats.
The Top Seven Business Development Consulting Tools
There are thousands of business development techniques that a consultant may offer to businesses. Some of the most common are listed below:
Business evaluation: One of the first tools a customer will seek from a business development consultant is an evaluation of the current state of the business. This involves checking accounts, including overall liabilities, risks, and the scope of the business.
Strategy formulation: Formulating strategies for businesses is another important feature of business development consulting. It enables enterprises to prioritize and allocate resources to achieve targeted results for maximum return on investment.
Threat detection and solution: Often companies hire business development consulting firms to find potential threats to their business models. A consultant not only provides details about threats but also suggests solutions for avoiding them.
Finding opportunities for growth: Business development consulting finds opportunities for a business by evaluating the industry’s growth prospects. It helps businesses to know which products are in demand and which markets are potentially attractive for its products.
Cost-reduction analysis: Recession in an economy often sees companies scrambling to cut costs. Business development consulting provides cost-benefit analysis, reengineering, and process improvement. It assists in repairing key processes that are not meeting customer expectations through systemized cost reductions.
Restructuring: One of the major reasons companies hire business development consultants is to restructure their organizations. Restructuring involves all employees, from the managers to the file clerks. Business development consulting helps formulate a comprehensive structure for higher productivity and more efficient communication and customer service.
Traditional marketing efforts and e-commerce: When the economy is not doing well, it can be helpful to boost marketing efforts. This formula helps businesses when the economy recovers, as their competitors may have taken a defensive approach. Business development consulting provides both traditional marketing strategies and tailored e-commerce and SEO solutions to enhance marketing efforts.
Conclusion
Apart from the above, there are many more business development consulting tools that help companies in both good and bad times, including product/solution packaging, event coordination and management, field sales and marketing management, channel marketing, developing compensation packages for employees, and developing partner value propositions.
