Gazdaság & Társadalom / Journal of Economy & Society
17 (35) (2024) 1, 123–129. • DOI: 10.21637/GT.2024.1.07
Business Development – Processes, Methods and Tools
Şahin Fırat 1
[Andreas Kohne: Business Development – Processes, Methods and Tools Publisher:
Springer Vieweg Wiesbaden, Softcover ISBN: 978-3-658-38843-0, Published: 01 Dec-
ember 2022, eBook ISBN: 978-3-658-38844-7, Published: 30 November 2022]
Business development has been in the center of many researches and prac-
tices about business management and business operations for decades and
many company experiences in variety of industries have revealed so far that
creative and productive (innovative) design and solutions found for goods
and services are important factors for reaching planned financial targets.
Business development concept is also important for entire economic and
social life if considered in total from the aspect of business management
culture. Business development is a process of continues planing, producing,
controlling and feedback, realized via agile acting approach with speciali-
zed mindset, skillset and toolset, in relate to the products to improve them
for the client needs and use. With a broad management perspective in ten
chapters, the author, Dr. Andrea Kohne, is explaining the business develop-
ment concepts and processes in the book titled „Business Development -
Processes, Methods and Tools”.
In the introduction chapter the author defines business development as
a collection of different approaches that, when they are used properly, assist
to align a company with client needs and market integration. It is stated that
rather than trying to develop the whole company, business development
optimizes and expands individual areas of a company such as a specific
business operation, product or service. The author also explains the im-
portance of change management, agility and corporate culture in business
development processes.
In Chapter 2, the author explains the basic conditions of business deve-
lopment as mindset, skillset and toolset, and determining tasks and roles to
1
FIRAT, Şahin
University of Sopron, Alexandre Lamfalussy Faculty of Economics, István Széchenyi Eco-
nomics and Management Doctoral School, Hungary
([email protected])
124 Gazdaság & Társadalom / Journal of Economy & Society – 2024/1.
further implementing the business development processes via integrated
business development unit/s to the organization which may consist of a se-
perate central team or may work inside the each individual organization unit
as a decentralized unit. Followingly, a prototypical process framework of
business development cycle in detail are explained which can be adapted
and/or customized by the companies based on their specific conditions, tar-
gets and needs. Business development processes are prototypically outlined
in 12 stages in the book; if summarized;
1) Idea Phase: Business development is motivated with a change
request based on information received from the market, or initiated with the
organization unit involving in product to improve it’s conditions for the
customers. In the center of this motivation there is necessity which should
be identified. After identification of the necessity, the goal should be clari-
fied based on these necessities. Variety of needs and goals should be taken
in to consideration optimally in business management (Drucker 2012). In
the idea phase, some of thinking techniques can be applied to make the
working process more prolific; brainstorming, mind mapping, design think-
ing, maker thinking, destroy our business, design sprint, hackathons and the
magic question, can be some of these methods to be applied based on the
product/service planned to be developed. Successful multiple-product inno-
vation blends limited structure around responsibilities and priorities with
extensive communication and design freedom to create improvisation/ins-
piration within current projects (Brown & Eisenhardt 1997, p. 1).
2) Project Plan: After the idea phase, the roadmap must be created to
evaluate whether the project of the idea worthwhile to realize. For this pur-
pose; the blueprint (technical, architectural details) of the project should be
clarified, the budget plan, target group – market analysis, risk assessment,
revenue-costs-resource analysis, cost-volume-profit analysis, investment
projections should be done, deadlines and key performance indicators of
the project should be determined.
3) Business Model: After the project plan is accepted, the influences of
the new project on current business model/s must be evaluated in terms of
whether a change in business model/s is necessary. Value chains should be
reassessed, to customize them to the new business model. For this purpose
business model canvas can be used, which consist of following 9 step; 1-
value proposition 2- customer segments 3- customer relationship 4- chan-
nels 5- key activities 6- key resources 7- key partners 8- revenue streams 9-
cost structure.
Laureana Teichert: Book Review 125
4) Business Plan: After business model is structured, customizing the
project plan to the new business model and conditions should be completed.
The business plan should include the overall economic context.
5) Prototype: In prototype stage, the schematical/graphical illustrations
are created and beyond these illustrations the first version of the product as
a trial item or Minimal Viable Product (MVP) demonstrating the core fea-
tures of the new product is formed and become an object of experience from
the pure idea. The prototype must be evaluated from the customer and the
production units perspective. The scenario analysis can also be realized in
this stage.
6) Development Phase: In development phase, based on the project and
plan, a new product in it’s final form is started to be produced or the existing
product is improved/optimized. A product line is structured and setted
based on the technical specifications of the product and it’s components,
the related knowledge, personnel, hardware and software tools are gathered.
This is the phase where final version of the product is developed.
7) Test Phase: after the ultimate version of the new product is formed,
it must be tested by the potential customers to detect missing parts and po-
tential errors of the product at an early stage. Before the test phase, comp-
liance criteria must be met. During and after the test phases the customer
feedback should be noted for the necessary updates and configurations.
8) Realization Phase: After the positive evaluation of customer feed-
back received through the test results, the realization phase is the following
step which represents the overall operations of the team. New product port-
folio are started to be directed based on new production, distrubution, fi-
nance and marketing strategy plans, interorganizational coordination is
maintained and periodic controls are done and support for clients after sales
are organized during the realization phase.
9) Communication and Internal Marketting: During the business deve-
lopment phases keeping communication clear and influential is very im-
portant for motivation and success. Using a communication strategy that is
individually adapted to the change, the failure of a project can be prevented
and the actual goal of a project can be successfully achieved.
10) Documentation: Just as internal communication should accompany
to the business development processes continuously, the overall process
flow and records of it’s individual process results should be documented
and stored centrally for retrospective and prospective analysis and evaluati-
ons. Database about the business development projects should be created.
126 Gazdaság & Társadalom / Journal of Economy & Society – 2024/1.
11) Lessons learned: It would be reasonable, the stakeholders to state
their opinions and talk about their experiences in relate to the business deve-
lopment project and it’s outcomes in a meeting together with other
stakeholders who are involved in the project to understand the experience
better and to increase the quality of the following project’s process flows.
12) Continuous Improvement: After lessons learned sessions, the busi-
ness development processes are verified again and they are optimized for
the following term. The processes of constant reflection and adaptation is
called PDCA cycle, these basic steps are summarized as; plan-do-check-
act. In this chapter the business development is also evaluated from the agile
act, three horizons model by McKinsey, innovation landscape and business
development KPI analysis perspectives.
In Chapter 3, chapter the author explains the importance of product
portfolio as a whole; since business development have a direct impact on
individual portfolio elements and perception of whole brand, the portfolio
analysis are important to better understand the current standing point and to
form the new strategy of the company. It can be stated that these analysis
can be realized via 1- portfolio structure analysis, through which the com-
pany can use BCG Matrix, 2- portfolio lifecycle analysis through which
BCG life Cycle and Diffusion of Innovation analysis can be realized to be
able to see the current stage of the product. and 3- portfolio management
analysis through which the company can determine it’s strategy as „market
penetration”, „market development”, „product development” or „diver-
sification” by considering existing and new, market and product charac-
teristics via Ansoff Matrix.
In Chapter 4, the role of the resources in business development are exp-
lained. Personal skills, technology used, know-how, business partners and
budget can be counted among these resources. It is stated that the resources
can be internally or externally obtained for the business operations and op-
timizing these resources is important for achieving planned results. Merging
and acquisition type of investments may also be reasonable options in some
cases to reach required resources for realizing business development plans.
In Chapter 5, the author explains the target market analysis which are
essential to form the product features in compliance with the target market
expectations. It is realized via 1- market observation, where Gartner Hype
Cycle can be used to see the current and future trends of the market, 2-
market segmentation, where some demographic and geographic factors can
be considered to determine the common features of the clients, 3- risk
analysis, where the PESTEL analysis can be realized based on political,
Laureana Teichert: Book Review 127
economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors to un-
derstand the business environment better to further direct the business ope-
rations, and the SWOT analysis can be realized to determine the company
strategy by evaluating what can be realized with it’s strengths and potential
opportunities despite it’s weaknesses and by avoiding potential treats. In-
ternationalization of the product can also be taken in to consideration based
on region specific analysis.
In chapter 6, the core marketing operations are explained from the
perspective of market cultivation strategy which are realized after the mar-
ket analysis. The aim of the market cultivation strategy is expressed as to
present and supply the product optimally through a market driven pricing
model in a well defined market via well controlled marketing and sales
channels. It can be stated that here in this stage, 4 basic tools of marketing
as product, place, price & promotion are actively initiated to be used. Online
marketing which is formulized as search engine marketing=search engine
optimization+search engine advertising, and importance of partners con-
cept such as distributors, technology partners, suppliers and financial part-
ners are also described in this section.
In Chapter 7, the significant practical details about a business develop-
ment cycle of a software company is demonstrated via a comprehensive
(from the beginning to the end) real case study. This section supports visio-
nalizing the processes of a real business development case.
In Chapter 8, to an interview with the vise president of T-Systems,
Björn Radde, is given place. The chapter provides an insight into the use of
business development at T-Systems. Innovation centers where new techno-
logies and business models are tested together with the clients are described
as an example of operating appropriate to the target market expectations.
In Chapter 9, the business development processes described in detail in
the book are summarized via the following 6 steps; They can be explained
in sequence as;
1 – Basics: Business development itself is a change in organization for
providing better goods/services in response to the changes in client needs.
Creating a business culture considering the idea of „change” as a normal
and necessary factor of continuous business is vital for a company’s busi-
ness development. Prevailing an internal agreement in the entire organiza-
tion about the necessity of developing new products is important and the
changing processes should involve all the stakeholders with a controlled
project flow. All service institutions are threatened by the tendencies to
128 Gazdaság & Társadalom / Journal of Economy & Society – 2024/1.
cling to yesterday rather than to slough it off, and to put their best and ab-
leist people on defending what no longer makes sense or serves a purpose
(Drucker 1986, p. 106).
2 – Organization and Process: The roles, responsibilities, tasks and the
personnel profiles of the business development team members must be cla-
rified in accordance with required criteria to further implement the planned
business development processes. The centralized or decentralized organi-
zation units can be created in the company to create new business develop-
ment ideas to be realized.
3 – Portfolio: The portfolio includes all the goods and services which
is being provided to the existing clients or having potential to be provided
to the prospective clients. A clear definition of all these products make the
life cycle and performance analysis easier to realize. The product portfolio
can be restructured based on the result of these analysis and potential new
product features can be initiated to be determined.
4 – Resources: For realization of the business development projects,
the resources (employees, equipment, and software for instance) must be
gathered optimally considering required skills and technology. If necessary,
external resources (external finance sources or outsource services for ins-
tance) may also be used by taking optimal liability/equity structure of the
company in to consideration. Acquisition method can provide advantage of
reaching these resources more quickly to enter in to the targeted market
and/or to increase the market share. A controlling system to monitor these
resources and their productivity should also be established. Resources inc-
lude the abilities or ‘competencies’ that are fundamental to the competitive
advantage of a firm (Eisenhardt-Martin 2000, p. 1107).
5 – Target Market: The target market analysis in detail are very im-
portant to realize sales operations with planned volume and with required
qualifications. Accurate market segmentation, continues market observa-
tion and accurate product design which is made based on these segmentati-
ons and observations are principal requirements of these marketing activi-
ties. Internationalization of the product and sales operations should also be
evaluated if it is feasible considering the specific market analysis results.
6 – Marketing Strategy: The four basic elements of marketing as pro-
duct, place, price and promotion are initiated to be applied after determining
the target market. The marketing strategies are important in sustainability
of sales after the first presentation of the product. In addition to own distri-
bution channels, outsourced business partners can be also used to broaden
Laureana Teichert: Book Review 129
the sales channels. Promotion and/or publicification activities should ac-
company to the core sales operations to keep the customer information up-
dated. Services after sale and feedback mechanism should be maintained
for progressing the operations. It can be stated that acting with agile
approach accompanies to all of these six steps.
In Chapter 10, quotes from scientists and business experts in relate to
business development are stated. The readers attention is drawn to compre-
hend how extensive the business development subject is, when evaluating
that in both theory and practical experiences perspectives. Thus in each
case, the processes may differentiate and gain unique specifications based
on the structure of the organization and nature of the business and market.
As a business development expert, the author, Andrea Kohne, has pro-
fessional experience in sales and management, doctorate degree in compu-
ter science from Technical University of Dortmund and works as a univer-
sity lecturer and as a consultant and trainer. The content of the book does
not only provide theoretical aspects but also practical methods. The expla-
nations and figures in relate to business development processes are sup-
ported by real business case examples in variety of different industries for
readers to better illustrate and understand the explained concepts and their
relations with prior and following business development stages. The book
provides a detailed content about business development concepts and ha-
ving features of being a reference resource for professionals to understand
how to structure their business development strategies, moreover for rese-
archers interested in related business studies.
References
Brown, S. L., & Eisenhardt, K. M. (1997). The art of continuous change. Administrative sci-
ence quarterly, 42(1), 1-34.
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Drucker, P. (1986). Management, tasks, responsibilities, practices. Truman Talley Books -
E. P. Dutton, New York, SBN 0-525-24463-8.
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Drucker, P. (2012). The practice of management. Routledge
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