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May 28, 2021
Weren’t you able to appreciate and enjoy Spotify more when you no longer had to switch apps just to browse the lyrics of the song you wanted to sing along to?
Well, thanks to the strategic partnership between Spotify and Musixmatch, you can now view and sing along to any song you like without having to search the lyrics on Google!
For those who don’t know, Musixmatch is a music data company and platform that allows users to search, translate, and share song lyrics. They also provide lyrics for companies like Apple Music, Amazon, Instagram, and other world-renowned businesses from the music industry.
When Spotify realized that a lot of their users use another app to provide the lyrics, they decided to add this feature to their product. When they did this, the company was able to increase overall user engagement and experience on their platform.
But, you might wonder, what does this have to do with business development?
Well, Spotify’s decision to add song lyrics is an example of business development.
By tapping into Musixmatch’s music data and integrating it into their app, Spotify was able to provide a better and more engaging product for users without having to invest time and money in creating their own separate system for generating lyrics.
However, Spotify wasn’t the only one to benefit from the deal. Musixmatch saw an increase their reach by putting their brand in front of a new set of audiences.
By working together, both entities were able to open doors of opportunities for growth which they wouldn’t have achieved without each other’s help.
In this article, we’ll be answering the following questions:
Based on the example above, what’s the first thing that comes into your mind when you hear the term “business development?”
Is it sales? Marketing? Partnerships?
Well, the meaning of business development varies between industries and companies, depending on what they need that role to achieve for them. Essentially, it is the process of creating growth opportunities and long-term value by establishing relationships with other organizations.
In other words, it’s all about building strategic relationships with other people or businesses where both entities can benefit and achieve business growth opportunities.
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For example, the Call of Duty League, a professional esports league for the extremely popular video game, Call of Duty, hosts tournaments where gamers worldwide participate and compete against each other.
If you’re not aware, the game can be played across multiple gaming consoles, including PC. However, players are only using PlayStation controllers, which leaves curious individuals asking why.
Business development, that’s why!
Whenever there are Call of Duty esports tournaments, business developers from Activision go out to different gaming platforms and present a pitch, asking them if they would like to be the sole controller featured in their tournaments.
Gaming companies know that these tournaments are a big deal. Whenever there are invitations for esports, their business development team builds and presents a pitch to convince organizers why they should be their console of choice for the tournament.
In this case, PlayStation won the deal, which meant having their controller solely featured throughout the tournament.
This presents an opportunity for PlayStation to put their brand on top of the minds of average players who are watching professional gamers play during the tournament. As a result, anyone considering to buy a gaming console will most likely think of PlayStation first. This increases their sales, brand loyalty, and customer base.
For Activision, this means getting a lot of money, perks, or whatever it is that both entities have agreed on. The point is, both companies were able to achieve growth opportunities sustainably and profitably.
Business development is important for companies, especially for SMBs, because it’s the key to expanding and improving their reach, sales, customer base, product offerings, and brand awareness.
By having meaningful partnerships with the right company, you can set your business off in the right direction.
Business developers carry out different tasks depending on the industry they’re in and the company they belong to.
All of them, however, share one common goal, and that is to identify new business opportunities through key partnerships.
Business development is one of the most effective and fastest ways you can scale your business. To help you start implementing growth opportunities for your company, here are the three business development strategies successful organizations use, along with ways you can apply them to your small business:
Product business development is the process of creating a new product or improving an existing one to cater to consumer demands or needs. It usually involves two organizations working together to create a better product for customers.
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An example of this is when Nike and Apple worked together to deliver exclusive fitness trackers integrated into sneakers and clothing that allow users to track their activities while listening to music.
This product business development was such a hit that it led to more collaborations in the following years. It allowed both brands to provide a better product and experience to their customers.
This helped increase Nike’s sales and boost their reach, since Apple users are now more inclined to buy Nike products from this new feature. Apple, on the other hand, was able to benefit from this product business development as Nike fans now choose Apple products to use this exclusive fitness tracker.
How Can You Apply This to Your Business?
If you’re a small business and you have a product you know will integrate well with another product, you can establish a strategic partnership that will help both of you provide better products to your customers and achieve business growth opportunities.
You can also leverage bigger companies to get your product in front of more users, allowing you to scale your business. For example, you have an app or software and you integrate it with Apple. Instantly, your product is being used by millions of Apple users.
If you’re a big company, you can reach out to small businesses and work with them to provide you the products you need instead of having to build them yourself.
Distribution business development refers to the process of taking a product consumers want and then distributing or making it readily available to them.
A good example is Netflix.
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The popular video streaming service takes popular movies and TV series that people want to watch and then puts them on its platform. The catch is, people need to sign up and pay a monthly subscription fee
in order to access the content.
For production companies, this can be a great opportunity to continue earning through royalties. They can put their famous movies and TV shows across multiple video streaming services like Hulu, Amazon Prime, YouTube TV, and more.
Meanwhile, Netflix and other video streaming services can benefit from this because people willingly subscribe and pay for their services just to watch their favorite shows.
How Can You Apply This to Your Business?
If you have a product or service you know people want, you can put it on the right platform so people can easily access and buy them.
You can either offer an exclusive deal where you only make your product available under a specific distribution company, or you can put your product under various platforms. They will be the ones in charge of distributing and pushing your products to consumers and in exchange, they get a cut for doing all the hard work.
Channel distribution development means using brand ambassadors or channel partnerships to promote or sell your products and services to customers.
For example, you own an I.T. solutions business. The best people to recommend your products or services to potential customers are IT consultants, support specialists, IT technicians, web developers, and other IT people.
You can establish partnerships or relationships with these individuals by offering them a healthy commission whenever they make a sale for you.
How Can You Apply This to Your Business?
This business development strategy shows that you don’t always have to be the one to market or push your products to potential customers.
You can tap into brand ambassadors or thought leaders in your industry, influencers, or other people in authority to resell your products or services for you. Or, if you’re in a position to make a recommendation, you can reach out to companies and tell them things like, “Hey, this is what I do and this is how I bring value to your company. Would you be willing to give a commission whenever I make a sale or close a deal?”.
This way, both of you can benefit from your relationship with each other.
The lack of business development might be what’s stopping you from taking your business to the next level.
Digital Resource has the expertise, skills, and experience to help make your business better. We can provide you professional advice or skill transfer that can help set off your business to success! Contact us today to know how we can help your business.
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