Business Development
So you've decided to start a business. Odds are you're getting yourself into something much bigger and difficult that you might have first imagined. However, don't beat yourself down. The solution to facing the herculean task of starting a business is research, planning, executing, and continuously optimising step-by-step. The good thing, is that we've got you covered! Following this framework can be a helpful tool to guiding you through the process of business development.
1. Market Research
Exhaustive research is the cornerstone of a strong Brand; It bridges the gap between Business Goals and Brand Identity. Furthermore, the Market Research is not only useful for the Identity Design, but it's also useful for all marketing activities of the business.
The Poly Group
You can browse the Market Research we did for our business at thepolygroup.co/market-research
1.1. Business Analysis
TaskGather information about the business
RoleMarketing Analyst
Estimated Workload0.5 – 2 hours
DescriptionThe best place to start is to gather as much information as possible about the business by answering the following questions:
- Why does the business exists?
- Is it a new business or are they already operational? If it's an existing business, how long has it been operating?
- Does the business already have a name? Are the business owners willing to change the Brand Name?
- What products / services does the business offer?
- How many people work in the business?
- Where is the business geographically based?
- How are the product / services distinctively better than those of the competition?
- Does the business already have a Brand Identity? An existing website or social media presence? If so, why are they wanting to Rebrand?
- How are the business' products / services priced when compared to the competition?
- What would be the business' ideal customer?
- Where are there customers geographically located? Is the business planning to expand to other markets?
- What problem do the customers have that the business can solve?
The Poly Group incorporates multiple sub-brands segmenting different services, organisations, and products all related to the creative industry; especially to the Branding process.
Polyfen, a creative agency offering Brand Identity Design services for new and emerging businesses. polyfen.com
Poly Atlas, a web platform which features a guide of best practices in Branding. polyatlas.app
Poly Forum, an international community of creatives dedicated to discussing Branding. polyforum.org
The goal of The Poly Group is to serve integral Branding solutions for every step of the process while segmenting our subsidiary Brands each one tailored for a different target group.
Further information can be found on our Business Plan available at › thepolygroup.co/business-plan
1.2. Target Public Analysis
TaskIdentify the Target Public
RoleMarketing Analyst
Estimated Workload0.5 – 2 hours
DescriptionBy understanding the business and surveying the industry we can already intuitively narrow down some demographics of what an ideal customer should be like.
Furthermore, especially if you're designing a Brand Identity for a foreign market, it's very important to understand the cultural context. You can start by surveying the country's cultural background and demographics on Wikipedia or on Geography Now!.
However, it is possible for a Brand to have multiple Public Groups which serve different purposes. For instance, a creative agency might have a Public Group (A) which includes decision makers of other businesses needing creative services, and (B) people from the creative industry who would be interested in the content published by the Brand.
At this point we must identify the different possible Public Groups, breakdown their corresponding demographic characteristics, and make User Personas stereotyping the ideal Public member of each group.
Each User Persona can include traits like:
- Profile Picture
- Name / Pseudonym
- Age
- Gender
- Residence location
- Occupation
- Income
- Socio-economic class
- Interests
- Brands they trust
- Unsatisfied need / Problem
- Solution offered by the business
- Desired business goal
This is a good time for your business to follow your Persona's interests in social media as a reference for the content they are consuming.
The Poly GroupHere is an example of a User Persona.
| Profile Picture |  |
|---|---|
| Pseudonym | Business Brandon |
| Residence | Melbourne, Australia |
| Age | 43 yo. |
| Occupation | Founder & CEO |
| Income | $9.000USD |
| Socio-economic Class | High |
| Interests | Entrepreneurship, Business, Marketing, Finance, Technology, Advertising, News. |
| Brands he trusts | Forbes, Bloomberg, Business Insider, Inc., Ted Talks, Ideo, Deloitte, Accenture, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur. |
| Problem | Is the Founder & CEO of an emerging company in the Business Consulting sector but their Brand Identity doesn’t reflect the high quality of their services. |
| Solution | Finding a reliable team of experts who can identify their branding needs and design a compelling brand identity which will guarantee better business results. |
| Goal | Getting him to contact us in search of our services. |
1.3. Industry Analysis
TaskList the Industry leaders and direct competitors
RoleMarketing Analyst
Estimated Workload0.5 – 2 hours
DescriptionBy now, based on the Business Analysis, we know the Industry and Niche it belongs to.
A quick Google search can help us identify the industry leaders worldwide, and by adding the location of the specific markets of the business to the Google search we can also find direct competitors operating in the same area.
Different tools can also be used to better understand the industry and Target Public, like (1) Who's using and following related social media hashtags, (2) Who's following your other brands from your industry on social media, and (3) Analytics tools (like SimilarWeb, Alexa, and Quantcast).
For more technical, complex industries, you may browse research publications on ResearchGate or Academia.edu.
Make a list of both the industry leaders and direct competitors considering (1) which traits are common in the industry's brands, (2) which traits can be used to differentiate the business' Brand over its competitors, and (3) which brand is closer to the business' aspirations.
While you survey the industry it would be useful to additionally list Keywords that you might find relatable to the industry.
The Poly GroupHere's a sample of the top ten industry leaders we've found for Polyfen's Industry Analysis.
| Brand | Bio |
|---|---|
| Pentagram | Pentagram is the world’s largest independently-owned design studio. |
| Interbrand | At Interbrand, we believe that growth is achieved when an organization has a clear strategy and delivers exceptional customer experiences. We do both, through a combination of strategy, creativity, and technology that helps drive growth for our clients’ brands and businesses. |
| Landor | Landor builds some of the world’s most agile brands—brands that thrive on change. |
| Lippincott | We are a creative consultancy specializing in brand, innovation and experience design |
| Superunion | We're a next-generation brand agency built on a spirit of creative optimism. |
| FutureBrand | We are the creative future company. |
| Blind | We Help Brands & Businesses Gain a Competitive Advantage in the Connected World. |
| Motto | A branding agency for game-changers + rule-breakers. |
| Basic | A design agency built to build modern brands… |
| Curious | We believe asking the right questions makes brand stronger. |
1.4. Research Conclusion
TaskSummarise key insights of the Brand Research
RoleMarketing Analyst
Estimated Workload0.5 – 1.5 hours
DescriptionAfter considering all the surveyed information summarise your key insights regarding the business and which direction would be most effective for the Brand Strategy.
The Poly GroupOur business model is a compelling take against our competition and has the potential to become a leader of the creative industry through attracting, engaging, and delighting our target public.
2. Business Plan
The Poly Group
You can browse the Business Plan we did for our business at thepolygroup.co/business-plan
3. Products & Services
Define what would be the best quality Product or Service that your business can offer to its customers; Then reverse engineer what would be the process for developing those Products or Services; Lastly, write down the workflow guidelines for your team-members to follow.
For us at The Poly Group for instance, this very platform, Poly Atlas, serves as an internal wiki referring to the workflow of the services we provide.