What’s the difference between Marketing and Business Development?

What’s the difference between marketing and business development? The two are often used interchangeably by businesses to describe the activity and expense they budget to grow their business, so maybe the difference is merely how each industry defines their growth initiatives??  FreshPress Marketing believes the two are different and equally as important, but must be closely integrated to be successful. The closely aligned integration of the two is likely why the two terms are used interchangeably.

It’s not a matter of simply defining your growth initiative as either/or marketing or strategic business development, successful businesses recognize the differences and strengths for having a plan/strategy for each. The marketing plan/strategy needs to be focused on supporting the development of the brand in the market using digital and print mediums to establish consistent messaging describing the various values of the business and positioning of their services or products. Strategic business development uses the messaging and positioning of marketing to “connect the dots” within the market in pursuing targeted opportunities for increasing referrals, developing new products, entering new markets and forming business partnerships with other companies.

Having marketing and business development strategies aligned further compliments the goals of the value propositions you are establishing within the market. This doesn’t happen by chance, as often the timing of campaigns, the targeted customers and clear/consistent message requires planning for the two to work collaboratively. Well executed marketing and strategic business development plans have measurable returns on investment and can be tailored to work with almost any growth initiative.

Schedule a time to meet with FreshPress for a free assessment and recommendations for integrating your marketing and business development plan.