In the simplest terms, business development can be summarized as the ideas, programs and activities aimed towards making a business better. This includes increasing revenues, growth in terms of business expansion, increasing profitability by building strategic partnerships, making strategic business decisions, and investing in new projects. As business development department involves decision making, the business development officers should play an active role in the following activities:

• Analyzing the principal sources of revenue from current business and its dependencies
• Information gathering about the current state of the company’s business in terms of SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats)
• Monitor the relevant industry and growth projections
• Keep informed of the condition of market by conducting surveys and evaluating customer relationships
• Search new prospects for business investment, which may complement the existing business
• Propose plans according to new and/or unexplored market opportunities
• Assess competitor development strategies and their movements
• Design clients profile and update regularly
• Review the long-term goals, especially with regards to the initiatives being proposed