BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TO LOOK AT THE BIGGER PICTURE.
Good marketing doesn’t happen in a silo. Sometimes the biggest growth opportunities aren’t marketing problems at all. I’ll help you look at business development opportunities when we work together.
Most businesses bring in a marketing consultant to help them communicate better. And that’s exactly what I do – strategy, digital marketing, analytics, content. All of it.
But over a decade of working across tourism, leisure, legal, fitness, trades, retail, and hospitality, I’ve noticed something consistently: the businesses that grow fastest aren’t just the ones with the best marketing. They’re the ones that spot and act on opportunities that others miss.
A pricing structure that’s leaving money on the table. An audience segment nobody has thought to target. A partnership sitting right next door that could double reach overnight. A product or service the business already delivers but has never properly packaged or promoted.
These aren’t marketing observations. They’re business development observations. And because I think commercially, not just tactically, I make them naturally as part of how I work.
What business development actually looks like
Business development isn’t a separate project or a standalone deliverable. It’s a way of thinking that runs alongside everything else I do.
When I’m reviewing your analytics I’m not just looking at traffic and conversions – I’m asking whether the audience finding you is the right audience, and whether there are audiences you’re not reaching who should be.
When I’m managing your paid channels I’m not just optimising for clicks – I’m asking whether what you’re promoting is the right offer for the right people at the right time.
When I’m reviewing your performance each month I’m not just reporting on what happened – I’m looking at the competitive landscape, seasonal patterns, and market shifts that create opportunities for your business.
And when I spot something (a gap, an opportunity, an idea) I tell you. Not as an upsell, not on a separate invoice. Just as part of being genuinely invested in whether your business grows.
The kinds of opportunities I look for
Every business is different and every opportunity is specific to its context. But the types of observations that tend to add the most value fall into a few consistent categories:
New revenue streams Are there products, services, or experiences your business could offer that it currently doesn’t? Are there ways to package what you already do differently (membership models, premium tiers, seasonal offers) that could increase revenue without significantly increasing cost?
Untapped audiences Most businesses market to the audiences they’ve always marketed to. But are there adjacent audiences (different demographics, different geographies, different use cases) who would value what you offer but have never been targeted?
Pricing and packaging Pricing is one of the most powerful and least examined levers in most small businesses. Are you charging what the market will bear? Are your packages structured in a way that maximises value for both you and your customers? Are there opportunities to bundle, unbundle, or reframe what you offer?
Partnership and collaboration opportunities Are there complementary businesses (non-competitors who serve the same audience) that you could partner with to reach new customers? Referral relationships, joint promotions, co-created products or experiences – partnerships are one of the most underutilised growth strategies for small businesses.
Competitive gaps What are your competitors not doing? Where are the gaps in the market that your business is positioned to fill? Sometimes the best marketing strategy is doing something nobody else is doing rather than doing the same things better.
Underutilised assets Most businesses have assets they’re not fully exploiting – existing customer relationships, owned platforms, physical spaces, specialist knowledge, audience reach. Are there ways to extract more value from what you already have?
Seasonal and market opportunities Are there external events, trends, or seasonal patterns that create opportunities your business isn’t currently capitalising on? Being first to spot and act on a trend is a significant competitive advantage.
Why commercial thinking makes better marketing
Marketing that isn’t connected to commercial reality is just activity. Pretty content, busy campaigns, growing follower counts – none of it matters if it isn’t moving the business forward in a meaningful way.
The best marketing decisions are made by people who understand the whole business, not just the channels they manage. Understanding your margins, your customer lifetime value, your competitive position, your capacity constraints, and your growth ambitions means the marketing recommendations I make are always grounded in what will actually make a difference commercially.
This is the difference between a marketer who executes and one who thinks. Between someone who reports on what happened and someone who asks why, and what to do about it.
It’s also why I deliberately work with a small number of clients at any one time. Getting to know a business well enough to spot opportunities requires genuine depth of understanding, and that takes time and attention that can’t be spread too thin.
Ready for marketing that thinks commercially?
If you’re looking for someone who treats your marketing budget like it’s their own money, who asks the uncomfortable questions, spots the opportunities others miss, and genuinely cares whether the strategy is working, let’s talk.
