01 /
Define the customer and problem
Choose a specific customer group and describe the problem you can solve for it. Record the evidence: conversations, buying behaviour, enquiries or experience delivering similar work. Separate what you know from what you still need to test.
Our market positioning guide helps clarify where the business fits. A broad ambition to serve everyone makes it harder to prioritise sales effort.
02 /
Make the proposition commercially credible
Describe the value to the customer and what the business must deliver to provide it. Consider service levels, capability, capacity and cost to serve. A proposition should fit the business's strengths rather than simply imitate a competitor.
Identify which assumptions need a small test before a larger commitment. The innovation planning guide provides a structure for bounded experiments.
Where growth changes resource use or sourcing, the sustainability prioritisation guide helps compare practical operating choices.
03 /
Choose a route and qualification rules
Consider how the target customers find, assess and buy what you offer. Decide which channels deserve attention and what would make an opportunity a good fit. Include reasons to decline work that would consume scarce capacity without supporting the strategy.
For an overseas option, use the international business-case guide before committing to a new route or partner.
04 /
Assign activity and review economics
Give each action an owner and a review date. Track the progress of qualified opportunities as well as activity such as meetings or calls. Compare the work won with the margins, delivery demands and customer fit you expected.
Connect the development plan with cash and operating capacity. Our growth and strategy advice helps owners bring these decisions together.
Use this in your business
A one-page development brief
| Field | Write your answer |
|---|---|
| Target customer | Who has the problem and can choose to buy? |
| Customer problem | What evidence shows it matters? |
| Proposition | Why is our response useful and credible? |
| Route to market | How will suitable customers find and assess us? |
| Qualification | Which opportunities fit, and which should we decline? |
| Capacity and economics | What must delivery cost and capacity support? |
| Actions and review | Owner, next step, evidence and date. |
A practical example
Fewer leads, a better fit
An illustrative service business may attract many enquiries for work outside its strongest capability. The template prompts it to define a more suitable customer and qualification criteria. Success is then assessed through the quality and economics of the resulting work, rather than the number of enquiries alone.
Your next move
Review the commercial choices in your growth plan
Bring the customer group or growth opportunity you are considering. We can help turn it into a focused development plan with clear assumptions.
Review the commercial choices in your growth plan