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Business Development

Business Development: How Companies Tap into New segments of Growth

Key Points at a Glance

Business segment development helps companies identify new growth opportunities at an early stage and reduce existing dependencies.
New business segments emerge not merely from ideas, but from the systematic analysis of markets, customer needs, trends, and one's own competencies.
Existing products, technologies, and capabilities can often serve as a starting point for new markets and business models.
Business segment development is not a one-off project, but a continuous strategic process.
The key is not only to identify potential business segments but also to evaluate their market potential and consistently translate them into implementation.

Why day-to-day business alone is not enough for the future

In many companies, production, sales, customer projects, and operational tasks consume the lion’s share of available resources. As long as order volumes and revenue remain healthy, there appears to be little reason to question these priorities.

Problems arise, however, when underlying conditions change—such as when a few major clients dominate revenue, existing markets stagnate, new competitors emerge, or technological developments alter customer requirements.

That is when the extent of a company’s dependence on its existing business becomes apparent.

Consequently, business segment development means not waiting until changes are already palpable before reacting. Companies must address the question of where future growth might come from at an early stage.

Current figures from KfW Research (2025): demonstrate just how important continuous development is for the SME sector: 41 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises have introduced at least one innovation within the past three years. At the same time, however, innovation activity remains heavily concentrated among larger companies.

What business segment development actually means

Business segment development involves the systematic identification, evaluation, and development of new segments for corporate growth. This does not necessarily have to entail a completely new product or an entirely new market. New business segments can emerge, for example, when companies:

open up existing products to new target groups,
transfer existing competencies to other markets,
develop additional services around existing products,
establish new sales or business models,
integrate new technologies into existing offerings,
enter new regional or international markets.

As such, business segment development is closely linked to business development. The central focus is the question: Where do realistic growth opportunities lie for the company—and how can they be profitably realized?

The external perspective: Why new opportunities are often hard to spot internally

In my consulting work, I frequently encounter companies that have operated very successfully in their markets for many years. Yet, this very experience can lead to certain assumptions no longer being questioned, such as:

Which customers do we target? Which services constitute our core business? How do we sell our products? Which markets are of interest to us?

Practices that have worked for a long time quickly come to be taken for granted.

An outside perspective can help reveal existing patterns of thought and raise questions that are no longer asked during day-to-day operations.

The goal is not to fundamentally call the existing business into question. Rather, the aim is to identify existing competencies, technologies, products, and market insights, and to determine where these can give rise to additional business opportunities.

“New business segments rarely emerge from a single big idea. The key lies in combining existing capabilities with new customer needs and market opportunities—and then rigorously assessing what can actually develop into a viable business.”

Serpil Uensal, Trainer, Coach & Consultant for Product Management

Business segment development begins with the right questions

Before developing new business segments, companies should thoroughly understand their starting position. Key questions include, for example:

Where do we currently generate our revenue and earnings?
On which customers, markets, or products are we particularly dependent?
What competencies set us apart from the competition?
What additional customer problems can we solve using our existing capabilities?
Which market and technology trends are influencing our business?
Which target groups or markets might become relevant in the future?
Which ideas actually align with our strategic goals and resources?

Not every interesting idea automatically represents a viable business segments. Therefore, developing a new business segment must always include a critical assessment of market potential, competition, resources, and economic prospects.

From market opportunity to viable business model

Once a potential business segment has been identified, the actual strategic work begins.

It is then necessary to determine whether an idea can truly be transformed into a viable offering. Key factors to consider include target groups, customer needs, value propositions, competition, revenue models, required resources, and potential sales channels.

Methods such as the Business Model Canvas can help to bring together the core components of a business model in a structured way and make underlying assumptions visible.

However, the tool itself is not the decisive factor. A canvas does not automatically answer the question of whether a business model will work; the assumptions formulated within it must be validated and tested against the market as early as possible.

Refining the business model can make a measurable difference in this regard. Studies by KfW Research show that SMEs engaging in business model innovation exhibit higher productivity and export rates. Companies that combine business model innovation with product and process innovation tend to show particularly strong growth.

Business segment development is a process—not a one-off project

A common mistake is to view business development as a time-limited initiative: a workshop takes place, ideas are gathered, and then day-to-day operations take over again.

Little is gained this way.

Business development integrates analysis, strategic decision-making, testing, and implementation. Market insights may necessitate adjusting initial assumptions or discarding business ideas.

That is precisely part of the process.

Companies should therefore establish structures that allow new business opportunities to be regularly reviewed and evaluated. Depending on the initial situation, consulting, workshops, seminars, and training sessions can serve various functions in this context.

5 Steps to New Business segments

Analyze the initial situation

Identify Chances

Evaluate and prioritize business segments

Develop and validate business model

Plan implementation and embed it within the company

Step 1: Analyze the initial situation
Systematically examine existing products, markets, customers, competencies, and dependencies.

Step 2: Identify Chances/Opportunities
Explore market changes, customer needs, technologies, and existing corporate competencies for new potential.

Step 3: Evaluate and prioritize business segments
Compare market potential, competition, strategic fit, resource requirements, and economic prospects.

Step 4: Develop and validate the business model
Define the target audience, value proposition, offering, revenue model, and market access; validate key assumptions as early as possible.

Step 5: Plan implementation and embed it within the company
Determine responsibilities, resources, and next steps, and continuously monitor the development of the new business segment.

When business segment development becomes particularly relevant

Not every company needs to constantly tap into new markets. However, there are situations where systematically exploring new business segments becomes particularly important.

Examples include instances where:

existing products or markets are showing little to no growth,
a large share of revenue depends on just a few customers,
new technologies are altering the existing business model,
competitors are entering the market with new offerings or business models,
the aim is to reach new target groups or regions, internationalization is being planned,
existing competencies offer additional application possibilities,
the company requires new sources of growth.

In such cases, business segment development should not simply begin with a finished product idea. The first step is to analyze where attractive opportunities exist that align with the company.

From idea to implementation: Why prioritisation is crucial

In practice, there is often no shortage of ideas. The greater challenge lies in deciding which of them should actually be pursued.

New business segments require time, budget and human resources. If too many initiatives are launched at the same time, there is a risk that none of them will be implemented consistently.

That is why business segment development also requires the courage to put ideas on hold or discard them.

A potential business segment should not be judged solely on how innovative an idea sounds. What matters far more is whether it solves a relevant customer problem, fits with the company and has commercial potential.

targeted support for business segment development

Serpil helps companies to systematically identify, evaluate and develop new business segments. She brings to the role more than 20 years’ experience in product management, product marketing and business development, gained in both international companies and SMEs.

Depending on the initial situation, a range of formats are used – from business development consultancy to seminars & training courses and business coaching.

The focus is on the specific situation of the company and the question of which growth segments are strategically sound, economically attractive and feasible given the company’s existing capabilities or those that can realistically be developed.

Conclusion: Actively shaping growth rather than reacting to change

Business development does not begin only when the existing business comes under pressure. Companies that engage with new markets, customer needs and business models at an early stage create additional strategic options for themselves.

This is not about following every new idea or trend. Successful business development means systematically identifying opportunities, evaluating them critically and consistently developing those that are a good fit for the company and its objectives.

In this way, individual ideas are transformed into a structured process for future growth.

FAQs

What does ‘business segment development’ mean?

Business segment development refers to the systematic identification, evaluation and development of new segments of growth for a company. These may include new markets, target groups, products, services or business models.

What is the difference between business segment development and business development?

The terms overlap considerably. Business segment development focuses in particular on the identification and further development of specific business segments. Business development is often understood in a broader sense and may also encompass, for example, strategic partnerships, market development and new business models.

How does a company identify new business segments?

The starting point is an analysis of existing products, markets, customers and capabilities, as well as relevant market and technology trends. From this, potential segments for growth can be identified, which are then assessed in terms of market potential, competition, strategic fit and profitability.

When should a company focus on business segment development?

Business segment development becomes particularly relevant when existing markets stagnate, dependencies on individual customers or products arise, customer needs and technologies change, or when additional sources of growth are to be tapped.

Sources & further information

This blog entry is based on Serpil’s more than 20 years’ experience in consultancy, training and coaching in the fields of product management, product marketing and business development.

Serpil Uensal

Trainer, Coach & Consultant in Product Management

Serpil is a specialist trainer, coach and consultant with over 20 years’ experience in product management, product marketing and strategy. She helps companies and product teams to systematically develop their product expertise and drive growth – with particular expertise in tech, medtech and regulated markets.

Last reviewed on 29 September 2026 • Graduate in Business Administration (FH) • International Executive MBA • Certified Trainer (dvct e.V.) • Certified Coach (dvct e.V.)

Serpil Uensal

Trainer, Coach & Consultant

Published: 24 March 2026
Last reviewed: 29 September 2026
Reading time: 5 mins

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