The Business Development Process (Innovation, Quantification, Orchestration)
Innovate it, measure it, standardize it -- then do it again
The Business Development Process is the engine that powers the Franchise Prototype. It consists of three integrated activities performed in continuous cycles: Innovation (doing new things, not just thinking about them), Quantification (measuring the numerical impact of every innovation), and Orchestration (eliminating discretion by standardizing what works). These are not sequential phases but an ongoing spiral of improvement.
Innovation in this context is not about inventing revolutionary products. It is about finding better ways to deliver the customer experience -- changing a greeting, adjusting the color of a uniform, refining how a phone call is answered. Gerber demonstrates that innovations as simple as changing the words a salesperson says to incoming customers can increase sales by 10-16%. The key insight is that the process of how a business does business is the real marketing tool, not the product itself.
Quantification demands that every innovation be measured by hard numbers: how many customers entered, how many bought, what was the average sale value, what changed after the innovation. Without numbers, you have opinions. With numbers, you have knowledge. Orchestration then locks in what works by eliminating variation -- if blue suits outsell brown suits, you wear blue suits every time. This is not about killing creativity; it is about building a foundation of proven practices upon which further innovation can be layered.
- Innovation is not creativity -- creativity thinks up new things, innovation does new things.
- Without quantification, you cannot know whether an innovation worked -- you only have opinions.
- Discretion is the enemy of order, standardization, and quality -- orchestrate what works.
- The Business Development Process is dynamic and never-ending -- the world will destroy any static system.
- The seemingly insignificant innovations often produce the most dramatic results.
- Identify an Innovation OpportunityPick one customer interaction or business process and ask: What is standing in the way of my customer getting what they want? Brainstorm a small, testable change -- new words, new visual presentation, new sequence of steps. Keep it simple.Pro tipStart with your highest-volume customer interaction. A 10% improvement there will have the biggest total impact.WarningDo not try to innovate everything at once. One controlled change at a time allows you to measure its specific impact.
- Establish Baseline MeasurementsBefore implementing the innovation, document your current numbers: daily customer count, conversion rate, average sale value, complaint frequency, or whatever metrics are relevant to the change you are testing.Pro tipIf you have never measured these things, that is your first and most important discovery. Start counting today.
- Implement the InnovationPut the change into practice for a defined test period (typically 2-6 weeks). Ensure the change is implemented consistently during the test -- inconsistent implementation corrupts your data.Pro tipBrief everyone involved on exactly what is changing and why. Consistency during the test is non-negotiable.
- Quantify the ResultsCompare your test-period numbers against the baseline. Calculate the precise impact: percentage change in sales, customer satisfaction, efficiency, or whatever you are measuring. Be honest about what the numbers say, even if they contradict your expectations.Pro tipDocument both successes and failures. Failed innovations are valuable data that prevent you from repeating mistakes.WarningDo not cherry-pick data to confirm what you hoped would happen. Let the numbers speak.
- Orchestrate What WorksIf the innovation produced measurably better results, standardize it. Write it into your Operations Manual. Train everyone to do it this new way, every time, without exception. This becomes the new baseline for future innovation.Pro tipThe orchestrated practice is not a permanent law -- it is the current best way. When a better innovation emerges, the cycle begins again.WarningOrchestration without periodic re-innovation leads to stagnation. Schedule regular innovation cycles for every orchestrated process.
Instead of asking 'May I help you?' (which triggers the automatic 'Just looking' response), a retail store tested saying 'Hi, have you been in here before?' Regardless of the answer (yes or no), the salesperson had a scripted follow-up about a special program, opening genuine conversation.
Salespeople wore brown suits for three weeks, then switched to navy blue suits with white shirts and red accent ties/scarves for three weeks. All other variables remained constant. The impact on customer behavior was measured through sales data.
Salespeople were instructed to lightly touch each customer on the elbow, arm, or back at some point during the sales interaction. The behavior was tested and measured against a control period with no touching.
Gerber drew the distinction between creativity and innovation from Harvard Professor Theodore Levitt, who argued that creativity thinks up new things while innovation does new things. Gerber observed that the franchise revolution succeeded precisely because it aimed innovative energy not at the product but at the process -- how the business interacted with customers. He saw that most small businesses failed to quantify anything, costing them fortunes in missed insights, and that without orchestration, even brilliant innovations were lost to the chaos of individual discretion.