Business Strategists: who they are and what they do
The Business Strategist blends business design, strategy, and innovation to help brands grow and stay competitive. This guide covers their role, key skills, career opportunities, and academic pathways to enter the field.
The Business Strategist is a professional capable of integrating the project expertise typical of Business Design with commercial acumen to develop innovative solutions for brands and companies looking to effectively achieve their objectives.
To drive business growth, this professional skilfully applies a mix of design thinking principles, market insights, and strategic planning to swiftly identify industry trends, understand potential customers’ needs, and create action plans that make the brand stand out from the competition, optimise corporate communication effectiveness, and increase audience engagement levels.
A truly unique figure, the Business Strategist ensures that products, services, and experiences are always user-centred and aligned with business goals.
Among the daily responsibilities of a Business Strategist:
- Analysing market trends and consumer behaviour: they must conduct in-depth research and analysis to identify untapped market segments, anticipate competitors’ initiatives, and swiftly detect shifts in consumer expectations.
- Defining business and brand strategies: working alongside corporate marketing experts, they develop strategies that align the company’s vision with its objectives, ensuring sustainable growth and a strong differentiation from competitors.
- Applying design thinking methodologies: they utilise design industry approaches to problem-solving, transforming abstract challenges into structured, concrete, and consistently innovative solutions.
- Developing and managing strategic roadmaps: they outline short- and long-term tactics that help businesses adapt to market changes and identify new revenue opportunities.
- Leading workshops and planning sessions: they oversee brainstorming phases involving multiple professionals to optimise communication and branding initiatives.
- Performance monitoring: they measure the impact of their strategies through precise data analysis and key performance indicators (KPIs).
To pursue a career as a Business Strategist, it is essential to first invest in a structured education that combines elements of business strategy, design thinking, innovation management and market analysis. The next step is to gain practical experience by securing internships or roles as a Junior Business Strategist in consulting firms, marketing departments and branding agencies or innovation centres. Engaging in real projects allows for the putting of acquired knowledge into practice, the development of analytical skills, an understanding of market dynamics, and the building of a useful professional network.
Equally essential is ongoing training through specialisation and update programmes, industry workshops or executive courses focusing on emerging business trends, digital transformation and innovation.
To stand out, a Business Strategist must possess a specific set of skills:
- Strong foundations in Design Thinking, marketing, and branding: they must be able to apply human-centred methodologies, characteristic of the design world, to guide the development of services and products that align with consumer desires while remaining true to corporate values and objectives. Additionally, they must be familiar with the latest marketing and branding tactics to position the company effectively in the market and differentiate it from competitors.
- A strategic mindset and problem-solving abilities: they must be capable of analysing complex scenarios, identifying opportunities, and developing branding and communication strategies that support long-term business growth.
- Experience in market research analysis: they must understand evolving consumer needs to propose solutions that are more innovative than those of competitors.
- Expertise in business and finance: they must assess the feasibility of proposed strategies, ensuring they align with budget constraints and the company’s financial goals.
- Knowledge of data analysis techniques: they must track key performance metrics and analyse data collected from marketing and branding campaigns to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies and further optimise processes.
- Communication skills: they must be able to oversee the development of an editorial plan filled with compelling narratives that communicate corporate values and objectives to clients, target users, and stakeholders.
- Ability to work in a team: they must be capable of collaborating with multidisciplinary teams of professionals, including designers, marketers, and corporate executives.
An increasingly in-demand professional, the Business Strategist is essential in various work environments:
- Innovation and brand strategy consultancy: they help companies leverage business design principles to optimise their offerings and enhance their market positioning.
- Marketing departments in large and small companies: they define long-term growth steps, identify new market opportunities, and refine brand positioning.
- Branding and marketing agencies: they guide companies in creating and strengthening brand identity, suggesting strategies to boost target audience engagement and storytelling approaches that ensure modern, effective communication.
- Startups: they support new businesses by helping them define market entry tactics, develop innovative ideas, and structure sustainable and forward-thinking business models by applying design principles.
- Technology and digital transformation companies: they facilitate the adoption of emerging technologies within businesses, teaching them how to leverage data analysis and digital tools to optimise business processes effectively.