Map Your Way to Market Success

To successfully enter a new market, you need to understand the complex, competitive, and constantly changing market dynamics. It isn’t easy, as while there is a lot of data available, you need to uncover and decipher the right information. Market Maps are the perfect solution!

Mapping provides valuable insights

Market Maps provide the framework to collect the necessary data and conduct the analysis. Market Maps come in many different types (competitive, value, product, technology, positioning, partnerships & acquisition, etc.). The type of map you build is based on the questions you need answered. The key is to remember that you are analyzing the current competitors that play in and around your space to identify ways you can be more competitive. The completed map allows you to zoom in to view a specific competitor and to zoom out to determine ways to increase your competitiveness and create a Go-to-Market strategy.

Determine Customer/Product/Market Fit

One of the primary reasons company fail to get traction in a new market is the product isn’t the right fit for customers in the market. Market Maps solve this problem down to the feature level of products. Customers buy benefits to solve needs, and benefits come from features that were developed to satisfy the needs for a specific stakeholder. Those same features can then be positioned differently and can be compared against alternatives to develop a value proposition.

One of the most powerful frameworks we use to demonstrate how products fit with customers and how the product fits with the market. Most often we start by examining the product features demanded by customers and the market.

Be more competitive

Since the goal is to drive competitive thinking, we create a Market Map that includes current and future competitors. A Market Map gives you a Birdseye view of the ecosystem and competitors. The left-hand side of the map supports a feature hierarchy that will later be used to map companies that operate in this space. What you map is entirely based on what you are hoping to learn about the market. If we are interested in how to position the product, we look at how features are bundled and the added benefits from the bundle, which set of needs, are satisfied for a stakeholder group. If we are interested in technology we look at the underlying technology of each feature or set of features. The construction of the map is driven by the question or questions under review.

Enter Complex USA markets

Recently, we helped a European-based software company map the market for business software to identify opportunities and overcome obstacles. While they had many large corporate clients in Europe, they were struggling to penetrate the lucrative USA market.

We built a Market Map that primarily focused on product positioning. A dozen or so companies’ product features were evaluated. The output for this type of analysis is best shown graphically. Must-haves are defined as what the market has come to expect from these types of offerings. We develop the must-have list either through frequency analysis (how many other products have these features) or through primary customer research (what do customers expect and value). To the left are additional features that others are using to differentiate themselves and can become an opportunity for any company. 

The initial analysis showed that our client had built the right product, so why weren’t they successful selling. Interestingly, after some competitor intelligence we determined that others in the space weren’t that successful either. When we took the map out to potential customers we found something very interesting in the maturity of the market and how companies were positioning their offerings. Using the Market Map as our guide, we interviewed IT and end-users and found out where everyone was missing the mark.

Market Maps are a versatile tool

Market Maps are a highly productive way to collect and categorize competitor information. In our consulting work we have found that the construction of the market map provides insight to the market that our client’s rarely see. The map’s many uses provides another important benefit and that is the audit of intelligence and knowing where data came from and having the support to know why decisions were made. The ability to go back and update the Market Map makes it a dynamic tool that every CEO who wants to be competitive should require. 

Hurdles Startups can Avoid When Entering the USA Market

The decision to expand geographically is not one taken lightly by any company. When thinking about entering the US market companies should make this decision with a great deal of research and pre-work. To our surprise, the majority do not. Companies that are successful in their local foreign markets believe that similar buying behaviors exist with US customers. This puts the initial focus on sales activities. Instead of using the initial stage to prepare the company’s products and messaging for the US market customer, foreign companies are out trying to get customers to justify their decision to expand. For those that are lucky to get an initial customer signed up don’t be fooled, the second or third might not be that easy. 

To succeed in the US market puts you in an elite group because most companies coming to the US market fail or limp along before they pack up and head home. We have studied successful and unsuccessful attempts and have identified what it takes to be successful in the US market. If you are thinking about entering the US market, here ar some guidelines you might want to follow:

US market expansion is an artful mix of strategy and operations.  First, companies need to think strategically about why they are entering the US market. You need to think hard as a business, what is it about the US market that makes it attractive to your business now? This helps move the discussion to product / market fit and by analyzing the competition and where your product fits in the eco-system. Knowing this, companies can work on messaging and positioning. Two things to keep in mind as you begin the messaging and positioning stage, (1) it’s more likely than not that what you are trying to bring to the US is here or has been tried before, and (2) what you think is intended use will be bastardized as soon as customers start buying. It’s at this point that you are ready for active selling and foreign companies need to take a more systematic approach to how they approach these activities. It’s not hit or miss but rather a strategic attack on promising market segments. The initial days/weeks/months will tell you a lot about your ability to succeed and as a management team you should always be thinking about your strategy to grow, extend or exit. 

What we found in the work we do is that just having the strategy is not enough. There are five key operational areas that impact each of the five strategic areas and this is what separates success from failure. 

The first is hiring local talent or finding consultants with the knowledge to help at every stage. If you jump into the market with a “sales” only approach you will likely end up limping along without gaining any real traction. The marketing materials, product or service suite and approach to the market need to be reformatted to fit the US buyer.  Next, there needs to be an ongoing investment into the US business to support growth. Too many companies limit or believe that the operation should be self-funded. Not true in the beginning. Like any new business it needs the cash to be able to make the right decisions on growth. If you can’t make the investment you may have to think about another way to enter the market other than having a physical presence here. Third, measure everything across the strategic and operational spectrum. Put in place KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to know when you are successful and when you are not. They key is to be honest with yourself and your team as you will live and die by the numbers in the early, interim and late stages.  Next, you need up-to-date tools and processes. These should be repeatable and easy to train others as you start to scale the business. Never miss the opportunity to document processes now and always be on the lookout for best practices. Finally, by building and understanding the eco-system your business operates in, will provide a unique view of opportunities for expansion organically and through partnerships, alliances, and even acquisitions. If you keep the analysis current it is easy to make decisions to grow, extend, or exit. 

The US is viewed as the most challenging foreign market to enter. With a little pre-planning and upfront work you can be successful here too.