reviewers

• 5 - Point Screening Question for Entering a Market


  • Customer - Is the market real?
  • Timing - Is it big enough?
  • Finance - Can it be profitable?
  • Product - Can we differentiate?
  • Competitiveness - Can we win?
• Is the market real?


  • Entrepreneurs must have a sensemaking skill to determine that a market gap or market problem truly exists
  • Be practical enough to do business with those willing to transact with them
  • Be competent enough to know whether or not the firm is in the best position to satisfy the unmet needs
• Is the market big enough?


  • A market must be scalable as businesses must plan to grow
  • Channel of distribution can also determine the extent of market reach, hence, the size of market
• Can we be profitable?


  Entrepreneurs must know the breakeven point of the company as well as the recovery period of their investment, so they can plan to gain critical mass of volume to have superior financial returns
• Can we differentiate?


  • Differentiation is about uniqueness
  • Uniqueness can only be considered if there is brand relevance
• Can we win?


  Entrepreneurs must not just think about making money but winning a white space in the marketplace for impact and to be effective and efficient
• Blue Ocean Strategy


  Market with little or no competition
• Blue Ocean Strategic Sequence


  • Buyer Utility
  • Price
  • Cost
  • Adoption
• Buyer Utility


  Is there exceptional buyer utility in your business?
• Price


  Is your price easily accessible to mass of the buyers?
• Cost


  Can you attain your cost target to profit at your strategic price?
• Adoption


  What are adoption hurdles in actualizing your business idea? Are you addressing them upfront?
• Porter's Industry Analysis: Rivalry of Competition, Threat of New Entrants, Threat of Substitutes, Bargaining Power of Supplies, and Bargaining Power of Customers
• Key Factors for Success


  • Blueprint composed of controllable and uncontrollable variables critical to the success of a firm
  • Can also evaluate their strengths and weaknesses against the KFS of the industry – exploit strengths while neutralize weaknesses
• Operational Improvements from KFS


  • Large and motivated sales force
  • Availability
  • Payment plans
  • Reward and recognition programs
• When KFS are managed well in established markets, companies have higher chances to be successful
• Execution of the strategy as well as resources are equally important factors that will determine success or failure
• KFS are largely based on industry winners – who they are and why they have won or are winning
• The industry the firm competes in must be defined well so that the KFS can be distinguished thoroughly
• Define KFS by market segment because what is true in one market segment may not be true in another
• Include similar products that can provide the same satisfaction to the consumers in considering a segment
• The KFS must be reviewed periodically because not all rules will be the same over time
• Market challengers must try to reinvent the KFS in order not to be trapped to play catch up versus market leaders
• A breakthrough idea can reinvent the rules in an industry especially as firms approach noncustomers or solve pain points of existing customers
• Logic of Strategy (LOS)


  Being different instead of just being better can make companies game-changing innovators
• "What-and-how-else" questions – involve removing or bypassing any traditional barriers or interference to growth
• Market Research


  The process of determining the viability of a new service or product through research conducted directly with potential customers
• Types of Market Research


  • Qualitative
  • Quantitative
• The personal preference of the owners may not be what the customers want to buy
• A consumer panel composed of people within the target market, as well as category buyers with track record of hits more than misses, can be organized to give opinion on what to order and what not to order
• Collective opinion can be superior versus an individual's, especially in new, and unfamiliar categories
• Patterns of consumer purchases should be decoded to help understand consumer preference
• A regular process of evaluating management's choice compared to consumer's actual purchases must be studied
• Risk and effort can be reduced using a disciplined method of making choices
• Concept Test


  • Allows entrepreneurs to know the extent of how much a product appeals to the market
  • Test those having higher potential first
  • Must be mindful in choosing the right target market to show their concept
• Focus Group Discussion (FGD)

  • Conducted by seasoned facilitators in a relaxed atmosphere
  • Composed of seven to nine people per batch, chosen based on pre-determined criteria
  • Advantages: it allows group members to share experiences and to build from others experiences
  • Disadvantages: some people may not be comfortable discussing a topic with strangers in the room or a dominant member may influence opinions of others. Also, facilitators are unable to ask follow up questions on individual replies
• In-depth Interviews (IDI)


  • Done individually and with privacy, which is good for people who are conscious of the presence of others
  • Individual interviews cannot be influenced by opinions of others and follow up questions can be asked for clarity
  • More time-consuming, more expensive, and do not provide a platform for building from other people's experiences
• Prototyping and Rapid Testing


  Entrepreneurs must ensure what they want is doable – they must convert a concept or an idea into reality via a proof of concept, build a prototype and do rapid testing and pivoting before being preempted by competition
• Validate for Acceptability
• Opportunity Seizing


  • Entrepreneurs need to have an innovation mindset so they can stand out in the marketplace
  • Entrepreneurs should not wait for full information to decide on an opportunity because competition will also have access to the same information
  • Entrepreneurs need to be comfortable with a certain level of ambiguity and be capable of making reasonable assumptions to make a decision based on availability of at least 70% of the information