What research do you do upfront to inform your plan for opening new markets?

The initial focus is to conduct a market assessment. I’d recommend you leverage third-party research and SMEs (subject matter experts) inside the company. When appropriate, you can embark on qualitative research, but there should be significant industry documentation that would be of reference. This will become a cross-functional effort, including brand, finance, marketing, sales, product, strategy, and research.

A market assessment would include, at a minimum, the following:

1. Target Market (TAM, growth)

2. Competitive Analysis (direct and near-adjacent competitors)

3. Customer Needs (customer data, industry trends to showcase demand)

4. Distribution Channels and GTM Strategy

This is a big question and the answer depends on many factors, including company culture, investment scale, distribution model and decision speed. That said, here are a few things to consider:

• Begin with a comprehensive market analysis to evaluate the market size, growth rate, and future projections.

• Analyze the competitive landscape. Gather customer insights segment the target market based on demographics and behaviors

• Conduct surveys and focus groups to understand preferences and buying behaviors.

• Examine the regulatory environment to identify legal and compliance requirements, and study cultural and social norms to ensure alignment with local expectations.

• Assess economic stability, including GDP growth and purchasing power, and evaluate the political climate for stability and risks.

• Identify effective distribution channels and assess supply chain considerations to ensure logistical feasibility.

• Conduct a SWOT analysis to evaluate your company's position relative to the new market, and assess the resources required for market entry.

• Consider launching a pilot test to gauge market response and refine your strategy.

• Finally, identify potential risks and develop mitigation strategies through scenario planning to ensure agility and preparedness.

For opening up new markets, the first upfront research would be market sizing! Before you even build an execution plan to go after a new market, you first need to figure out if there is a market opportunity worth pursuing and understand market potential. This will ensure that you're setting up the right revenue goals for the business and entering the right market.

There are a number of ways to calculate total addressable market, but the easiest and most accurate way is a bottoms-up analysis where you find the total number of potential customers/users and multiply that number by price. Yes, you will have to make assumptions and find proxy variables. For example, you might look at competitor pricing. Only after market sizing will you then do further research to decide who you want to target and how you're going to reach them and engage them.