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Product and Market Assessments
Aligning a
company’s products or services with customer requirements, and leveraging a
company’s unique value proposition is at the core of marketing and
positioning. Whether a company wishes to measure the performance of its
existing products or services, or to determine the business potential of
exploiting new markets or launching new products, a systematic and objective
approach to analyzing the market is essential.
Too often, critical
decisions are made based on outdated or insufficient market data, “gut
feel,” or from a limited internal orientation. Applying insights from the marketplace improves a company’s likelihood of success
and long-term growth potential.
For start-ups,
identifying customers that are experiencing significant “pain” and that
are most likely to spend money on an unproven solution or vendor to address
this “pain” can mean the difference between generating revenues, finding
beta accounts, or securing venture funding or not. Feedback from these early
adopters can also be useful in focusing product development efforts on the
“must have” functionality rather than the “nice to have” features.
For established
companies, understanding position and relevance within the marketplace
is the critical baseline from which strategic plans and tactics can be
developed and executed.
SMG's Experience with Product and Market
Assessments
Simon Management
Group has undertaken hundreds of engagements designed to help clients
better align products and services with their markets. We apply a unique
combination of market research and analytical frameworks to addressing the
various product (see Technology Experience) and market (see
Industry
Experience) challenges faced by our clients.
We bring objectivity,
anonymity, and intellectual honesty to the process of assessing markets.
Our methodologies, timelines, and deliverables are tailored to meet
the unique requirements of each client. Additionally,
SMG frequently works in tandem with client team members, enabling them to hear
the “voice of
the market” firsthand.
Examples of our
Product and Market Assessment experience include:
Venture-backed
Software Company:
SMG estimated the
size and near-term growth potential of a venture-backed company that was
building a distributed applications management solution. Through a combination
of secondary research, a web-based market survey, and two subsequent rounds of
telephone interviews with IT managers identified as the prospective buyers, SMG determined that an “early adopter” market opportunity existed.
However, the rate of broader adoption within this market was projected to be slower than
was anticipated in the business plan.
Offshore Company
Marketing a New Battery Technology:
Our client obtained the intellectual property rights to a new battery technology from a
larger enterprise in the medical devices market. Working with the senior
management team, SMG identified, evaluated, and prioritized commercial market
opportunities for the battery through a combination of secondary research and
telephone interviews with industry analysts, trade association members, and
businesses within several prospective markets. During a subsequent
engagement, SMG arranged and attended several business development meetings
between the client’s executive team and prospects.
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