5: Market engagement and the role of rapid prototyping

Question 1

Different business opportunities, 3 different profiles with 3 attributes each

Answer 1

1. market-pull firm:
   - Low investment required
   - Early break-even
   - Huge upside
2. Technology-push firm
   - Large investment required
   - Late break-even
   - Huge upside
3. Consulting firm
   - Low investment required
   - Early break-even
   - Modest upside

Question 2

Segmentation:

• why
• how
• targeting

Answer 2

• Users have differing characteristics and behaviours
• Think of the appropriate ways to segment your market
• Then determine which segments are most appropriate to your business (“your niche”)

Question 3

Market research:

2=8 techniques

Answer 3

• Secondary market research
• • On-line magazines
• • Government statistics and reports
• -Professional magazines
• • Market research companies

\+ Primary market research
\++ expert witness
\++ observation
\++ focus group
\++ survey

Question 4

Key component of market research:

• what, who, why
• 2x how

Answer 4

• What
  § Discovery-based market research
• Who?
  § People with experience in a certain segment and/or part of the value chain
  § Ex-employees, consultants, government bodies, federations…
• Why?
  § Understanding of how the VAC really works § Budgets, urgency
  § Sales cycle – decision making power
• How many?
  § Until you don’t learn anything new § Until you can explain contradictions

- Where do you find them? <= NETWORKING
§ Family, friends
§ LinkedIn (often need introduction) § Peers, colleagues
§ teachers
§ board members

Question 5

Observation

• role
• 4 key issues
• 4 types

Answer 5

• Role: understand customer behavior
• Key considerations: why, context, how + cost
• Types
  § “Fly on the wall”
  § “Shadowing” § “Think aloud” § Participatory

Question 6

Focus group

• what
• why
• 2x how

Answer 6

• In Vivo way of collecting information
• In depth insights to understand customer problems or feedback on solutions
• Small groups of selected users/non-users
• • Identify key dimensions along which participants perceive and evaluate products as (dis)

Question 7

Survey

• What?
• Why?
• How?
• 3 key issues

Answer 7

• Quantitative customer feedback
• Why
• Large groups of users/non-users
• • Paper
• • Online
• Validity – asking the right questions
• Sample Size – margin of error, how accurate are the results?
• Reliability – are you getting the ‘truth’?

Question 8

Tech or product adoption segments and key stage for scaling-up activities

Answer 8

• 2.5% innovators
• 13.5% early adopters
• 34% early majority
• 34% late majority
• 16% laggards

=> the steep “chasm” b/w early adopters and early majority

Question 9

How to conquer the chasm:

Answer 9

engage w innovators and early adopter of a tech in the early market (techmeasure)

later in mainstream market:
solutionmeasure

Question 10

Prototyping

• role over time
• spiral approach
• gist

Answer 10

• once downstream tactical role
• now strategic!
• spiral = build, measure, learn
• don’t waste money, time, and effort on something more
  advanced or complicated than what you need right now

Question 11

The top 3 market entry strategies

Answer 11

• enter prod market
• enter tech market (to sell yourself as IP bundle, better than licensing)
• consulting, not scalable, as transitional

Question 12

The 3 steps for choosing market entry strat
+ 2+2 env factors
+ 4 resource types

Answer 12

analyse env.

• uncertainty:
• • readily available market niche
• • IP appropriability
• complexity:
• • biz env = value chain & complementary assets
• • sales complexity

choose strat

define resources

• HR
• social = commercial partnerships
• techs
• financial

Question 13

Environment-strategy

2x2 matrix

Answer 13

Env.                  
                      Complexity
Uncertainty  low         High
Low.               1.            2.
High.              4.           3.

1. Revenue growth w standardised prod
2. Employee growth to cum. IP & sell firm
3. mixed strat: grow rev&employees
4. Consulting: non-scalable lifestyle biz OR transitional strat, suggested for IT!!!