One of the most important decisions startups and corporate innovation groups must make is to select a target market to go after. But unfortunately, most of the Product teams I talk to skip this step either because they are unsure how to select a profitable market or they are afraid of “going too narrow” and leaving opportunities on the table.
They stop being strategic and become opportunistic, chasing every opportunity that comes their way.
This leads to wasted efforts and the inability to validate if the problem you are solving for one customer has repeatability with other customers.
In short, you might build a product one customer wants, but you cannot sell it to customers two and three.
Selecting a target market is a fundamental step in any innovation journey, regardless of whether you are launching a brand-new product, a line extension, or aiming for geographic expansion. Without a clear target market to explore, your product initiative will likely fail.
In my book, The B2B Innovator’s Map, I dedicate the second stage of the innovation journey to Market Discovery.
Market Discovery is the process of selecting a target market, evaluating its business potential, and understanding the pains of your target persona within that target market. This means that to succeed in B2B innovation requires having a strong understanding of what problem you are solving and for whom.
Now, you probably agree with the need to select a target market, but you might have tactical questions on HOW to do it. Questions like:
- How do you define a target market?
- How do you evaluate the validity of that market?
- And how do you find out who has a problem in that market and what are their needs?
If these questions sound familiar, you are not alone. Most Product Leaders I talk to have similar questions. That’s why I was very excited when Third Derivative, a prominent Climate Tech accelerator where I mentor startup Founders, invited me to teach a Masterclass on this topic to their portfolio companies.
Below you’ll find the full recording of the Masterclass, including climate tech-specific examples and situations.
In this Masterclass, you will learn:
- Why focusing on a target market increases your chances of success (or why FOMO is terrible for your business)
- The critical components of a target market (with examples)
- Actionable techniques to understand the pains of your target customer
You will walk away with practical information you can apply to your product today to accelerate your time to market, reduce waste, and avoid costly mistakes.
I hope you enjoy it!
Photo by Afif Ramdhasuma on Unsplash