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Entrepreneurship: Select A Beachhead Market

This document discusses selecting a beachhead market for a startup. It defines a beachhead market as a small market segment that a startup can initially target and gain control of using limited resources before expanding to other markets. The key steps are to refine the market segmentation from step 1 until each segment meets the criteria of a proper market, then select a beachhead market to focus on using a selection worksheet that evaluates factors like market size and growth potential. The overall goal is to choose a narrowly defined but viable initial market to efficiently concentrate resources.

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muhammad farooq
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392 views

Entrepreneurship: Select A Beachhead Market

This document discusses selecting a beachhead market for a startup. It defines a beachhead market as a small market segment that a startup can initially target and gain control of using limited resources before expanding to other markets. The key steps are to refine the market segmentation from step 1 until each segment meets the criteria of a proper market, then select a beachhead market to focus on using a selection worksheet that evaluates factors like market size and growth potential. The overall goal is to choose a narrowly defined but viable initial market to efficiently concentrate resources.

Uploaded by

muhammad farooq
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Entrepreneurship

Select a Beachhead Market
(Disciplined Entrepreneurship: STEP 02)
Recap (Step: 01)
• What is the single necessary and sufficient Condition for a Business?
• Need to Create a New Market
– Common Pitfalls (Selling to Everyone, The China Syndrome)

• Need to Identify Target Customer
– Primary Customers (end user), Secondary Customers (economic buyer)

– Two cases in which definition of customer gets more complicated

• Market Segmentation
– Brainstorm
• Brainstorming Tips (Tool: What industries and end users could my idea or technology apply to?)

– Narrow your list down to your top 6–12 markets.
• Criteria (Tool: Top Target Markets to Consider for My Startup)

– Gather Primary Market Research on your top 6–12 markets.
• Three important caveats when conducting your primary market research (You don’t have answer, potential customers don’t have 
answer,  and be in inquiry mode instead of advocacy mode.

• Key factors that are integral to collecting accurate information. 

• Market Segmentation (Tool: Market Segmentation Matrix Starter Template)

• Team Composition and Dynamics
Six Themes of the 24 Steps
• Who is your customer?
• What can you do for your customer?
• How does your customer acquire your product?
• How do you make money off your product?
• How do you design and build your product?
• How do you scale your business?
Who is your customer?
1. Market Segmentation

2. Select a Beachhead Market

3. Build an End User Profile

4. Calculate the Total Addressable Market (TAM) Size for the Beachhead 
Market

5. Profile the Persona for the Beachhead Market

9. Identify Your Next 10 Customers
Who is your customer?

STEP 2: SELECT A BEACHHEAD 
MARKET
Select a Beachhead Market
Beachhead Market
• As a new entity, you have limited resources, so focusing those 
resources is essential. 

• Now that you have completed at least a first pass Market 
Segmentation, you can start to intelligently concentrate your 
efforts on a single market segment to make better and faster 
progress.
Beachhead Market
• The Merriam‐Webster Dictionary defines beachhead as 
“a beach on an enemy’s shore that an invading army takes 
and controls in order to prepare for the arrival of more 
soldiers and supplies”.
• The analogy for entrepreneurs is that to optimize your 
chances of success in a timely manner, you will employ the 
same game plan, choosing a small market segment you can 
control until your company has sufficient resources to enter 
other markets.
Select a Beachhead Market
• Analyze your top market segments and choose one to pursue.
• Are the markets from your Market Segmentation well‐defined 
enough and small enough to attack successfully and not only 
conquer, but dominate? 
Well Defined Market
• You will compare each market against the three conditions that 
define a market:
– Same product: The end users will all use the same product. 
If you have to make slightly different products to appeal to the different 
end users in your market, it’s too broad of a market.

– Same sales process: The sales process to the end users will be the same, 
meaning interchangeable language, value proposition, sales channels, etc. 
If your salespeople have to change tactics from one end user to the next, 
your market’s not targeted enough!

– Word of mouth: There is strong word of mouth between end users in this 
community. 
If your end users don’t talk to each other—if they are separated by large 
distances, for example— you’re going to have a hard time building up 
sales across the full group of end users. Refine it!
Refine Market Segmentation
Go back and refine your markets if necessary—it’s almost 
always a requirement to further segment your markets. You will 
need to keep iterating the refinement process until you achieve 
all of the following:
– Are all market segments actually market segments in that they meet 
all of the three criteria for a market (similar product, similar sales 
process, word of mouth)?
– Do your market segments identify actual human end users and not 
just general companies or department in companies?
– Are the market segments segmented down into reasonable sizes for 
your start‐up to address
Select a Beachhead Market
• Once your Market Segmentation is sufficiently refined, it’s 
time to choose your Beachhead Market. A few tips:
– Involve the whole founding team.

– Avoid “analysis paralysis.” There is almost always more than one path 
to success. Your goal is to eliminate the paths with the lowest odds of 
success, and choose one path with relatively good odds.

– Keep doing primary market research!

• Tool: Market Segmentation Certification Worksheet
Select a Beachhead Market
• You’ll consider the same seven key criteria that you used during the 
Step 1 Market Segmentation:
– Is the target customer well‐funded?
– Is the target customer readily accessible to your sales force?
– Does the target customer have a compelling reason to buy?
– Can you deliver a whole product?
– Is there entrenched competition?
– Can you leverage this market segment to enter others?
– Is the market consistent with the values, passions, and goals of the team?

• Tool: Beachhead Market Selection Worksheet
Summary (Step 02)
• Beachhead Market
• Well Defined Market
– Similar product, Similar sales process, Word of mouth
• Refine Market Segmentation
– Tool: Market Segmentation Certification Worksheet
• Select a Beachhead Market
– Tool: Beachhead Market Selection Worksheet
Who is your customer?
1. Market Segmentation

2. Select a Beachhead Market

3. Build an End User Profile

4. Calculate the Total Addressable Market (TAM) Size for the Beachhead 
Market

5. Profile the Persona for the Beachhead Market

9. Identify Your Next 10 Customers

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