How to brief a market entry feasibility study
A market entry feasibility brief should identify the decision, the customer group, the proposed offer, the geographic boundary and the money at risk. Set the questions the study must answer and the conditions for proceeding before research begins.
Write the decision in one paragraph
Describe the proposed move in concrete terms. For example: a Trinidad service company is considering a second operating location, with a stated capacity, budget and opening window. The study needs to test whether reachable demand and operating conditions support that commitment.
Keep the example separate from a prediction. Name what management already knows, what remains uncertain and what would change the decision. Include the alternatives, such as serving the area from the existing office, testing a smaller offer or delaying the move.
Give the researcher a usable boundary
A national population figure is an inadequate definition of the customers a business expects to reach. Specify the buyer, buying occasion, service area, price basis and delivery limits. Identify whether the customer is an individual, a household, a company or a procurement team.
The US Small Business Administration identifies demand, market size, location, market saturation and pricing as questions for market research. Apply those questions to the actual operating area and customer group. Where local data is dated or incomplete, record the gap and the additional work needed.
Request evidence for each assumption
Use a brief with the following fields. It gives the researcher a way to connect each source, interview or calculation to the decision. A source date matters where costs, competitor offers or trading conditions have changed.
| Brief field | Question to answer |
|---|---|
| Customer demand | Who buys, why they buy, frequency and evidence of willingness to pay |
| Competition | Relevant suppliers, substitutes, prices and buying routes |
| Operating capacity | People, premises, equipment, delivery time and bottlenecks |
| Costs | Setup expenditure, recurring costs and working capital assumptions |
| Market access | Channels, supplier dependencies and any required professional review |
| Decision threshold | The minimum acceptable economics and unresolved risks |
Separate demand signals from expected sales
Search queries show the language people use and the occasions on which a website appeared. They do not establish how many customers will sign a contract. Enquiries, paid trials, customer interviews and actual sales records answer different parts of the demand question.
Ask the study to explain how the business would reach customers. A market with many potential buyers still needs a workable acquisition cost, delivery capacity and collection process. Document the assumptions connecting enquiries to qualified prospects, quotations and paid work.
For a simple illustrative model, ten completed jobs at TTD 2,000 each produce TTD 20,000 in revenue before costs. If the plan assumes twenty jobs, the report should explain the evidence for finding, winning and delivering the additional work. These numbers demonstrate the calculation and represent no market estimate.
Specify the report and supporting files
Request the underlying assumptions, source links, interview method and spreadsheet calculations. Agree the treatment of missing data and conflicting findings. The report should distinguish observed facts, estimates and management assumptions in the working material.
Include a sensitivity analysis around the variables most likely to change the outcome. These might include sales volume, gross margin, rent, staffing or customer payment time. Ask which unresolved question deserves a small field test before a larger commitment.
Finish the brief with the intended decision date, review participants and acceptance criteria for the research. Commercial, legal, tax and technical questions each need an identified owner. The resulting study should leave management able to state what it is committing to, why and under which conditions.
Discuss market entry research
Tell us about the work you are planning and the result you need.
Discuss market entry research