Executive teams, which have been internally focused on managing the technology and product/service development risks associated with establishing a new business, now must make the difficult decisions about optimizing the market opportunity.

While they may have a wealth of data in hand, these teams often have not taken the time to reach consensus on the meaning and implications of their collective market knowledge.

Furthermore, planning for leadership in emerging markets is a messy endeavor at best…and can be overwhelming in the absence of an efficient strategic marketing process.

Opportunity

Do we need to validate our business model?

What do our customers and other key market participants really think about our company, product, category, etc.?

How big is this market? What is a realistic set of assumptions upon which to build the sizing model?

Strategy

How should we position our company and product?

Should we create a new category or go with an existing one?

Which customer segments should we target? In which order? Which should we not target?

Barriers to customer adoption?

What is the most efficient and effective channel strategy for our customer segment?

Who are the most threatening competitors and what are their vulnerabilities?

Implementation

How do we express our value proposition so that it is compelling to customers?

What are the most important messages for the targeted customer segment and market ecosystem?

What are the customers' total product reqiurements?

Which partnerships are needed to meet those requirements?

What is the buying decision process within the companies in our targeted customer segments?

What is the most (cost-)effective marketing plan for our market environment? Launch plan?