Success in New Revenue Mining often only comes when there’s a nearly perfect fit in the new market being entered. This involves a bit of work, especially for an internal team, as one must first define a broad swath of industries generically and then compare the hypothesized offering/use case to those definitions.
To that end, it is important that you know the answer to 8 Key Questions which will help you view an industry objectively rather than through the lens of your own industry and use cases. These are:
- How do firms in this industry create revenue? Are margins high or thin and volume dependent?
- What does the manufacturer-to-marketplace framework look like for the industry?
- Is the industry cost or value focused?
- Is the industry cyclical or non-cyclical?
- Is purchase decision making in the industry fragmented or consolidated?
- What are the primary use cases this industry provides for its customers?
- How is the industry product delivered?
- Is the industry low, moderate, or high growth?
With this information known, you can then move forward to comparing the core features of your product with the core structure and needs of each industry.
Finding a fit, however, doesn’t mean there’s opportunity, just that its plausible and that its time to explore the Market Metrics that Give Hint to Opportunity, the topic of the next blog in this series.