Demonstration only. This is a fictional teaching example. It contains no client information, measured client results, or promise of an outcome.
01 / The question
Fictional situation: An established SaaS company is considering a second national market. It has received inbound interest, but has not validated procurement requirements, implementation capacity, or a repeatable way to acquire customers.
Decision: Commit to a full launch, run a limited validation phase, or defer entry?
02 / Working recommendation
Run a bounded validation phase before a full launch. In this example, expressions of interest establish a reason to investigate. They do not yet establish a viable business. Define the evidence needed for a launch decision and cap the resources committed to finding it.
03 / Compare the options
| Option | Potential value | Tradeoff to investigate |
|---|---|---|
| Direct entry | Control of positioning and customer relationships | Sales access, delivery capacity, and cost of building locally |
| Partner-supported entry | Relevant access or delivery capability | Partner incentives, margin, dependency, and customer ownership |
| Limited validation | Evidence before larger commitment | Learning may take longer and must have a decision deadline |
04 / Evidence to collect
- Customer: Which problem commands budget? What does the buying committee require?
- Competition: What alternative does the buyer use today, including doing nothing?
- Economics: What remains after acquisition, localization, delivery, support, and partner costs?
- Readiness: Can implementation, support, procurement, and institutional requirements be met?
- Ecosystem: Which relationships are necessary, and who has an incentive to contribute?
Distinguish observed buyer evidence from internal assumptions. A selected set of interested buyers may not represent the wider market.
05 / Owners and decision gates
The commercial lead owns customer validation; the delivery lead validates implementation capacity; finance examines the economics; leadership owns the final decision. Relevant specialists verify country-specific requirements.
Proceed when the agreed customer, economic, and delivery conditions are supported by evidence. Revise when a different segment or route is better supported. Stop when the core assumptions fail. Set thresholds and a review date before validation begins, rather than choosing them after seeing the results.
06 / What leadership receives
A recommendation, options considered, supporting evidence, unresolved assumptions, resource implications, and the next decision. Supporting research can be detailed; the memo keeps the leadership choice clear.
This structure would be adapted to your company and the scope agreed.
Apply this to your market-entry decision ↗