Case Studies: New Market Opportunities
Other Case Studies: Revenue
Enhancement | Product Improvements | Organizational
Excellence
These case studies are examples of EastSight Consulting CEO Parmelee
Eastman's experience.
Analyzing Potential Markets for a New Product:
An Asian software firm wanted to launch its product in the huge US
market, but needed guidance on which market segments to attack and
in which order. The client’s software allocated revenue and profit
to all parties in an online transaction so the more complex the industry,
the more opportunity for the client. The top ten possible markets were
ranked based on complexity, market size, number of participants, growth
rate, sales channels, and salient characteristics. Within each segment,
the top ten industry players were listed by revenue and profits. A
summary of each company’s position and strategy aided the assessment
process. With this combination of quantitative facts and qualitative
analysis, the firm could make the hard, but necessary priority decisions.
Results: The client utilized its limited
resources to launch its product in the two industries with the
greatest revenue potential.
Dealing with A Complex Competitive Landscape:
A leader in the computer telephony integration (CTI) space sought
to leverage its strong market share in products with a service line.
However, the company did not know which established and emerging organizations
already offered services in this fluid and fast-paced marketplace.
The majority of CTI applications lie in the CRM space, which has been
a popular, though unrealized area, for a number of years. Many firms
claim CRM capabilities although some are products are simply re-packaged
applications with a new CRM label. In addition, the client believed
that it needed to establish partnerships in order to maximize its reach
in this new market. We suggested a two-phased approach. First, we performed
a broad assessment of potential market players based on secondary literature
and primary research with industry experts. We jointly prioritized
the companies based an initial evaluation of service capabilities and
tendencies to partner. The second phase of the research consisted of
an in-depth examination of the strongest direct competitors and the
companies with the best partnering opportunities. A series of interviews
with senior executives at these companies revealed their real commitment
to, and strategy for the CRM market.
Result: The client approached
only those companies receptive to partnering and did not reveal
sensitive information on its plans to organizations that were really
competitors.
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Developing and Launching an International PC Financing Program Quickly:
A manufacturer of PCs sought to establish a new financing program
which would eventually be rolled out worldwide. However, the client
needed to prioritize the effort for the first group of 25 countries
to insure a smooth launch. Potential sources of economic and financial
data that would be consistent across all the countries were investigated.
Data from these secondary sources, such as the IMF, was combined with
primary information from US-based and in-country experts to summarize
the potential in each country. Qualitative information was quantified
using various techniques to allow all the data to be analyzed in a
single spreadsheet-based weighted index. The client used this objective
evaluation of this complex topic to support its prioritization plans.
The company needed to partner with an existing financing organization
to launch its program so research was commissioned to understand the
current state of the PC leasing market, the characteristics of well-regarded
plans and industry participants who could be potential partners. The
specific topics included the low-end leasing market, and the programs
offered by major manufacturers, distributors, and resellers to end
users of systems. We determined which leasing programs were in-house,
which were alliances and which leasing companies had expertise in the
low-end leasing market. With information on these topics, the client
could approach the best-qualified leasing partners to negotiate a best-in-class
financing program.
Results: A
best-in-class leasing program was developed and rolled out quickly
allowing the client to increase the sales of its PC products as
well as generate financing income.
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Exploring the Opportunities in Metrics Consulting:
A brand-name IT firm decided to explore the establishment of a consulting
practice in metrics which are business performance measures used in
decision-making, assessing rewards and penalties, and monitoring contracts
and service-level agreements. We did a wide sweep of potential participants
in this new area, then identified the leading players and their focus
in this dynamic field, where definitions and capabilities are rapidly
expanding. Topics in this engagement included determining how metrics
are typically implemented, their uses in areas ranging from supply-chain
management, to customer satisfaction to outsourcing, and key drivers
for further growth. An added bonus to the research was an understanding
of which market leaders were open to new partnerships or alliances.
Results: These findings helped
the client decide whether to emphasize data gathering or analysis
in its own approach to the market, and to design a strategy for
thought leadership to provide maximum value to its client base.
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Profile of a Potential Global Partner:
A major manufacturer of business-oriented communications systems sought
to develop new markets among consumers for its technology. However,
the company did not want to develop and market to consumer segments
on its own. The strategy was to provide functionality to consumer products
manufacturers so they could add communications attributes to their
products. The company commissioned an overview of a global powerhouse
in consumer products, including executive background and style, financial
results for key products, existing alliances and their benefits, legal
actions, and manufacturing strategy.
Results: The
company used the profile as a basis for internal discussions on
whether or not to move forward.
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Initial Evaluation of an Acquisition Candidate:
A large communications firm read in the trade press that a merger
agreement between two software companies had just been canceled, ostensibly
because of changing market conditions. One of these companies had unique
software application that would complement the client's product suite
and provide additional revenue. However, before the firm would approach
the candidate it wanted to understand the actual reasons for the failure
of the merger. In addition, the firm needed information on the candidate's
performance by product category to truly evaluate its attractiveness
as an acquisition prior to approaching it. An independent research
effort discovered that the failure to close the merger was due to financial
problems at the larger company and that the complementary product category
had relatively strong performance.
Results: The
firm had enough information to decide to move forward to a more
detailed assessment of the company.
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