Winning a new market begins with a wedge—a segment where your proposition is obviously better. Translate value into local context, select initial channels, and set a pricing architecture that respects willingness to pay and cost-to-serve.
Market Entry Checklist
1. Regulatory & Compliance Review
Before entering any market, assess regulatory requirements:
- Data privacy and protection laws (GDPR, CCPA, local equivalents)
- Industry-specific regulations (healthcare, finance, education)
- Tax and business registration requirements
- Intellectual property protection
Build a risk register and mitigation plan. Engage local counsel if needed.
2. Partner Landscape & Incentive Models
Identify potential channel partners, resellers, or integration partners:
- Map partner ecosystem (system integrators, agencies, platforms)
- Design partner incentive models (revenue share, margin, co-marketing)
- Create partner enablement materials and training
- Define partner qualification criteria and onboarding process
3. Localized Pricing, Packaging, and Messaging
Adapt your offering for local market conditions:
- Pricing: Adjust for local purchasing power, currency, and willingness to pay
- Packaging: Bundle features that matter locally, remove features that don't
- Messaging: Translate value proposition into local language and cultural context
- Payment: Support local payment methods and billing cycles
4. 90-Day GTM Plan with Weekly KPIs
Create a focused execution plan with clear milestones:
- Week 1-4: Infrastructure setup, partner onboarding, localized assets
- Week 5-8: Pilot customers, feedback collection, iteration
- Week 9-12: Scale acquisition, optimize conversion, measure unit economics
Track weekly KPIs: leads, opportunities, conversion rates, CAC, payback period.
Choosing Your Wedge
Your wedge is the initial segment where you have the strongest advantage. Criteria:
- Clear Value: Your solution solves a problem better than alternatives
- Accessible: You can reach and sell to this segment efficiently
- Expandable: Success here creates a path to adjacent segments
- Defensible: You have or can build a moat in this segment
Validation Before Scale
Before committing significant resources, validate:
- Demand exists and is willing to pay your price point
- You can acquire customers at an acceptable CAC
- Unit economics work in the new market
- You can deliver value consistently (support, compliance, localization)
Common Market Entry Mistakes
- Entering multiple markets simultaneously instead of one at a time
- Not validating demand before committing resources
- Underestimating regulatory and compliance complexity
- Pricing without understanding local willingness to pay
- Not adapting messaging and positioning for local context
Next Steps
Market entry requires careful planning and disciplined execution. We help startups identify wedges, validate demand, and execute focused go-to-market plans.
See our Strategy Consulting services for market entry planning and execution support.