Potential is a starting point.
A promising sector, policy priority or emerging technology can reveal a field of possibility. A commercial decision needs more: a defined customer, a specific need and a credible route to delivering value.
At Soar Consulting, we frame opportunity development around a sequence of questions. Their purpose is to determine what deserves further commitment and what still needs to be proven.
Five questions before committing.
- What is the decision? Be explicit about the choice in front of the organisation. Market entry, product development, a partnership and an investment call for different evidence.
- Who needs the outcome? Identify the customer or beneficiary, the problem they face and the person or institution able to authorise a purchase or programme.
- Where is the value? Map the value chain and locate the contribution the organisation can credibly make. Define the advantage and the constraints that could erode it.
- What must be true? Identify the assumptions about demand, costs, access, capability and partnerships. Prioritise the assumptions whose failure would change the decision.
- What is the next commitment? Specify the evidence, engagement or pilot needed to move forward, with an owner and a decision point.
The useful output is a qualified next move.
Give research a commercial destination.
A market study becomes more useful when it leads to a prioritised opportunity map, named customer and partner categories, an engagement sequence and explicit conditions for proceeding.
This is the connection between diagnostic work, opportunity studies and market activation: each stage should make the next commitment more informed and more deliberate.
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