Or… at least until some critical thresholds have been exceeded (like leaving the seat up one too many times)! Seriously though, opening a new market requires considerable time and energy and if you aren’t committed to getting yourself across the Dip, as Seth Godin defines, then your first steps are better laid in another direction.
All the upfront work you’ve done should build the case for why you should, as opposed to why you shouldn’t. The launch should never be a given.
You need a decision making framework, but you don’t want to trap yourself in analysis paralysis. Invest in a model commensurate with the magnitude of the decision. If you are betting the proverbial farm then, yes, you want to ratchet up your model. Basically though what you are looking to do is summarize the potential cost and opportunity involved.
The primary focus here needs to be around estimating the upfront expenses. From both the perspective if you have enough resources to pull it off and also whether the potential return is worth the risk and effort. It’s important to be realistic about the type of projects you can be successful with.
Takeaways:
• Weed out markets that don’t meet your investment horizon
• Employ a decision making model to break analysis paralysis
• Understand rough marginal contribution of adding new customer
• Make sure you’ve got the where-to-all to see the project to the end
Tags: Seth Godin, the Dip
