PR.1 Evaluate potential markets

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OVERVIEW

This activity provides a structured approach to identifying suitable markets to target with your eco-innovation services.

INPUT

List of the main industrial sectors and markets that SMEs in your country are involved in.

Basic information about the characteristics of the main industry sectors, markets and companies operate in your country.

OUTPUT

A well-defined market or set of markets that you will target with your eco-innovation services.

Preliminary list of relevant companies in your target market, used in the activities PR.4 Identify sustainability hotspots across the value chain and PR.8 Plan and implement engagement activities.

TEMPLATE

HOW TO GO ABOUT IT

1.

Begin by creating a list of the main industrial sectors and markets that SMEs in your country are involved in.

2.

Answer the questions in Section A (Sector-level analysis) and add up the score out of 10 points for each of the sectors in your list.

3.

Decide which sectors to focus on by comparing the scores from Section A. Filter out low-scoring sectors and select two or three of the highest scoring sectors to take forward to the next step.

4.

Answer the questions in Section B (Market-level analysis) and add up the score for the market out of 20 points for each of the markets within your chosen sectors.

5.

Decide which markets to focus on by comparing the scores from Section B. Filter out low-scoring markets and select two or three of the highest scoring markets to target.

6.

Within each of your selected markets try to identify some relevant companies.

7.

Answer the questions in Section C (Company-level analysis) and add up the score out of 10 points. You should target the highest scoring companies when you begin to engage companies later in the process.

Tips & Tricks

DESK RESEARCH ACTIVITY

Note that this activity should be completed as desk research – it is not necessary to contact any of the potential clients at this stage

ADD YOUR OWN CRITERIA

Remember that the selection criteria proposed in the Target Identification template are generally relevant, but you should add your own selection criteria based on your understanding of the companies in your country and the business strategy of your own organisation. You should also revisit the criteria and choice of target markets if your initial choices are not successful.

KEEP A RECORD

You should keep a record of potential customers that you have identified and researched, whether or not you decide they are a good prospect. Keeping a record of this information and making sure the rest of your team have access to it will avoid duplication of work and will make communication with customers more effective and efficient. The information you gather about potential customers should be managed through some kind of Customer relationship management (CRM) system, which might be a simple spreadsheet that is easily accessed and updated by other members of your team, or could be one of the many dedicated software solutions.

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