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Market Expansion Tool

Decide which new market to enter, which customers to serve first and how to get in. Six stages, each picking up where the last left off, ending with an entry mode and a full report.

Take the 12-minute guided tour Start at stage 1 Already chosen the market? Start at stage 5

The tour runs all six stages on an example company. Nothing in it touches your own work. Allow three to six weeks in all: most of it goes on research, not on the tools.

Example report (PDF)

Six stages, in order

Each stage asks one question and hands its answer to the next. You can stop after any stage: save your progress file, and pick up later on any computer. The market expansion playbook explains the method behind each one.

  1. Stage 1 of 6 · PESTEL

    What is shifting in the markets we could enter?

    2 to 5 days of research

    You bring
    Two or three candidate markets, and what you find on the outside forces in each: rules, trade terms, how people buy, what they can spend.
    You get
    The forces that would change the answer, ranked for each market, and which market they lean towards.

    How PESTEL worksUse the PESTEL tool on its own

  2. Stage 2 of 6 · Five Forces

    Are those markets worth competing in?

    3 to 7 days

    You bring
    What you learn about rivals, buyers, barriers to getting in, substitutes and suppliers, rated as the new entrant.
    You get
    A verdict for each market, the pressure that decides it, and the conditions you would have to meet.

    How Five Forces worksUse the Five Forces tool on its own

  3. Stage 3 of 6 · VRIO

    What do we have that would still be an advantage there?

    2 to 4 days

    You bring
    Five to ten real capabilities, and a team session to ask the four questions of each, at home and in the new market.
    You get
    What travels, what is an advantage only there, the gaps a partner must fill, and an optional one-page SWOT.

    How VRIO worksUse the VRIO tool on its own

  4. Stage 4 of 6 · Ansoff Matrix

    Which growth route?

    1 to 3 days

    You bring
    One real option in each of the four growth routes, including growth at home.
    You get
    The route you choose, with a reason on record for each option that loses.

    How the Ansoff Matrix worksUse the Ansoff tool on its own

  5. Stage 5 of 6 · STP

    Which customers first?

    3 to 10 days

    You bring
    Two to five groups of buyers who behave alike, from research, distributors or a short trip.
    You get
    The first segment to serve, chosen on fit and reach, and one sentence promising it something.

    How STP worksUse the STP tool on its own

  6. Stage 6 of 6 · Competitive Positioning Map

    Is there room to stand against who is already there?

    1 to 3 days

    You bring
    The brands your first segment buys today, placed on two things buyers weigh.
    You get
    Whether the spot is open, what makes it pay, a suggested entry mode and a first review date.

    How a positioning map worksUse the map tool on its own

What you finish with

Page 1 of the example report: the six stages at a glance A stage diagnosis: what travels to the Philippines The competitive positioning map, with the decision point

From the guided tour: a Thai snack maker choosing between the Philippines and Vietnam.

Download the example report (PDF, 9 pages)

A PDF report of the whole playbook. One headline for each stage, as in the example, then each stage's diagnosis: what it found, what that means, and what to do next. It ends with the position on the map and how to get in.

A progress file you keep. An Excel workbook with a sheet for every stage, updated each time you save. It is also how you come back: choose it on this page or on any stage, and the playbook reopens where you left off.

Places to stop early. If no market is worth competing in, or nothing you have would be an advantage there, the stage says so plainly, and says what to do instead.

Questions

Is it free?

Yes. There is no sign-up. The PDF report asks for an email address; everything else works without one.

Where do my notes go?

Market names, notes and brands stay in your browser and in the progress file you download. To write each stage's diagnosis, the page sends our server only ratings and the places of items in your lists, never the names.

Do I have to do all six stages?

No. Each stage also works on its own, from the tools page. If the market is already chosen, start at stage 5. And when a stage finds no market worth entering, it says so, and what to do instead.

Can several people work on it?

Yes, by passing the progress file. Save it after a stage, send it to a colleague, and they choose it on this page to carry on from there.

How is this different from the playbook article?

The article explains the method and follows one company through it. The tool runs the same six stages on your own markets, and writes the diagnosis at each one.