Planning a US market entry?
PART 1 - FOCUS!
Tackling the massive US market is like going to a grand buffet – you don't have to sample every dish to leave satisfied.
Don't fall into the "do-it-all" trap early on. Loose ICP Definition? Been there.
We cast a net so wide, it felt like throwing a net across the Pacific
Attempted to cover all bases and be everything to everyone
Landed with messaging as wide as an 8-lane US highway
Back in the early days, we catered to every trade imaginable in our home market– residential, commercial, electrical, security, fire, plumbing, HVAC, solar, landscaping, scaffolding, you name it. It hit the spot, especially with our strong local presence. Our user base skyrocketed as customers transformed from 1-person gigs to SMEs and larger franchise, creating a powerful network effect across various sectors.
In the US market, we initially tried to take the same approach but found we were too thinly spread and couldn’t reach the tipping point to efficiently build a solid user network. It was only when we focused on the segments where we had the greatest competitive advantage – as an example; specialising in Electrical, Security, and HVAC within the commercial sector. – that growth really started to take off.
Even within these segments, we decided there was a need for further focus. So, we identified the top contractors in key regions – many, of course, had a strong presence in the US – and set a goal to achieve at least an initial sale to all of them within three years. This was a significant change to the way we operated and from that point on it drove our decision-making, not just in sales and marketing but in how we prioritised product development and how we resourced and skilled up our customer support teams. We named the initiative “The Big Focus” (not the most genius name, i admit) and tracked our progress on digital dashboards and added virtual pin for logos for each new client.
It is hard to imagine how we could have succeeded in the US had we have not forced that level of focus on ourselves and right across the business. So, think about how you will target your customers by segment and region to drive that initial focus. Pick a subsegment of the US market where you are genuinely differentiated from your competitors. Then identify a region where those target customers are concentrated; New York for property or finance; Texas for oil and gas; Bay Area for Tech. Considering that California, Texas, and the Northeast each represent markets substantially larger than the combined size of Australia and New Zealand, there's more than enough demand to lay the foundation for a successful US business
Next in line - PART 2: Assembling Your Initial Team in the US.
Ricky
