Market entry research
from people in the market
Market entry research tests whether a company should enter a new geography, segment or product category by establishing real demand, competitive position, pricing and route to market. Theory Intelligence does this through verified interviews with target buyers, channel partners and competitors' customers, delivering a signed go, no-go or conditional recommendation with a provenance appendix.
- Signal Brief: 6 to 8 verified buyers in the target market for a first read, 10 business days, USD 7,500 to 12,000
- Decision Study: 15 to 30 verified interviews across buyers, channel and competitors' customers, 4 to 6 weeks, USD 25,000 to 75,000
- Bottom-up demand from the people who would buy, not top-down market sizing from reports
- International reach through verified local researchers under The Theory Standard
- Recommendation signed by the researcher, including when it is not to enter
Why market sizing reports fail entry decisions
A market entry deck usually opens with a total addressable market figure from a syndicated report. The figure is often built from vendor briefings, extrapolated from a few data points, and increasingly drafted with AI. It says nothing about whether the specific buyers you would need to win are dissatisfied enough to switch, whether the channel would carry you, or what the incumbents would do in response. Those answers are held by people in the market, and they have to be asked.
How Theory researches an entry
We begin with the decision as you would write it: enter this market with this offer by this date, or not. We identify the buyers who would have to say yes, the channel partners who would have to carry the product, and the customers of the incumbents you would have to displace. We recruit and verify fifteen to thirty of them and interview each about their current solution, their dissatisfaction, their switching cost, their price expectations and how they buy.
The result is a bottom-up view: how many of these buyers exist, what share is realistically winnable in what time, at what price, through which route. The recommendation is signed. If the answer is do not enter, the report says so.
Formats
A first read on one market, six to eight verified buyers, is a Signal Brief. A full entry case is a Decision Study. Monitoring a market you have entered is an Intelligence Retainer. See industries for sector examples.
All work is delivered under The Theory Standard. See services and prices.
Questions about market entry research
Do you cover markets outside the US and UK?
Yes, through verified local researchers who work under The Theory Standard. We say at scoping where our reach is strong and where it is thin.
Can you size the market?
Bottom-up, from verified interviews and checked documents, yes. We will also tell you how much confidence the estimate deserves, which is usually more useful than the number.
How is this different from a consulting firm's market entry study?
A named researcher does the interviews and signs the recommendation, every participant is verified, AI use is disclosed, and the price is published. See Theory vs management consulting.
Need this answered?
Write to info@theoryintel.com with the decision. A researcher replies within one business day with a fixed price and a start date.
Start a brief