Developing a Go-to-Market Strategy

A client with companies in a variety of industry sectors had invested in a solar cell start-up. The client called on Analysis Group's expertise in disruptive technologies to develop a strategic framework for readying the start-up's product for mainstream applications, as well as developing a go-to-market blueprint and long-term focus.

Our team focused on four aspects critical to the solar cell company's business: end-state, entry points, migration paths, and the learning agenda. We applied our disruptive technology tools and frameworks to develop perspectives on which markets the solar cell company might serve. We then identified those markets where the start-up's technology was good enough to compete and pinpointed those customers for whom the company's solution was superior to mainstream alternatives. We defined an end-state vision that fully capitalized on the unique performance attributes of the client's product. Finally, we mapped out the range of markets, businesses, and applications that the start-up might enter over time.

In addition to providing perspective on the company's potential near- and long-term market fit, our approach supplied the client with different scenarios in which distributed and renewable energy power solutions might come into play in the economy of the future. Beyond the challenge of how best to put solar panels on rooftops, Analysis Group focused on solving problems within the current grid infrastructure and providing solutions that might eliminate the need for a grid infrastructure -- in situations and locations, for example, where mobility and access to power are factors. Our framework and approach led the start-up to a very different set of entry points and refocused the company's marketing and development efforts.