Do you dream of taking your company to states? As the title suggests, you are in the right place to know how to successfully crack the US Market. An event was organised by NASSCOM on 28th February 2020 with Mr.Arshad Sayyad, president and head of Fidelity (FMR) India as the keynote speaker.
To kick start the event - Mr. Arshad wanted to understand the motivation of the attendees in entering the US market. Some of the reasons that were shared included:
- The US market is one of the most robust and efficient markets.
- Existence of Large Capital and Investors.
- Given the large size of the market - it presents businesses with a large opportunity to grow.
Below are some of the key takeaways for me from the event.
Realities of the US Market :
● Friction :
As it is one of the largest markets in the globe filled with innumerable opportunities. The action point is the key, act quickly and convert the opportunities as customers. It is as simple as “To have, or to take advantage of an opportunity” or your opportunity is someone else's client.
● Different Market Cultures in the US :
NewYorkers, Californian, Washingtonian, and Philadelphian etc. People from different parts of the US have different cultures, different taxation regulations, it is important to act according to the local culture to land a first good impression.
● Market Cycle :
Market cycles are the long-term patterns of the market that are often associated with the general business cycle. Now the US market is in an expansion stage filled with large investments and opportunities.
Critical Factors to Succeed in the US Market :
- Relentless Focus on Target Customers.
- Be your own biggest Critic.
- In B2C - Number of Customer Matters, whereas in B2B - Depth of Customer engagement matters.
- Knowing the Customer Feedback and documenting it.
- Small Changes are more important than Macro Changes.
- Knowing your Weakness and work accordingly. Timing and Team matter.
- Hard work, Honesty, Humility and Hunger are the core to success.
While the event had some inputs for B2B organizations like ourselves (NeenOpal), the event was largely focused on B2C companies and the journey of nine FinTech Companies were discussed in detail.
Below are the Phases of a successful start-up:
Phase 1: Prove with Low Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
- Simple product, with customer-friendly features.
- Preferably Mobile for easier adoption.
- Free or Low Cost.
Phase 2: Scaling
- Coming up with new features and services.
- Scale acquisition. (Fuel word of mouth adoption)
- Make high Blunders and Recover.
Phase 3: Diversity
- Raise Venture Capital.
- Become an infrastructure player.
- Acquiring other start-ups.
When we see all the start-ups that have built a substantial and attractive business, in the Phase 1 stage - the CAC is not more than 10$-50$ (B2C). In the case of B2B, the CAC is very high and as I mentioned earlier, customer intimacy and customer retention is an important factor in B2B. However in B2C the number of customers matters.
I will conclude with simple but important factors to target any Market :
- Knowing the sectors and geographies you are targeting.
- $1 Million - $15 Million segment ranged companies are the right market to target as a B2B startup.
- Understanding the customer “pain point” that would make them listen to you.
