The Problem
There was a FinTech company with strong traction in Europe and with growing support in a couple countries. The Company realized through their own data tracking that they had strong success in specific cultures and markets so were exploring options. The goal was to locate and plan a market entry strategy along with ideas for the go-to-market process.
The Company decided that the South and Central American countries were the best candidates and most likely to be receptive to the product which was in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods space. The ideal goal for market penetration into LATAM would be for 1 and maybe 2 countries per year.
The Actions Taken
The team began a comprehensive overview and planning session marking out a 3 step process.
- Company research including strategic positioning and goals
- Demographic, financial, and political landscapes by country
- Market entry recommendations
The Fintech and Fast Moving Consumer Goods segment was a strong product fit for markets that needed updated information while shopping was occurring and details in the seconds or few minutes reviewing items was critical for the applications success. The team was able to work through multiple iterations with the company to discover the root causes and reasons for user behavior and most likely use cases by customers. Product market fit was slightly different between the two areas that saw success in the EU which provided additional insight into the customer personas that were using the product.
The market entry strategy included all of Latin America and through creation of a decision matrix system, the team was able to study and rank countries on a variety of factors which resulted in a short list of top five countries. The ranking factors were numerous, but included customer demographics, purchasing habits, financial regulation, and political climate. The decision to hire local support and sales became quite evident during this part of the process.
The Solution
The market entry recommendation was delivered with the recommendation of the top two ideal countries citing the supporting factors and most likely to adopt and succeed with the app. The presentation was well received by the client and through additional questions, we were able to address how the data supported the recommendation.
Ultimately, the company followed through on the recommendation and has spread into multiple countries in Central and South America.
Some of the main challenges included:
- Multiple countries to target
- Lack of research in each country
- Political climate
Key takeaways
- Data guided decisions were most likely to be repeatable
- Local support and sales provided faster and bettter feedback systems for any pivots required
- Better questions asked through multiple meetings provided significant insight that was paramount for the success of the consultation.
The Market Entry Fintech Experience was a deep dive into market entry and go-to-market strategies that was extremely insightful into international market entry. There are multiple market entry FinTech routes that a company can take, such as buying your way in, launching, joint ventures, and more. The launch directly into the markets made the most sense for this Company and it’s great to see the company growing and succeeding in their efforts.
Book Recommendation
Try reading The SaaS Playbook by Rob Walling if you would like to learn more about building and growing a SaaS type business.
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