Helping a client pivot their Market Entry

Helping our payments processing client understand the existing market scenario in a new geography they aimed to penetrate.

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Our Client’s Problem
Our client – a leading payments processing company – was expanding into a new geographic market. Our client needed a detailed understanding of the prevailing pricing models, customer engagement techniques, technology adoption, and market penetration of existing vendors to gauge whether they stood a chance to enter into the new geography or if pivoting their strategy was necessary.

Our Brief
The client wanted 4D to minutely assess the market and formulate a go-to-market approach in the new geography and critically evaluate the market positioning of leading players in that geography. Specifically, they were curious about:

• The pricing model and any volume-based discounts offered.

• Customer onboarding processes and any unique value propositions.

• Technological edge or innovations employed in the region.

• Customer feedback and pain points experienced by existing market players.

• Estimate Total Addressable Market (TAM) and forecast the market size.

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This knowledge would not only offer a clearer picture but also help our client tailor its strategy for better market penetration.
 

Our Method
Staying true to our founding values – Depth, Verifiability, Transparency, and Innovation –we devised a multifaceted approach. Recognizing the dynamics of the payments industry, we connected with three leading industry experts. Alongside them, we structured an elaborate “Consultant Dashboard” (in Excel Format) where we assimilated data about pricing strategies, technological advancements, customer feedback metrics, pain points, etc. By working closely with multiple consultants and ensuring our client's involvement in the vetting process, we prioritized trust and confidentiality at every step.
 

Client Outcomes
Our due diligence painted a vivid picture. Contrary to our client's assumption that the primary focus should be on pricing, we found out that key focus was on offering hyper-localized customer service and a robust tech infrastructure tailor-made for the region.
The leading market players had adopted a flexible pricing model, offering substantial volume-based discounts, which allowed them to penetrate larger businesses effectively. Additionally, a majority of them had heavily invested in local tech hubs, ensuring their payment processing system was optimized for the regional nuances and consumer preferences.

Our customer feedback metrics revealed a gap – a need for more diversified integration options with other local financial systems. This presented a potential avenue for our client to capitalize on. However, our insights also unveiled that our client's proposed pricing was approximately 15% higher than what it should be, making market entry at their current rates challenging.

Equipped with our findings, our client reconsidered their pricing structure and leveraged the feedback gap, offering superior integration options with other financial systems in the region. They also initiated partnerships with local tech hubs to ensure a smooth technological transition and regional compatibility.

By pivoting their strategy based on our insights, our client confidently made their foray into the new geography, armed with an edge and a clear roadmap to implement their expansion strategy.