Targeting

This chapter (“Targeting”) considers the task of targeting that first market entrance. The chapter assumes that the creation stage has produced the first iteration of the new product, process, or material. While still in a raw and unfinished state, it is still commercially functional, particularly within an initial, niche market segment. It is assumed that the technology will continue to improve as it experiences real-world conditions in the beachhead market. The chapter considers the three critical factors in finding potential beachhead opportunities: connectedness, focus, and acceptance. It identifies the three critical levers of survival required for an innovating firm to use as tools in helping to pin down from the range of possibilities that one optimal beachhead. The chapter concludes with a case study from the field of nanobiotechnology that illustrates these points.