Successfully launching a new business initiative requires entirely different metrics and stakeholder management tactics compared to the running business. Want to manage your new initiative successfully? Select its maturity stage below to discover the key metrics for that stage.
You will see two types of metrics. Launching a business initiative involves validation activities where the end goal is not yet defined, so standard KPIs don’t apply. For these activities, we use Activity Metrics. This means we focus on these two types of metrics:
Activity Metrics: to measure the execution of the right activities at that stage
Success Metrics: to define end goals that ensure the initiative's success at that stage.
The concept is still just an idea that is being explored to assess it’s potential. Exploring initial customer problems and potential solutions.
Activity Metric
Exploring the business model
Understanding your business model is crucial as it defines how the business idea creates, delivers, and captures value. This exploration helps identify potential revenue streams, cost structures, and key resources, ensuring a solid foundation for your initiative.
Gather insights from customer interactions to highlight real-world pain points and potential value adds.
Midlevel coaches
Facilitate cross-departmental discussions to gather a holistic view and ensure alignment with business objectives.
Senior leaders
Set strategic priorities and encourage exploration into diverse business models that align with long-term goals.
Activity Metric
Exploring customer problems
Make sure the idea owner has direct contact with the end-users at this stage and is creating a deep understanding of the core problem they face. The problem should be defined by the end-users, not by the ideas or assumptions of the idea owner. This exploration ensures that the product or service addresses real customer needs and delivers tangible value.
Engage with customers to directly understand their needs and assess problem-solution fit.
Midlevel coaches
Translate customer painpoints into actionable plans for the product team, based on the customer journey.
Senior leaders
Guide the team in prioritizing high-value customer benefits that differentiate the initiative in the marketplace.
Success Metric
Expected ROI is > 250%
A high but realistic ROI demonstrates proper business potential. Reality will hit during market validation and bring the ROI (most likely) down, but with a high expected ROI to begin with shows the idea is strong enough to take those hits and justifying further resource allocation.
Provide feedback from the market to adjust ROI projections based on actual customer interest.
Midlevel coaches
Guide the team in sketching the business model and validate how realistic >250% ROI is.
Senior leaders
Evaluate basic financial feasibility and validate high ROI potential before committing large investments.
Clear business model, market potential, and financial projections.
Activity Metric
The project has a dedicated owner
A dedicated owner ensures accountability and focus. This person drives the project forward, coordinates efforts, and makes critical decisions, which is essential for maintaining momentum and achieving milestones.
Offer on-the-ground insights and support to the project owner to maintain momentum.
Midlevel coaches
Support the project owner with the resources they need and help remove any roadblocks.
Senior leaders
Ensure that the project owner has strategic support and a clear mandate to drive the initiative.
Activity Metric
Facts and assumptions are split and being explored
Distinguishing between facts and assumptions allows for a more rigorous validation process. This approach helps in identifying and mitigating risks early, ensuring that the business model is based on verified data.
Collect data from customer interactions to validate assumptions directly with users.
Midlevel coaches
Encourage the team to challenge assumptions and provide tools to differentiate facts from hypotheses.
Senior leaders
Oversee the validation process to ensure a solid foundation based on real evidence.
Success Metric
The project has management team sponsorship
Management sponsorship provides strategic alignment and resource support. It ensures that the project has the backing needed to overcome obstacles and achieve its objectives.
Keep management informed with regular updates to ensure continued buy-in.
Midlevel coaches
Champion the project within the organization to keep it top-of-mind for executives.
Senior leaders
Provide visible support and allocate necessary resources to emphasize the project’s importance.
First customers are paying for the product or service, providing initial market validation
Activity Metric
Interviewing 5 customers per week
Regular customer interviews provide direct insights into market needs and pain points. This feedback loop is vital for refining your value proposition and ensuring your solution aligns with customer expectations. Make sure the team makes decisions based on direct customer feedback and not on their own assumptions or preferences.
Conduct customer interviews and bring valuable insights back to the team.
Midlevel coaches
Facilitate access to customer contacts and ensure the team maintains interview quality.
Senior leaders
Advocate for customer feedback-driven development to align with customer needs.
Success Metric
Validated problem-solution fit
Ensuring a validated problem-solution fit confirms that the product effectively addresses a significant market need. This validation is crucial for customer satisfaction and long-term success.
Test the value propositon with users to confirm it solves a real problem effectively.
Midlevel coaches
Ensure that validated insights reach decision-makers to refine the solution.
Senior leaders
Greenlight further investment only when the problem-solution fit is confirmed and viable.
Success Metric
40% conversion on pitch MVP
A high conversion rate on the MVP pitch indicates strong market interest and product-market fit. It validates the value proposition and suggests that the product meets customer needs effectively.
Pitch the MVP to customers, refine based on feedback, and track conversion rates.
Midlevel coaches
Temporarily add a designer to the team to create a visual representation of the MVP
Senior leaders
Review conversion data to validate product-market fit before scaling further.
Developing the product and sales machine is generating sales. Scaling validated tactics.
Activity Metric
Constant outreach to new prospects
Continuous outreach is necessary to build and execute a working go-to-market strategy. It helps in identifying launcing customers, establishing relationships and having them involved in the product development process.
Perform cold outreach to build validate and build the sales process.
Midlevel coaches
Coordinate prospecting efforts and help prioritize high-value leads.
Senior leaders
Be an ambassador for the project by creating connections and provide access to network.
Success Metric
Go-to-market strategy and unit case are validated
Validating the go-to-market strategy and unit economics ensures that the business can scale sustainably. Before scaling, ask the team to develop a unit case to make sure there is a proper ROI on their marketing and sales investments.
Execute the go-to-market strategy successfully, meaning a constant flow of new customers. Having build the unit case of the product based on the actual costs of executing the go-to-market strategy.
Midlevel coaches
Analyze go-to-market data to optimize strategies and ensure unit case works.
Senior leaders
Sign off on go-to-market strategy only when it demonstrates sustainable growth potential. Use the unit case to make this assessment.
Success Metric
Product v1 on the market, validating new features
Launching the first version of the product and validating new features ensures continuous improvement and relevance. It helps in adapting to market feedback and staying competitive.
Managing the full customer journey of product version 1. Constantly engage with early adopters to test and validate feature relevance to customer.
Midlevel coaches
Monitor feature validation and performance. Coordinate product updates with the product team.
Senior leaders
Assess the performance of new features to ensure they align with strategic objectives.
The innovation is operational, generating revenue, yet struggles to establish sustainable revenue growth.
Success Metric
Dedicated sales team executing the GTM-strategy
A dedicated sales team is essential for executing and scaling the go-to-market strategy effectively. They bring expertise in sales tactics, customer engagement, and closing deals, which are critical for gaining market traction.
Build the sales team based on the validated go-to-market strategy.
Midlevel coaches
Support the team in attracting sales professionals who match the go-to-market strategy.
Senior leaders
Back the sales team with necessary resources to ensure strategy execution at scale.
Success Metric
Recurring revenue
Recurring revenue provides financial stability and predictability. It indicates customer retention and satisfaction, which are key for sustainable growth and long-term profitability.
Maintain relationships with existing customers to secure renewals and repeat business.
Midlevel coaches
Identify upselling opportunities and support recurring revenue strategies.
Senior leaders
Oversee revenue performance to ensure long-term stability and growth.
Success Metric
Product diversified to multiple customer segments
Diversifying the product to multiple customer segments expands the market reach and reduces dependency on a single segment. This strategy enhances resilience and growth potential.
Adapt the product pitch for different customer segments and build a working sales machine for each segment.
Midlevel coaches
Help identify and prioritize new segments for the product’s expansion.
Senior leaders
Evaluate and support the diversification strategy to reduce risk and capture new markets.
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. View our Privacy Policy for more information.
.svg){kind=icon}
.svg){kind=icon}
.svg){kind=icon}
.svg){kind=icon}
