Client Context
A specialty chemicals manufacturer was evaluating growth opportunities in India for its portfolio of performance additives used in coatings, adhesives, and polymer processing. Although its products served several applications, the company lacked a consistent view of which customer groups offered the strongest commercial potential.
In this scenario, the client engaged Kepler Ventures to conduct a market demand assessment, segment potential customers, and identify priority applications to guide sales and technical development efforts.
The Challenge
The client faced uncertainty about how to translate broad market potential into a focused commercial strategy:
- Industry-level market estimates did not clearly indicate demand for the specific applications served by its products.
- Customers within the same industry differed in formulation requirements, purchasing volumes, and technical support needs.
- Limited visibility into qualification processes and switching barriers made new customer opportunities difficult to assess.
- Uncertainty about how customers balanced additive price against dosage, processing performance, and finished-product quality.
- Sales and technical teams lacked a shared basis for prioritising accounts and product trials.
Our Approach
The four-month engagement combined application-level demand assessment, customer research, and competitive intelligence to identify commercially relevant opportunities.
Phase 1: Product & Application Mapping
Review of the client’s product portfolio and intended performance benefits across six end-use industry segments. Mapping of relevant applications and technical requirements established the boundaries of the demand assessment.
Phase 2: Market Demand Assessment & Addressable Opportunity
Assessment of application-level consumption using published industry information, production indicators, and customer inputs. Demand estimates distinguished the broader market from opportunities compatible with the client’s product specifications, with assumptions and evidence gaps documented.
Phase 3: Customer Segmentation & Buying Criteria Analysis
Structured interviews with representatives from 24 prospective customer organisations explored usage patterns, purchasing criteria, qualification requirements, and supplier-switching barriers. Customers were grouped by application needs, consumption scale, technical support expectations, and purchasing behaviour.
Phase 4: Competitive Assessment & Opportunity Prioritisation
Comparison of incumbent alternatives against customer requirements, including performance, supply reliability, pricing basis, and technical support. Opportunities were ranked by demand potential, product fit, qualification complexity, and commercial accessibility, resulting in three priority application opportunities.
Outcomes & Recommendations
- Developed an application-level view of addressable demand, with assumptions and evidence gaps documented to guide further validation.
- Identified three priority application opportunities where customer requirements aligned with the manufacturer’s portfolio, subject to product trials and qualification.
- Differentiated customer groups by purchasing volume, qualification complexity, and technical support needs to inform account prioritisation.
- Identified the need to demonstrate application performance and cost per use when engaging customers focused primarily on additive purchase price.
- Recommended a phased account-development plan linking customer outreach to technical discussions, sample evaluation, and qualification milestones.
Focus Your Growth on the Right Customers
Understand addressable demand, identify customer priorities, and direct sales and technical resources towards the opportunities best suited to your portfolio.
