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In today’s data-driven world we have access to more information than ever before. At Coppett Hill, we use data to help our clients make strategic and operational go-to-market decisions, to unlock growth. But as the saying goes, “garbage in, garbage out” (GIGO). Without good quality information, even the most sophisticated analysis will deliver unreliable outcomes. This post explores why clean, accurate data is the foundation of successful decision-making, and how poor data quality can lead to misguided strategies, wasted efforts and potentially costly mistakes. Understanding the GIGO Principle GIGO is a simple yet powerful principle – the quality of input data directly impacts the value of the output. If your input data is flawed — whether due to inaccuracies, omissions, or biases — the analysis will be skewed, and any decisions made on that basis are likely to be misguided. For businesses, this can mean missed opportunities and misallocated resources. To counter this, I’ve developed a habit of always asking where the data/information comes from, and how it was collected – a habit that I suspect many other consultants will recognise. Consider a company trying to define its Ideal Client Profile (ICP) . If the data used to understand existing customer lifetime value is incomplete or outdated, the analysis will provide a distorted view of customer ‘likeability’. Decisions based on these insights could result in poorly targeted marketing, unprofitable product launches, and misalignment with customer needs. Why clean, high-quality data is essential – avoiding ‘garbage in, garbage out’ Accuracy in decision-making : High-quality data provides the foundation for strategic decision-making. When data is clean, consistent, and relevant, it allows businesses to identify patterns, make forecasts, and evaluate risk effectively. Low-quality data, on the other hand, introduces uncertainty, forcing decision-makers to rely on assumptions or ‘gut-feel’ that could result in sub-optimal strategy. Efficiency in resource allocation : Decision-makers rely on data to allocate resources effectively, whether that’s budget, staff time, or technology investment. With accurate data, businesses can allocate resources confidently. Conversely, poor-quality data may direct resources toward less impactful areas, leading to wasted budgets and missed opportunities. The hidden costs of poor data quality While it’s easy to see the immediate costs of bad data, such as wasted time and missed revenue opportunities, there are also hidden costs that can be even more damaging in the long run. Increased operational costs : Poor data often requires rework. When errors are discovered, time and resources are allocated to correct them. How often do simple reporting requests result in hours (or even days!) of manipulation to give the desired answer? The time spent cleaning data or backtracking on misguided decisions could be better invested in productive activities if quality data were used from the outset. Decreased team productivity : When analysts and team members spend their time cleaning and validating data rather than conducting meaningful analysis, productivity suffers. Poor data quality increases frustration and decreases morale, as team members are constantly fixing preventable issues. I experienced this in a previous role, where the monthly board reports took 2-3 working days to create due to data silos and manual extraction – when reporting becomes a major undertaking itself, it can cause significant frustration within the team. Erosion of Trust : If decision-makers lose confidence in the data provided, they are less likely to trust future analysis. This trust is difficult to regain and can impact the effectiveness of future analysis. Teams may become more hesitant to rely on data insights, leading to a “gut-feel” approach that is inherently riskier. Implementing good data practices to avoid GIGO The good news is that organisations can avoid the GIGO pitfall by implementing robust data hygiene practices. We have seen these methods work firsthand for many of our clients, within operational finance systems, sales & marketing systems, and third-party media platforms: Defining clear data standards & definitions : Different departments may collect and format data differently, leading to inconsistencies. Define clear standards for data collection, entry, and processing across the organisation to ensure that everyone follows the same guidelines. Use a ‘data dictionary’ to define each dimension and metric consistently. If these change due to a shift in business strategy or organisational design, ensure that changes are backdated. Data within a business is often human generated – think Sales team members filling in opportunity details in a CRM system, or customers filling in feedback forms. With human intervention comes an even greater need for review and classification, to avoid inconsistencies which will impact your analysis. Data cleansing and validation : Establish processes to routinely cleanse and validate data, identifying and correcting any errors before analysis begins. Automation tools or data validation can help by flagging duplicates, missing values, or outliers, but human oversight is also essential for ensuring contextual relevance. For example, when we build Customer Data Platforms  we will often inspect many individual customer journeys to ensure that they are (a) logically complete and (b) correctly segmented. Investing in high quality data sources : High quality data often requires a financial investment. Whether it’s subscribing to reputable data sources or investing in data-gathering technologies, this upfront cost will likely save significant time and resources by providing reliable input for analysis. Regular data audits : Schedule regular audits to assess data quality and make improvements where needed. Audits help catch errors early and give stakeholders confidence in the data’s reliability. Additionally, regular reviews help identify evolving needs that may require adjustments to data collection processes. One tip we encourage is building data hygiene reports into your regular sales and marketing reporting (i.e. a standalone data quality dashboard for CRM data entry) to incentivise compliance among the sales team. Training and development : Equip team members with the skills and knowledge to recognise data quality issues. When your team understand the importance of high-quality data and know how to handle data correctly, the organisation is better positioned to maintain high standards over time. Prioritise quality data for quality outcomes The “garbage in, garbage out” principle is a reminder that even the best analytical methods can’t overcome the limitations of poor-quality data. By investing in quality data practices, businesses can make better decisions and more effectively allocate resources. As the reliance on data continues to grow, the importance of quality inputs cannot be overstated. When quality data is at the heart of analysis, businesses are not only better equipped to avoid costly mistakes but are also positioned to capitalise on the full potential of their data. In the end, making good decisions starts with good information. By ensuring your data is clean, relevant, and reliable, you’ll have the insights needed to make strategic choices that drive sustainable growth and success. If you’d like to discuss how to avoid ‘garbage in, garbage out’ within your Sales and Marketing systems, to ensure better go-to-market decision-making, please contact us . All views expressed in this post are the author's own and should not be relied upon for any reason. Clearly.

When assessing an investment opportunity, balancing short-term risk and long-term opportunity is critical. The go-to-market value creation due diligence work we do for our private equity clients typically covers three key areas: 1.      Assessing the overall maturity of customer acquisition, retention and growth activities 2.      Identifying short- and long-term value creation opportunities 3.      Understand and mitigating short-term go-to-market risks This third and final element is designed to help our clients avoid ‘catching a falling knife’. While private equity funds often target companies poised to create significant value through strategic expansion and operational improvements , investing in a business during a period of short-term instability can sometimes feel like catching a falling knife. The term ‘catching a falling knife’ is used to describe the risks of acquiring an asset that is undergoing some form of decline, under the false assumption that its fortunes will reverse. In this article I’ll explore how private equity investors can avoid ‘catching a falling knife’ and instead distinguish between short-term challenges and longer-term structural issues within an acquisition target. Understanding the 'falling knife' The analogy of ‘catching a falling knife’ often applies to businesses that face operational or financial challenges but are still viewed as valuable long-term opportunities. These businesses might have encountered short-term revenue or trading setbacks, changes in personnel, or shifts in market conditions. The risk for private equity investors is that these issues may run deeper than expected. The first few months post-investment in many respects represent the period of highest risk as the business may have limited cash headroom, and the Investor-Management working relationship is yet to fully form. Over a decade ago, I was part of a team supporting an investor that was looking to take-private a publicly listed 5-a-side football pitch operator. Recent trading had been soft, but there was general consensus that this was due to tough comparables and unseasonably wet weather. However, our work uncovered that local governments had been funding new pitch developments that were co-located with the underperforming sites, and that many new developments were planned. Our client decided not to invest, and the business was eventually de-listed a few years later at c.15% of its previous value. We stopped our client from catching a falling knife. Our role as advisors is to understand the drivers behind these changes, using a combination of data and experience to unpick underlying trends. Recognising and understanding the red flags When evaluating a business facing challenges, it is crucial to differentiate between temporary setbacks and fundamental weaknesses. From a go-to-market perspective, red flags can appear in many areas, including: Lack of strategic direction : Companies can often experience impressive growth due to good trading momentum and low-hanging fruit. However, once the short-term, tactical wins have been exhausted, there is a need for a well prioritised, scalable growth strategy. If Management doesn’t have a well-defined and operationalised ICP  and a clear view on where to spend the next £1 of investment , there may be underlying issues that need to be remedied. Changes in personnel : Investors rely on strong, experienced management teams to deliver growth. However, changes in personnel with the Sales and Marketing teams can often have as big an impact on short-term momentum as senior leadership. This is particularly relevant in B2B businesses, where the departure of a key sales contributor can severely impact the sales pipeline in the short-term (and potentially in the longer-term). Understanding pipeline health, and the extent to which this can recover, is critical in assessing whether issues are temporary or structural. Operational inefficiencies : While most operational issues can be solved, deep-rooted inefficiencies require more systemic change to prevent long-term problems. Operational inefficiencies can take many forms – from a go-to-market perspective, some of the most common we see are: Unsuccessful lead generation and qualification – marketing generates a high volume of leads, but these aren’t qualified or targeted, leading to lower conversion and higher churn Ineffective marketing spend attribution - without proper tracking and analysis of marketing efforts companies can invest the wrong amounts in the wrong channels, resulting sub-optimal returns Insufficient go-to-market reporting and insights – marketing and sales teams often generate significant amounts of data from customer interactions and digital campaigns. However, if this data isn’t analysed effectively or used to inform decision-making, opportunities can easily be missed Identifying short-term blips and mitigating the risk of catching a falling knife Conversely, short-term instability can sometimes present buying opportunities for private equity investors. Identifying whether a business’s decline is temporary or more structural is key to securing long-term returns. Here are some factors that suggest it may be a short-term blip: Clear value creation potential : Most of our work at Coppett Hill revolves around value creation for investors through go-to-market opportunities. If the business is facing short-term turbulence but has a clear path to strategic and/or operational improvements, it may be a sound investment. Go-to-market improvement  is one of the most tangible levers that management teams and investors can pull to create value. Strong industry position : If the company operates in an industry with significant growth potential, its troubles may be temporary. Private equity investors should assess whether the company has durable competitive advantages – such as intellectual property, brand strength, or a loyal customer base (as measured by financial metrics and NPS) – that will support long-term growth once short-term issues are addressed. Understanding leading indicators and the path to cash:  We often see historical events impacting trading momentum in the future. A key part of our go-to-market due diligence work is helping investors to quantify the likely impacts of these and recommending a course of action to mitigate them. A good example would be the loss of a key salesperson – this could take another 3-6 months to impact the pipeline, another 3-6 months to hit the P&L given the sales cycle, and then another 1-2 months to impact cashflows. In this example, providing insight on sales team onboarding and ramp-up can help investors understand the likely hole and how it can be filled. Alignment with Management : A critical factor for successful private equity investment is alignment between investors and management. If the management team demonstrates a clear, credible plan to address short-term challenges and drive the business forward, this can signal that the issues are temporary rather than systemic. Conversely, if Management ignore the issues, or worse deny them, this may suggest the potential for catching a fallen knife is higher. Conducting due diligence is essential for identifying whether a company’s issues are short-term or structural. Go-to-market due diligence plays a key role in that, given the importance of short-term revenue momentum during the early days of ownership. By understanding the root cause of the business’s challenges, investors can determine whether it can recover. Many investors will also look to offset the potential for short-term instability through deal structures such as earn-outs or deferred consideration, that seek to share the risk between sellers and buyers. The importance of balancing caution and optimism Private equity investors face unique challenges when navigating short-term volatility, as the illiquid nature of these investments means that catching a falling knife can be particularly costly. By conducting go-to-market due diligence and actively engaging with management, private equity investors can avoid costly mistakes and identify opportunities for value creation. Ultimately, the key is to distinguish between businesses experiencing temporary setbacks and those with more profound structural issues. If you’d like to discuss how to avoid catching a falling knife when making investment decisions, please contact us . All views expressed in this post are the author's own and should not be relied upon for any reason. Clearly.

In my previous role I saw first-hand how different sales methodologies work, even within a single organisation. I also bear some scars for where they don’t. Within my Sales function I had team members negotiating multi-year agreements across multiple product lines with the world’s largest bookmakers, there were people selling complex technology and data products to engineering and product teams, and there were teams fielding inbound advertising requests for tomorrow’s newspaper. Each required a different approach to acquiring, retaining and growing customers. If you speak to any Chief Commercial Officer, Sales Director, or Head of Sales, they’ll tell you that B2B sales is both an art and a science. While individual sales skills and techniques can get you so far, having clearly defined and documented methodologies within a sales function is critical for value creation and preservation. Reasons include: Creating a more scalable sales function  – enabling quicker onboarding and ramping up of new recruits. Having an approach to training embedded within the sales team will further help with this Increasing pipeline velocity  – generating more qualified leads, increasing win-rate, reducing sales cycle Reducing key person risk  – better onboarding and ramp-up removes the likelihood of pipeline and sales value being concentrated in a small number of reps However, many businesses don’t use a clear sales methodology – particularly SMEs in the lower mid-market. This is often because they’ve been able to drive sales growth without anything in place. As businesses grow, so too do sales functions, which means the need for structure and scalability grows as well. AI's interpretation of a Sales Director considering which sales model to use   B2B sales models as a lever for go-to-market value creation Robust sales methodologies go hand-in-hand with a clear ICP and a detailed view of customer data , forming the foundations of a strong go-to-market operation. Our work at Coppett Hill focuses primarily on businesses in the mid-market, where sale methodology adoption varies. Some clients will adopt parts of established models, a combination of a few, or develop their own while others won’t use them at all. Critically, not all sales models are right for all businesses. Therefore, in this article I will break down the most well-known sales models, discuss the pros and cons of each, and highlight when best to use them. What sales models should I use for complex products and higher average contract values? 1.      Solution Selling  - Focuses on diagnosing the customer’s problem and positioning the product as the solution. Sales reps identify pain points and show how the product or service resolves these issues. Solution Selling was developed in the 1970s by Frank Watts, who first introduced it at Xerox. The idea was to shift from product-centric selling to solving the customer’s problems by positioning the product as the solution. Solution selling builds trust with prospects by addressing specific needs, helping potential customers to feel valued and understood. However, it can be time-consuming and requires deep product knowledge. Best for : high-touch B2B sales, especially for complex or customisable products and services. Suited to customers who know their precise needs. 2.      MEDDIC/MEDDICC  – Acronym for Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion, and Competition (Competitors) M etrics: Quantifiable measures of success that your product can influence, like revenue growth or cost savings E conomic Buyer: The person with the budget authority or the final decision-maker D ecision Criteria: The specific criteria or features the buyer is looking for in a solution D ecision Process: The steps the buyer’s organisation follows to make a purchasing decision I dentify Pain: The specific challenges or issues the prospect faces that your product can address C hampion: An internal advocate within the prospect’s organisation who supports your solution C ompetition): The competing solutions or vendors being considered by the buyer MEDDIC was created in the 1990s by Dick Dunkel and Jack Napoli at Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC), where it helped drive significant sales growth. MEDDIC emphasises identifying and qualifying leads. It is highly structured, making it easy to track and maintain consistency, which helps reps to qualify leads and save time. However, it puts little emphasis on building rapport with potential customers. Best for : enterprise sales or industries with long, complex sales cycles and larger deals. In particular software and technology sales. 3.      SPIN  – Acronym for Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-Payoff – designed to guide prospects through their issues and highlight value in the product or service S ituation: Understand the prospect’s current situation P roblem: Identify and define the problems or pain points the prospect is experiencing I mplication: Explore the consequences of the identified problems, helping prospects understand the impact of not solving them N eed-Payoff: Lead the prospect to see the benefits of addressing the problem, creating a logical need for your solution SPIN Selling was introduced in the 1980s by Neil Rackham through his company, Huthwaite International. It was based on extensive research into successful sales techniques and involved analysing over 35,000 sales calls. SPIN builds trust by emphasising an understanding of the prospect’s situation before making an offer. It requires skilled questioning; otherwise, it can feel mechanical if not done naturally, which can be challenging for less experienced reps. Best for : complex buying processes, especially for products that require multiple stakeholders' buy-in. Ideal for companies selling high-ticket items where customers need to understand ROI. 4.      Sandler System  – Emphasises building trust by exploring the prospect’s pain points and decision-making process, then empowering the prospect to decide on their own. Developed by David Sandler in 1967, this system is designed to empower salespeople by teaching them how to build trust and effectively guide prospects toward self-discovery of their needs. Sandler  has grown to offer sales training based on this methodology worldwide. Sandler encourages transparency, which can shorten sales cycles, and lessens pressure by placing the decision in the prospect’s hands. However, can be time-consuming and it requires the buyer to drive the agenda. Best for : Businesses with longer sales cycles where relationship-building is essential, such as financial services or consulting. 5.      Target Account Sales (TAS)  – Strategic approach to key account sales that prioritises and adapts the sales process to the prospect’s individual needs. Focuses on higher value, top priority opportunities. TAS was formalised by Sales Performance International (SPI) in the 1990s, focusing on account-based selling strategies that prioritise high-value accounts. TAS maximises sales potential by focusing on high-value clients, allowing reps to develop a deep understanding of key accounts’ needs. However, this methodology is not scalable for smaller deals and requires extensive knowledge to be built up through research and communication, which can be time consuming. Best for : Enterprise sales, where higher customer lifetime value justifies a more intensive/costly approach. What sales models should I use for faster sales cycles and more straightforward products and services? 1.      BANT  – Acronym for Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline. A qualification methodology to determine whether a lead is worth pursuing B udget: does the prospect have the budget to purchase your product or service A uthority: is the prospect the decision-maker, or do they have influence over the decision N eed: does the prospect have a genuine need that your product or service can fulfil T imeline: is there a defined timeline for when the prospect plans to decide BANT was developed by IBM in the 1960s as a simple framework for quickly qualifying leads. BANT can help sales reps quickly qualify leads, helping them to focus on genuine opportunities. Given its formulaic nature, it is also relatively easy to implement, even with junior teams. However, as a methodology it can be quite rigid – focusing on tangible indicators like budget and authority can mean you miss out on long-term opportunities. It may also fall short when prospect decision-making is complex, or there is no defined timeline. Best for : transactional sales with shorter cycles, particularly where reps must process and qualify leads at scale – for example where the product or service is relatively straightforward. 2.      Inbound Sales  – Focuses on guiding the prospective customer through their own buying journey, with the rep acting as an advisor. Inbound Selling grew out of the Inbound Marketing movement pioneered by HubSpot founders Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah in the 2000s. It is heavily influenced by content-driven lead generation and digital marketing. Inbound Sales builds rapport with the prospect, providing a comfortable buying journey. However, it can be less effective if prospects are passive or undecided as to whether they need the product or service. Inbound Sales also relies heavily on effective marketing, which can be resource intensive given the volume of content required and number of events that the sales team are required to attend. Best for : companies with strong inbound lead generation strategies, where buyers can educate themselves about the product or service through content. 3.      Challenger Sales  – Uses industry and company insights and knowledge to challenge prospects’ current way of thinking and offer new perspectives on what they need. The Challenger Sale was developed by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson of CEB (now part of Gartner) in the late 2000s. It emerged from research identifying that top-performing reps challenged customers’ assumptions. Challenger Sales can often close deals faster and can quickly build credibility and authority. However, it requires reps to be well versed in the industry and comfortable to push back on prospects (diplomatically, of course!). Best for : highly competitive or fast-paced industries. Particularly where prospects do not realise they have a problem or need a new approach. There’s no ‘one size fits all’ The optimal sales methodology depends on a wide range of factors, including product complexity, customer type, sales cycle length, and industry dynamics. There is no hard-and-fast rule as which methodology is best, but generally having something in place – and a team that’s trained on it – is better than nothing at all. These methodologies are distinct from other decisions that Commercial leaders need to make about team structures and in-person versus remote selling. While having a clearly defined and well documented sales approach will help both value protection and value creation, it’s one of many factors that contribute to a successful go-to-market strategy. If you’d like to discuss how different B2B sales models can improve your go-to-market performance, please contact us . All views expressed in this post are the author's own and should not be relied upon for any reason. Clearly.

Private equity deal-making is all about staying one step ahead. With the proliferation of data now available online, there is a vast amount of information available to deal teams in evaluating companies before they even get their hands on any confidential, company specific materials. This can present a huge opportunity for those who know how to harness it effectively. We’ve seen web-scraping become a valuable source of advantage in the deal process. In our experience at Coppett Hill, an increasing number of private equity firms have developed in-house tools and skills in using web-scraping to inform origination activities. However, firms are often not making use of publicly available data in assessing companies during the deal process, e.g. in assessing search marketing headroom, the competitive landscape, and customer sentiment. What exactly is web scraping? Web scraping, also known as web harvesting or web data extraction, involves using automated tools to collect information from websites.  Web scraping tools navigate through web pages, extract relevant data, and store it in a structured format such as spreadsheets or databases. More and more company data is now available publicly online, such as products, services, prices, employees, job postings, locations and customer reviews. For private equity teams, web scraping can offer a faster and data-driven avenue to assess markets, competitors, and target companies – gaining that all important speed advantage in a competitive auction process. Turning masses of data into insight... In addition to vast amounts of data, we now have access to powerful tools to process and augment this ocean of data. Many of us remember the manual data cleaning era of our early consulting days, spending hours (or even worse, or requiring outsourced teams to spend painstaking days) matching differing data types, ‘tagging’ data and aligning formats across sources. Modern models in Computer Vision and Natural Language Processing (NLP) mean data can be much more easily standardised, augmented and matched. Interpreting these huge datasets can also now be done much more efficiently, with the right know-how. Visualisation tools, such as Tableau and PowerBI, are able to receive large datasets and can be easily interrogated to drill down into key commercial points. For example, if you are comparing Google Review performance across a portfolio of locations, this can be easily displayed on a dashboard to show over- and under-performers, whilst also filtering for factors such as a minimum number of reviews, or filtering on locations by geography, tenure, etc. Practical Applications of Web Scraping Web scraping can be valuable across multiple facets of due diligence and corporate strategy. Especially in a deal process, the key is prioritisation, homing in on the key investment hypotheses that are driving the value creation plan and finding the right data to inform those. Here are some examples of where it can be used: Reach and online presence:  There is rich market and individual company level data in Google Search and third-party tools which can help to understand organic and paid search presence by keyword and geography. This can inform both market headroom and performance versus competitors. Pricing and product analysis:  By gathering data from competitor websites, deal teams can benchmark pricing strategies, compare product offerings, and analyse inventory overlap. Sentiment:  Web scraping tools can gather customer reviews, ratings and engagement on platforms like Google Reviews, Meta, G2/Capterra. This can then be parsed for themes using NLP models. This provides a real-time understanding of brand reputation and customer satisfaction, helping deal teams assess market sentiment toward a target company. Talent and organisational insights:  Platforms such as LinkedIn and Glassdoor contain data on team structures, hiring trends, employee turnover, and organisational focus (e.g. which teams or which locations are hiring). This information can provide early indicators of strategic priorities or potential challenges in talent management. Geographic and operational footprints:  Web scraping tools can analyse Google maps data such as locations, store performance, opening hours, and customer traffic patterns, enabling deal teams to evaluate a target’s regional presence and growth potential. Web scraping in action – practical examples of how teams can use data extraction for strategic insights Making practical use of web scraping requires more than just technical skills. In our experience supporting clients with this work, there are four key steps and things to think about at each stage: Data collection: Selecting the best source online, with trusted high-quality data (remember – Garbage in, Garbage Out ). Then choosing, or building, a custom web scraping tool relevant to that data source. Data cleaning and processing:  Using AI-driven techniques, you can process unstructured data to make it ready for analysis. This includes removing duplicates, normalising text, and categorising sentiment or keywords. Insight generation:  Interpreting the data, which requires contextualising it within the company's industry and focussing on the priority hypotheses or strategic objectives. In the time pressured context of a private equity deal, we would recommend combining this with Go To Market due diligence  to focus on the critical questions and levers. Visualisation and reporting: Especially with such large datasets, it is important not to get lost in the data and to drive to actionable insights.  Visualisations using tools like Tableau make it easy to understand key findings and make data-driven decisions. Although this might sound laborious, many of these projects can be completed in an agile and focussed way and take only a few days’ work, especially if you are familiar with the intricacies of each data source. Here are some examples of client questions where Coppett Hill has used web scraping to answer in both B2B and B2C contexts: How does the company score versus competitors across key purchasing criteria?  For a private equity-backed university group, Coppett Hill scraped reviews from multiple competitors to assess performance across key criteria. Using AI, we categorised, tagged and visualised historical data versus competitors. How does the product and pricing proposition of the target compare to competitors? When evaluating an online adventure travel marketplace, we scraped all holiday listings from the target and its competitors. By harmonising data on trips by destination and activity, we identified pricing trends, inventory focus and inventory overlaps. How can the business improve NPS and reduce churn?  By analysing Trustpilot reviews for hundreds of mid-market telecom providers, Coppett Hill identified key drivers of customer churn and NPS performance, enabling targeted improvements for our client. The future of data-driven deal-making As the volume of online data continues to grow, so does the importance of tools like web scraping in private equity. The ability to quickly transform raw data into meaningful insights provides deal teams with a competitive edge, allowing deal teams to extract, process, and analyse complex datasets quickly, helping them make informed decisions with confidence. If you’d like to discuss how you can use web-scraping in your due diligence process or value creation strategy , please contact us . All views expressed in this post are the author's own and should not be relied upon for any reason. Clearly.

In 2007, the UK’s staple Pan-Asian restaurant chain, Wagamama, decided to make the big leap across the pond, opening their first US location in Boston, Massachusetts. While their 'tried and true' business model had been a major success in the UK, they quickly learned that conquering the US market wouldn't be as simple as copy and paste. After conducting some much needed market research, Wagamama came to the realisation that the UK and the US are two very different countries with different tastes, cultures, and preference, and one must adapt accordingly to succeed.   Some of their research findings included: Americans value their independence - and this extends beyond just politics to include their own personal space. While communal seating may be part of the authentic Pan-Asian dining experience, Americans would prefer to have their own table. Despite being an incredibly diverse country with people from all over the world, some American's can be a little hesitant to try new "foreign" foods. Having a staple American dish on the menu, such as a burger or a steak, can help to ease some of the more cautious eaters into expanding their palettes. Speaking of new experiences, not every American knows how to use chopsticks. Offering some more familiar cutlery can help these people gain the confidence to try new foods and potentially turn them into a repeat customer. By adapting to the US market, Wagamama managed to win over American consumers, and have since expanded to 8 other locations. In the words of Wagamama's CEO : ‘We want to take advantage of everything that Wagamama is because it’s great, but we do need to make a few small tweaks or adjustments to really make it a better experience for the U.S. consumer.’ As the world’s largest economy, the US has long been one of the most coveted markets for businesses worldwide. Its size, skilled workforce, and economic stability make it an attractive destination for companies looking to expand internationally. A common language and cultural ties make it particularly attractive for UK companies, even more so post-Brexit. While the US market can be challenging even for American companies, the land of opportunity presents an even greater obstacle for foreign firms who must navigate unfamiliar cultural expectations, a highly competitive landscape, and complex federal, state, and city level regulations. How to develop a market entry plan for the US If your UK company is considering expansion across the pond, here are five key pillars for success in the US, from an American’s perspective. 1.Select a model for market entry There are three main methods for foreign companies to break into the US market. 1.     Launch your business organically 2.     Merge with or acquire a US business 3.     Form a partnership with a reputable US brand Choosing which avenue is the most suitable for you and your business depends on resources, the overall market, and your time of entry.  Launching organically may seem like a lower cost route but is can be the most difficult due to the lack of American connections and knowledge. Britain’s beloved Laura Ashley opened its first international store in San Francisco, California in 1966, and while they were met with initial success, they failed at adapting to American consumer preferences, leading to a selling off of all US stores in 1999 for $1. While acquiring or merging with an established US business comes with significant upfront costs, there are the benefits of pre-existing connections and relationships as well as economies of scale, especially if you plan on serving a larger region or even the entire country. The UK’s Grand Metropolitan acquired many American food, drink, and hospitality companies, such as Pillsbury and Burger King, throughout the 1980’s in order to gain a foothold in the US before merging with Guiness in 1997 to form Diageo, the largest drinks company in the world. One of the most common methods to enter the American market is to form partnerships with US companies. This can be more cost effective than acquiring a US business whilst still providing a much-needed American network. In 2021, ASOS began a partnership with popular department store chain Nordstrom, which provides ASOS access to Nordstrom’s knowledge of the American market and the store’s physical network to establish brand awareness. This partnership also gave ASOS access to a well-established route to market, enabling rapid distribution of their products and the ability to scale. 2.Hire local talent and leadership One of the benefits of entering the US market is the abundance of highly skilled and specialised labour. However, this will come with a higher price tag than you may be used to paying. Due to the higher cost of American labour, it is important to prioritise where you need US talent. In our experience, there is also a key role for senior leadership to relocate from the UK to the US, to preserve company culture, product knowledge and ties to UK HQ – key for empowered local decision making during the early stages of market entry. One area where having local talent is particularly useful is for roles directly interacting with other Americans, such as sales and marketing. Despite the stereotype of Americans being charmed by the British accent, ultimately Americans like to buy from Americans. Some of your most successful UK/ European salespeople may not be as effective as a less experienced American simply due to their ability to better navigate through the intricacies of local culture, such as small talk or reminiscing about (American) football. Burberry’s  successive American CEOs are often credited for Burberry’s rebranding and revival in the early 2000s. Italian American CEO Rose Marie Bravo was able to recognise the contrasting perceptions of Burberry in the US vs the UK and leveraged American’s fascinations with all things British, or  “Anglo Mania,” to reposition Burberry as a luxury brand in the US. Her successor, British American Angela Ahrendts, brought a deep understanding of the US market, further accelerating Burberry’s successful penetration into the American market. 3.Adapt to American tastes and preferences While it is well known that the United Kingdom and the United States have a ‘special relationship’ it has also been said that they are two countries divided by a common language. While we may be mutually intelligible (with some minor disagreements over spelling), it is important to realise that culturally, Brits and Americans are very different with different social and cultural expectations. Tesco learned this the hard way when they launched their chain of Fresh & Easy stores in the Southwestern US. Despite boasting more than two years of market research, going so far as to send executives to live with American families to study how Americans shop, Tesco failed at understanding American consumer preferences. To list but a few of their initial operating mishaps, Tesco refused to accept the much beloved American Express, allow for manufacturer coupons, or provide service check-out. Despite being the third-largest retailer in the world by gross revenue, Tesco entered the US market with Fresh & Easy as a complete outsider, lacking any established branding or customer loyalty. They assumed that their UK business model with some tweaks would succeed in the US, only to see the stark differences in consumer behaviour and expectations between the two English speaking countries, which ultimately lead to a £2bn failure . Tesco serves as an important lesson for other companies that no matter how big you may be abroad, the US is an entirely different market in which everyone must prove themselves in order to succeed. 4.Dev elop local brand positioning     While the US is the largest consumer market in the world, it is also incredibly competitive with many well-established giants of industry. Americans are generally more trusting of well-known American brands and being a foreign challenger means you will need to differentiate yourself from your competitors, which often means spending more on marketing and brand image. Topshop was a popular brand in the UK with a long history of success, but when they launched their first US store in 2009, they failed at cultivating a brand identity that differentiated themselves in a highly competitive market. Topshop was even accused of being arrogant for skimping on their US marketing and believing that their international reputation and clothing quality could build their brand persona in the US. Depending on your type of business and your product, you can lean into your British heritage, which can appeal to certain American consumers. As aforementioned, this strategy worked for Burberry when they rebranded themselves as “British luxury;” however this strategy may not work for all. When Graze , a popular UK snacks firm, entered the US market, they initially sold the same selection of flavours as they did in the UK. Some of the flavours Americans loved, others were absolutely loathed, such as mango chutney and deconstructed Jaffa Cakes. Graze quickly responded to this feedback and pulled their more distinct British flavours in exchange of quintessential American favourites, such as barbeque sauce. Since then, US sales have risen drastically and now account for half of the company’s annual revenue. 5.Pr ioritise at a state/city level Breaking into the US market is resource intensive, thus ensuring your limited marketing spend is being used as effectively and efficiently as possible is essential to growing and scaling your business in the US. A well-structured Go-To-Market strategy  is critical, not only to drive immediate growth but also ensure that long-term objectives are met. When planning your GTM strategy, it is important to recognize the sheer size and scope of the US. While the US may be one country, by land area it is more than twice the size of the European Union and only 4% smaller than continental Europe. To put this in perspective, the distance between New York City and San Francisco is greater than the distance between London and Moscow. Additionally, the economies of individual states can rival European countries, with California alone having a larger GDP than the UK. It is important to remember that when considering how much marketing spend to allocate, or salespeople to hire, in your market entry plan – it is very easy to be spread too thinly. Due to the sheer size and scope of the US, it is better to think of each state as its own country (with its own consumer preferences as well as taxation & regulatory environment) and not assume homogeneity across the entire American populace. Each individual state has its own culture and may consist of unique competitors and different target account lists, requiring its own target Ideal Customer Profiles, marketing messaging and routes to market. Many of our clients at Coppett Hill will initially target individual states or even cities in order to establish a ‘beachhead’, often preferring the East Coast owing to the more convenient time difference with the UK. It is important to keep in mind that in the US, perhaps more so than other places, consumption is an experience and a smart business needs to cultivate a specific customer experience catering to their target customer segments. Taking a lifetime value lens on different customer segments can help companies prioritise where to focus these efforts for the best return.  It is also important to have realistic expectations for how long market entry may take, with appropriate ‘leading indicators’ being tracked – beyond simply waiting for revenue to roll in. Conclusion History is littered with numerous examples of UK businesses successfully entering and thriving in the US market; however, there are perhaps just as many cautionary tales of companies that, perhaps too confident, neglected to understand the differences between the US and the UK and attempted to break into a foreign market without sufficient research. While expanding to the US is a resource intensive venture for any company, successful expansion to the world’s largest economy and consumer market can be incredibly lucrative and yield significant returns on your investment. If you are looking to take the leap across the pond, learn from the past and be sure to keep in mind these five pillars for success in the USA. If you would like to discuss Go-To-Market strategy for US expansion, please Contact Us . All views expressed in this post are the author's own and should not be relied upon for any reason. Clearly.