Snapshot Box:
- Client: Liftmasters International
- Sector: Industrial Equipment Manufacturer (Material Handling)
- Target Market: Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa (tested)
- Service Used: Market Research & Insights + Demand Testing
- Headline Result: 1 market recommended for entry; 2 deprioritised based on buyer signal data
- Timeline: 8 weeks
The Challenge for
Liftmasters International
Liftmasters’ board had approved “Africa expansion” but wanted evidence before committing capital. They had no African presence and no clear view of which market offered the best demand signal relative to entry cost. They needed a go/no-go case for at least one market, not a continent-wide strategy document.
What We Did:
Understand
Defined the target buyer profile: manufacturing plants, warehouses, and logistics companies using or planning to acquire material handling equipment.
Validate
Ran parallel outbound demand testing in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa. Identical messaging and an identical offer (technical consultation + equipment assessment), sent to matched buyer profiles in each market.
Connect
Tracked response rates, qualification rates, and buyer intent signals (stated timelines, budget confirmation, decision-maker access).
Execute
Delivered a market prioritisation recommendation with the underlying signal data.
The Data
- 450
- Accounts Contacted
- 14%
- Nigeria Response Rate
- 21
- Nigeria Qualified Opportunities
Accounts contacted: 150 per market. Response rates: Nigeria 14%, Kenya 9%, South Africa 7%. Qualified opportunities (confirmed active need within 6 months): Nigeria 21, Kenya 9, South Africa 4. Decision-maker access: in Nigeria 67% of respondents were operations or procurement decision-makers, against 44% in Kenya and 38% in South Africa.
The Outcome:
The board approved Nigeria as the initial entry market based on demand signal strength and decision-maker access. Kenya was flagged as a secondary opportunity requiring a different channel strategy (stronger distributor dependency). South Africa was deprioritised due to lower response signal and higher competitive saturation. The 21 qualified Nigerian opportunities were handed to the sales team as a warm pipeline to pursue during market entry setup.