Sara KhalidStrategy & Growth Consultant

Available Jan 2027

The research that stopped a market entry and pointed it somewhere better

The plan was a full-suite launch in Saudi Arabia. The evidence said the suite would struggle, but one compliance-heavy module had a clear, underserved buyer. The board changed course before spending the launch budget.

Client
HR & payroll software company
Sector
HR & payroll
Location
Dubai, evaluating Riyadh & Jeddah
Year
2025
Duration
8 weeks
Scope
Customer research, Market sizing, Entry strategy
Fig. 3. Forty-five conversations led to two paths. One closed and the other opened.

i. The situation

A UAE-based HR and payroll platform had budgeted for a full launch in Saudi Arabia: a local team, localisation of the entire suite and a sizeable marketing push. The case rested on market-size figures and the success of competitors.

The board asked for an independent view before committing. They wanted a decision, not a report.

ii. What we did

  1. 01

    Spoke to the buyers directly

    Forty-five structured interviews with CFOs, HR heads and payroll managers at mid-market companies, plus conversations with six local accounting and advisory firms.

  2. 02

    Took the competition apart

    Pricing, packaging, implementation timelines and switching costs for the five platforms buyers mentioned most, built from demos, proposals and customer accounts.

  3. 03

    Separated the market from the opportunity

    The suite market was real but crowded and relationship-driven. Payroll compliance under changing local regulation was the one area where buyers described genuine, current pain and weak options.

  4. 04

    Recommended a different door

    Enter with the payroll-compliance module alone, sold through local accounting firms that already held the relationships, and earn the right to sell the suite later.

iii. What changed

1
Full-suite launch plan withdrawn before budget was committed
2
Channel partnerships signed in the first half-year
8 wks
From brief to board decision

iv. In retrospect

Good research is not measured by how much it confirms. The most useful thing I told this client was the thing they least wanted to hear, with enough evidence that they could act on it.