What it is and what problem it solves
Many launches fail from simultaneity, not from a lack of ideas. Every segment, every channel and every asset goes out the same week. When something doesn't work, nobody knows what failed. When something does work, there are no resources to double down because they're spread thin.
The sequence turns strategy into a roadmap in waves. Each wave has a move (which product into which market), a segment, channels, messages, a review date and a measurable exit condition. If the condition isn't met, you don't move on: you fix it or rethink it at the committee. We go deep on this in the guide to B2B go-to-market strategy.
When to use it and when not to
It opens the Playbook phase. It arrives with the thesis, the winnability matrix and the promise already signed, because it sequences decisions that have already been made. It is used for product launches, market entries, line extensions and relaunches.
It isn't used for tactical campaigns that don't change segment or channel. Nor when the budget only covers one thing: then the sequence has one wave and the tool adds nothing. And it's useless if nobody is going to review the exit conditions; without a committee, waves open by calendar.
How to build it
- Name the move. Market penetration, market development, product development or diversification, and the risk it carries. Deliverable: the move for each wave.
- Order the segments. The first wave goes to the most winnable segment with enough value, not the biggest one. Deliverable: segments assigned to each wave.
- Decide what each wave has to prove. Access, first purchase, repeat purchase or referral. Deliverable: the funnel stage each wave must prove.
- Set the exit condition and the date. A threshold measured against the signed baseline, a review date and what happens if it isn't reached. Deliverable: exit rules signed by leadership.
- Assign channels, messages and owners. Every action comes down to an action sheet with owner, cost, KPI and date. Deliverable: the complete wave roadmap.
Anatomy of the deliverable
One row per wave. Values in brackets are set with the client from their baseline:
| Wave | Move | Segment | Channels | Stage to prove | Exit condition | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0. Pilot | Market development | The most winnable one in the matrix | Direct sales to [N] accounts | Activation: first order | [N] accounts with a first order | [date] |
| 1 | Market development | The same one, expanded | Direct sales and one distributor | Retention: second order | [X] % of accounts reorder | [date] |
| 2 | Market penetration | The second segment in the matrix | Distributor and digital channel | Acquisition at a sustainable cost | Cost per active account below [threshold] | [date] |
| 3 | Product development | Active accounts | In-house sales team | Revenue per account | Average ticket above [threshold] | [date] |
Each condition has three outcomes written in advance: it is met and the next wave opens; it is partly met and the wave is extended with a new date; it isn't met and you go back to the diagnosis.
The classic frameworks: Ansoff for the move, AARRR for the order
Igor Ansoff published his product-market matrix in Harvard Business Review in 1957: four growth vectors depending on whether you sell a current or new product to a current or new market. Market penetration, market development, product development and diversification, with risk rising in that order. We use it for one thing only: naming each wave's move and its risk. A healthy sequence rarely starts with diversification.
AARRR is the funnel Dave McClure presented in 2007 as "pirate metrics" for startups: acquisition, activation, retention, referral and revenue. We use it to decide what each wave has to prove before the next one opens.
AARRR was built for digital products with sign-ups and measurable usage. In B2B, with distributors, long cycles and buying committees, it needs translating: acquisition is access to the decision-maker or a listing with the distributor; activation, a first order or pilot; retention, a second order or renewal; referral, a recommendation within the industry; revenue, margin per account. And we change the priority: in B2B, retention is proven before acquisition is accelerated. Opening the second wave without repeat orders in the first is scaling a problem.
Where both fall short: Ansoff tells you which move, not in what order. AARRR measures, but sets no thresholds or deadlines. The dated exit condition is what turns the roadmap into something a committee can govern.
Common mistakes
- Waves by calendar. Wave 2 opens in March because it was in the plan, whether wave 1 delivered or not. It happens when the roadmap is run by whoever has to justify the budget, not whoever reads the data.
- Conditions that can't be measured. "Good market reception" is not a condition. Without a baseline, any result looks like enough.
- Choosing the channel before the segment. "We'll go in through a marketplace" before knowing who buys there. The channel follows from the segment, not the other way around.
- Skipping wave zero. The pilot feels slow. Without it, the first wave at scale becomes the pilot, and a far more expensive one.
An illustrative scenario
Suppose a Spanish brand of professional cleaning products wants to enter the Dominican Republic. The matrix has flagged independent hotels and restaurants in Santo Domingo as the most winnable segment. Wave zero works with one distributor and a limited number of accounts; its condition is repeat orders within a set timeframe. Wave one expands to the eastern tourist region with a distributor specialized in hospitality. The modern channel is left for wave two, and the traditional channel, through wholesalers, stays out of the sequence this year.
In this hypothetical case, each wave opens at the period committee, not on the calendar. How to prepare a launch like this is covered in the product launch plan for the Dominican Republic and, for several countries at once, in multi-market launch strategy.