I was hired as a Fractional Growth and Marketing leader to build a Go-To-Market playbook that would set the business up to expand outside Ontario and all across North America. TempStars had had some success in their expansion and were looking to accelerate that further.
Given my experience in international expansions for tech and also within two-sided marketplaces, I was well-positioned to support.
TempStars is a dental temping platform that was developed by founder/ CEO Dr James Younger,
who is also a practicing dentist. The mobile and desktop app alleviates the stress for dental offices by providing a quick and easy way to find qualified hygienists and dental assistants.
Market leader in Toronto and founded in 2015, TempStars was the first online dental temping solution.
Since then many copycat solutions have emerged.
A dental office can risk losing $1000s a day if the temporary talent that is hired does not show up or is not up to standard.
Breaking into a crowded market with competitors that already have more trust and potentially similar value propositions.
Utilising my launch playbook, we implemented a well-organised system with KPIs that must be achieved before progressing to the next stage. The objective is to achieve ‘Traction’ within an established time frame. Traction is defined by a Demand Quota being hit and overall Fulfillment Rates.
The rollout plan is designed to allocate a focused period of attention from a cross-functional team
to gain traction. Once traction is achieved, the new region will be supported by the existing customer
support, marketing, and product automation systems in place. If there are no signs of traction, the
team will reduce focus and resources. If promising signs of progress emerge but require more time,
we can extend the evaluation period for another X Week Period.
To accompany the staged rollout system there are a collection of components that need to be
managed to ensure success. Focussing on all of these 6 will ensure the roll out plan is lean,
agile and successful.
In this case Launching in Waves was particularly savvy as it allowed for expansion into multiple territories simultaneously
without becoming overly distracting.
This approach acknowledges the possibility that some areas may not gain traction as quickly as others, enabling a steady forward momentum while saving valuable time.
Furthermore, it offers the opportunity to conduct A/B testing of various incentives and marketing tactics in different locations, providing valuable insights to fine-tune future waves of expansion.