Korea customer interviews for global SME founders: a stage-gate brief

Start by converting the question “Should we enter Korea?” into a concrete decision: choose among distributor, strategic partner (revenue share/co-sell), representative office (limited activities), branch (foreign branch with local liability), or establishing a local entity (separate Korean corporation). For each route, list the key evidence you need from customer interviews—pricing sensitivity, channel preferences, sales cycle length, post-sale support expectations, and IP or localization needs. Map each evidence item to the required approver in headquarters: product/engineering for localization, commercial for channel economics, legal for contract risk, and finance for P&L assumptions.

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Record deadlines and escalation rules up front. Multiple stakeholders increase the chance of “no decision by default.” Assign a project owner who holds the timeline, and require that each approver provides a signed or recorded position at each gate. In this preparation stage, set constraints: research scope (Korea market research only), sample size target range, languages needed, and what will not be covered—such as formal legal opinions, tax calculations, or hiring commitments. These exclusions must be explicit so stakeholders do not expect deliverables outside approved service scope.

Run structured discovery interviews with a purposive sample: potential buyers, resellers, and local consultants who understand distribution and partnership models. Questions should probe purchase triggers, decision-makers, buying cadence, willingness to engage with foreign vendors, and preferences for handling service or returns. For channel assessment, ask how vendors typically enter Korea in this product category, what contractual norms resellers expect, and whether exclusivity is necessary. Capture verbatim concerns that map to legal or operational risks such as IP protection, liability exposure, and payment terms.

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Translate interview findings into clear metrics that stakeholders can review: examples include percentage of respondents preferring a local contact, typical credit terms requested, and the most-cited post-sale support needs. Do not present aggregated market sizes or forecasts. Instead, present evidence that directly affects the entry choice—e.g., if buyers demand local SLA-backed support, that raises the case for a branch or local entity. Flag contradictory signals and list the follow-up research needed to resolve them before moving to the next gate.

Use a hypothesis matrix: for each entry option, state the assumptions to be tested with customer interviews and complementary calls with potential channels. For a distributor hypothesis, test margin acceptability, margin split expectations, and distributor capabilities in logistics and local sales. For a partner/co-sell hypothesis, test partner willingness for joint sales, lead sharing norms, and data access for onboarding. For a representative office (a non-trading local presence), assess whether customers accept non-transactional local representation or insist on local contracting.

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Document evidence strength for each assumption and rate residual risk. Where interviews reveal contract or payment norms that the headquarters cannot accept, escalate to legal and finance for a non-binding review. Prepare a short issues log per hypothesis that lists the stakeholder who must approve mitigation, the nature of the mitigation (contract term, insurance, performance bonds), and the deadline for resolving the issue before the gate decision.

Convert validated interview evidence into business case inputs: expected sales channel mix, realistic discount and margin scenarios, localized service cost drivers, and expected onboarding timelines. Build a sensitivity view showing how revenue and cost assumptions change the preferred entry model. Make sure finance and the sponsor executive verify the assumptions and that legal confirms where a specialist opinion is required (for example, corporate setup implications or employment law issues). Emphasize the unknowns and what further research would be needed to reduce them.

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Finalize a reviewable deliverable for the go/no-go gate: a concise decision memo that ties interview evidence to a recommended entry model, lists residual risks, assigns owners for mitigation, and records required approvals and deadlines. Include a short appendix with anonymized interview excerpts, methodology notes, and an explicit statement of excluded services—legal, tax, accounting, and regulated permits—so stakeholders understand next steps and external dependencies.