PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
MARKET
PRIORITIZATION
Custom-built ranking methodologies that tell you exactly where to focus your expansion and marketing efforts
What is market prioritization?
Market prioritization is a method for deciding which markets a retailer, restaurant, or franchise should enter first. Each market is scored on the factors that actually drive your business, such as customer profile, performance data, and competition. Markets are then ranked and grouped into tiers, giving expansion, franchise development, and marketing a shared, data-backed plan.
WHY THIS EXISTS
A TOP-DOWN STRATEGY
When a business expands without a market prioritization framework, it relies on a combination of available real estate, landlord relationships, franchisee interest, and gut instinct. Markets get entered because a broker found a good space, not because the market ranked well against your actual performance drivers.
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The result is a portfolio where some markets are oversaturated and others are underdeveloped despite having the exact customer base and retail environment your concept needs. Meanwhile, marketing budgets get spread thin trying to support locations in markets that never should have been entered.
THE METHODOLOGY
A RANKING SYSTEM BUILT AROUND YOUR BUSINESS
No two businesses perform the same way in the same market. Market prioritization starts with what drives your business. No generic templates.
DEFINE YOUR DRIVERS
Through a discovery call, we identify the metrics and growth goals that matter most for your business. Examples include performance data, target customer profile, competitive sensitivity, and expansion objectives. These become the inputs to the ranking model.
MAP TO CUSTOM BOUNDARIES
Data is compiled by location and aggregated by market. Rather than using off-the-shelf MSA or DMA boundaries, we build custom market geographies. More accurate boundaries produce more accurate rankings. Learn more about the benefits of custom market boundaries!
SCORE, RANK, AND TIER
Each market is scored across your weighted metric set and ranked against the full universe of markets in scope. Markets are grouped into tiers; giving you a clear, actionable framework for expansion decisions, marketing allocation, and franchise development.
USE CASES
ONE OUTPUT. MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS.
A ranked market list is more than an expansion tool. Once built, it becomes a shared framework across real estate, marketing, operations, and leadership.
EXPANSION PLANNING
Direct new location development toward high-ranked markets first. Build density where your concept performs best before entering new markets. Give your real estate team a clear mandate.
FRANCHISE DEVELOPMENT
Give franchisees a data-backed view of territory opportunity. Set expectations around market potential before they commit. Use the ranking to guide development agent focus and territory award decisions.
MARKETING
Stop spreading marketing spend evenly. Concentrate budgets in markets where investment will produce the greatest return. Avoid pouring spend into markets that rank poorly — where the fundamentals work against you and instead focus on proven winners.
PORTFOLIO STRATEGY
Identify underperforming markets where the fundamentals suggest structural weakness to focus operational improvements. Use the ranking to support difficult closure decisions with an objective, data-driven rationale.
EXAMPLE OUTPUT
SEE WHAT YOU'RE GETTING
Market prioritization delivers a ranked, scored, and tiered view of every market in your expansion universe. Below is a representative sample.
FAQ
How is market prioritization different from site selection?
Market prioritization answers "which markets first?" Site selection answers "which property within that market?" Most expansion plans need both. Rank markets first, then evaluate specific sites with an Individual Site Package or a Location Study.
Why use custom market boundaries instead of MSAs or DMAs?
MSA and DMA boundaries were drawn for government statistics and TV advertising, not for how your customers shop. Custom boundaries follow real trade patterns, so each market's score reflects the customers you can actually reach, and the rankings are more accurate.
What data goes into the ranking?
Whatever drives your results. Typical inputs include your store performance data, target customer demographics, competitor presence, retail environment, and growth goals. We set the inputs and their weights together on the discovery call.
How much does market prioritization cost?
Pricing depends on scope: the number of markets, the metrics, and whether custom boundaries are needed. It starts with a free discovery call. Email support@retailgravity.com or call 520-314-6094.
GET STARTED
READY TO KNOW WHICH MARKETS DESERVE YOUR RESOURCES?
Market prioritization starts with a discovery call to understand your business, your goals, and the decisions you need this analysis to support. Pricing is determined by scope.
Email support@retailgravity.com or call 520-314-6094