Customer needs underlying the investment
Before comparing proposals, investigate the customer outcome each investment aims to create and the underlying needs that support it.
Investment Prioritization
Before deciding how much to invest, identify what truly justifies receiving investment.
what has the greatest potential to create and capture value with the resources your company has?
Assess the next investment by the value it may create and the company's capacity to capture it. Before allocating budget, examine the relevant needs behind competing opportunities.
For CEOs, CFOs, boards and investors.
Clearer opportunities. Better investment direction.From customer value to business returns.
How these teams made their decisions
- 500+Companies served by George Eich
- 650+Startups mentored through Startup SC
- 60+Startups supported through Cubo Itaú
Companies served by George Eich
- Techne
- Climoo
- PSA
- Ambev
- Evous
- Locates
Institutions and startup programs
- Sebrae
- ACATE
- MIDITEC
- Cubo Itaú
- Startup SC
EVOUS
The team used customer evidence to decide when to strengthen its core product and when to expand its offering.
Locates
While switching platforms, the team used customer needs to decide which features to include and which to defer.
“We gained a more strategic view of the product and were able to prioritize the roadmap and the company’s positioning.”Feedback shared with the Institute · English translation
George Eich InstituteDirection for the choice. Evidence for the decision.
500+companies advised by George Eich
10+ yearsof experience in strategy and execution
3 to 6 weeksreference for research and executive analysis, depending on scope
Before turning ideas into projects
Where is the opportunity that justifies the next investment?
The company has many ideas and limited resources. Choosing a project before understanding the problem can commit capital to improvements that few customers prioritize.
Relevance
“Which customers care about this?”
Oportunidade
“What could be improved?”
Value
“What difference can we create?”
Retorno
“How does that value return to the business?”
How can we choose the best opportunities without knowing which needs are shared by a meaningful share of customers and where there is room to improve?
Da decisão à geração e captura de valor
What should be funded, preserved or stopped when teams compete for the same budget?
A need may exist without justifying strategic priority. Research tests relevance, while leadership also considers capacity, feasibility and economic returns.
01 / Situação de compra
What is at stake
The budget gets tied to initiatives that keep consuming resources even when the expected value does not materialize.
02 / Strategic Prioritization Study
What to investigate
Teams divide their attention among competing initiatives. The most important work has to compete with everything else.
03 / Need-Based Value Matrix
How to apply
Every new solution adds integrations, routines and commitments the company must maintain.
The Value Matrix guides decisions across three horizons: strengthen Core Business, expand through Expansion and create through Innovation. The Study supplies evidence, while value creation, capture and ROI also depend on economic conditions and execution.
The impact of the choice
Investir cedo demais pode focusing resources in the wrong place.
When the initiative comes before understanding the opportunity, companies may fund narrowly relevant problems and increase complexity without sufficient returns.
Low relevance
The initiative addresses a genuine problem shared by only a few customers.
Melhoria limitada
The company invests where the current solution already meets the need well and there is limited potential to create more value.
Retorno incerto
Customer benefits do not translate into revenue, retention or another result that justifies the investment.
Read more8 em 10needs were selected by fewer than 30% of customers in their respective bases.
Nem toda necessidade identificada justifies investment.
Em The Need Gap 2026, Eight in ten customer needs identified did not demonstrate enough relevance to become strategic priorities within their respective bases.
Of the 1,423 needs, only 280 (19.68%) were selected by at least 30% of customers in their respective bases. The other 1,143 (80.32%) were below that threshold. This difference can help guide investment decisions.
Source: The Need Gap 2026, based on 59 companies and 1,423 mapped needs.
Explore The Need Gap 2026 ↗Investment prioritization
Find where to create more value. Then decide how to invest.
An executive interpretation that connects evidence to the decision your leadership needs to make. The deliverables reflect the agreed business context and scope.
Customer segments and revenue
Quantitative validation shows how widely needs are prioritized. Segmentation by ICP and revenue helps interpret their economic significance.
Economic assumptions
Compare relevance and fulfillment with costs, risks and value-capture assumptions. The study informs analysis; it does not alone prove financial returns.
I want to prioritize investments
Bring us the decision your company needs to make.
Priorities with a clear foundation. Evidence to invest.
Executive analysis focused on your company's decision, including priorities and resource-allocation recommendations.
Oportunidades com fundamento
An analysis of relevant needs and improvement opportunities for the business.
Linking value and returns
Direction for evaluating how customer benefits can create business results.
Investment priorities
Recommendations to concentrate capital, people and technology on selected opportunities.
As entregas são definidas conforme a decisão e o escopo contratado.
About investment prioritization.
What is business investment prioritization?
It means deciding where to focus capital, people and technology among competing opportunities. The analysis considers which investments preserve current value, which may expand results and which need more evidence before funding.
Which decisions does the Institute help guide?
The engagement guides resource allocation across products, technology, expansion, innovation and strategic initiatives. Scope starts with a concrete company decision and connects opportunities to business context.
Who is this engagement for?
For CEOs, CFOs, boards and investors choosing between competing investments, reviewing a portfolio or defending a budget decision.
Is this useful if we already have AI pilots?
Executive analysis connecting evidence with investment decisions, tailored to the leadership decision. Direction: where to focus and which opportunities deserve consideration. Rationale: what supports each priority and what remains uncertain. Portfolio recommendations: what to preserve, expand, reconsider or defer. Specific deliverables depend on the agreed scope.
How long does the engagement take?
A typical reference is three to six weeks for structured research and executive analysis, depending on scope. The timeline depends on the decision, access to information and participant availability. The first conversation determines an appropriate format.
Discover what deserves your next investment.
Bring the decision your company needs to make. We will explore where value can be created and returns captured.
I want to prioritize investmentsRequest a conversation with the George Eich Institute.
NEXT DECISION
Assess investments
Briefly describe the decision, investment or challenge you need to assess. We will follow up to understand your needs and agree on an appropriate scope.
