ABC Co is considering the launch of a new widget. If the product goes directly to the market, there is a 60% chance of success. For $500,000, the manager can conduct a focus group to increase the probability of success to 65%. Alternatively, the manager can pay a consulting firm $750,000 to research the market and refine the product. The consulting firm successfully launches new products 70% of the time. If the firm successfully launches the widget, the payoff will be $8 million. If the product is a failure, the NPV is $0.

Calculate the expected NPV if the managers go directly to the market.

Based on your analysis, what should ABC do?