Unidentified opportunity cost
Unidentified opportunity cost is the revenue lost to introductions that were never made because nobody knew they were possible, and it stays invisible until referral potential is mapped.
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Why it matters
Ordinary opportunity cost is the value of the option you did not take. You can see it, because you knew the option existed.
Unidentified opportunity cost is different in one specific way: the option was never visible. A contact in your network knows six of your ideal customers, and you have no idea, so no introduction is ever requested and no loss is ever recorded. Nothing appears in a pipeline report. There is no lost deal to review.
This is why the Formula begins by mapping referral potential rather than by starting outreach. You cannot pursue an opportunity you have not identified, and you cannot measure a loss you never saw.
Where it sits in the framework
Surfaced in RMF1 through referral leverage mapping, and it is the reason the Design phase precedes any partner activity.
Defined in Ideal Customer Profile Builder.