market-research

Market Research

Overview

The Market Research skill enables marketers to gather, analyze, and synthesize data about markets, competitors, customers, and trends. It provides frameworks for understanding market opportunity, competitive positioning, and customer needs to inform strategy.

When to Use This Skill

• Evaluating new market or product opportunity
• Developing customer personas and segments
• Understanding competitive landscape
• Sizing market opportunity
• Validating customer assumptions
• Planning product positioning and messaging
• Understanding industry trends and shifts

Competitive Analysis Framework

Competitive Landscape Mapping

Step 1: Identify Competitors

Direct Competitors (Same product, same market)

• Head-to-head competition
• Similar feature sets and pricing
• Fighting for same customers
• Example: "Slack vs. Microsoft Teams"

Indirect Competitors (Different product, same need)

• Alternative solutions to same problem
• Different approach or technology
• Broader competitive threat
• Example: "Slack vs. email"

Emerging Competitors (New/growing threats)

• Recently funded startups
• Companies entering your space
• Potential disruption risk
• Example: "AI-powered alternatives"

Substitutes (Workarounds)

• DIY solutions
• Generic tools repurposed
• Lower-cost alternatives
• Example: "Slack vs. WhatsApp groups"

Competitive Positioning Matrix

| Competitor | Price | Features | Ease of Use | Customer Support | Market Position | |------------|-------|----------|------------|------------------|-----------------| | [Competitor 1] | $$$$ | ★★★★ | ★★ | ★★★ | Premium | | [Competitor 2] | $$ | ★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★ | Value | | [Competitor 3] | $ | ★★ | ★★★ | ★★★★ | Budget | | Our Product | $$$ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★ | ★★★★ | [Target] |

Detailed Competitor Analysis Template

Competitor Name: [Company]

Company Overview:

• Founded: [Year]
• Headquarters: [Location]
• Funding: [Total raised, stage]
• Team size: [Number]
• Website traffic: [Estimate]

Product/Service:

• Core offering: [Description]
• Key features: [Top 5-7 features]
• Pricing model: [Free/freemium/paid/enterprise]
• Price point: [Base to premium tier]
• Target customer: [Persona/segment]

Market Position:

• Market share: [Estimated percentage]
• Key customers: [Notable customers/logos]
• Strengths: [Top 3-4 competitive advantages]
• Weaknesses: [Areas of vulnerability]
• Growth signals: [Recent hires, funding, product launches]

Go-to-Market Strategy:

• Sales model: [Direct, self-serve, partnership]
• Marketing channels: [Primary acquisition channels]
• Messaging: [Core positioning]
• Brand voice: [Tone and personality]

Strategic Implications for Us:

• Opportunities to differentiate: [Specific areas]
• Threats to monitor: [What could impact us]
• Positioning recommendations: [How we should position against them]

Customer Persona Development

Persona Research Methodology

Step 1: Gather Data (Combine multiple sources)

• Customer interviews (8-12 depth interviews)
• Surveys (50-100 responses minimum)
• Sales team insights (actual customer interactions)
• Support tickets (pain points revealed)
• Analytics data (behavior patterns)
• Market research reports (industry standards)

Step 2: Identify Patterns

• Job titles and roles across customers
• Common challenges and objectives
• Buying decision criteria
• Success metrics they care about
• Information sources and preferences

Step 3: Create Personas

• Develop 3-5 primary personas
• Make them realistic and specific
• Include quantitative and qualitative data
• Create narrative to make them memorable

Detailed Persona Template

Persona Name: [Memorable name reflecting archetype] Title/Role: [Specific job title, potential alt titles] Organization: [Company size, industry, revenue]

Demographics:

• Age: [Range, typical]
• Gender: [If relevant]
• Geographic location: [If relevant]
• Education: [Degree, field]
• Experience level: [Years in role]

Responsibilities:

• Primary job duties: [Main activities]
• Team/reporting: [Who they manage, who they report to]
• Budget authority: [Annual budget, approval authority]
• Cross-functional dependencies: [Who they work with]

Goals (Professional):

• Primary goal 1: [What they want to achieve]
• Primary goal 2: [Next priority]
• Success metrics: [How they measure success]
• Success criteria: [Qualitative and quantitative]

Pain Points (Challenges):

• Pain 1: [Specific problem]
• Frequency: [How often]
• Impact: [Business consequence]
• Pain 2: [Second major problem]
• Pain 3: [Third frustration]

Barriers to Adoption:

• Technical: [Systems integration, learning curve]
• Organizational: [Change management, budget approval]
• Personal: [Risk aversion, job security concerns]

Information Preferences:

• Primary sources: [Where they get information]
• Content types: [Articles, videos, webinars, podcasts]
• Engagement style: [Self-serve vs. direct contact]
• Decision-making: [Data-driven, peer influence, expert opinion]

Key Quote (From actual interviews): "[Representative quote that captures their perspective]"

Example Persona - Persona A: Enterprise Sophia

Title: VP of Marketing, B2B SaaS Company Organization: 200-1000 person tech company Age: 35-45

Goals:

• Increase lead generation by 30% YoY
• Reduce customer acquisition cost
• Improve marketing team efficiency
• Demonstrate marketing ROI to C-suite

Pain Points:

• Scattered data across 12+ marketing tools
• Manual reporting taking 40 hours/month
• Team frustrated with tool complexity
• Missing attribution data for budget decisions

Barriers:

• 6-month vendor evaluation cycle
• IT security requirements
• Multiple budget approvers
• Fear of team learning curve

Market Sizing (TAM/SAM/SOM)

TAM (Total Addressable Market)

Definition: Total possible revenue in ideal scenario with 100% market penetration

Calculation Methods:

Bottom-up approach:

Identified target segment size × Average selling price = TAM
Example:
- 100,000 potential companies × $10,000 avg contract value = $1B TAM

Top-down approach:

Global market size × Relevant percentage = TAM
Example:
- $500B enterprise software market × 20% applicable = $100B TAM

Value-based approach:

Estimated annual value created × potential penetration = TAM
Example:
- Annual time saved (2,000 hours) × labor cost ($50/hr) × 100K companies = $10B TAM

SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market)

Definition: Market segment you can realistically target and serve

Considerations:

• Geographic limitations (US only, specific regions)
• Company size focus (SMB vs. enterprise)
• Industry vertical focus (Finance, healthcare, tech)
• Language and regulatory requirements
• Sales and support delivery model

Example:

• TAM: $1B global market
• Geographic limitation: US only (50% of market)
• Company size: Mid-market focus only (30% of US market)
• SAM: $1B × 50% × 30% = $150M

SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market)

Definition: Realistic market share you can capture in 5-year period

Realistic targets by stage:

• Seed stage: 0.5-1% of SAM
• Series A: 1-2% of SAM
• Series B+: 2-5% of SAM
• Mature company: 5-10% of SAM

Example:

• SAM: $150M
• Target year-5 market share: 3% (aggressive but realistic)
• SOM: $150M × 3% = $4.5M annual revenue

Market Size Table Template:

| Market Segment | Company Count | Avg Contract Value | TAM | Penetration Target | SOM Year 5 | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Enterprise (1000+) | 1,000 | $50,000 | $50M | 2% | $1M | | Mid-market (250-1000) | 5,000 | $20,000 | $100M | 3% | $3M | | SMB (50-250) | 15,000 | $5,000 | $75M | 1% | $0.75M | | TOTAL | 21,000 | | $225M | | $4.75M |

Survey Design and Analysis

Survey Objectives and Design

Survey Goals (Choose 1-2 primary):

• Validate customer assumptions
• Understand feature priorities
• Test messaging or positioning
• As