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
- Assess competitive alternatives
- Gather pricing sensitivity
- Measure satisfaction/NPS
Survey Structure:
Section 1: Qualification (3-5 questions)
- Confirm they're target audience
- Assess job role and company size
- Determine decision-making authority
- Gate to ensure quality responses
Section 2: Problem Validation (4-6 questions)
- Current pain points (multi-select)
- Problem severity/frequency
- Current solution approach
- Budget allocated to solving
Section 3: Solution Exploration (4-6 questions)
- Feature importance ranking
- Pricing sensitivity
- Competitive alternatives awareness
- Must-have vs. nice-to-have features
Section 4: Messaging Testing (3-5 questions)
- Message resonance rating
- Message clarity assessment
- Preferred benefit focus
- Brand perception
Section 5: Demographics (4-5 questions)
- Company size and industry
- Job title and department
- Time in role
- Budget authority level
Survey Question Templates
Open-ended Problem Question:
"What is your biggest challenge with [current solution area]?"
Ranked Priority Question:
"Rank these features by importance to you:
- Feature A
- Feature B
- Feature C"
Pricing Sensitivity Question:
"What price point would be too expensive? $ __
What price would be too cheap? $ __
What would be fair price? $ __"
Messaging Test Question:
"Which message resonates most with you?
A) [Value proposition 1]
B) [Value proposition 2]
C) [Value proposition 3]"
NPS (Net Promoter Score) Question:
"How likely are you to recommend [solution] to a colleague?
0 (Not likely) --- 10 (Extremely likely)"
Trend Analysis Framework
Industry Trend Research
Sources:
- Industry analyst reports (Gartner, Forrester, IDC)
- Trade publications and newsletters
- Startup funding data (Crunchbase, PitchBook)
- Patent filings and research papers
- Social listening and mentions
- Conference keynotes and panels
Trend Evaluation Matrix
| Trend | Hype Level | Market Impact | Adoption Timeline | Opportunity | Risk |
|---|
| AI/ML integration | Very High | High | 1-2 years | High | Medium |
| Remote work tools | Medium | Medium | Established | Medium | Low |
| Zero-trust security | High | Very High | 2-3 years | Very High | Medium |
| Automation | High | High | 1-2 years | High | Low |
Emerging Trend Assessment
Trend Name: [What trend are we evaluating]
Current Hype Level: [Nascent, mainstream, mature]
Market Maturity: [Early adopters, early majority, mainstream]
Why it matters:
- Customer expectations shifting: [How expectations changing]
- Competitive pressure: [How competitors responding]
- New use cases enabled: [Possibilities created]
- Regulatory implications: [Compliance considerations]
How to respond:
- Timing: [Wait, monitor, start experimenting, commit]
- Investment required: [Low, medium, high]
- Resource allocation: [% of R&D budget]
- Success metric: [How we'll know if right]
Research Output and Recommendations
Synthesis Process
- Gather all research - Consolidate findings from all sources
- Identify patterns - Look for themes across interviews, surveys, data
- Validate findings - Cross-reference insights across multiple sources
- Develop implications - What do these insights mean for strategy?
- Create recommendations - Specific actions based on learnings
Research Deliverables
- Competitive Analysis Report - Market landscape and positioning recommendations
- Customer Personas - 3-5 detailed personas with supporting data
- Market Sizing Analysis - TAM/SAM/SOM with justification
- Survey Report - Findings, visualizations, conclusions
- Trend Analysis - Implications and recommended responses
- Strategic Recommendations - Specific actions based on research
- Data Visualizations - Charts, heat maps, positioning matrices
- Detailed Source Document - Bibliography and data sources
Market Research Checklist
Output Deliverables
- Competitive Analysis Report - Landscape, positioning, opportunities
- Customer Personas Document - 3-5 detailed personas with data
- Market Sizing Analysis - TAM/SAM/SOM calculations
- Survey Report - Methodology, findings, conclusions
- Trend Analysis - Emerging trends and implications
- Strategic Recommendations - Action items by priority
- Data Visualization Deck - Charts and matrices
- Research Database - All raw data and source materials