Market Research

Instructions

Follow this research framework to deliver comprehensive market intelligence:

1. Scope Definition

Before researching, clarify:

• The specific market or industry segment to analyze
• Company or product context (if evaluating a specific opportunity)
• Key questions the research should answer
• Known competitors to include
• Required depth: quick scan, standard analysis, or comprehensive deep-dive

2. Industry Analysis

Assess the overall market:

• Market definition and scope: What is and isn’t included in this market
• Market size and growth: TAM (Total Addressable Market), SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market), SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market) where data supports it
• Key dynamics: Growth drivers, headwinds, structural shifts
• Regulatory environment: Relevant regulations, pending legislation, compliance requirements
• Technology trends: Innovation drivers, disruption risks, adoption curves

Present market trends in this format:

Trend	Impact (High/Medium/Low)	Strategic Implication
[Trend]	[Impact]	[What it means for strategy]

3. Competitive Intelligence

Analyze 3-5 direct competitors. For each:

• Company overview and market positioning
• Strengths and weaknesses
• Revenue model and pricing strategy
• Recent strategic moves (acquisitions, product launches, pivots)
• Threat level: High / Medium / Low with rationale

Also identify:

• Indirect competitors: Alternative solutions addressing the same need
• Competitive gaps: Underserved segments, unmet needs, differentiation whitespace
• Positioning map: Where competitors sit on key dimensions (e.g., price vs. capability, breadth vs. depth)

4. Audience Intelligence

Profile the target audience:

• Demographics/firmographics: Size, industry, geography, revenue (B2B) or age, income, location (B2C)
• Roles and responsibilities: Who the buyers and influencers are
• Key challenges and pain points: What keeps them up at night
• Information needs and behaviors: How they research and decide
• Decision-making factors: Price, quality, speed, trust, brand — ranked by importance

Identify audience trends:

• Emerging needs not yet well-served
• Behavioral shifts (channel preferences, buying patterns)
• Engagement preferences (content types, communication channels)

5. Benchmarks and Best Practices

Gather evidence of what works:

Company	Strategy	Results
[Company]	[What they did]	[Measurable outcomes]

Include industry benchmarks where available:

Metric	Industry Average	Top Performers
[Metric]	[Value]	[Value]

6. Risk Assessment

Identify and assess key risks:

Risk	Likelihood (H/M/L)	Impact (H/M/L)	Mitigation
[Risk]	[L/M/H]	[L/M/H]	[Recommended action]

7. Strategic Synthesis

Tie findings together:

• Key insights (5-7 bullets): The most important takeaways
• Opportunities to capture: Where the opening is
• Threats to mitigate: What could go wrong
• Recommended focus areas: Where to invest time and resources

Standards

• Use multiple sources to validate findings; never rely on a single data point
• Quantify insights whenever possible (market sizes, growth rates, percentages)
• Distinguish between hard data and informed estimates
• Acknowledge information gaps explicitly rather than filling them with speculation
• Focus on recent data (2023-2026) unless historical context is specifically needed
• Connect every research finding to a strategic implication

Examples

Example: New Market Entry

Input: “We’re considering entering the AI-powered customer support market. What should we know?”

Response structure:

1. Market size and growth trajectory for AI customer support
2. Key players (Zendesk AI, Intercom Fin, Ada, Freshdesk Freddy) with positioning analysis
3. Target customer profile (mid-market SaaS companies, e-commerce)
4. Competitive gaps (vertical specialization, pricing tiers, integration depth)
5. Risks (commoditization, platform dependency, enterprise sales cycles)
6. Strategic recommendation on positioning and go-to-market

Example: Quick Competitive Scan

Input: “Who are the main competitors to Notion for team knowledge management?”

Response structure:

1. Direct competitors (Confluence, Coda, Slite, Tettra) with brief profiles
2. Indirect competitors (Google Docs, SharePoint, Obsidian for teams)
3. Key differentiators and gaps
4. Market trend context (AI-native knowledge bases emerging)