Market Research & Analysis

Expert market research skill — from market sizing and competitive analysis through consumer research and professional consulting-grade reports with LaTeX formatting and visual generation.

Quick Start

Choose your workflow:

• Market Sizing — TAM/SAM/SOM calculations

• Competitive Analysis — Landscape mapping and positioning

• Consumer Research — Surveys, interviews, behavior analysis

• Professional Report — 50+ page consulting-style report with LaTeX + visuals

Market Sizing (TAM → SAM → SOM)

Step 1: Define Scope

• Product/service being analyzed

• Geography (target regions)

• Customer segment (who specifically)

• Time frame (current year or 5-year projection)

Step 2: Calculate TAM (Top-Down)

TAM = Total market demand at 100% market share = (Total potential customer base) × (avg contract value)

Data sources: Gartner, Forrester, IBISWorld, government statistics, trade associations

Step 3: Calculate SAM

SAM = Portion of TAM you can realistically serve Apply filters: geographic constraints, product limitations, customer size constraints Typically 5-20% of TAM

Step 4: Calculate SOM

SOM = Realistic near-term market share (1-3 years) Conservative benchmarks: Year 1: 0.1-0.5% of SAM Year 2: 0.5-2% of SAM Year 3: 1-5% of SAM

Step 5: Bottom-Up Validation

Bottom-up = (realistic target customers) × (conversion rate) × (ACV) If top-down SOM / bottom-up > 3x → revisit top-down assumptions

Competitive Landscape Analysis

Competitor Categories

Type Definition Example

Direct Same product, same customer Asana vs Monday.com

Indirect Different product, same problem Asana vs Excel

Substitute Alternative way to address need Asana vs consultants

Potential Could enter market easily Microsoft, Google

Competitive Intelligence Sources

• Company websites (pricing, features, positioning)

• App store reviews (G2, Capterra — look for "appears X times" keywords)

• Crunchbase (funding, valuation, growth trajectory)

• Job postings (what they're investing in)

• LinkedIn (employee count trends, key hires)

• Gartner Magic Quadrant (market positioning)

Positioning Map Template

Create a 2D matrix:

• X-axis: Price (Low → High)

• Y-axis: Feature complexity / target segment (Simple → Advanced)

Plot all competitors. Look for gaps — unserved or underserved quadrants = market opportunity.

Core Analysis Frameworks

Porter's Five Forces (rate each High / Medium / Low)

• Threat of New Entrants — Barriers to entry, capital requirements, brand loyalty

• Supplier Power — Concentration, switching costs, substitute inputs

• Buyer Power — Concentration, price sensitivity, switching costs

• Threat of Substitutes — Alternatives, switching costs, price/performance tradeoff

• Competitive Rivalry — Number of competitors, industry growth, differentiation

PESTLE Analysis

Dimension Key Questions

Political Regulatory environment, trade policies

Economic Growth rates, inflation, currency risks

Social Demographics, consumer behavior shifts

Technological Disruptive technologies, R&D activity

Legal Compliance requirements, IP landscape

Environmental Sustainability trends, regulations

SWOT + BCG Matrix

For competitive landscape: map competitors on BCG Matrix (market growth vs market share) to identify Stars, Cash Cows, Question Marks, Dogs.

Consumer Research

Survey Design

Van Westendorp Pricing: Ask customers 4 questions to find optimal price point:

• At what price is this too expensive to consider?

• At what price is this so cheap you doubt the quality?

• At what price does this start to feel expensive (but not off the table)?

• At what price is this a great value/bargain?

Plot cumulative % — OPP (Optimal Price Point) = intersection of "too expensive" and "too cheap."

Anti-pattern: Never use leading questions ("Don't you think our innovative product..."). Always include negative response options.

Interview Framework

For qualitative research:

• Define clear research objectives first

• Minimum 5-10 interviews for directional insight, 15-20 for patterns

• Focus on jobs to be done and pain points, not feature preferences

• Capture verbatim language — exact phrases are more valuable than summaries

Quality Checklist

• Research objectives clearly defined and measurable

• Sample is representative of target market

• Mix of qualitative (why) and quantitative (how many) methods

• No leading or biased questions

• Insights are actionable, not just "interesting facts"

• Limitations acknowledged

Professional Market Research Reports

Generates consulting-grade reports (50+ pages) modeled on McKinsey, BCG, Gartner deliverables.

Report Structure (~66 pages target)

Front Matter (~5 pages): Cover page · Table of Contents · Executive Summary (investment thesis, key findings, top 5 recommendations)

Core Analysis (~35 pages):

Chapter Pages Key Frameworks

Market Overview & Definition 4-5 Industry structure

Market Size & Growth 6-8 TAM/SAM/SOM, regional breakdown

Industry Drivers & Trends 5-6 PESTLE, driver impact matrix

Competitive Landscape 6-8 Porter's Five Forces, positioning matrix

Customer Analysis 4-5 Segmentation, customer journey

Technology & Innovation 4-5 Technology roadmap, adoption curve

Regulatory & Policy 3-4 Regulatory timeline

Risk Analysis 3-4 Risk heatmap, mitigation matrix

Strategic Recommendations (~10 pages): Opportunity matrix · Implementation roadmap · Investment thesis

Back Matter (~5 pages): Methodology · Data tables · Company profiles · Bibliography

Visual Generation (generate 6 priority visuals first)

Batch generate all core visuals

python scripts/generate_market_visuals.py
--topic "[MARKET NAME]" --output-dir figures/

Priority Visual Tool

1 Market growth trajectory scientific-schematics

2 TAM/SAM/SOM concentric circles scientific-schematics

3 Porter's Five Forces scientific-schematics

4 Competitive positioning matrix (2×2) scientific-schematics

5 Risk heatmap scientific-schematics

6 Executive summary infographic generate-image

LaTeX Compilation

Initialize project structure

writing_outputs/YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS_market_report_[topic]/ ├── drafts/v1_market_report.tex ← use assets/market_report_template.tex as base ├── figures/ ├── references/references.bib └── final/

Compile

cd drafts/ xelatex v1_market_report.tex && bibtex v1_market_report xelatex v1_market_report.tex && xelatex v1_market_report.tex

Use \usepackage{market_research} (from assets/market_research.sty ).

Colored box environments:

\begin{keyinsightbox}[Key Finding]...\end{keyinsightbox} % blue \begin{marketdatabox}[Market Snapshot]...\end{marketdatabox} % green \begin{riskbox}[Critical Risk]...\end{riskbox} % orange \begin{recommendationbox}[Recommendation]...\end{recommendationbox} % purple

See assets/FORMATTING_GUIDE.md for complete LaTeX reference. See assets/market_report_template.tex for the full report template.

Report Quality Standards

• Data: No older than 2 years; all statistics attributed; projections state assumptions

• Writing: Specific numbers over vague qualifiers; insights first, then data; active voice

• Visuals: 300 DPI minimum; colorblind-friendly palette; all axes/legends labeled; sources in captions

• Length: 50+ pages — if under, expand appendix data tables and add regional breakdowns

Pre-Submission Checklist

• Cover page, ToC, List of Figures, Executive Summary

• All 11 chapters present (no placeholder sections)

• 6 core visuals generated and rendering

• All statistics sourced; projections include assumptions

• PDF compiles without errors; cross-references work

• Page count >50

References & Assets

• scripts/generate_market_visuals.py — Batch visual generation for reports

• assets/market_research.sty — LaTeX style package

• assets/market_report_template.tex — Full report template

• assets/FORMATTING_GUIDE.md — Complete LaTeX formatting reference

• references/report_structure_guide.md — Detailed chapter-by-chapter guidance

• references/data_analysis_patterns.md — Analysis patterns and common calculations

• references/visual_generation_guide.md — Visual creation workflows

Related Skills

• product-strategy-and-marketing — Market opportunity within product strategy

• go-to-market-strategy — Applying market research to launch planning

• pricing-strategy — Using market research for pricing decisions