Market Sizing: Estimate Your Total Addressable Market
Market sizing research estimates the total opportunity for your product or service. Use surveys to validate assumptions and build bottom-up market size estimates.
Start ResearchWhat is Market Sizing Research?
Market sizing estimates the total revenue opportunity in a market. TAM (Total Addressable Market), SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market), and SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market) represent progressively focused views.
Why It Matters
Key Metrics to Track
TAM
Total market demand if you had 100% market share
SAM
Portion of TAM you can realistically target
SOM
Portion of SAM you can capture short-term
Category Penetration
Percentage of target population using category
Purchase Frequency
How often customers buy in the category
Sample Survey Questions
- 1Have you purchased [category] in the past 12 months?
- 2How much did you spend on [category] in total last year?
- 3How often do you typically purchase [category]?
- 4Which of these needs does [category] address for you?
- 5How likely are you to increase spending on [category] next year?
Methodology
Bottom-up sizing surveys the target population to estimate penetration, frequency, and spend. Top-down uses industry data and narrows by assumptions. Triangulate both approaches.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Overestimating addressable market with optimistic assumptions
- Not validating top-down estimates with primary research
- Ignoring competitive dynamics in SOM calculation
- Using outdated secondary data without verification
The Inqvey Advantage
Validate market size assumptions with rapid primary research. AI-powered surveys let you test penetration, frequency, and spend assumptions in hours.
Try this use case for $9
See how market sizing survey works with your own idea. No account needed, results in about 1 hour.