When businesses consider entering a new market or expanding into a new segment, one common question arises: Is it worth it?
But behind that seemingly simple question lies a more complex challenge: not just estimating how big a market is but understanding what it takes to succeed in it.
This is where Market Sizing and Opportunities Research offers more than just numbers, it creates a framework for thinking about strategic expansion in a structured, evidence-based way.
Market Sizing: Not Just About the “How Big?”
Traditionally, market sizing has been seen as a volume exercise.
- What’s the total addressable market (TAM)?
- What share can we realistically target?
- Is the market growing or declining?
These are important, but not complete questions.
In isolation, sizing gives a directional view. But when combined with customer insight, competitive intelligence, and pricing perception, it becomes far more powerful: it shows not just how big the opportunity is but how accessible it is.
Strategic Layering: From Estimation to Interpretation
In a recent project, we worked with a South African sales software company exploring entry into the hardware and medical sectors, both unfamiliar terrains.
Market sizing was just the starting point. The more revealing insights came from layering in:
- Customer willingness to adopt a new solution
- Sensitivity to pricing and feature sets
- Competitor saturation and switching barriers
- Specific gaps in current tools being used
Together, these inputs painted a more realistic picture, not just of revenue potential but of the effort required to unlock it.
Where This Method Adds Real Value
Market Sizing and Opportunities Research is most useful when it’s used to:
- Test feasibility beyond surface-level assumptions
- Model opportunity in relation to actual customer and competitor dynamics
- Shape entry strategy with pricing, positioning, and targeting grounded in data
It helps bridge the gap between ambition and informed action especially in cost-sensitive or highly fragmented markets.
Thinking Beyond “How Big?”
The most strategic organisations don’t just ask “Is this market big enough?” They ask:
- What are the barriers to entering it and are they surmountable?
- Where is the opportunity within the opportunity?
- What changes to product, price, messaging would unlock traction?
In this way, Market Sizing and Opportunities Research becomes less about validating a decision and more about designing a viable path forward.
We don’t just deliver data — we deliver business growth. Insight Survey: Business growth delivered.
