Market Research
Worksheet

Planning & Organization Tools

Five questions that separate market knowledge
from market assumption.

Where This Tool Helps

Executives answer these five questions confidently. The problem is that most of the confidence comes from gut feeling, not data. Market size gets rounded to whatever number the last board deck used. Demand gets described in qualitative terms — "strong," "growing" — without volume or velocity behind them. Saturation gets the most wishful thinking of all: everyone believes their niche is less crowded than it actually is.

The value of this worksheet is not in the answers themselves. It is in the gap between what you can support with evidence and what you are assuming. Each question includes sub-prompts that push past the first answer into specifics. When you hit a sub-prompt you cannot answer, you have found something worth researching before your next strategic decision.

The structure below treats each question as a starting point, not a destination.

How to Use This Worksheet

  1. Answer the main question first, then work the sub-prompts. Your initial answer is usually the assumption. The sub-prompts test whether it holds.
  2. Mark which answers come from data and which come from intuition. Use the evidence checkbox on each question. No judgment either way, but the distinction matters for what you do next.
  3. Be specific with numbers. "Large market" means nothing. "$4.2B TAM with 12% CAGR" means something. If you do not have the number, write "unknown" and flag it as a research item.
  4. Fill in the Research Gaps section at the end. Every "unknown" or intuition-based answer becomes a line item there. This is the worksheet's real output - a focused list of what to go find out.
  5. Revisit quarterly. Markets shift. An answer that was data-backed six months ago may be assumption now.
1

Market Research Worksheet

1 — Market Size

What is the size of the market you plan to sell in?

Evidence basis:
Data-supported
Informed estimate
Assumption
2 — Demand

What is the level of demand for your planned products or services?

Evidence basis:
Data-supported
Informed estimate
Assumption
2

Market Research Worksheet (continued)

3 — Saturation

How saturated is this market?

Evidence basis:
Data-supported
Informed estimate
Assumption
4 — Trends

What market trends are taking place within this market?

Evidence basis:
Data-supported
Informed estimate
Assumption
3

Market Research Worksheet (continued)

5 — Adaptability

How adaptable to change is this market?

Evidence basis:
Data-supported
Informed estimate
Assumption
Research Gaps

List every question above where your answer was based on estimate or assumption. For each, identify one specific action to convert it to data.

Gap Source to Investigate Deadline
4

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