Market & Competitive Analysis
Research that answers a specific decision: how big the opportunity is, who already holds it, and where the gap you can credibly take actually sits.
Overview
Market research goes wrong when it is commissioned without a decision attached. You get a large document, everyone agrees it is thorough, and nothing changes.
We start from the decision you are trying to make. That determines what needs researching and, more usefully, what does not. The output is short, and it says what we think you should do.
Who this is for
- Companies weighing a new market, product or segment
- Teams preparing an investment case that needs to survive scrutiny
- Businesses that have not looked properly at their competitors in years
How we approach market & competitive analysis
The specific pieces of work a typical engagement covers. Scope is agreed up front — nothing here is a surprise line item later.
Market sizing
Total and addressable market, built bottom up from units and prices, with the assumptions visible so you can disagree with them specifically.
Competitor mapping
Who competes, how they position, what they charge and where they are weak. Including the substitutes people forget to count.
Customer research
Interviews with buyers about how they actually decide. Consistently the part that changes the conclusion.
Trend and regulation scan
What is changing in the next two to three years that would make the answer different. Rules and platform changes tend to matter most.
Opportunity assessment
Where the gaps are, and which ones you specifically could hold given your capabilities and cost base.
Recommendation
A position with reasoning and the confidence level attached. Research that refuses to conclude is not finished.
From first call to measured result
The same sequence every time, so you always know what happens next.
Scope
Agree the decision and the questions that bear on it. This is what keeps the work from sprawling.
Research
Desk research, data purchase where justified, and primary interviews. Three to five weeks depending on how reachable the buyers are.
Synthesise
Turn findings into a view, including where the evidence is thin and what that means for confidence.
Present
A working session, not a read out. The document is short and the underlying model comes with it.
Outcomes, not deliverables
A pile of artefacts isn't progress. These are the changes the work is meant to produce — and what we report against.
A decision, made
Scoped to a question, so the work ends with a choice rather than a filing.
Numbers that survive challenge
Bottom up sizing with visible assumptions holds up in an investment committee. Top down percentages do not.
Competitors seen clearly
Including the ones you do not think of as competitors, which is where the unpleasant surprises usually come from.
A model you keep
The sizing model is yours to update, so it stays useful after the engagement ends.
Common questions about Market & Competitive Analysis
The things people ask before they get in touch. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
How long does market and competitive analysis take?
Four to six weeks typically. Faster if the market is well documented, slower where buyers are hard to reach or data has to be bought.
Do you buy industry reports?
Where they genuinely help and the cost is justified, and we tell you before we spend it. A lot of purchased research is less specific than a dozen good interviews.
Can you analyse a market you have not worked in?
Yes. The method is the same and the primary research does the work. We would tell you if we thought deep sector knowledge was essential and we did not have it.
What does the output look like?
A short document with the recommendation up front, the sizing model as a spreadsheet you can edit, and an appendix with the interview evidence.
Thinking about Market & Competitive Analysis?
Tell us what you are trying to change. If we are not the right fit we will say so, and point you somewhere better.
Looking at the wider picture?
Market & Competitive Analysis usually sits alongside other work in Strategy & Consulting. Browse the full area to see what it connects to.