Harvard Business Review's Go to Market Tools: Market Sizing

Jill  Avery; Thomas  Steenburgh

Tool | 2013

Harvard Business Review's Go to Market Tools: Market Sizing

by Jill Avery and Thomas Steenburgh

Abstract

Market size matters. On the hook to launch your division's next great product or service? Need to convince higher ups that your product will fit that gaping revenue hole—and is worth the team's scarce marketing and product development resources? You need hard data to make your case: How many customers will buy it? How much will they pay? What are your competitors' strategies? We can help. Use HBR's Market Sizing tool again and again, to turn your raw market data into a clear analysis that will inform your product development and marketing plans. It will help you (1) gather the data you need to size your own market, (2) use your data to make confident projections, (3) turn your results into a game plan. HBR's Market Sizing tool includes: a brief tutorial that walks you through the process and calculations; instructions for gathering your own market data to plug into the tool; and the results of your data analysis in a PowerPoint to share with your colleagues. The tool will help you turn your own market data into a compelling business case for your great idea.

Keywords: marketing; Quantitative analysis; Tools; go to market strategy; marketing strategy; Marketing Strategy; Marketing;

Language: English

Format: Electronic

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Citation:

Avery, Jill, and Thomas Steenburgh. Harvard Business Review's Go to Market Tools: Market Sizing. Tool. Boston, MA, USA: Harvard Business Review Press, 2013. Electronic.

Shiseido was in the midst of a six year corporate turnaround, trying to reverse the effects of decades of under-investment in R&D and marketing which had led to a cycle of declining customer support and brand value. Would the CEO’s VISION 2020 plan, centered on four strategies: 1.) increasing R&D spending from 1.8% to 3% of sales, 2.) investing an incremental ¥120 billion in brand-building marketing, 3.) moving to a “think global-act local” matrixed brand management structure, and 4.) rethinking brand portfolio strategy, be enough to achieve aggressive 8% per year sales goals while simultaneously increasing the company’s operating margin from 8% to 10% in the highly competitive and slow growing beauty industry?

Away, a direct-to-consumer, digital native e-commerce seller of travel luggage, is debating how to invest its latest round of venture funding. How quickly could and should Away scale and what were the most promising growth trajectories to maximize its potential? Three decisions face the founders. Should Away continue to invest in driving growth in suitcases and other travel bags or was it time to begin to expand into other adjacent travel categories? How should they use the results of the company’s first customer segmentation study to select target segments and quantify their growth aspirations? What were the right distribution strategies moving forward following a series of pilots that included company-owned stores, temporary airport kiosks, and pop-up experiences with retailer partners?

As 2018 neared its end, Laetitia Toupet, international general manager of L’Oréal’s La Roche-Posay brand reflected on the brand’s achievements over the past year. At €1 billion in revenue, La Roche-Posay had recently become the number one dermocosmetics brand in the world. While Toupet was pleased with this feat, she believed that the brand was at a critical juncture. It was time to make some significant marketing decisions related to brand positioning to try to accelerate La Roche-Posay’s future growth trajectory as dermocosmetics moved from serving a niche market to the mainstream.

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Harvard Business Review's Go to Market Tools: Market Sizing

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