Help me assess this market decision: [DECISION TO MAKE]. The product or business is [BUSINESS AND OFFER], and the initial geography or customer scope is [MARKET SCOPE]. The target customer hypothesis is [TARGET CUSTOMER]. Use these constraints and inputs: - Known evidence or links/notes: [AVAILABLE EVIDENCE] - Alternatives or competitors I already know: [KNOWN ALTERNATIVES] - Decision constraints: [CONSTRAINTS] Produce a market research brief with these sections: 1. Decision framing: define the job to be done, buyer, user, and the decision this research can and cannot support. 2. Market map: segment customers by meaningful need, workflow, budget, or buying trigger; do not segment only by broad demographics. 3. Competitive alternatives: compare direct competitors, adjacent solutions, and the status quo. State likely differentiation only when the evidence supports it. 4. Demand and economics: identify signals to investigate, willingness-to-pay hypotheses, buying process, switching costs, and major adoption barriers. 5. Research plan: list the 5–8 highest-value questions, the method for each (customer interviews, search data, review analysis, sales-call review, or desk research), and what finding would change the decision. 6. Recommendation: choose proceed, narrow, test, or pause; explain the reasoning, key assumptions, and the cheapest next validation step. Separate facts from hypotheses and label confidence as high, medium, or low. Do not invent market size, competitor features, customer quotes, or citations. Before answering, check that the recommendation follows from the stated evidence and flag claims requiring current external research. Ask up to 3 clarifying questions only if a required input is missing.
Fill in
| Placeholder | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| [DECISION TO MAKE] | State the practical decision you need to make, such as which segment to test first. | Decide which customer segment to recruit for a 30-day pilot |
| [BUSINESS AND OFFER] | Describe the product, service, or concept in plain language. | A scheduling and documentation tool for mobile physical therapy practices |
| [MARKET SCOPE] | Enter the country, region, industry, or customer boundary for the research. | United States outpatient and home-visit physical therapy practices with 3–25 clinicians |
| [TARGET CUSTOMER] | Describe your current hypothesis about the buyer, user, and their situation. | Practice owners frustrated by clinicians documenting visits after hours; owners buy, clinicians use |
| [AVAILABLE EVIDENCE] | Provide research notes, data, links, interview observations, or write “none yet.” | Six discovery calls; four owners mentioned late notes and insurance documentation, but none discussed scheduling as the main pain |
| [KNOWN ALTERNATIVES] | List competitors, workarounds, or current methods customers use. | Two practice-management apps, spreadsheets, paper intake forms, and outsourcing billing |
| [CONSTRAINTS] | State budget, timeline, channel, regulatory, technical, or team limits. | Two-person team, $8,000 pilot budget, HIPAA requirements, and no integrations before the pilot |
How to use
- Frame the prompt around a decision, not a request for a broad market report.
- Paste your actual notes and label weak evidence honestly; the recommendation is only as strong as the inputs.
- Check the facts-versus-hypotheses split and turn the proposed next test into a named owner, date, and success threshold.
- Follow up with: “Turn the top three unknowns into a 30-minute customer interview guide with neutral questions and disconfirming probes.”
Variations
Competitor analysis
Use this when you need a focused view of alternatives.
Analyze the competitive landscape for [OFFER] serving [TARGET CUSTOMER] in [MARKET]. Use this evidence: [SOURCES OR NOTES]. Compare [COMPETITORS] and the status quo across customer job, key workflow, pricing model if verified, implementation burden, strengths, and likely limitations. Put verified facts and hypotheses in separate tables. End with 3 positioning tests, each tied to a customer pain point and a way to disprove it. Do not infer features, pricing, or market share without sources; list evidence gaps.
Customer interviews
Use this before conducting discovery interviews.
Build a 30-minute market discovery interview guide for [TARGET CUSTOMER] who may face [PROBLEM]. The decision we need to inform is [DECISION]. Include a short introduction, 8–10 open questions about recent behavior, workflow, alternatives, cost of inaction, and buying process, plus neutral follow-up probes. Include questions designed to disconfirm this hypothesis: [HYPOTHESIS]. Do not ask people to predict what they would buy or lead them toward our solution. Finish with a note-taking scorecard for recurring evidence.
Market sizing
Use this when you need transparent sizing assumptions.
Create a transparent bottom-up market-sizing model for [OFFER] aimed at [CUSTOMER SEGMENT] in [GEOGRAPHY]. Inputs available are [KNOWN NUMBERS AND SOURCES]. Show TAM, serviceable market, and a realistic initial obtainable market using formulas, units, and ranges rather than one precise number. State every assumption, separate sourced numbers from estimates, and identify the two assumptions most likely to change the result. Do not create statistics or citations. End with the exact data needed to replace the weakest assumptions.
Tips
- Start with the decision that research must change; “understand the market” produces lists, while “choose the first pilot segment” produces useful evidence.
- Treat the status quo as a competitor because it reveals the real switching cost and the behaviors your offer must replace.
- Customer interviews are strongest when they examine a recent event, the existing workflow, and actual spending rather than opinions about your concept.
- Use market-size calculations as an assumption model, not proof of demand; a small reachable segment with urgent pain can be more valuable than a large abstract market.
FAQ
Can AI do market research without web access?
It can structure your thinking, analyze the evidence you provide, and design research. It cannot honestly supply current market facts, competitor pricing, or citations without verified sources.
What is the difference between TAM and a first market?
TAM describes a broad theoretical spend opportunity. Your first market is the narrower group you can reach, serve, and validate with your present product and channels.
How many customer interviews should I do?
There is no fixed number. Continue until repeated patterns appear across the relevant segment, then test the most important remaining uncertainty with a targeted sample.