No doubt Startups ought to know everything about the market they are playing in. Here is why understanding your market is important for a startup and how startups can go about it.

7. Small or Unscalable Idea
No Competitive Research - Wrong Market Positioning
No Go To Market Strategy
No Focus
No Flexibility - Know when to cut losses
No Passion or Persistence
Wrong or Incomplete Leadership
Lack of motivation
No Mentors - advisors
No or bad revenue model
Less capital than needed
No long term roadmap to ROI
Bad luck or Timing
Source : Forbes.com

11. I am going to be a crorepati !
because • India’s population is 1.2 Billion
• Atleast 1-2% of the population will use my
product

12. I am going to be a crorepati !
because • India’s population is 1.2 Billion
• Atleast 1-2% of the population will use my
product
Galat Jawab

13. Top Down
Bottoms Up
• Industry analysis
number
• Split into different
segments
• Divide by
geographies
• Potential sales
• Where can we sell
the products
• How often can we
sell it
• Revenue forecast

14. There is demand out there for your product/service
The demand is huge and growing
You can capture that demand by achieving productmarket fit

15. Research Reports
Google Ads Dashboard
Facebook Ads Dashboard
Google Forms – for surveys
Google Trends
Twitter Search
Alexa
Mystery Shopping
Mailchimp

16. Identification of individuals or organisation with
similar characteristics so that you can chose a
similar marketing strategy.
Advantages :
Target market
selection
Focus
Differentiation
Tailored
marketing
strategy

17. Behavioral
Psychographics
Profile
Benefits
sought
Lifestyle
Demographic
Purchase
occasion
Personality
SocioEconomic
Purchase
behaviour
Usage
Perception &
beliefs
Geographic

18. Measurable
Large enough to be profitable
Reachable
Responsive
18

19. Reach out to your consumer
Interview
Consumer Survey
Use Google forms/Social Media
Speak to your channel partners
Get your MVP rolled out quickly
Sell ! Sell, even before you launch

20. Brand positioning is how the brand is
perceived in the context of
competitive alternatives.
Positioning is owning a piece of
consumer’s mind
Positioning is not what you do to a
product but what you do to the mind
of the prospect

21. Be a
Mercedes
Or an
Alto

22. 1. WHAT: Problem
• What is the problem you are trying to solve?
2. WHO: Customer
• Who has the problem?
3. HOW: Product/Market
•
•
•
•
•
How do you solve this problem?
How big is this market?
How are you going to reach this customer?
How do you drive demand?
How will you make money?

23. Competition can be good
Some competition means there is a market for your product/service – it is a
validation !
There will be competition - if not direct then indirect
Look for indirect/ substitutes
Find out and articulate the following:
• Who are your competitors?
• What makes you better, faster, cheaper, unique?
• What is your unfair advantage?

24. Threat of New Entry
Supplier Power
• Are entry barriers high enough ?
• Do you have a competitive
advantage which can not be
copied
• Are you too dependent of
suppliers ?
• Switching cost from one supplier
to another ?
Competitive
Rivalry
Threat of Substitution
Buyers
• How many substitutes for your
product/service ?
• Relative price performance of
substitutes
• Buyer concentration Vs
Product/Service concentration

25. Startups fail because they fail to develop
their market, not because they fail to
develop the product, in most cases.
Being overly obsessive about ideas and
ignoring the customer pain point is most
common mistake founders make
Spending too much time and money on
developing the product without
speaking to customers can be dangerous

26. Build fast, get
the feedback
Find customers
even before
you launch
Learn from
feedback &
make changes
How do you go about it ?
• Talk to your potential customers
• Deeply understand their needs
• Write down what you have learned