Market research: sizing and competitor analysis
For marketing analysts, product managers, marketing coordinators and sales operations staff who need to estimate how big a target market is and who else serves it, usually to support a decision such as entering a new segment. Complete 'Audience research, surveys and segmentation' first. You'll choose U.S. Census Bureau business data sources and industry codes, size a market bottom-up as TAM, SAM and SOM with written assumptions, cross-check the result, build a competitor comparison from public sources and avoid collecting or sharing competitor information in ways that raise antitrust concerns. It covers the US only, using SBA, Census Bureau and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidance. It is not legal advice and doesn't qualify you to give it; ask your company's legal adviser about anything involving contact with competitors.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Length
- About 90 minutes
- Contents
- 5 lessons · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 10 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Choose U.S. Census Bureau data sources and industry codes that match a market question
- Calculate TAM, SAM and SOM from counts, eligibility filters and price, with each assumption stated
- Cross-check a market size against a second source and explain the differences
- Build a competitor comparison by segment from public sources
- Identify competitor information you must not collect or share
Course outline
- 1.Choosing Census data sources and industry codes for a market questionLesson · 17 min
- 2.Calculating TAM, SAM and SOM with stated assumptionsLesson · 18 min
- 3.Cross-checking a market size against a second sourceLesson · 14 min
- 4.Building a competitor comparison by segmentLesson · 17 min
- 5.Identifying competitor information you must not collect or shareLesson · 12 min
- 6.Market research: sizing and competitor analysis: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 13 questions
- 7.Market research: sizing and competitor analysis: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
- 8.Final exam10 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- U.S. Small Business Administration: Market research and competitive analysis
- U.S. Census Bureau: About County Business Patterns (CBP)
- U.S. Census Bureau: About Statistics of U.S. Businesses (SUSB)
- U.S. Census Bureau: About Nonemployer Statistics (NES)
- U.S. Census Bureau: Census Business Builder
- U.S. Census Bureau: Economic Census: NAICS codes and understanding industry classification systems
- U.S. Federal Trade Commission: Spotlight on trade associations (Guide to antitrust laws, dealings with competitors)
- U.S. Federal Trade Commission: Price fixing (Guide to antitrust laws, dealings with competitors)
See it with your own jobs and topics
Tell us about your team and we'll walk you through setup, from choosing jobs to your first skills check.