Know Your Market

Act as a strategic analyst. Build a comprehensive SWOT for:
Business                  :  [YOUR COMPANY NAME AND WHAT IT DOES]
Industry                  :  [YOUR MARKET AND KEY COMPETITORS]
Stage                       :  [REVENUE, TEAM, KEY MARKETS]
Context                   :  [WHAT DECISION YOU ARE ABOUT TO MAKE]
STRENGTHS           :  Internal advantages — what we do better
WEAKNESSES        :  Internal limitations — where we are vulnerable
OPPORTUNITIES   :  External conditions we can exploit now
THREATS                 :  External conditions that could hurt us
Give 4–5 points per quadrant. Be specific.
After the grid: give 3 strategic actions  one to leverage a strength,
one to fix a critical weakness, one to capture the best opportunity before it closes.
Strategic Snapshot
1 2
Strengths Opportunities
Positive internal Positive external
factors factors
3 4
Weaknesses Threats
Negative internal Negative external
factors factors
PRO TIP
The most useful output from SWOT is not the grid itself — it's the SO strategies (use
Strengths to capture Opportunities) and the WT strategies (reduce Weaknesses to avoid
Threats). Ask AI to generate those strategies explicitly. Most people stop at the grid and
never get to the insight.

Act as a macro-environment analyst using the PESTLE framework.
Business context        :  [YOUR INDUSTRY AND WHAT YOU DO]
Market / geography  :  [SPECIFIC MARKET YOU ARE ANALYSING]
Decision                       :  [WHAT YOU ARE DECIDING BASED ON THIS ANALYSIS]
Analyse all six PESTLE dimensions:
POLITICAL                  :  Government, policy, trade, stability
ECONOMIC                :  Growth, inflation, consumer spending, rates
SOCIAL                        :  Demographics, culture, behaviour trends
TECHNOLOGICAL     :  Innovation, AI, digital adoption, disruption
LEGAL: Regulations, compliance, IP, data law
ENVIRONMENTA L  :  Sustainability, ESG, climate impact
For each: give 2–3 specific factors and their likely impact on my business.
Flag the top 2 highest-risk factors I should act on now.
Innovation Impact
Cultural Trends
Technological advancements
Social influences
Market Conditions Sustainability Concerns
Economic factors Environmental factors
Government Regulatory
Influence Compliance
PESTLE 
Political landscape Legal framework
Analysis
PRO TIP
Run PESTLE before entering any new geography  especially India, Southeast Asia, or the
Middle East where political and legal environments change faster than most founders
expect. The factors that kill international expansion are almost always in the P and L
dimensions, not the market size.

Act as a strategic industry analyst using Porter's Five Forces.
Industry                                        :  [YOUR SPECIFIC INDUSTRY  be precise]
My position                                  :  [WHAT YOU DO, YOUR SIZE, YOUR SEGMENT]
Analyse all five forces:
COMPETITIVE RIVALRY            :  How intense is competition?
THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS  :  How easy to enter this market?
THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES       :  What else could customers use?
BUYER POWER                            :  How much leverage do buyers have?
SUPPLIER POWER                      :  How much leverage do suppliers have?
Rate each force                            :  Low / Medium / High.
Identify the most dangerous force for my specific position.
Suggest 2 strategic moves to reduce the impact of the highest-threat force on my business.
Porter's Five Forces Analysis
No legal factors No political factors
No legal factors No political factors
No environmental
Industry Rivalry
factors
Competition impacts
No environmental factors
profitability
No technological factors No social factors
No social factors
No technological factors
PRO TIP
The most overlooked force is Threat of Substitutes. Customers don't just compare you to
competitors, they compare you to doing nothing, doing it manually, or using a completely
different category. Ask AI specifically: 'What are the non-obvious substitutes for my
product that I might be underestimating?'

Act as a B2B sales strategist helping me define my ICP.
My product                    :  [DESCRIBE WHAT IT DOES AND THE PROBLEM IT SOLVES]
Best customers so far  :  [DESCRIBE 2–3 THAT GOT THE MOST VALUE]
Build my Ideal Customer Profile across these dimensions:
FIRMOGRAPHIC          :  Industry, company size, geography, revenue
ROLE                              :  Job title, seniority, decision-making authority
TRIGGER                       : What event makes them start looking for a solution?
PAIN                               : The specific problem they urgently need solved
OUTCOME                    : The result they need to see to call this a success
DISQUALIFIER             : What makes a prospect a bad fit despite looking right?
Write the ICP as a one-paragraph description I can share with my sales and marketing
team. Also give me the 3 fastest signals to identify this customer in a first conversation.
Define ICP
Dimensions
Review and 
Analyze Existing Specify industry, Update ICP
Customers company size, role,
Regularly update the
trigger event, and
Identify patterns in Build Negative ICP ICP based on real
outcome sought.
successful customer customer feedback.
Profile customers
profiles to define the
who appear to be a
ICP.
fit but disappoint.
PRO TIP
Define your negative ICP with the same rigour as your positive one. The accounts that
look like perfect fits but churn in 90 days have a pattern. Ask AI to help you find it.
Disqualifying bad-fit accounts early is more valuable than closing them,  a churned
customer costs you more than a lost deal.

Act as a venture capital analyst helping me build a credible market sizing model.
My business     :  [DESCRIBE WHAT YOU SELL AND TO WHOM]
Geography       :  [YOUR TARGET MARKETS]
Price point       :  [YOUR AVERAGE DEAL / CONTRACT VALUE]
Build both top-down and bottom-up sizing for:
TAM            :  Total global revenue opportunity,  all potential customers using any  
                        solution for this problem
SAM            :  Realistic reachable market with my current model and go-to-market  
                        approach
SOM            :  Achievable share in 3–5 years based on realistic growth assumptions
Bottom-up :  Number of ICP accounts × ACV = realistic SOM
Flag the key assumptions and the biggest risks to the sizing model.
TAM SAM SOM — Market Sizing Made Honest
$100 billion
TAM
Total Addressable Market
$50 billion
SAM
Serviceable Addressable Market
$10 billion
SOM
Serviceable Obtainable Market
PRO TIP
Investors are sceptical of top-down market sizing because anyone can find a large
number. The founders who impress are those who say 'bottom-up, we see 12,000
companies that fit our ICP, average deal size is X, that gives us a Y SOM with Z%
penetration in year 3.' That level of specificity signals you actually know your market.

Act as a competitive intelligence analyst.
My business        :  [WHAT YOU DO AND WHO YOU SERVE]
Key competitors :  [LIST 5–8 DIRECT AND INDIRECT]
Map each competitor across these dimensions:
Price positioning (budget / mid / premium)
Target customer (SMB / mid-market / enterprise)
Core strength (what they are known for)
Core weakness (where they are consistently criticised)
Key differentiator (what makes them choose-able)
After mapping :
1. Where is the market most crowded?
2. What white space exists that no competitor occupies?
3. Where am I most vulnerable to competitive pressure?
4. What is the one thing I must own to be clearly different?
1
2
3
White Space
Top-right corner,
High Quality, High Price
representing untapped
Competitor Top-left corner, market potential. Low Quality, Low Price
occupied by premium
Landscape competitors. Bottom-left corner,
dominated by budget-
friendly options.
PRO TIP
The most valuable output is not the map itself,  it is the white space analysis. Ask AI
specifically: 'Given this competitive map, describe the customer who is currently
underserved by every player in this market.' That customer is your Blue Ocean
opportunity.

Act as a brand positioning strategist.
My business                      :  [DESCRIBE WHAT YOU DO]
Target customer              :  [SPECIFIC ROLE, INDUSTRY, SITUATION]
Key competitors              :  [WHO THEY COMPARE US TO]
Our main differentiator  :  [WHAT WE DO THAT OTHERS DON'T]
Proof point                        :  [DATA, RESULT, OR CREDENTIAL THAT BACKS IT UP]
Write 3 positioning statements in this format:
For [TARGET CUSTOMER] who [PROBLEM OR NEED], [PRODUCT] is the [CATEGORY] 
that [KEY BENEFIT] because [REASON TO BELIEVE].
Make each one distinct  not just different words for the same idea.
Vary the angle of differentiation. Then recommend which of the three is sharpest and why.
Market Positioning Pyramid
Proof
1 Provide evidence to
support the
product's claims
Key Benefit
Highlight the primary 2
advantage the
product offers
Product Category
3 Place the product
within its market
segment
Problem/Need
Define the issue or 4
desire the customer
faces
Target Customer
5
Identify the specific
group of customers
PRO TIP
After writing your positioning statement, do a simple test: remove your company name
and replace it with a competitor's. If the statement still works for them, you don't have a
positioning,  you have a category description. Push harder on the 'because' clause. That's
where real differentiation lives.

PROMPT — COPY & PASTE READY
Act as a customer research analyst using the Empathy Grid.
Customer profile  :  [ROLE, INDUSTRY, COMPANY SIZE]
Problem context   :  [WHAT CHALLENGE THEY FACE DAILY]
Real customer data (if available):
[PASTE REVIEWS, INTERVIEW NOTES, OR SUPPORT TICKETS]
Map the full Empathy Grid:
THINKS & FEELS  :  Inner concerns, hopes, and worries
SEES                       :  What their environment looks like
HEARS                    :  What colleagues, managers, media tell them
SAYS & DOES        :  Public behaviour and statements
PAINS                     :  Frustrations, fears, obstacles
GAINS                     :  Desired outcomes and measures of success
After the grid: give me 5 exact phrases this customer would use to describe their
problem in their own words, not marketing language.

Act as a marketing strategist using the STP framework.
My business          :  [DESCRIBE YOUR PRODUCT AND CURRENT MARKET]
Total market         :  [THE BROAD MARKET YOU OPERATE IN]
SEGMENTATION :
Divide the total market into 5–6 distinct customer segments based on
industry, need, behaviour, or size. Describe each segment in 2–3 lines.
TARGETING:
Score each segment 1–5 on:
Market size and growth rate
Fit with my current capabilities
Competitive intensity in this segment
Likely profitability and retention
Recommend the top 1–2 segments to target first.
POSITIONING:
For the top segment,  write one positioning statement that clearly
differentiates me from alternatives.
STP Model — Choose Your Market. Own Your Position.
Segmentation
Initial market segmentation
100%
Targeting
Target market selection
50%
Positioning
Market positioning
25%
PRO TIP
Most founders target the largest segment, not the most winnable one. The most
winnable segment is where you have a natural advantage,  a network, a credential, an
insight,  that competitors don't. Winning one segment completely is worth more than
partial penetration of three.

Act as a brand strategist using perceptual mapping.
My brand                               :  [YOUR COMPANY AND WHAT IT DOES]
Competitors                          :  [LIST 5–6 KEY COMPETITORS]
Customer decision factors :  [WHAT CUSTOMERS WEIGH MOST WHEN
CHOOSING IN THIS CATEGORY]
Step 1  :  Recommend the 2 best axes for this market's perceptual map, 
the dimensions that most drive customer perception and choice.
Step 2 :  For each competitor and my brand, describe where they would
land on the map and why.
Step 3 :  Identify any white space, an unoccupied position that a
sizeable customer segment values.
Step 4 :  Recommend whether I should hold my current position or
reposition and where to move.
Map Brands Effectively
Innovative Premium Target White Space
High innovation, high Unoccupied market
price niche
Traditional Budget Innovative Budget
Established, Novelty at a low cost
affordable offerings
PRO TIP
Run the same perceptual map twice: once based on how you believe customers see the
market, and once asking AI to reflect what customer reviews and public sentiment
actually say. The gap between your internal map and the external one is your most
important strategic insight.