Market Research: Keep it flexible
Oct 29th, 2025
How Market Research Becomes the First Step in Strategy
Executives often ask for market research when they’re weighing a new direction —> A new product, a new vertical, a new business model, etc.
The phrase sounds simple enough, but “market research” often means very different things to different people depending on what the business is truly trying to decide or accomplish. Sometimes it’s about sizing opportunity. Sometimes it’s about dialing in the understanding of the competitive forces and key players. And other times, it’s about chiseling away at whether a business model stands a legitimate chance given where a business stands today.
The most effective market research efforts aren’t rigid reports that follow a predictable formula. They are structured inquiries that flex to match the client’s stage of clarity. The most effective market research, certainly from the client’s point of view, allows the reader to see themselves and their business within the broader market dynamic, i.e., understanding where they fit, where they can win, and what must change to get there.
Different Shapes, Different Purposes
A well-designed market research effort can take several forms, each serving a different decision point:
-
Purpose: Establish directional insight
Typical Output: Industry overview, growth trends, early TAM/SAM/SOM estimates
Fit: When leadership is exploring ideas and wants a quick, directional view
-
Purpose: Validate opportunity viability
Typical Output: Segmentation, adoption dynamics, pricing models, competitive positions
Fit: When a concept is taking shape and investment confidence needs to grow
-
Purpose: Build the business case
Typical Output: Market modeling, financial scenarios, go-to-market options
Fit: When executives need a clear, defensible decision framework
The point as an advisor isn’t to pick one over another but to match the depth of analysis in the study to the level that brings the most value to the client.
Knowing When the Study Needs to Stretch Further
In some engagements, what begins as a standard market assessment reveals more strategic questions underneath. What starts out as a market “weather report” that paints which way the competitive winds are blowing, can quickly surface the need to flex into a strategy pressure test.
When that happens, the research needs to extend beyond market framing and into business architecture. That means incorporating:
Adoption curves and buyer behavior, not just static segmentation.
Scenario modeling that shows financial implications of different paths.
Operational and product readiness investigations, to test if the organization can deliver what the market will or already demands.
At this point, the market research becomes a strategic instrument that can truly be referenced and cited as strategy formulation runs its course. It bridges external opportunity with internal capability and provides the clarity needed to shape a viable business and/or investment case.
The Advisor’s Role
The advisor’s job is to bring altitude and clarity — starting with a view of the market from orbit and then guiding the client down to see their own business within that landscape. The process begins wide, mapping forces that shape the market, and ends grounded, showing how those forces interact with the client’s capabilities, position, and choices.
When done well, the research moves seamlessly from context to consequence, i.e., connecting external dynamics to internal realities, so leaders understand not just what’s happening in the market, but what it means for them.
Insight Before Investment
Market research should give leaders confidence before they commit. It should reveal where growth is real, where risk is apparent, and what level of investment makes sense to garner that growth.
At BANKDENS, we’ve developed an agile market research framework that flexes to fit the client. Whether the goal is a quick read on market direction or a fully modeled business case with market grounding, we treat every study as a strategic instrument that clients will keep referencing as they align internally and ultimately rally around a business strategy that moves them forward.
