Research the market for my idea

Market size and direction, who already sells it and at what price, what buyers ask, and where the gap is — every figure traced to a source.

What to ask

Research the market for what I'm thinking of selling. Cover four things and be straight about what you couldn't find: how big this market is and which way it's moving, who already sells it and what they charge, what buyers ask and complain about before they buy, and where the gap is. Name the publisher of every figure, and tell me plainly where there wasn't enough published to say.

What Miles needs from you

• What you sell or want to sell — a region and a target customer sharpen it

Related

• Find out whether my business idea is any goodAn honest read on your idea — the strongest part, the weakest, and the one thing worth finding out this week.
• Work out exactly who my first customer isA specific person, not a demographic — specific enough that you could go and find ten of them.
• Write interview questions that get honest answersFive questions about what people have actually done and paid — plus twenty people to ask, and how to reach them.
• Learn what customers actually want, from real conversationsThe pattern across your conversations — which problem came up most, and who showed real evidence rather than politeness.