Market sizing is the process of estimating the potential demand for a product, service, or concept within a defined group of consumers. It helps answer foundational questions like: How many people want this? How often would they buy it? And is the market big enough to invest in?

Especially in the early stages of development – before extensive R&D, marketing budgets, or product launches – market sizing offers invaluable direction. It helps teams prioritize ideas, align resources, and reduce the risk of investing in markets that might be too small or already saturated.

Why early market sizing is so powerful

Waiting too long to validate your market assumptions can lead to wasted time and budget. With the rise of DIY market research tools, businesses now have the ability to explore market potential quickly, even with limited resources.

Here’s why early market sizing matters:

• Focus and prioritization – Knowing the approximate size of different market opportunities helps teams decide what to pursue (and what to pause).
• Investor confidence – For startups and innovation teams, a clear market size estimate adds credibility and attracts stakeholder or investor buy-in.
• Better strategic planning – Forecast supply, set realistic revenue goals, and build go-to-market strategies based on validated demand.
• Cost-effective iteration – Early insights can help you pivot or refine your concepts before bigger investments are made.

What goes into simple market sizing for beginners

Market sizing typically starts with understanding the total population of interest and narrowing down to a target audience. A well-designed survey can help you estimate how many people meet certain criteria, such as a need, behavior, or product usage pattern. That’s where incidence questions come into play – but more on that shortly.

For example, if you’re exploring the market for a new plant-based snack, your early study might estimate how many adults snack regularly, how many eat plant-based diets, and how many are open to trying a new food brand. Multiplying those numbers helps you form an initial demand estimate.

Even a basic directional sizing study can help solidify internal decision-making – especially when paired with category mapping to understand competitive dynamics and whitespace opportunities. Together, these approaches give you a clearer view of your market landscape early on.

One of the first challenges in market sizing is calculating the proportion of your survey audience that represents your potential consumers. This is where incidence questions come in. In simple terms, they help determine how common a particular behavior, habit, or attribute is among your target population.

When using AYTM or any DIY market research tool, writing clean, well-structured incidence questions will directly impact the quality of your results. Fortunately, with a bit of guidance, even beginners can craft effective questions that serve as the foundation for meaningful data.

What is an incidence question?

An incidence question is typically one of the first questions in your survey. It filters respondents by asking if they meet a particular criteria relevant to your concept or category. For example:

"In the past month, how often have you purchased a ready-to-drink coffee beverage?"

Based on the responses, you can estimate the percentage of the population that is active in the category.

Best practices for structuring incidence questions in AYTM

Here are a few key tips to keep in mind:

• Be clear, not clever – Avoid ambiguous language or vague timeframes. Questions should be easy to interpret without needing extra context.
• Use logical timeframes – Choose a recall period (like "in the past 3 months") that makes sense for your category’s purchase frequency.
• Start broad, then narrow – Begin by identifying high-level category behavior, and layer in specifics through follow-up questions.
• Think about screening – Decide early whether your goal is to include everyone, or screen for only qualified target users based on their answers.

Simple example (fictional, for illustration only):

Let’s say you’re exploring interest in a new home fitness subscription. A sample incidence question might look like:

"Which of the following have you done in the last six months? (Select all that apply)"

• Subscribed to a fitness app
• Attended virtual workout classes
• Visited a gym
• None of the above

This helps estimate the active population within your category. Then, you can use AYTM’s simple survey programming features to direct different follow-up questions depending on how users respond.

When to bring in expert support

While writing incidence questions may seem straightforward, subtle mistakes can skew your results. This is where SIVO’s On Demand Talent can play a valuable role. Our experienced consumer insights professionals can help refine your survey logic, ensure your language aligns with your objectives, and teach your internal team how to maximize the value of tools like AYTM.

Instead of hiring a general freelancer or investing in a full-service study right away, On Demand Talent provides a flexible option – bringing the expertise you need to get things right early in the process, while still keeping control and agility in your hands.

When exploring new markets or launching a product, understanding how consumers perceive the category is essential. This process, known as category mapping, helps businesses identify how their offerings fit into the broader landscape, who the key competitors are, and what motivates consumer choice within that space.

What is category mapping in research?

Category mapping is the process of identifying and structuring all the different segments, products, or solutions that consumers associate with a specific need or area. For example, if you're entering the healthy snack category, category mapping would explore what consumers consider a healthy snack: granola bars, fruit cups, veggie chips, protein balls, and more.

This helps uncover both direct and indirect competitors and gives you insights into adjacent categories that may hold growth opportunities.

Using AYTM for category exploration

AYTM is a flexible DIY market research platform that makes early-stage category mapping easier and more accessible. With its intuitive survey programming and targeting capabilities, AYTM lets you test different category framings and product perceptions within your target audience.

Here’s how brands typically approach it on AYTM:

• Include open-ended questions to explore how consumers talk about different solutions.
• Use closed-ended lists to identify what product types they associate with a category.
• Test positioning statements to gauge which resonates most for your specific offering.

For example, a fictional wellness startup used AYTM to determine whether consumers saw its functional drinks as part of the energy drink category, the vitamin supplement space, or something new entirely. This helped align its go-to-market strategy more effectively with how consumers perceived the space.

Why category frameworks matter

Category mapping lays the foundation for strategic decisions like pricing, messaging, competitive positioning, and innovation. If you skip this step or rely on incomplete data, you risk misreading the market and launching in the wrong direction.

By using tools like AYTM early on, even a small team can get directional consumer insights to help shape smarter strategies. But for deeper, more layered understanding, expert input can be valuable – especially when you're dealing with fragmented markets or complex category overlaps.

DIY market research tools like AYTM are powerful starting points. They empower teams to move quickly, test early concepts, and gather data without the typical timelines and costs of traditional projects. But for all their advantages, they also come with limitations – especially when you're trying to go from directional data to strategic decisions with confidence.

Where DIY tools fall short

Platforms like AYTM offer built-in templates and survey logic that guide even new users through setup. However, there are aspects of research where lack of expertise can lead to faulty outcomes:

• Misleading incidence questions – Poorly structured questions can result in exaggerated or underreported market size estimates.
• Biased survey design – Without training, it's easy to introduce leading language or overlook key response biases.
• Over-simplifying complex categories – Categories are rarely black-and-white; understanding nuanced overlaps requires depth of knowledge.
• Over-reliance on self-reporting – DIY users may not understand when claimed behavior is unreliable or how to boost data quality.

These pitfalls don’t mean DIY tools shouldn’t be used – just that the best results often come when paired with the right expert guidance. Early-stage mistakes in survey programming or data interpretation can cost time and money later in the product cycle.

Knowing when to call in professionals

If you’re unsure how to structure your incidence questions, or if your survey results reveal inconsistent or confusing data, it might be time to bring in experienced help. Some common moments when expert support makes a difference include:

• Validating early findings before high-stakes business decisions
• Translating insights into clear strategies or presentations for leadership
• Navigating niche or highly competitive markets where precision matters
• Training internal teams in DIY research best practices

Think of it this way: DIY tools give you the paint, brush, and canvas. Expert insights professionals help you create the picture that makes business sense.

As businesses turn to market research tools like AYTM for faster, cost-effective insights, there's a growing need to ensure the research stays high quality – even when done in-house. That’s where On Demand Talent comes in.

SIVO’s On Demand Talent solution connects businesses with seasoned consumer insights professionals who can support every stage of the research process. Whether you’re building out an early-stage market sizing study or diving into category exploration, these experts guide your team in getting the most out of tools like AYTM – without losing sight of the bigger picture.

Why On Demand Talent is different

Unlike freelance platforms or generic consultants, On Demand Talent provides aligned, experienced professionals who understand the business impact of insights. You’re not just hiring someone to run a survey – you’re accessing real-world expertise that enhances your team’s capabilities and output.

Here’s how On Demand Talent adds value:

• Optimizing survey programming – Experts help craft tight, objective incidence questions that lead to usable results.
• Clarifying category frameworks – They use proven methods to map consumer understanding and identify blind spots.
• Translating data into strategy – On Demand professionals don’t just hand you a chart – they help interpret what it means for your business.
• Coaching teams – Your team gets experience working alongside top insights talent, building long-term confidence in using DIY research tools.

For example, a fictional mid-size beverage company struggling with early-stage market sizing partnered with an On Demand insights leader from SIVO. Together, they fine-tuned their AYTM survey, addressed incidence logic errors, and uncovered a more accurate picture of category potential. The result? A clearer business case that secured internal alignment and support for continued development.

Flexible, fast, and high-impact

Need help for a few weeks to validate a critical survey? Or someone to coach your team through a series of sprints? With On Demand Talent, businesses can access exactly the expertise they need, right when they need it – often in days, not months.

It’s a smarter, more agile way to keep your insights sharp, your tools effective, and your decisions data-driven.