Adjacent Market Opportunity Discovery Framework
Market ResearchadvancedClaude 3.5 Sonnet or GPT-4o. Claude excels at structured, multi-layered analysis and connecting disparate insights into coherent strategy. GPT-4o provides faster processing for large market datasets. Both handle the framework-based reasoning required here, but Claude's reasoning depth is superior for strategic prioritization.
When to Use This Prompt
Use this when your leadership team is exploring growth beyond current markets but needs rigorous analysis to justify investment. Ideal for quarterly strategy reviews, board presentations, or when you have emerging product capabilities that might serve adjacent customers. Helps move from brainstorming to validated opportunity assessment.
The Prompt
You are a strategic market research analyst helping identify and validate adjacent market opportunities for B2B companies.
## CONTEXT
Company: [YOUR COMPANY NAME]
Primary Market: [CURRENT MARKET/INDUSTRY]
Core Product/Service: [BRIEF DESCRIPTION]
Current Annual Revenue: [OPTIONAL]
Target Customer Profile: [DECISION MAKER TITLE, INDUSTRY, COMPANY SIZE]
## YOUR TASK
Identify 5 adjacent market opportunities where this company's existing capabilities, customer relationships, or technology could create competitive advantage. Move beyond surface-level suggestions to uncover markets where the company has structural advantages.
## ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK
### 1. CAPABILITY MAPPING
First, analyze what the company actually does well:
- Core technical capabilities (not just product features)
- Operational strengths (distribution, customer success, data, etc.)
- Customer relationships and trust factors
- Regulatory or compliance advantages
- Data or proprietary assets
### 2. ADJACENT MARKET IDENTIFICATION
For each of 5 opportunities, provide:
- **Market Name & Definition**: Specific industry/segment, not generic
- **Market Size**: TAM estimate with source/methodology
- **Customer Pain Point**: Specific, validated problem this market faces
- **Competitive Landscape**: 2-3 key competitors and their weaknesses
- **Entry Strategy**: How existing capabilities create unfair advantage
- **Go-to-Market Approach**: Specific channels, partnerships, or tactics
- **Risk Factors**: 2-3 key risks and mitigation strategies
- **Timeline to Revenue**: Realistic 12-24 month projection
### 3. VALIDATION SIGNALS
For each opportunity, identify:
- Customer research needed (specific questions to ask prospects)
- Market signals to monitor (analyst reports, funding, M&A activity)
- Quick validation experiment (low-cost way to test demand)
### 4. PRIORITIZATION SCORING
Rank the 5 opportunities using these weighted criteria:
- Strategic fit with existing capabilities (30%)
- Market size and growth rate (25%)
- Competitive intensity and barriers to entry (20%)
- Sales cycle and time to revenue (15%)
- Resource requirements and feasibility (10%)
## OUTPUT STRUCTURE
Provide a structured analysis that moves from isolated insights to a connected strategic narrative. Show how each opportunity connects to company strengths and why it matters. Include specific, actionable next steps for validating the top 2 opportunities.
Be specific and data-driven. Avoid generic market research. Focus on structural advantages and defensible positioning.
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Tips for Best Results
- 1.Provide specific company context (revenue, customer count, product capabilities) rather than generic descriptions. AI produces better analysis with concrete constraints and real data points.
- 2.Ask AI to validate its market size estimates and cite sources. Request it flag assumptions (e.g., 'assumes 15% adoption rate') so you can pressure-test them with real market research.
- 3.Use the output as a research agenda, not a final decision. Identify which 2-3 opportunities warrant customer interviews, then conduct 10-15 conversations before committing resources.
- 4.Iterate the prompt with competitive intelligence. If AI misses a key competitor or market dynamic, feed back specific information and re-run analysis to improve accuracy and catch blind spots.
Example Output
## ADJACENT MARKET OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS
### Company: CloudSecure (B2B SaaS - Cloud Security)
---
## OPPORTUNITY #1: HEALTHCARE COMPLIANCE AUTOMATION
**Market Size**: $2.8B TAM (HIPAA compliance software segment, 18% CAGR)
**Customer Pain Point**: Healthcare providers spend 400+ hours annually on HIPAA audit documentation; current tools require manual data collection across 15+ systems.
**Competitive Advantage**: CloudSecure's existing compliance mapping engine (built for SOC 2) requires minimal adaptation. Healthcare IT directors already trust cloud security vendors. Direct relationships with 200+ enterprise customers in regulated industries.
**Entry Strategy**: White-label compliance module for 3 leading healthcare IT consultancies. Pilot with 2 health systems (existing customer network). Position as "HIPAA-ready in 90 days."
**Go-to-Market**: Partner with healthcare compliance consultancies (Deloitte, Optum Insight). Target VP of Compliance at 500-bed+ hospitals. Launch at HIMSS conference.
**Risk Factors**: Requires FDA/HIPAA certification (6-9 months). Incumbent players (Qualys, Rapid7) have healthcare modules. Mitigation: Partner with compliance firm for certification pathway; differentiate on ease-of-use.
**Timeline**: Pilot revenue Q3 2025, full launch Q1 2026.
---
## OPPORTUNITY #2: FINANCIAL SERVICES OPERATIONAL RESILIENCE
**Market Size**: $1.2B TAM (Operational resilience software for regulated financial institutions)
**Customer Pain Point**: Banks must prove "operational resilience" under new FCA/SEC rules by 2025; current solutions are fragmented across risk, compliance, and IT teams.
**Competitive Advantage**: CloudSecure's real-time monitoring and incident response playbooks map directly to operational resilience requirements. Existing relationships with 45+ financial services firms.
**Entry Strategy**: Develop "Operational Resilience Dashboard" as add-on module. Pilot with 2 Tier-2 banks already using CloudSecure.
**Go-to-Market**: Target Chief Risk Officers and Heads of Operational Resilience. Partner with Big 4 consulting firms for implementation. Sponsor FCA/PRA compliance webinars.
**Risk Factors**: Highly regulated; requires deep understanding of FCA/SEC frameworks. Temenos and Sapiens have entrenched positions. Mitigation: Hire regulatory expert; position as "compliance-first" vs. enterprise risk platforms.
**Timeline**: Pilot Q2 2025, general availability Q4 2025.
---
## VALIDATION NEXT STEPS (Top 2 Opportunities)
**Healthcare Compliance Automation**:
- Interview 8-10 healthcare IT directors: "How much time does HIPAA documentation take? What's your current process?"
- Monitor: HIMSS 2025 announcements, healthcare IT spending trends
- Quick test: Build 2-week prototype with 1 health system IT team
**Financial Services Operational Resilience**:
- Interview 5 Chief Risk Officers: "How are you approaching FCA operational resilience requirements?"
- Monitor: FCA guidance updates, financial services M&A activity
- Quick test: Present resilience dashboard mockup to 2 existing bank customers
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