tam-sam-som-calculator
This Claude Code skill guides product managers through calculating Total Addressable Market (TAM), Serviceable Available Market (SAM), and Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM) using adaptive questions grounded in real data sources and economic projections. Use it when sizing markets for product ideas, investor pitches, business cases, or executive reviews where defensible, citation-backed estimates are required.
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills /tmp/tam-sam-som-calculator && cp -r /tmp/tam-sam-som-calculator/skills/tam-sam-som-calculator ~/.claude/skills/tam-sam-som-calculatorSKILL.md
## Purpose Guide product managers through calculating Total Addressable Market (TAM), Serviceable Available Market (SAM), and Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM) for a product idea by asking adaptive, contextually relevant questions. Use this to build defensible market size estimates backed by real-world citations, economic projections, and population data—essential for pitching to investors, securing budget, or validating product-market fit. This is not a back-of-napkin guess—it's a structured, citation-backed analysis that withstands scrutiny. ## Key Concepts ### TAM/SAM/SOM Framework The three-tier market sizing model: **Total Addressable Market (TAM):** - The total market demand for a product or service - "If we captured 100% of the market, what's the revenue?" - Broadest possible market (no constraints) **Serviceable Available Market (SAM):** - The segment of TAM your company can realistically target - Narrowed by geography, firmographics, demographics, or product constraints - "Who can we actually reach with our product?" **Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM):** - The portion of SAM you can realistically capture - Accounts for competition, market constraints, go-to-market capacity - "What can we capture in the next 1-3 years?" ### Why This Works - **Top-down validation:** TAM → SAM → SOM ensures estimates are grounded in reality - **Investor-friendly:** Standard framework VCs and execs understand - **Citation-backed:** Real data sources (Census, Statista, World Bank) add credibility - **Adaptive:** Questions adjust based on context (B2B vs. B2C, US vs. global, etc.) ### Anti-Patterns (What This Is NOT) - **Not a single-number guess:** "The market is $10B" without supporting data - **Not static:** Markets evolve—reassess annually - **Not a substitute for customer validation:** Market size ≠ product-market fit ### When to Use This - Pitching to investors or execs (need market size in deck) - Validating product ideas (is the market big enough?) - Prioritizing product lines (which has bigger opportunity?) - Setting growth targets (what's realistic to capture?) ### When NOT to Use This - For internal tools with captive users (no external market) - Before defining the problem (market sizing requires clear problem space) - As the only validation (pair with customer research) --- ### Facilitation Source of Truth Use [`workshop-facilitation`](../workshop-facilitation/SKILL.md) as the default interaction protocol for this skill. It defines: - session heads-up + entry mode (Guided, Context dump, Best guess) - one-question turns with plain-language prompts - progress labels (for example, Context Qx/8 and Scoring Qx/5) - interruption handling and pause/resume behavior - numbered recommendations at decision points - quick-select numbered response options for regular questions (include `Other (specify)` when useful) This file defines the domain-specific assessment content. If there is a conflict, follow this file's domain logic. ## Application Use `template.md` for the full fill-in structure. This interactive skill asks **up to 4 adaptive questions**, offering **enumerated context-aware options** at each step. The agent adapts questions based on previous responses. --- ### Step 0: Gather Context (Before Questions) **Agent suggests:** Before we begin, it's helpful to have product context. If available, please share: **For Your Own Product:** - Website copy (homepage, product pages, value prop statements) - Marketing emails or landing pages - Product descriptions or positioning statements - Case studies or customer testimonials - Sales deck or pitch materials **If You Don't Have a Product Yet:** - Find a similar or adjacent product (competitor or analog) - Copy their website homepage, product description, or landing page - We'll use this as a reference point for market sizing **You can paste this content directly, or we can proceed with a brief description.** **Why this helps:** - Marketing materials already contain target audience, pain points, and value props - Analyzing real content (yours or competitors') grounds the analysis in reality - You can benchmark against similar products' market positioning --- ### Optional Helper Script (Deterministic Math) If you already have population and ARPU numbers (or a TAM estimate), you can run a deterministic helper to compute TAM/SAM/SOM and generate a Markdown table. This script does **not** fetch data or write files. ```bash python3 scripts/market-sizing.py --population 5400000 --arpu 1000 --sam-share 30% --som-share 10% ``` --- ### Question 1: Problem Space **Agent asks:** "Based on the context you've provided (or will describe), what problem space are you exploring for market sizing?" **Offer 4 enumerated examples (user can select by number or write custom):** 1. **B2B SaaS productivity** — E.g., "Workflow automation for small business operations" (like Zapier, Integromat) 2. **Consumer fintech** — E.g., "Personal budgeting app for Gen Z users" (like Mint, YNAB) 3. **Healthcare/telehealth** — E.g., "Mental health support for remote workers" (like BetterHelp, Talkspace) 4. **E-commerce enablement** — E.g., "Payment processing for online sellers" (like Stripe, Square) **Or write your own problem space description based on the marketing materials you shared.** **Tip:** If you provided website copy or marketing materials, the agent can extract the problem space from phrases like: - "We help [target] solve [problem]" - "The #1 solution for [use case]" - Customer pain points in testimonials or case studies **User response:** [Selection or custom description] --- ### Question 2: Geographic Region **Agent asks:** "What geographic region are you targeting?" **Offer 4 enumerated options (adapted based on problem space):** 1. **United States** — Best for detailed Census Bureau data, BLS stats, robust industry reports 2. **European Union** — Use Eurostat, local statistical agencies; note GDPR/compliance considerations 3
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