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I sometimes get stuck at the first step because I cannot tell whether to size from total population, households, or some other unit. Is there a general rule for choosing the base, or does it depend entirely on what is being bought?
Mayank G.CoachSep 30, 2026Ex-BCG | 100% improvement guarantee or you don't pay! | Top 1% Coach!
Use the unit that best matches how the product is purchased or consumed.
The right base reduces unnecessary assumptions and conversions.
Home internet is naturally household-based, while personal insurance is usually individual-based.
Before calculating, identify who actually makes the purchase and use that as the base.
Households for shared products, people for personal products works most of the time.
Starting with the purchase unit makes the math cleaner.
Sometimes I rely on population, households, or age groups as my starting point. In a mock, the interviewer told me none of those numbers were available and I froze. How should I choose a proxy when the most obvious base is missing?
Mayank G.CoachStart from the demand unit that actually drives the market, then work backward to a measurable proxy.
I understand population-based sizing, but I get confused when demand depends on both the number of customers and purchase frequency. How should I structure the estimate so I do not double count users or transactions?
Mayank G.CoachSeparate customers from transactions. Estimate the number of potential customers first, then multiply by adoption and purchase frequency.
I understand consumer market sizing, but B2B cases confuse me when one company buys the product and someone else actually uses it. Should I estimate from end users, customer companies, or both?
Mayank G.CoachStart from the economic buyer because the market value is created by organizations that actually purchase the product, then use end users when they help explain demand or usage intensity. The two populations answer different parts of the sizing problem.