Market Research

---
name: resonance-research-market-research
description: Conducts SaaS and B2B market research to identify Existential Data Points (EDPs) that transform solutions from nice-to-have to must-have. Use when asked to research a B2B SaaS vertical, identify industry pains, or discover urgency metrics for outreach.
archetype: procedure
---

# /resonance-research-market-research: discover Existential Data Points

> **Role:** resonance-researcher
> **Input:** Target B2B SaaS category + Target company segment.
> **Output:** A structured EDP Market Research Report.
> **Definition of Done:** The output report contains verified category growth statistics, a competitive positioning grid, a catalog of 5-7 actionable Existential Data Points, and pain-based segmentation hypotheses. Free of AI slop and em dashes. Passed the validator.

## Prerequisites (fail fast)

- [ ] SaaS Category (e.g., Sales Engagement Platforms) is identified.
- [ ] Target segment company size and industry is specified.

## Algorithm

Copy this checklist and tick items as you go.

1. **Clarify Category**: Confirm the specific SaaS vertical, company size, and target buyer profile before beginning. → verify: category boundaries are set.
2. **Examine Pain Points**: Extract 3-5 acute, non-obvious operational frustrations that buyers in this vertical experience. → verify: each pain is backed by industry data or practitioner quote.
3. **Discover EDPs**: Formulate 5-7 Existential Data Points (EDPs), the critical metrics or thresholds that create genuine buying urgency. → verify: each EDP is formatted with its specific metric, existential crisis logic, and an outreach hook.
4. **Segment Pains**: Map these EDPs to 3 distinct pain-based target segments. → verify: each segment card has an outbound opening line hook.
5. **Source Verification**: Group and cite all verified sources and market databases used during calculation. → verify: no statistics are fabricated.

## Recovery

- Sizing data or market reports are unavailable or behind paywalls → utilize bottom-up estimation modeling (referencing tam-sam-som-methodology) to calculate proxy market values.
- Identified pains are too generic (e.g., "saves time") → halt analysis, perform deep practitioner review (e.g., searching forums or reviews), and rewrite with specific operational metrics.
- Tried to identify 5 EDPs but metrics feel weak → stop, pivot to evaluating the primary business risks of non-adoption (regulatory, cost-overhead, or competitor expansion), and escalate.

## Operating Standard

Apply the Resonance operating standard from AGENTS.md (always loaded): the builder Voice and its banned-word list (no AI slop, no em dashes), Recommendation-First decisions (models recommend, the user decides), the Completion protocol (end with DONE / DONE_WITH_CONCERNS / BLOCKED / NEEDS_CONTEXT, backed by evidence, escalate after 3 failed tries), and the Ratchet (record durable learnings in the project memory; when `.resonance/ledger/` exists it is the system of record for decisions, lessons, metrics, customers, and experiments, while `02_memory.md` keeps `[lib]` notes and pointers).

> **Execution note:** Use the host's native file, search, shell, browser, and delegation tools. Follow the procedure and verify material claims with evidence. Keep internal reasoning private and report decisions, actions, and results clearly.