We have put together a list of free resources for you to get started towards your TAM with a first level understanding of your target audience and markets. Also, enclosed are some helpful links on what Product-Market-Fit is and how to get there. Defining your audience and market helps to then further study their behavior, map habits and usage patterns as well as their need-gaps. Market or category definition helps one understand the competitive offerings at play.
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CONSUMER AFFLUENCE METRICS
Income data is usually not very reliable as people tend to under or overestimate income in surveys. 3 other common ways to think about target audience are:
One of the primary ways marketers define their target audience beyond age and gender is through income levels and socio economic classes. As per the World Inequality Report released in 2021, there is extreme income disparity in India. The average national income for an Indian adult was INR 204,200 in the 2021. While the top 10% and top 1% population earn 57% & 22% respectively of the total national income, the bottom 50% population earns a mere 13% of the income.
Old Socio-Economic Classification System
CONSUMER LIFESTYLE
Get a glimpse of Consumer Lifestyles: Understand your consumer's life via a quick immersion based on different income levels for example:
Source: Income Levels by Gapminder
KEY DEMOGRAPHIC STATISTICS
The National Survey Sample Office (NSSO) is a government agency responsible for conducting large-scale surveys to collect socio-economic data from the population. These surveys help in formulating public policies, planning development programs, and evaluating their impact on citizens' well-being.
An annual report on NSSO includes information on Consumer Expenditure,Employment-Unemployment, Agriculture crops & yield, housing conditions, Social consumption, Gender ratios, literacy etc related information.
Source: Ministry of statistics and programme implementation
The NCCS (National Consumer Classification System) is a socio-economic classification used in India by the Market Research Society of India. It categorizes households into segments A to E based on spending patterns and consumption behavior, with "A" being the highest income group and "E" the lowest. The system helps businesses understand consumer behavior and tailor their products or services accordingly. Factors considered include income, education, occupation, and asset ownership. NCCS is widely used in market research and consumer analysis in India.
National Consumer Classification System
Source: Media research user conuncil India
Old Socio-Economic Classification System
The old socio-economic system used occupation and income as primary factors to classify households. However, it had limitations as it focused on a few key factors, possibly missing the complexity of modern socio-economic dynamics. Despite its shortcomings, it found applications in market research and advertising to understand consumer behavior and target specific demographics. Additionally, governments and policymakers utilized the system to design targeted social policies and development programs for different socio-economic groups.
Source: Escape velocity
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FMCG & Food/ Beverage
From reigniting stalled categories to building premium positioning and new consumption occasions, we help F&B brands turn commoditisation into distinctive growth
Truth Engine
Synthetic Decision Archetypes (Digital twins) methodology — predictive, multi-market or multi-cohort application of research findings.
Predictive modeling
Multi-market application
6 mkts
example multi-market read
via digital twins
OUR STORY
Turning Human Needs into Sustainable Growth
Elevate Insights was born out of a simple belief system. Only when we solve for real human needs, can we build profitable and sustainable brands and businesses.
A Human perspective is critical to this. We have built a proprietary toolkit to frame problems from a deep human context and scale with AI to arrive at insights that nudge consumers in the desired direction.
Meta Engine
Fast, AI-led cultural and behavioural reads for time-sensitive decisions.
Rapid cultural and behavioural analysis
Compressed-timeline synthesis for time-sensitive decisions
1 week
typical turnaround for
a Meta Engine rapid read
Human
Primary consumer research reimagined for business actionability.
USECASES
Category Entry Points
Decision Archetypes
Product Market Fitment
Marketing Mix Optimization
Additional categories
Hospitality & QSR
From decoding dining occasions to protecting distinctive brand experiences, we help hospitality brands build relevance, loyalty and stronger reasons to return.
BFSI & Fintech
From building brand salience to identifying trust and adoption barriers, we help financial brands turn complex offerings into clearer, more relevant growth opportunities.
Auto, Industrial & Agri
From decoding farmer and consumer needs to sharpening product and brand positioning, we help industrial and mobility brands translate functional value into meaningful differentiation.
Stationery & Kids
From understanding the needs of parents, kids and retailers to unlocking gifting and premiumisation, we help brands turn everyday categories into distinctive growth platforms.
Brand and innovation experts —
grounded in human behaviour scaled by AI.
What is
Product Market Fit ?
Product/Market Fit (PMF) is a crucial milestone for a startup. It is achieved when the startup develops a product that perfectly aligns with the needs and demands of a specific market. In other words, the product satisfies the market's pain points and resonates with the target audience. At this stage, customers find real value in the product, leading to fast growth, positive reviews, and increased sales. PMF indicates that the startup has found the right market for its product, and it becomes a pivotal factor in determining the startup's success.
Source: Pmarchive
How to Measure
PMF ?
Measuring Product-Market Fit (PMF) involves key metrics such as Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Retention Rate, Churn Rate, Customer Feedback, User Engagement, Conversion Rate, and Market Demand. These metrics help assess customer satisfaction, loyalty, product usage, and market demand to determine if the product aligns with market needs. Additionally, customer interviews and competitor analysis offer valuable insights into the product's uniqueness and appeal. Regularly evaluating PMF is essential for a startup's success and should be a continuous process as the product and market evolve.
Source: Failory
What is Minimum Viable product ?
MVP, or Minimum Viable Product, is a startup development concept where a simplified version of a product is released to the market to validate assumptions and gather feedback. Its advantages include testing riskiest assumptions early, iterating based on user feedback, reducing time-to-market, identifying market fit and demand, embracing a "fail fast" philosophy, and its applicability beyond product development, such as in marketing or creative endeavors. The MVP approach helps startups avoid building products that don't meet market needs, improve the final product based on customer preferences, and make informed decisions for future development and investment.
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What is the Smallest Viable Audience (MVP) and why is it important for growth?
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Startup Playbook
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Product Market Fit free templates
Source: ycombinator
Looking to sharpen or assess your Product Market Fit?
1. What is Product Market Fit?
Product/Market Fit (PMF) is a crucial milestone for a startup. It is achieved when the startup develops a product that perfectly aligns with the needs and demands of a specific market. In other words, the product satisfies the market's pain points and resonates with the target audience. At this stage, customers find real value in the product, leading to fast growth, positive reviews, and increased sales. PMF indicates that the startup has found the right market for its product, and it becomes a pivotal factor in determining the startup's success. Read more here.
2. How to measure Product Market Fit?
Measuring Product-Market Fit (PMF) involves key metrics such as Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Retention Rate, Churn Rate, Customer Feedback, User Engagement, Conversion Rate, and Market Demand. These metrics help assess customer satisfaction, loyalty, product usage, and market demand to determine if the product aligns with market needs. Additionally, customer interviews and competitor analysis offer valuable insights into the product's uniqueness and appeal. Regularly evaluating PMF is essential for a startup's success and should be a continuous process as the product and market evolve. Read more here.
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What is MVP?
MVP, or Minimum Viable Product, is a startup development concept where a simplified version of a product is released to the market to validate assumptions and gather feedback. Its advantages include testing riskiest assumptions early, iterating based on user feedback, reducing time-to-market, identifying market fit and demand, embracing a "fail fast" philosophy, and its applicability beyond product development, such as in marketing or creative endeavors. The MVP approach helps startups avoid building products that don't meet market needs, improve the final product based on customer preferences, and make informed decisions for future development and investment. Read more here.
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What is Smallest Viable Audience (MVP) and why is it important for growth?
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Startup Playbook
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Product Market Fit free templates
Charu Gupta is a seasonsed marketer having led the marketing functions for unicorns when they were at their early stages of growth such as Big Basket, Avail Finance, Chai Point, Healthkart. She set up the Marketing Insights and Strategy function at Byju's, so she brings a 360 degree marketing experience apart from her vast industry knowledge. She grew Medlife from zero to $100 million using her ROI driven marketing initiatives.
Charu is an alum from IIM, Lucknow and a Gold medallist from NIT Bhopal.
Charu Gupta
Consulting Partner
A lot of Founders are looking for syndicated reports that can help size the market and sub-categories of play. We have compiled here some sources which can provide you statistics by industry and emerging trends.
KEY INDUSTRIES
As per the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation's Annual report on Industries, the Services sector (comprising of Public Administration, financial, real estate and professional services as well as trade, transport, hotels, communication etc) is the largest sector contributing to India's GDP in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA), followed by secondary manufacturing industries and then Agriculture as of 2020-21.
RETAIL
MARKETS
Get a glimpse of Consumer Lifestyles: Understand your consumer's life via a quick immersion based on different income levels
INDIA CATEGORY REPORTS
References to government reports released by the National Survey Sample Office (NSSO) which help you understand gender, age, household expenditures and key industries by state.
TREND
REPORTS
The pandemic has changed the way Indians live their lives and has brought in an era of the new normal. We see trends such as the following developing in the country today:
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Digital transformation: More reliance on digital channels for shopping, entertainment, education, communication and even payments.
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Health & Wellness: Growing awareness of health & wellness can be seen in the consumers food choices, need for fitness services & wellness experiences
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Personalization: Consumers today are seeking more tailored and personalized content, product offerings and services.
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Experience based spending: Millennials and Gen Z are driving the shift away from traditional materialistic consumption towards seeking newer experiences such as travel, dining out, entertainment events and immersive experiences.
To learn more such trends and how they impact your category, reach out to us at…..
Looking to map category habits and usage, study penetration and frequency of products or map the brand strength, or have specific questions?