Guide

TAM SAM SOM

Total addressable market, serviceable addressable market, and serviceable obtainable market

TAM SAM SOM includes three key market-size metrics that can help businesses of all sizes—from startups to medium-sized businesses to established enterprises—understand their market potential, set realistic goals, and make informed strategic decisions.

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What does TAM SAM SOM stand for?

TAM (Total addressable market)

TAM stands for total addressable market. It’s the total revenue opportunity for your product or service if it were to capture 100% of the market. TAM is calculated by multiplying the total number of potential customers by the average revenue per customer.

SAM (Serviceable addressable market)

SAM stands for serviceable addressable market. It’s the portion of TAM that is reachable and relevant to your business. SAM is calculated by filtering TAM based on factors such as geographic location and demographics.

SOM (Serviceable obtainable market)

SOM stands for serviceable obtainable market. It’s the portion of SAM that your business can reasonably capture. SOM is calculated by filtering SAM based on factors such as market landscape, brand awareness, and advertising budget.

Tam Sam Som

Why is TAM SAM SOM important?

TAM SAM SOM represents important metrics for businesses of all sizes. Think of these as powerful tools that can help you make better decisions and achieve greater success.

Imagine that you’re starting a new business. You have a great idea for a new product or service, but you’re not sure how big the market is or who your ideal customers are. By understanding these metrics, you can make better decisions about your marketing and sales strategies, set pragmatic revenue goals, and measure your progress over time.

Understand your market potential

TAM SAM SOM can give your business an understanding of how much revenue they potentially generate in a given market. This information can be used to set workable goals and make key decisions when creating your go-to-market strategy.

Identify opportunities for growth

TAM SAM SOM can help you find new ways to grow your business identify new opportunities for growth within your existing market or in new markets. For example, a business might realize that it has the potential to expand further into its SAM, by reaching new geographic regions or by developing new products and services.

Allocate resources efficiently

TAM SAM SOM can help you optimize your budget. For example, a business might decide to invest more in marketing and sales in order to increase its brand awareness and market presence in its SAM. Making these decisions early on can help you manage your brand more effectively.

Attract investors

TAM SAM SOM represents important metrics for investors to consider when evaluating potential investment opportunities. Large and growing TAM SAM SOM can indicate that a business has a significant market opportunity.

How to calculate TAM SAM SOM

To calculate TAM SAM SOM, you’ll need to gather insights on your market of interest, including the total number of potential customers, the average revenue per customer, and other relevant factors such as geographic location, demographics, market landscape, brand awareness, and marketing budget.

Steps for calculating TAM SAM SOM

  1. Identify your market and audience segments. This includes factors such as geographic location and demographics.
  2. Estimate the total number of potential customers in your market of interest. You can use insights, industry reports, or other sources of information to estimate the total number of potential customers.
  3. Estimate the average revenue per customer. You can use historical insights from your own business or available information from other businesses in your industry to estimate the average revenue per customer.
  4. Multiply the total number of potential customers by the average revenue per customer to calculate your TAM.
  5. Filter TAM based on factors such as geographic location, demographics, interests and values that are important to your ideal customers to identify your SAM.
  6. Filter SAM based on factors such as market landscape and players, brand awareness, and marketing budget to identify your SOM.

An example of how to calculate TAM SAM SOM

Let’s say you’re a startup launching a new line of kitchen storage products. Your market is all households in the U.S. with an annual income of more than $50,000. You estimate that there are 40 million households in the U.S. that meet your criteria. You also estimate that the average household spends $100 per year on kitchen storage solutions. Based on this information, your TAM would be $4 billion.

To calculate your SAM, you would need to filter TAM based on factors such as market landscape—meaning the number of players in this market offering products that are similar to yours—brand awareness, and marketing budget. For example, you might estimate that you can realistically engage 10% of SAM, which would give you a SOM of $400 million.

How to use TAM SAM SOM to help grow your business

TAM SAM SOM can be used to grow your business in a number of ways. For example, you can use TAM SAM SOM to explore new markets, gain confidence and support in your business plan, and tailor your marketing and sales strategies.

Identify new opportunities for growth

TAM SAM SOM can help you identify new opportunities for growth within your existing market or in new markets.

Validate your business idea

TAM SAM SOM can help you validate your business idea by providing you with a clear-sighted understanding of the market size and potential revenue opportunity.

Develop a go-to-market strategy

TAM SAM SOM can help you develop a go-to-market strategy by identifying the most attractive market opportunities and ideal customers, and developing strategies to reach and engage those customers.

Attract investors

TAM SAM SOM is important for investors to consider when evaluating potential investment opportunities. A large and growing TAM SAM SOM can indicate that a business has a significant market opportunity.

Measure your progress over time

TAM SAM SOM can be used to measure your progress over time and your success in expanding further into your existing or new markets.

Examples of how businesses can use TAM SAM SOM to help drive growth

  • An e-commerce business could use TAM SAM SOM to identify new geographic markets in which to expand their international advertising. For example, if a business is already successful in the U.S., it could use TAM SAM SOM to identify other countries with large numbers of shoppers who are interested in buying similar products.
  • A software company could use TAM SAM SOM to identify new industries. For example, if the company currently sells software to the health and personal care industry, it could use TAM SAM SOM to identify other industries with similar needs.
  • A startup could use TAM SAM SOM to validate its business idea and attract investors. For example, if the startup is developing a new product or service, it could use TAM SAM SOM to demonstrate that there is a large and growing market for the product or service.

Overall, TAM SAM SOM is an essential tool for businesses of all sizes to understand their market potential, set realistic goals and KPIs, and make informed strategic decisions when expanding into new territories.

Examples of brands that used TAM SAM SOM to expand

Case Study

Learn how Amazon Ads helped a Brazilian furniture company expand its global presence. Pedro Cini, CEO of Madesa Móveis, led the company through a digital transformation, and, with the help of Amazon Ads solutions, reached new audiences in 10 countries.

Case Study

Find out how a family-owned Italian coffee roasting company used Amazon Ads solutions to bring high-quality coffee to customers across Europe. For small and medium-sized businesses looking to expand internationally, Caffè Vergnano CEO Carolina Vergnano advises, “Create a Store and keep it alive and up to date.”

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