How to craft the market-size slide of your pitch deck
- Shivam Batra | Creative Director, Ink Narrates
- Feb 19, 2023
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 12
A founder reached out to us after discovering our services on LinkedIn. 'I’ve been trying to DIY my pitch deck, and it's become overwhelming—especially the market size slide,' they said. 'If I show a smaller number, it seems too conservative, but if I go big, it feels unrealistic. Maybe you could help me start the pitch deck from scratch?'
'I get it,' I replied. 'The market size slide can be tricky, but there are proven methods that strike the right balance.'
We ended up taking over the entire project, but that conversation made me realize how many founders struggle with creating their own pitch decks. That’s why I decided to write this detailed blog—to help those who might not yet be ready to seek professional help.
Want to see our past presentation design projects? Browse case studies here.
What’s a market-size slide in a pitch deck?
The market size slide in a pitch deck is a critical section where you present the potential size of the market for your product or service. It helps investors understand how big the opportunity is and what kind of growth potential your business has.
What's the Purpose of a Market Size Slide in your pitch deck?
Here’s why it matters:
Demonstrates Opportunity: Investors want to know if your product or service addresses a market with enough potential customers to make it worth their investment.
Validates Your Business: By clearly defining the size of the market, you show that you've done your homework. It reassures investors that your business idea isn’t just viable but also has room to grow and scale.
Sets Expectations: A realistic market size helps set expectations for future revenue and growth. Investors can gauge how big the company can get based on the market potential, which plays a key role in their decision to back you.
Justifies Your Ask: If you're raising funds, a strong market size slide helps justify the amount you're asking for. If the market is large and the opportunity is significant, investors are more likely to believe in your ability to generate a high return on their investment.
Calculating market size by TAM, SAM & SOM [Most common method]
There are several ways to calculate the market size, but using TAM, SAM & SOM is the most common & known method. What are TAM, SAM & SOM?
Total Addressable Market (TAM): This method calculates the total market demand for a product or service. It includes all potential customers and revenue opportunities.
Serviceable Available Market (SAM): This method calculates the portion of the TAM that a company can realistically target and serve.
Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM): This method calculates the portion of the SAM that a company can realistically capture through its own efforts. Basically, the market share it can capture.
For Example,
Confused? No problem, let’s look at an example of a water bottle business for a better understanding.
In the Total Addressable Market (TAM), you would look at the total market size for all water bottles sold globally. This would include all types of water bottles, from plastic to metal, and all sizes, from small to large.
To calculate the Serviceable Available Market (SAM), you would look at the portion of the TAM that your business can realistically serve, based on factors such as location, distribution channels, and target customer segment. For example, if your water bottle business is only selling online and only targeting customers in North America, your SAM would be the total market size for water bottles sold in North America online.
Finally, to calculate the Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM), you would look at the portion of the SAM that your business can realistically capture, based on factors such as marketing budget, competitive landscape, and business model. For example, if your water bottle business has a limited marketing budget and faces strong competition, your SOM may be a smaller portion of the total North American online water bottle market.
Note: When calculating market size, it is important to consider factors such as the size and growth of the market, the target customer base, and the competition. Additionally, it is important to use reliable data sources and to clearly explain the methodology used in the calculations.
Other methods to calculate the market-size
Beyond TAM, SAM, and SOM, there are additional techniques to determine the size of your market.
Market Segmentation: This method involves dividing the market into smaller segments based on characteristics such as demographics, behavior, or needs.
Market Surveys: This method involves conducting surveys to gather data on the size of the market and consumer behavior.
Industry Reports: This method involves analyzing industry reports to understand market size and trends.
Historical Sales Data: This method involves analyzing your company’s historical sales data to estimate the size of the market.
Bottom-up approach: This method involves estimating the market size by starting with the number of potential customers and multiplying it by the average revenue per customer.
Expert Opinion: This method involves consulting with experts in the industry to gather their opinion on the size of the market.
How to craft a winning market-size slide?
1. Paint the big picture
Set the stage by starting your slide with an overview of the total market size, and then break it down into smaller segments or sub-markets that are relevant to your product or service. Give your audience a sense of the vastness of the market and how your product or service fits into it.
2. Use visuals to tell a story
Use charts, graphs, and infographics to bring the market size to life and help illustrate the size and growth of the market. This will make the information more easily digestible for your audience and will help them understand the potential of your product or service.
3. Cite your sources and add credibility
Be sure to include information on where you sourced your market data from, and make sure it’s from reputable sources. This will add credibility to your presentation and give your audience confidence in the information you are providing.
4. Highlight your target market
Make sure to focus on the specific segment of the market that your product or service is targeting. This will help your audience understand the potential size of your addressable market and how it aligns with your product or service.
5. Show the growth potential
If the market is projected to grow in the future, be sure to highlight this growth potential. This will help demonstrate the potential for your business to grow along with the market and the potential for success for your product or service.
6. Keep it simple yet effective
Avoid overwhelming your audience with too much data or information. Stick to the most important and relevant information, but make sure it’s presented in an effective way that will capture the audience’s attention.
7. Make it visually appealing
Make sure that the slide is visually appealing and easy to read. Use colors, imagery, and design elements that will capture the attention of your audience and keep them engaged and interested in the information you’re presenting.
Work with us
Feeling overwhelmed by the thought of creating a pitch deck? Don’t worry, we got you! At our presentation design agency, we know a thing or two about pitch decks. In fact, we build them day in and day out. We understand that it can be daunting to put together a pitch deck all by yourself, especially when it comes to the market size slide.