You have multiple opportunities, but you don’t know which to pursue. Ideas compete for attention, but prioritization framework is unclear. This confusion prevents you from focusing on the best opportunities.
Opportunity scorecards solve this by ranking ideas systematically. They compare and prioritize multiple market opportunities by market size, fit, and competition, which enables focus. This ranking is essential for strategic opportunity selection.
This guide provides a framework to compare and prioritize multiple market opportunities, helping you rank ideas by market size, fit, and competition to focus on the best opportunities.
We’ll explore why opportunity ranking matters, market size evaluation, fit assessment, competition analysis, and scoring methodology. By the end, you’ll understand how to rank opportunities effectively.
Key Takeaways
- Evaluate market size—assess opportunity scale
- Assess fit—evaluate business alignment
- Analyze competition—study competitive landscape
- Score opportunities—rank by criteria
- Prioritize focus—concentrate on top opportunities
Table of Contents
Why Opportunity Ranking Matters
Opportunities without ranking are scattered. When you don’t rank opportunities, you can’t focus. This scattering prevents effective pursuit.
Opportunity ranking matters because it enables focus. When you rank opportunities, you can prioritize. This ranking enables effective pursuit.
The reality: Most businesses don’t rank opportunities, which means they can’t focus. Opportunity scorecards create systematic ranking, enabling effective prioritization.
Market Size Evaluation
Market size evaluation assesses opportunity scale. When you evaluate size, you see opportunity potential.
TAM Calculation
Calculate total addressable market:
- Measure total market size
- Calculate TAM
- Assess market potential
- Build TAM calculation
- Create size measurement
Why this matters: TAM calculation shows potential. If you calculate TAM, you see total market potential. This calculation enables potential understanding.
SAM Calculation
Calculate serviceable available market:
- Measure serviceable market
- Calculate SAM
- Assess available market
- Build SAM calculation
- Create serviceable measurement
Why this matters: SAM calculation shows reachable potential. If you calculate SAM, you see reachable market. This calculation enables reachable potential understanding.
SOM Calculation
Calculate serviceable obtainable market:
- Measure obtainable market
- Calculate SOM
- Assess realistic market
- Build SOM calculation
- Create obtainable measurement
Why this matters: SOM calculation shows realistic potential. If you calculate SOM, you see realistic market. This calculation enables realistic potential understanding.
Growth Analysis
Analyze market growth:
- Measure growth rates
- Track growth trends
- Assess growth potential
- Build growth analysis
- Create trend tracking
Why this matters: Growth analysis shows trajectory. If you analyze growth, you see market trajectory. This analysis enables trajectory understanding.
Pro tip: Use our TAM SAM SOM Calculator to evaluate market size for opportunities. Calculate TAM, SAM, and SOM to assess opportunity scale and potential.
Fit Assessment
Fit assessment evaluates business alignment. When you assess fit, you see opportunity feasibility.
Capability Fit
Assess capability match:
- Evaluate required capabilities
- Assess capability gaps
- Study capability requirements
- Build capability assessment
- Create gap evaluation
Why this matters: Capability fit shows feasibility. If you assess fit, you see opportunity feasibility. This assessment enables feasibility understanding.
Resource Fit
Assess resource requirements:
- Evaluate resource needs
- Assess resource availability
- Study resource gaps
- Build resource assessment
- Create need evaluation
Why this matters: Resource fit shows feasibility. If you assess fit, you see resource feasibility. This assessment enables feasibility understanding.
Strategic Fit
Assess strategic alignment:
- Evaluate strategic match
- Assess goal alignment
- Study strategic fit
- Build strategic assessment
- Create alignment evaluation
Why this matters: Strategic fit shows alignment. If you assess fit, you see strategic alignment. This assessment enables alignment understanding.
Market Fit
Assess market alignment:
- Evaluate market match
- Assess customer fit
- Study market fit
- Build market assessment
- Create match evaluation
Why this matters: Market fit shows alignment. If you assess fit, you see market alignment. This assessment enables alignment understanding.
Competition Analysis
Competition analysis studies competitive landscape. When you analyze competition, you see market difficulty.
Competitive Landscape
Analyze competitive landscape:
- Identify competitors
- Assess competitor strength
- Study market saturation
- Build landscape analysis
- Create competitor identification
Why this matters: Competitive landscape shows difficulty. If you analyze landscape, you see market difficulty. This analysis enables difficulty understanding.
Competitive Intensity
Analyze competitive intensity:
- Measure competition level
- Assess competitive pressure
- Study intensity factors
- Build intensity analysis
- Create pressure assessment
Why this matters: Competitive intensity shows difficulty. If you analyze intensity, you see market difficulty. This analysis enables difficulty understanding.
Competitive Advantage
Analyze competitive advantage:
- Identify differentiation opportunities
- Assess positioning gaps
- Study advantage potential
- Build advantage analysis
- Create differentiation identification
Why this matters: Competitive advantage shows opportunity. If you analyze advantage, you see positioning opportunities. This analysis enables opportunity identification.
Market Entry Barriers
Analyze entry barriers:
- Identify entry obstacles
- Assess barrier difficulty
- Study barrier factors
- Build barrier analysis
- Create obstacle identification
Why this matters: Market entry barriers show difficulty. If you analyze barriers, you see entry difficulty. This analysis enables difficulty understanding.
Scoring Methodology
Scoring methodology ranks opportunities systematically. When you score opportunities, you prioritize effectively.
Scoring Criteria
Define scoring criteria:
- Set evaluation criteria
- Define scoring factors
- Create scoring framework
- Build criteria definition
- Create factor framework
Why this matters: Scoring criteria enable comparison. If you define criteria, you can compare opportunities. This definition enables comparison.
Weight Assignment
Assign criteria weights:
- Weight market size
- Weight fit factors
- Weight competition
- Build weight assignment
- Create weighting framework
Why this matters: Weight assignment prioritizes factors. If you assign weights, you prioritize important factors. This assignment enables prioritization.
Scoring Calculation
Calculate opportunity scores:
- Score each opportunity
- Calculate weighted scores
- Rank opportunities
- Build scoring system
- Create ranking framework
Why this matters: Scoring calculation shows priorities. If you calculate scores, you see opportunity priorities. This calculation enables prioritization.
Ranking System
Create ranking system:
- Rank opportunities by score
- Create priority tiers
- Organize opportunity list
- Build ranking framework
- Create tier system
Why this matters: Ranking system shows focus. If you create ranking, you see focus areas. This creation enables focus.
Pro tip: Use our TAM SAM SOM Calculator to evaluate market size for opportunities and build your opportunity scorecard. Calculate TAM, SAM, and SOM to score opportunities by market size.
Your Next Steps
Opportunity scorecards enable focus. Evaluate market size, assess fit, analyze competition, then score and rank opportunities to focus on the best opportunities.
This Week:
- Set up opportunity scorecard using our TAM SAM SOM Calculator
- Evaluate market size for all opportunities
- Assess fit and competition for each opportunity
- Begin scoring and ranking opportunities
This Month:
- Build comprehensive opportunity scorecard
- Complete scoring for all opportunities
- Rank opportunities by score
- Prioritize top opportunities for pursuit
Going Forward:
- Continuously evaluate new opportunities
- Update scorecard with new data
- Re-rank opportunities regularly
- Focus resources on top-ranked opportunities
Need help? Check out our TAM SAM SOM Calculator for market size evaluation, our market scanning guide for opportunity identification, our customer interview guide for need discovery, and our market testing guide for opportunity validation.
Stay informed about business strategies and tools by following us on X (Twitter) and signing up for The Initiative Newsletter.
Sources & Additional Information
This guide provides general information about opportunity scorecards. Your specific situation may require different considerations.
For market size analysis, see our TAM SAM SOM Calculator.
Consult with professionals for advice specific to your situation.
