Market Research Skill for Claude Code

A McKinsey-level market research skill for Claude Code that provides structured, consultant-grade strategic analysis using 12 composable frameworks.

What It Does

This skill turns Claude Code into a strategic research consultant. When invoked, it runs a 5-step orchestrated workflow that systematically analyzes your product, market, and competitive landscape using proven strategic frameworks — the same ones used by top-tier consulting firms.

It can:

• Size your market with TAM/SAM/SOM calculations and 5-year CAGR projections
• Map your competitive landscape across 10+ competitors with positioning analysis
• Build buyer personas with demographics, psychographics, and buying behavior
• Identify industry trends mapped to short, medium, and long-term timelines
• Design pricing strategies with value-based and cost-plus models
• Create go-to-market plans with phased launch strategies
• Model financials including CAC, LTV, unit economics, and 3-year projections
• Assess risks across 5 categories with mitigation and contingency plans
• Generate executive-ready strategic recommendations with 90-day action plans

The 12 Frameworks

Workflow

The skill follows a structured 5-step process:

Step 1: Context Gathering     -> Product/company info, stage, goals
Step 2: Framework Selection   -> Choose which of 12 frameworks to run
Step 3: Deep Analysis         -> Execute each framework with structured prompts
Step 4: Strategic Synthesis   -> Cross-framework insights and patterns
Step 5: Action Plan           -> Prioritized 90-day implementation plan

Step 1 — Product Context Discovery

Automatically discovers product information from your codebase (README, package.json, landing pages, etc.) and fills in gaps by asking targeted questions. Builds a complete product profile including stage, revenue model, and differentiators.

Step 2 — Framework Selection

Recommends the right frameworks based on your product stage:

• Pre-launch: Market Sizing, Competitive, Personas, Pricing, GTM, Financial
• MVP/Early: Market Sizing, Competitive, Personas, Journey, Financial, Risk
• Growth: Competitive, Trends, SWOT, Pricing, Journey, Financial, Market Entry
• Scale: All 12 frameworks
• Mature: Trends, SWOT, Pricing, Risk, Market Entry, Executive

Step 3 — Deep Analysis

Executes each selected framework with detailed analysis templates. Uses web search for real market data, competitor pricing, industry reports, and more. Each framework builds on insights from prior analyses.

Step 4 — Strategic Synthesis

Cross-references findings across all frameworks to identify patterns, contradictions, and strategic implications. Produces an opportunity matrix (Impact vs Effort), competitive advantage map, and risk-reward summary.

Step 5 — 90-Day Action Plan

Delivers an executive-ready action plan with:

• Week 1-2 quick wins
• Monthly milestones for 3 months
• Key metrics dashboard (North Star, leading/lagging indicators)
• Resource requirements and budget estimates
• Decision log with review triggers

Installation

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/PJharwal/market-research-skill.git

2. Copy to Claude Code Skills Directory

# Copy the skill definition files
cp -r market-research-skill/SKILL.md ~/.claude/skills/market-research/SKILL.md
cp -r market-research-skill/CLAUDE.md ~/.claude/skills/market-research/CLAUDE.md
cp -r market-research-skill/frameworks/ ~/.claude/skills/market-research/frameworks/
 
# Copy the Python orchestrator
cp -r market-research-skill/scripts/skills/market_research/ ~/.claude/skills/scripts/skills/market_research/

Note: The skill depends on the shared workflow library (skills.lib.workflow). If you don't have it installed, also copy the scripts/skills/lib/ directory:

cp -r market-research-skill/scripts/skills/lib/ ~/.claude/skills/scripts/skills/lib/

3. Verify Installation

The skill should now appear in Claude Code's skill list. You can invoke it with:

/market-research

Usage

Full Analysis (All 12 Frameworks)

/market-research

This runs the complete workflow — context gathering, all 12 frameworks, synthesis, and action plan.

Specific Framework Only

You can run individual frameworks by passing the --framework flag:

# Just competitive analysis
/market-research --framework competitive

# Just pricing strategy
/market-research --framework pricing

# Just financial modeling
/market-research --framework financial

Available Framework Flags

With Product Name

/market-research --product "My SaaS Product"

Use Cases

• Product Market Research — Full strategic analysis for new or existing products
• Startup Validation — Evaluate viability, market size, and competitive positioning
• Investor Prep — Generate data-backed market analysis for pitch decks
• Strategic Planning — Inform quarterly planning with structured competitive intelligence
• Market Expansion — Evaluate new markets and entry strategies
• Pricing Decisions — Data-driven pricing with competitor benchmarking

Project Structure

market-research-skill/
├── README.md                          # This file
├── SKILL.md                           # Skill invocation config
├── CLAUDE.md                          # File navigation guide
├── frameworks/                        # Individual framework definitions
│   ├── market-sizing.md               # Market Sizing & TAM Analysis
│   ├── competitive.md                 # Competitive Landscape Analysis
│   ├── personas.md                    # Customer Personas & Segmentation
│   ├── trends.md                      # Industry Trend Analysis
│   ├── swot-porters.md                # SWOT + Porter's Five Forces
│   ├── pricing.md                     # Pricing Strategy Analysis
│   ├── gtm.md                        # Go-To-Market Strategy
│   ├── journey.md                     # Customer Journey Mapping
│   ├── financial.md                   # Financial Modeling & Unit Economics
│   ├── risk.md                        # Risk Assessment & Scenario Planning
│   ├── market-entry.md                # Market Entry & Expansion Strategy
│   └── executive.md                   # Executive Strategy Synthesis
└── scripts/
    └── skills/
        ├── __init__.py
        ├── market_research/
        │   ├── __init__.py
        │   └── research.py            # Main 5-step orchestrator (640 lines)
        └── lib/
            ├── __init__.py
            └── workflow/              # Shared workflow framework
                ├── __init__.py
                ├── core.py            # Workflow, StepDef, Arg types
                └── prompts/
                    ├── __init__.py
                    └── step.py        # Step formatting utilities

How It Works Under the Hood

The skill is powered by a Python orchestrator (research.py) that:

1. Defines 12 framework analysis templates — Each framework has a detailed prompt template specifying exactly what to analyze, what data to gather, and how to structure the output.

2. Uses a 5-step workflow engine — The Workflow and StepDef classes provide step sequencing, and format_step() handles continuation directives so Claude Code knows which step to execute next.

3. Leverages Claude Code's tools — During analysis, the skill uses:

   • WebSearch for real market data, competitor info, and industry reports
   • Glob/Read for discovering product information from your codebase
   • AskUserQuestion for gathering missing context

4. Builds insights incrementally — Each framework builds on prior analyses. Market sizing informs competitive analysis, which informs personas, which informs pricing, and so on.

Requirements

• Claude Code CLI installed and configured
• Python 3.8+
• No external Python dependencies (uses only standard library)

License

MIT