[bhc3]

I don't know this market well. But I can suggest three tests that you should apply to any potential niche you're considering.

"Jobs-to-be-done" (JTBD) is useful analytical tool here. A "job" is a thing that someone is trying to accomplish. Harvard's Theodore Levitt expressed it well in this quote:

"People don't want to buy a 1/4 inch drill. They want a 1/4 inch hole."

It reframes the discussion away from features to customer objectives.

As you look at your platform, think about different market niches and the things they're trying to get done. Here are three tests to apply as you consider a given niche.

1. Is it an actual JTBD for a large enough target niche?

This is the most basic test. Do people actually have the need that your product/service addresses? Not only that, but can you characterize the the number of potential customers with the JTBD?

2. Does your product/service/idea meaningfully improve on the incumbent solution(s)?

This is a tougher test. How does your idea outperform the current way customers address the JTBD? You need to have a clear view on this. And the improvement needs to be significant, not just a little. Customers will overvalue their incumbent solution's benefits, and undervalue the new product's benefits.

3. Is the total incremental cost to the customer of your idea less than the total incremental value to the customer?

This test is the toughest. You need to consider monetary costs of course. But there can be many other switching costs as well. Loss of existing data, new time required to learn, new formats that have upstream and downstream impacts.

My take is that successful products can get to clear yes's on these three tests. But it takes some work, experimenting and seeing where your idea falls short if it's not getting yes's on the three tests.