Where these solutions can be identified through market research, they can often be commercialized. If the problem is too many good ideas, group interviews among the concept champions can be useful. If the concept needs to be refined as opposed to defined., group sessions with early adopters of related products or services can work well. Early adopters of new technologies are typically more analytical in their thinking and decision making than the general adopters that follow. As such their feedback can be much more useful than that of a randomly chosen group.
Many companies rely on existing market statistics and some simple math to produce rough estimates.
While this process is certainly a reasonable place to start, there are also some user-oriented methods that can help augment those numbers. Questions are asked about the user's background and behaviours that relate to the new product. Substitution potential is also an important factor. Adopting a new way of doing things by choosing to use a new service usually means a move away from doing things the old way. It would be especially useful to know the circumstances under which the new way will replace the old, and how many people would switch.