Jianfa Tsai’s Input
ELI5: The gap in the market model; how to practically apply it? Krogerus, M., & Tschappeler, R. (2023). The decision book: Fifty models for strategic thinking (New ed.). Profile Books.
Explain Like I’m 5 (ELI5)
Imagine you want to set up a lemonade stand. If you look around your neighborhood and notice that three other kids are already selling cheap, regular sweet lemonade, you probably should not do the exact same thing. Instead, you can look for a “gap” or an empty spot that nobody else is filling. For example, maybe you notice that grown-ups want healthy lemonade with no sugar, or a fancy lavender-flavored lemonade. The Gap in the Market model helps you map out what everyone else is selling using a simple chart with three main features, like price, healthiness, and flavor. By looking at where everyone else is standing on that chart, you can easily spot the empty spaces where no one is selling anything, giving you the perfect idea for a brand new business that people will love.
Theoretical Foundation of the Model
The Gap in the Market model serves as a visual framework designed to map out the competitive landscape within a given industry segment to determine what differentiates a new business idea from existing offerings (Krogerus & Tschappeler, 2023). Unlike traditional two-dimensional matrices, this strategic tool utilizes three axes to position competitors according to the distinct variables that dictate value within that specific industry (Krogerus & Tschappeler, 2023). When utilizing this framework, strategic planners categorize the market into dense areas populated by established competitors and entirely vacant spaces (Krogerus & Tschappeler, 2023). The model posits that organizations should only enter a highly dense market space if they possess the capacity to develop a “category killer” product capable of outperforming existing rivals (Krogerus & Tschappeler, 2023). Conversely, when an empty space is identified on the map, the framework cautions strategists to perform rigorous secondary verification to ascertain whether the gap represents a genuinely viable, unexploited consumer demand or an unprofitable space that lacks market interest entirely (Krogerus & Tschappeler, 2023).
Practical Application Steps
To effectively apply the model across personal, academic, and professional domains, individuals must execute systematic market mapping and validation protocols.
- Define Three Core Evaluation Metrics: Identify three critical variables that dictate consumer choices or performance standards within your specific environment, ensuring they represent distinct, non-overlapping dimensions such as cost, quality, speed, or specialization.
- Map Existing Competitors or Alternatives: Place current market offerings, rival academic projects, or professional competitors onto the three-dimensional axis based on their performance across your chosen metrics to visualize where the current market capacity is clustered.
- Identify and Verify Unoccupied Clusters: Locate the physical gaps on your visual map where no competitors reside, and conduct targeted customer interviews, focus groups, or database searches to confirm whether the gap exists due to an overlooked consumer need or an underlying lack of market viability.
- Formulate a Targeted Position Strategy: Develop a unique product, service, or personal skill set that aligns directly with the verified empty cluster, ensuring that your positioning remains highly differentiated from dense competitor zones unless you possess the resources to launch a category-killing alternative.
Date
Friday, June 5, 2026, 8:17 AM AEST
Authors
Jianfa Tsai (https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1809-1686) in collaboration with Gemini AI Pro.
References
Krogerus, M., & Tschäppeler, R. (2023). The decision book: Fifty models for strategic thinking (New ed.). Profile Books.