Serviceable Addressable Market

Also called SAM

Serviceable addressable market: the portion of the total market you could actually serve given your product, business model, and reach. Narrower than TAM.

Why it matters

SAM is a more honest measure than TAM of the market you can realistically go after with what you have. It grounds market-size claims in your actual product and geography rather than a fantasy of total demand.

For example

A payroll startup's total market is every business, but its serviceable market is the metro-based tech companies its product and sales actually fit.

Related terms

Go deeper

See how founders actually handle this on Growing and marketing, part of the Starting Up hub.

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