Blog · Wallet share and penetration
A step-by-step method for whitespace analysis: the account-by-product grid from the ledger, the norm per segment that says which empty cells matter, the value per cell, the roll-up per rep, the identity that keeps the total honest, and the three reasons a cell is empty that decide whether it is an opportunity at all.
Whitespace analysis is a grid with empty cells. Done badly, it is a grid with mostly empty cells and a total that nobody believes. This guide gives the method: the grid, the norm that says which empties matter, the value, the roll-up, the identity, and the three kinds of empty.
Rows: accounts. Columns: product lines. Cells: trailing twelve months' revenue.
| Account | Line A | Line B | Line C | Line D | Line E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2207 | $120k | $40k | $18k | ||
| 4471 | $310k | ||||
| 9034 | $22k | $9k | $14k | $6k |
From the ledger, with the product list fixed at lines.
Per segment, from the company's own accounts: the share of accounts holding each line, and the median spend among those that do. A line held by 80 percent of similar accounts is expected; one held by 8 percent is not.
| Segment: mid manufacturers | Line A | Line B | Line C | Line D | Line E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share holding | 96% | 74% | 61% | 30% | 12% |
| Median spend | $180k | $45k | $30k | $20k | $8k |
An empty cell is an opportunity if the line is held by more than a stated share of the segment, say half. Line E's empties are not opportunities; too few similar accounts buy it. Line B and C empties are.
Cell value = segment median spend on the line, scaled by the account's size
Account 4471, empty on B and C: $45,000 and $30,000 at the segment median, scaled up if 4471 is larger than the segment's median account.
| Kind | Test | On the list? |
|---|---|---|
| Never bought | No revenue on the line, ever | Yes: new line |
| Bought and stopped | Revenue on the line in a prior period, none now | Yes, first: a lost line is easier to recover |
| Cannot buy | Account attribute rules the line out | No: excluded, counted |
Per rep: whitespace value, by line. Per region: the same. And:
Σ filled cells = ledger revenue for the period
A ledger line with no account or no product line fails it and is listed.
| Rep | Accounts | Whitespace cells | Value | Largest cell |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-04 | 62 | 48 | $1.9m | 4471, Line B, bought and stopped, $52,000 |
| R-11 | 44 | 21 | $610,000 | 2207, Line C, never, $34,000 |
The rep's Monday starts with account 4471 and the line it used to buy.
SKUs as columns. Whitespace everywhere.
Every empty cell counted. The total is fantasy and the list is padded.
Cannot-buy cells included. The rep learns the list is wrong on the first call.
No identity check. The filled cells do not sum to the ledger and the whitespace total inherits the error.
Lost lines not separated. The easiest recoveries are buried among the never-boughts.
Mapped once, the ledger, the product list and the customer master produce the grid, the norms, the valued cells, the three kinds and the roll-up every month. Covirage builds this from the exports as they are. The whitespace term has the short definition, and the SaaS whitespace guide applies the method to subscription revenue.
A product line the company manages as a line, not a SKU. A grid with 400 SKU columns has whitespace everywhere and means nothing. Ten to thirty lines is the usual range.
At the median spend on that product among accounts in the same segment that do buy it, scaled by the account's size where the segment uses a size measure. The method is stated on the report.
A product the account has no use for: a service for a site type it does not have, a line its licence does not permit. These are marked from the account master's attributes and excluded, so the list is not padded with impossible sales.