AOFEntrepreneurship

Unit 2, Lesson 4

Market Research Methods

Entrepreneurs can choose from several methods for learning about potential customers

• Observing customer behavior

• Networking and talking with customers and competitors

• Holding focus groups or panel discussions

• Interviewing customers and conducting surveys

• Conducting experiments

Which methods do you think are formal and which are informal ways of doing research?

Observing customers is the simplest, cheapest way to learn about people’s buying behavior

How might an entrepreneur take advantage of a competitor’s poor product design?

Networking with customers can help an entrepreneur understand the local market better

By taking time to be social with colleagues, customers, and competitors, business leaders can gain critical insight into their industry.

Why else are social skills critical to success in business?

Survey research and interviews are popular methods that reveal in-depth information about customers

Survey research includes questionnaires, surveys, and interviews.

If you want to know what potential customers are thinking, just ask!

Is a customer more likely to be completely honest in an in-person interview or in an anonymous questionnaire?

A focus group is an informal discussion with a group of potential customers about their preferences

What happens when you gather a group of potential customers in a room and ask their opinion?

Focus groups encourage customers to discuss what they want and expect from a product or a service.

By experimenting with product features, price, and delivery methods, entrepreneurs learn what works

Once entrepreneurs understand their market, they can test the waters by trying out a new product.

Experimentation will show them what works and what sells—and what doesn’t.

Entrepreneurs choose the type of market research that helps them find out what they need to know

The different forms of market research each have advantages and disadvantages.

No method is the “best” or “worst.”

Entrepreneurs can mix and match market research methods to get different perspectives on the market.

Choosing which method to use can depend on factors such as:

• Time available for research • Budget for research• Goals of research