The purpose.
WHAT IT ANSWERS
Who has the problem How many of them there are What they do now What they would pay Who else serves them
WHY IT MATTERS
Most business failures are failures of demand, not of execution.
WHAT THAT MEANS
The product worked; nobody wanted it enough.
WHAT RESEARCH REDUCES
The cost of finding that out.
WHAT IT CANNOT DO
Guarantee an outcome Replace judgement Tell you what to build
WHAT IT CAN DO
Remove the worst assumptions before they are expensive.
WHAT SMALL BUSINESSES OFTEN THINK
That research is for large companies with budgets.
WHY THAT IS WRONG
The most useful research is conversations, which cost time and nothing else.
WHAT THE TWO BROAD TYPES ARE
Finding out what exists: published information, competitors, data
Finding out what people think and do: conversations, observation, surveys
WHAT TO DO FIRST
Establish what decision the research will inform.
WHY
Research with no decision attached produces interesting findings nobody uses.
WHAT TO ASK
What would I do differently depending on the answer.
WHAT TO DO IF THE ANSWER IS NOTHING
Do not do the research.
