Unit 7: Methodologies for Validating Customers’

Concerns
Lesson 1: Interview and Observation
Technique

Contents
Engage 1
Introduction 1
Objective 1

Explore 2

Explain and Elaborate 3

Interview 3
Observation Technique 6

Extend 8
Activity 8

Evaluate 9

Wrap Up 12

Bibliography 13
Unit 7.1: Interview and Observation Technique

Engage

Introduction

Fig. 1. An interview session

If an entrepreneur wants to know how he can meet the needs of his customer, he must
ask. Interview and observation help the entrepreneurs discover if their idea is worth
pursuing before putting a lot of time and effort into it. Immerse yourself in the lesson and
learn the techniques in validating customer-related concerns.

Objective
In this lesson, you should be able to validate customer-related concerns through an
interview and observation technique.

DepEd Competency
Validate customer-related concerns through an interview. (CS_EP11/12ENTREP-0d-g-9)

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Unit 7.1: Interview and Observation Technique

Explore

15 minutes
Guide Questions
Choose a partner. Conduct an interview between you and your partner using the following
questions. Choose who will ask the questions and who will answer the questions.

1. In what fast-food restaurants do you and your family mostly eat? List down at least five
fast-food restaurants.

2. What are your reasons and preferences in patronizing these fast-food restaurants?

3. Did you experience dissatisfaction while eating in these fast-food restaurants? Discuss
why you felt disappointed.

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Unit 7.1: Interview and Observation Technique

Explain and Elaborate

Interview
An interview is a face-to-face communication between two persons where questions are
asked, and answers are given. The interviewer is the one who asks questions to gather
information, and the interviewee is the respondent who supplies the information
requested. The interview involves a transfer of information from the interviewee to the
interviewer, which is the primary purpose of the interview.

The interviewer can have various ways of recording the gathered information coming
from the interviewee. It is often done by writing with a pencil and paper or transcribing
with a video or audio recorder, depending on the context, extent of information, and
length of the interview.

How does an interview aid in gathering

information for the business?

Kinds of Interviews
There are different kinds of interviews, depending on their uses. Below are some interviews
commonly used by entrepreneurs in their businesses.

1. Customer Interview. It is communication with customers designed to gather

information. These gathered pieces of information are ideas for products or services
and customer experience. It is also used to assess the strategies and performance
of the business as well as measuring customer satisfaction and brand awareness.

2. Job Interview. It is a formal discussion for the purpose of assessing the

qualifications of an interviewee for a specific job position. This interview is a useful
tool for evaluating qualifications.

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Unit 7.1: Interview and Observation Technique

How can we tell if an interview was carried out

successfully?

Considerations in Conducting an Interview

Considerations and planning are vital to make an interview successful. It will have better
results if followed by these best practices.

1. Determine the objectives. Before scheduling an interview, make sure that the
objectives are clear. The interviewers should determine why they would conduct it.
They should identify what information they can gain from the interviewee. They
should assess how this information helps to achieve their goals.

2. Outline the areas to be covered. Do not write questions and read-only these
questions during the interview. This might miss non-verbal cues such as body
language. The better approach is to have an outline of the areas the interviewer
wants to cover. After discussing the area, cross it out.

3. Pick the location. Meeting at the interviewee’s place may make that person feel at
ease but also be aware of the possibility that the interviewee may think that the
interviewer is invading his space. In this case, the interviewer may choose a neutral
location such as a conference room, cafeteria, or another restaurant. The
interviewer should present these alternatives and communicate with his
interviewee.

4. Observe standards of etiquette. If the meeting is conducted in the interviewee’s

place, the interviewer should knock before entering the room. Do not sit down until
invited to do so. Observe proper etiquette during the interview.

5. Open with a standard rapport or small talk. Before starting the interview, take
some moments to get to know the interviewee. Ask questions and make standard
comments about the weather or make positive comments about the place. Once
they spent a few minutes, the interviewer may start transitioning to the interview.

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Unit 7.1: Interview and Observation Technique
6. Distinguish open-ended and closed-ended questions. Open-ended questions
must start with words such as why, or how. It gives the interviewee a chance to give
a narrative response. These questions are good when one is seeking general or
background information. Closed-ended questions, on the other hand, are usually
answerable by who, what, when, where, yes or no. An interviewer who asks a
closed-ended question is usually seeking a particular answer to a particular
question. Both of these types of questions have a part during the interview.

7. Use notation to record impressions. Be careful in using notations. Set your own
codes and take note of a comment accordingly.

8. Hide a notepad and pen. Try to hide the notepad and pen while writing. Rather
than writing on the table, keep the pad and pen on the lap so that the interviewee
cannot see any notations written.

9. Be tactful when exploring sensitive issues. When interviewing someone, tact and
diplomacy are important not only from a courtesy point but also to maximize the
chances to get the information needed.

10. Contradict with caution. Be careful when confronting an interviewee who gives
contradicting information. The interviewee might be mistaken or might have
recalled things incorrectly. Consider making positive statements.

Remember
Begin the interview with open-ended questions. As the interview
progresses, use closed-ended questions. This is to confirm
understanding and explore in depth the topic being discussed.

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Unit 7.1: Interview and Observation Technique

Is the interview technique applicable to all kinds

of market research?

Observation Technique
The observation technique is the process of gathering data about customers in their
natural setting without having to interact with them. One has to simply observe customers
on their usual activity, such as buying and using products and services and evaluate how
they behave.

Considerations in Conducting Observation Technique

Prior to doing the observation, it is vital for the researcher to ensure if the following
conditions are met. Below are examples of these considerations.

Examples
Table 1. Examples of considerations that should meet in the observation technique

Considerations Examples

1. The information must A consumer goods company wants to know what a

be observable. person does first thing in the morning upon
entering a bathroom after waking up. The
observation technique is not appropriate because
the person probably does not want anyone
watching him in the morning.

2. The subject matter

contains sensitivity. During the Philippine elections, vote-buying is
rampant. However, when a research group
conducts a survey, only a small number of
respondents admit selling their votes. In this case, it
is better to use the observation technique to
observe what happens outside voting precincts.

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Unit 7.1: Interview and Observation Technique

Considerations Examples

3. The behavior of A canned goods manufacturer wants to know the

interest must be buying behavior of its customers. In this case, the
repetitive. observation technique is highly recommended
because the canned goods section of any
supermarket is often frequented by shoppers.

4. The behavior of A fast-food restaurant wants to know the customer

interest must have a buying behavior in its outlets. It would like to know if
short duration. its customers look at the menu board before
deciding on their orders. In this case, the
observation technique would yield the answer to
inquiry because the whole process takes no more
than a few minutes.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of

the observation technique?

Advantages and Disadvantages of Observation Technique

Observation is a qualitative method of gathering and analyzing the information by studying
the subjects under a natural environment. It plays a crucial role in marketing research as it
observes the manner how customers behave in a natural setting. However, the observation
technique has limitations. Take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of the
observation technique.

Table 2. Advantages and Disadvantages of Observation Technique

Advantages Disadvantages

1. It allows the researcher to see 1. The researcher cannot get the reason
what customers do rather than rely behind the behavior.
on what they say.

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Unit 7.1: Interview and Observation Technique

Advantages Disadvantages

2. It allows the researcher to 2. The researcher can only focus on

observe the customer in natural current happenings, which do not cover
settings. past experiences.

3. The observation technique may be

3. Some details are better gathered unethical to some extent because the
quickly through observation. respondents may not agree to be
observed.

Extend

Activity

Assume that you are a customer service staff of a business offering home appliances. You
are going to conduct an interview with a customer to assess his or her satisfaction. Write
five questions that you may ask to measure the quality of service the business provides.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

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Unit 7.1: Interview and Observation Technique

Guide
● Ask open-ended questions.
● After asking open-ended questions, you may ask close-ended questions that are
answerable by yes or no to confirm the answers of the customer.

Evaluate

A. Answer the following question based on your understanding

of the lesson.

1. What is meant by an interview? How is it used to gather information?

2. In conducting an interview, what type of question should be asked first? Explain why.

3. What is observation technique and how is it used in gathering data?

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Unit 7.1: Interview and Observation Technique
4. In preparing for an interview, should the interviewer write the questions ahead of time
and then read it as the interview progresses? Justify your answer.

5. Why should an interviewer hide a notepad and pen during the interview?

B. Analyze the situation. Decide on what technique in gathering data is

applicable in every case.

1. A restaurant owner noticed that most of his customers are unaware of their new
product. So he decided to make a poster of the new product and place it in the cashier
area. What technique of gathering data is applicable if the owner wants to know if the
poster is effective to the customer for a shorter period of time? Explain why.

2. An entrepreneur, who offers and sells cell phones, wants to know how his customers
assess the quality of the product he sells. What technique of gathering information will he
consider? An interview or observation technique? Explain why.

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Unit 7.1: Interview and Observation Technique

3. A business that is engaged in the manufacturing of bath soaps experiences a decrease

in sales. The business owner wants to know the reason behind it. What technique of
gathering data will help the entrepreneur to come up with the reason for decreasing sales?
Justify your answer.

4. A cosmetic manufacturing business needs to know the preferences of their customers in

choosing make-up. What is the most applicable technique to gather this information?

5. An appliance store owner is currently planning a loyalty program to build a strong

relationship between the business and its customers. What technique will he use to gather
data if he wants to know the promotions that most attract his customers?

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Unit 7.1: Interview and Observation Technique

Wrap Up
___________________________________________________________________________________________

● An interview is a face-to-face communication between two persons where

questions are asked and answers are given.
● The observation technique is one of the simplest ways of gathering data about
customers in their natural setting without having to interact with them.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

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Unit 7.1: Interview and Observation Technique

Bibliography
Miranda, Gregorio. Basic Marketing Revised Edition. L & G Business House, 1997.

Newbold, Curtis. “How to conduct observation research.” The VCG. Accessed April 2, 2020.
https://thevisualcommunicationguy.com/2018/01/30/how-to-conduct-observations-f
or-research/.

Spacey, John. “5 types of customer interview.” Simplicable. Accessed April 3, 2020.

https://simplicable.com/new/customer-interviews.

Sun, Calvin. “10 tips on conducting effective interviews.” TechRepublic. Accessed

April 2, 2020.
https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10-things/10-tips-on-conducting-effective-intervi
ews/.

Walker, Dustin. “Start talking! How to do customer interviews that reveal priceless
insights.” Crazy Egg. Accessed April 4, 2020.
https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/start-talking/.

Wright, Vicki. “Observational techniques in marketing research.” Chron. Accessed

April 2, 2020.
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/observational-techniques-marketing-research-445
63.html.

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