TALKING TO YOUR

CUSTOMERS
 The Interview

 One of the most reliable and credible ways of

getting relevant information from the target
customers.

 It is a face to face contact between the

researchers/entrepreneur and a respondents
where the researcher ask pertinent questions that
will give him significant pieces of information
about the problem that he will solve.
 Two main types:

Unstructured interview
Is an informal type and does not follow
specific set of questions

 the respondents can answer freely including

everything that he or she feels about the
issues raised, related to the questions being
asked by the researchers
 Two main types:

 Structured Interview
 employs a specific set questions and
produces quantitative data

pre arranged questionnaires with

specific questions usually answerable by
yes or no (closed-ended), forced ranking
multiple choice or choose the best will be
answered by the respondents
 CHALLENGES IN AN INTERVIEW

1. It involves setting an appointment with an

interviewee, which includes asking the
respondent’s permission.

2. The respondent’s indifferences on how they share

their opinions.

3. Getting unbiased answers from the respondets.

 FOCUSED GROUP DISCUSSION

 is commonly used by market researchers to capture

qualitative results from target customers.

 it is a process of mining customers and non-customers

experience and insights about a specific product or
service.

 A preparatory step in crafting a quantitative survey

because this methods generates background
information or hypothesis for a new product or service.
 FOCUSED GROUP DISCUSSION

 Through an FGD, the researcher will be able to

generate relevant concerns and issues of
customers such as their views and inclinations
towards a product or service models, innovation of
the older product or service, perceptions or
impressions on new product or service, price
elasticity, and initial feedback of customers on
marketing tactics ad advertisements.
 ADVANTAGES OF FGD

1. The researcher can get combined insights from

the participants.

2. The participants are more spontaneous and

enthusiastic because of the interaction with co-
participants, thereby sharing more insights to the
researcher.

3. It can be observed by various spectators.

 DISADVANTAGES OF FGD

1. It obtains only qualitative data.

2. Examination of the focus group session is difficult

and requires more time.

3. There are potentially biased answers from the

participants because they will encounter peer
pressure. There may also be instances that one or
to among the eight participants will dominate the
discussion, resulting in biased responses.
 OBSERVATION

 One of the preferred and practical methods of

generating ideas because the researcher documents
the behavioral patterns of people or of objects or
events without necessarily requiring them to
participate in the research process.

 It is reliable because it allows the researcher to see

the real and actual behavior of customers rather than
hearing what they need to say, which may sometimes
be biased, incomplete, sugarcoated, or exaggerated.
 OBSERVATION

 The key to observation is that researcher must be

keen and accurate on what he or she really wants to
observe and must have a clear objective.

 It can be performed by either a human or a machine

observer. The human observer records information
as it occur or as it happens using his/her five senses.
The machine observer employs an equipment to
record the information needed.
 Examples of Human Observation

 Customer purchase patterns. Uses the

researcher to understand the buying behavior of
the customers such as their pain points, buying
patterns, location, price, or promotion.

 Mystery shopping. Common practice of service

businesses today where the researcher pretends he
or she is a customer of his or her own business or
the competitor’s.
 Examples of Machine Observation

 Video cameras or closed-circuit television

(CCTV). These are positioned within the business
premises. They record the customers in their
organic shopping or service behavior.

 Traffic counters. Very common machine

observers used by researchers to determine foot
traffic or vehicular traffic in a particular location.
 Examples of Machine Observation

 Web analytics. Online tool that tracks the

performance of a Web site as to the number of its
visitor, this gives the online entrepreneur a report
on how his or her Web site performs and how this
dives awareness and sales for the business.

 Barcode Scanners. Help researchers

understand the purchase behavior of the customers
by reading the product codes and generate relevant
sales information.
 Examples of Machine Observation

 GPS technology. Allows tracking of vehicles and

pedestrians exposed to out-of-home advertisements.
 Observation only becomes a relevant research tool if it meets the
following conditions:

1. If the person, object, or event is indeed observable.

2. If the person does the activity regularly or the event
happens on a regular basis.
3. If doing an interview or FGD is becoming intrusive
of the privacy of the person.
4. If the subject of observation does not take too long
to produce relevant information.
 Traditional and Online Surveys

When it comes to quantitative research, taking

surveys is essential. It is the process of getting
answers from a sample of respondents derived from
a particular population.
Survey is very simple and practical to turn because
it requires preparation of predetermined questions
answerable by definite responses using equitable
scales. This is systematized and easier to analyze,
and also a definitive quantitative result to be
interpreted.
 Traditional and Online Surveys

Traditional ways to conduct a survey are via

telephone face-to-face interaction, or snail mail.
The emerging and efficient way of conducting a
survey is through the Internet --- through e-mails,
Web sites, or social media sites. It is more efficient
because the results can be derived in real-time
depending on the availability of the respondents.
Also it will not require the researcher to travel
physically or spend on telephone calls or mails.
1. Sampling Technique

A sample is a percentage of a
specific population carefully chosen by
the researcher to generally represents
the whole population.
When the entire population is too
large for the researcher to cover, there
is a need for the sampling process.
Probability Sampling
is a technique wherein samples are given equitable
chances or nonzero chances of being selected from
the population. Researcher needs to apply
randomization wherein he or she needs to assure
that every sample has an equal representation for
the selection process to be unbiased. Sampling
error is a range of inaccuracy to which a sample
might vary from he particular population
 Nonprobability Sampling
does not give the samples equal
chance of being selected, because
samples are instead selected according
to their accessibility or personal choice
of the researcher.
2. Sample Size

Researcher must be able to

calculate first the appropriate sample
size.
If the sample size is too large, he
or she will waste his or her capital and
time whereas a sample size that is too
small will lead to imprecise results.
3. Questionnaire Blueprint

Tips:
 Be specific and direct with the questions
and answers required.
 Be flexible with the respondents’ convenient
way of answering the questionnaires(mail,
telephone, face to face or online). Therefore,
the researcher must be ready with any of
these four formats
 Ensure that each question is necessary and
not repetitive.
 Always put yourself in the shoes of your
respondents. The questionnaire should be
simple but should also meet the objectives.
The comparison and type of
questions(multiple choice, dichotomous,
open ended) should also be geared toward
their convenience.
 Make sure that questions are arranged in a
coherent order that will lead to the answers
required. At the onset, qualifying questions
are positioned, followed by general
questions and then specific questions.
 The questionnaire should look professional,
be divided into strategic parts and be
properly numbered.
THANK YOU
AND

GODBLESS!