© Pearson Education 2010 Edexcel GCSE Business Unit 1 Exam Preparation Example question Topic 1.3 Putting a business idea into practice

© Pearson Education 2010 Edexcel GCSE Business Unit 1 Exam Preparation Step 1: Read just the question Question Which of the following would NOT be an appropriate method of market research for a small business?

© Pearson Education 2010 Edexcel GCSE Business Unit 1 Exam Preparation Step 2: Try to answer the question Question Which of the following would NOT be an appropriate method of market research for a small business? Think: Note the NOT in the question – you have to find the negative! Try: Note down the sort of market research methods used by small businesses. Note down the sort of market research methods used by large businesses.

© Pearson Education 2010 Edexcel GCSE Business Unit 1 Exam Preparation Step 3: Look at the answer options Question Which of the following would NOT be an appropriate method of market research for a small business? The answer options a)Employing a specialist market research company to carry out a survey of people. b)Using published statistics about market trends. c)Asking customers to fill in a short questionnaire on the premises. d)Conducting an interview with a group of volunteer customers.

© Pearson Education 2010 Edexcel GCSE Business Unit 1 Exam Preparation Step 3: Look at the answer options The thinking process The correct answer is one from four options – go through each option. a)Employing a specialist market research company to carry out a survey of people. Could a small business employ a specialist market research company? Is it likely that a small business would get much valuable information from customers? Remember, we are talking about a small business. Is this a likely answer?

Step 3: Look at the answer options The thinking process b) Using published statistics about market trends. Are published statistics available to small businesses? Could a small business use these statistics? Is this a likely answer? Edexcel GCSE Business Unit 1 Exam Preparation © Pearson Education 2010

Edexcel GCSE Business Unit 1 Exam Preparation Step 3: Look at the answer options The thinking process c) Asking customers to fill in a short questionnaire on the premises. Could a small business devise a questionnaire? Could a small business ask customers to fill in a short questionnaire on the premises? Is this a likely answer?

© Pearson Education 2010 Edexcel GCSE Business Unit 1 Exam Preparation Step 3: Look at the answer options The thinking process d) Conducting an interview with a group of volunteer customers. Would a small business be able to select a group of volunteer customers? Is an interview something that a small business could do? Is this a likely answer?

© Pearson Education 2010 Edexcel GCSE Business Unit 1 Exam Preparation Step 4: Eliminate the distractors Remember we are looking for the negative – the one a small business is unlikely to be able to use. a) Employing a specialist market research company to carry out a survey of people. b) Using published statistics about market trends. c) Asking customers to fill in a short questionnaire on the premises. d) Conducting an interview with a group of volunteer customers. d), c) and b) are all forms of market research a small business might use – they are within a small business’ reach and budget.

© Pearson Education 2010 Edexcel GCSE Business Unit 1 Exam Preparation a) Employing a specialist market research company to carry out a survey of people. b) Using published statistics about market trends c) Asking customers to fill in a short questionnaire on the premises d) Conducting an interview with a group of volunteer customers a) is likely to be very expensive – specialist market research companies are not cheap. In addition, would a small business want information from people? The correct answer is a) therefore – this is the option that a small business is least likely to be able to afford and thus is not appropriate for its needs. Step 5: The correct answer