1. Start-up Bootcamp
Day 2: Is there a market for your idea?

2. What is Market Research?
“the systematic collection of information on existing or potential markets for analysis and subsequent action”

3. Insight
“the capacity of understanding hidden truths (especially the character of situation)”
Oxford Dictionary
Insight = Knowing something others don’t know

5. Why do Market Research? Test your assumptions
Anticipating and minimising risk
Understanding potential customers
Identify opportunities
Discovering your position in the market
Banks and other funders require it

6. What are we looking to find out?
Who are my target audience?
What do they need?
What do they want?
What is the best distribution channel?
Why they will need/want my product and services?
Who will be our competitors?
What does your market look like? Size, location, trends

7. Describe your customers
What segments of society are likely to be your customers?
Demographics – their age, gender, income, etc
Psychographics – their personality type, preferences, values, etc
Behaviour – their similar likes and dislikes, sports, hobbies, etc

8. Locate your customers
Find the places your customers are attracted to, whether a physical location or a cyber space where they gather
Where do they hang out?
What do they read? Both online and offline?
What do they search for online?

9. Customer Profiles
Understanding how customers behave and how they spend their money
Things to think of when researching a customer base
Methods of how to reach them and communicate with them

10. Customer profiles

11. Secondary research Desk research or information that already exists
Cheaper and much quicker
Easy to access
Clarifies what you need to find with primary research

12. Where to look Library – COBRA, Mintel, Keynote
Office for National Statistics
Trade Associations & exhibitions
Google trends, web analytics

13. Pitfalls Be careful how you interpret
Beware of out-of-date information
Beware unreliable or biased information
Statistics can sometimes mask the true picture
Don’t make your mind up in advance

14. Primary Research Collected by yourself Who are you speaking to?
Specific to a question or a problem
Time consuming
Surveys
Mystery shopping
Product Testing
Interviews
Focus groups
Observation

15. Top Tips for questionnaire
Brief and focused in scope
Sensitive and personal to the end
Simple and easy to complete
Appropriate and jargon free language
Narrow from general to specific
Anticipate analysis (open vs closed)
Flow and cluster questions logically
Pilot it
Explain purpose at outset
Place ‘important’ to the middle

16. Competitor Analysis Understanding the market
Direct AND indirect
Unique Selling Point (USP) - Why is yours a more attractive option?
Products/services
Price
Competitor or collaborator?
Availability
Search for available name, domain name, Trademark and registered company via
Reputation
Strengths & weaknesses
Use Companies House or DueDil (free five day trial)

17. SWOT Analysis Weaknesses Disadvantages Limitations
Strengths
Advantages,
Unique resources
Factors that mean you get the sale
Opportunities
Chances to improve your performance
Opportunities you can spot
Weaknesses
Disadvantages
Limitations
What could you improve
Factors that loose your sales
Threats
External trouble for the business
Obstacles you face
What your competitors are doing

18. Test Trading
Different ways of how to simply test a concept, before committing and investing significant amount energy and resources
Steve Blanks - Lean Start up /
Minimum Viable Product
What have you learnt from piloting?
What do customers really want?

19. Minimum Viable Product

20. Validation Board

21. Value Proposition Canvas

22. Exercise - MI5 groups!
Let’s identify a few business ideas in this room which could appeal to the demographic here?
Please join the group with the business you’re most likely to be a potential customer of (max 5 ‘customers’ per group)
20 minute focus groups! Questions may include:
What criteria is important when buying this product or service?
Why / when / where would you buy?
What features and benefits are you looking for?

23. Practical for today Prepare and test your market research survey
Next session – 4- 5pm
Know yourself and the people you work with