Start by identifying the situation you're in. It might feel like there are endless variations and each one is unique—but in reality, most cases fall into just a few core types.
The object of study is a person (user/customer), the subject of study is his/her needs, perceptions and behaviour. Let's look at how these can be studied in different business cases.
All exploratory research tasks immediately fall into two categories:
| IDEATION Understanding people in order to come up with something
Business situations: • Assessing the potential of a new market and defining a market entry strategy. • Identifying growth opportunities for an existing product in the current market. • Finding niches or ideas for new products and conceptualizing those products. • Understanding issues with a current product and exploring possible solutions. • Generating new creative and communication ideas.
Expected research outcomes: • Descriptive insights about "how things are". • Conclusions about the potential of a market or direction. • Hypotheses about growth opportunities based on analysis of how the current product and its marketing are perceived, including drivers, barriers, unmet needs, and competitors. • Insights for generating creative and communication ideas. | REFINEMENT TESTING Understanding people’s reactions to your ideas
Business situation: You have a raw idea (for a product, feature, or communication). You need to develop it, make it more concrete, and articulate it clearly.
Expected research outcomes: Conclusion about the potential of the ideaAreas for improvement. | | --- | --- |
Next: 2. Choose the Subject of Your Research
Table of content:
Starting Points
Framework
Full List of Guide Templates
Exploratory Research Playbook | yasna.ai
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