Big Research Guide

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Market research guides

Five guides that build on each other. If you are new to research, read them in this order: decide what to ask, decide who to ask, learn to listen, then estimate the market and study the competition.

  1. Designing a Customer Survey That Gets Honest Answers

    Start from the decision you need to make, then write short, neutral questions about real past behaviour. Includes before-and-after rewrites and a pre-launch checklist.

    Covers: Start with the decision, not the questions, Why people give answers that aren’t quite true, Writing questions that work, Before and after: fixing common questions

  2. Sample Size and Sampling Basics, Without Heavy Maths

    Population, sample and sampling frame explained; six common sampling methods compared; and a simple rule of thumb for how many responses you need.

    Covers: Three words to know, Who you ask matters more than how many, Common ways to choose a sample, How many responses is enough?

  3. Running Focus Groups and Customer Interviews

    When to use one-to-one interviews versus group discussions, how to recruit and moderate well, and how to turn notes into clear themes.

    Covers: Interviews or focus groups?, Recruiting the right people, Writing a discussion guide, Moderating: how to ask well

  4. Estimating Market Size: TAM, SAM and SOM, Top-Down and Bottom-Up

    What TAM, SAM and SOM mean, how top-down and bottom-up estimates differ, and a step-by-step worked example for a hypothetical tiffin service.

    Covers: TAM, SAM and SOM in plain English, Top-down: start big and narrow down, Bottom-up: count from the ground, Worked example: a tiffin service (hypothetical)

  5. Competitor Analysis on a Small Budget

    Find direct, indirect and substitute competitors, use free sources ethically, organise findings in a grid and turn review patterns into clear choices.

    Covers: Who are your competitors, really?, Free and low-cost sources, Stay ethical, Build a simple comparison grid

Looking for a definition? Try the glossary of market research terms.