The research process begins with research questions, which exist along two axes: Who are your customers? And what do we want to know about them? Since most businesses target a variety of different types and flavors of customers, we call each “type” of customer a “segment.”

To start the process, review the different categories of customers that your business serves or would like to serve, and then determine which are in scope for any given research effort. Creating this basic segmentation model is just a starting point, as customer traits don’t really exist in a strict hierarchy. Thus, it’s more precise to think of customers as having a variety of dimensions. These dimensions consist of not only age, geographic location, and gender, but also traits like their experience with a given product and their specific use of it. Since some of these are more important than others, you’ll need to prioritize and decide which categories and dimensions are most relevant to your business. We have generally found it best to focus on 5-10 significant dimensions to maintain a balance between insight and action. Although the research you will do next will refine your initial model, take a stab at identifying the dimensions and characteristics that are the most significant for your business. You will use them to ensure that you are finding the right diversity of subjects for your research.

Once that step is complete, the second part of defining research questions is to determine what it is we want to know about them. Ask, what knowledge about the customer would be helpful in crafting a delightful and strategically effective customer experience for your business? The answers will vary somewhat based on your industry, but here is a starter set.

• What are their goals and desires?
• What are their fears and pet peeves?
• What unmet needs do they have in their life?

Start with this list, customize the questions, and add any others that may be specific to your situation or industry. Or work with a firm that does market research (such as mine) to use their experience to help you. Next, we will look at the research techniques that can be used to find the answers to these questions.