Methodology for Conducting Revision Interview and Preparing Business Report

Task and Final Report Due

Final Report Due: Week 11-2021-11-20 Methodology Leading to the Final Report The project will require some fieldwork and will rely on the use of personal interviews to obtain feedback on the business idea.

 

Face-to-face (or telephone interviews) tend to work much better for this project than email or CHAT interviews because they almost always yield much richer information.

 

(Note: A written questionnaire/survey is not appropriate for this project.) Each stage (stage 1 & stage 2) of the project will require at least five interviews – four with potential consumers (i.e. members of the target group) and one interview ideally with an entrepreneur but an appropriate businessperson may be acceptable in certain circumstances but must be pre-approved by the instructor, no pre-approval is required for an entrepreneur but the Entrepreneur should be in a related type venture.

 

This latter interview should be used to obtain a entrepreneur's or business person’s perspective; potential suppliers, distributors and competitors all represent good interview candidates here. During the consumer interviews you should present your original business idea (as described in your written proposal) to the interviewee and solicit feedback, both positive and negative.

 

For example, how does the consumer satisfy these needs now?

 

(how often do they purchase, where, what purchase criteria do they use, how much do they spend, etc.)

 

How satisfied are they currently?

 

Does your business offer added value?

 

How much? (i.e. what is the consumer willing to pay for it?) Does it seem realistic?

What changes could enhance its value?

 

How strong is their interest?

 

The interview with the entrepreneur/business person should focus less on the product itself (don’t ask them the same questions as the consumers) and more on the broader issues facing you as an entrepreneur.

 

For example, what are the key challenges facing you with respect to business startup, business operations and overall business viability. and what advice does the entrepreneur offer in addressing them?

 

The feedback obtained from the first round of interviews should serve as the basis for preparing a revised version of the business description. The revised description should then be subjected to another round of interviews (minimum 5).

 

Again, four of the interviews should be with potential buyers and one interview should be with a business expert. Do not interview the same people in the second round as you did in the first round.

Methodology Leading to the Final Report

 

Project Guidelines Avoid hypothetical situations and non-existent technology (e.g. a tire that lasts twice as long as any tire currently available). However, new combinations of existing technology may hold considerable potential.

 

Try to work with technology you understand. When you describe your idea to your interviewee, try to provide as much concrete detail as possible. If your description is vague your feedback will be vague. The more concrete your description, the more concrete and valuable the feedback they are likely to offer.

 

Solicit your business perspective from entrepreneurs and managers in the private sector. Do not substitute advice from professionals (e.g. lawyers, accountants, and consultants), business professors, or individuals in government departments and agencies.

 

Use the business perspective to get feedback on business start-up, production and operating issues associated with your business model. Remember you need to assess the feedback you’re receiving.

 

You can’t have the perfect product that will please everybody. It’s usually a bad idea to incorporate every suggestion.

 

Try to achieve depth in your interviews. If you feel the answers you’re getting are superficial or simplistic, try to probe further. Why does the person feel the change is needed?

 

How important is it to the person?

 

Would they consider accepting the weakness if other changes were made?

 

Each interview should last 15-30 minutes. The Report The report should include a title page, table of contents and at least one appendix which lists and describes each interviewee.

 

Do not include their names (they should remain anonymous in your report) but do discuss the capacity in which you interviewed them (e.g. potential customer or business expert) and why they were a good candidate for your sample.

 

(i.e. – clearly representative of your customer group or an entrepreneur that has some logical connection to the type of product or service you are pursuing).

 

The report should be typed and double-spaced using a font/size that is at least as large as Times New Roman 12 point. The body of the report should include five major sections.

 

Use descriptive headings to help organize the report. The first section should briefly describe the original business idea and target market you submitted in the original proposal.

 

The second section will: a) summarize the results of the first round of interviews, b) evaluate these results, and c) indicate what revisions you decided to make to the product/service, and why.

 

The third section will: a) summarize the results of the second round of interviews, b) evaluate the feedback, and c) indicate what revisions you incorporated, and why. If the target market has changed, this also should be noted. The fourth section of your report should deal with the implications of your findings.

 

Describe how you would implement this business and address the four Ps: product, price, promotion, and place(distribution). The fifth and final section of the report will be evaluative and should provide your estimation of the overall viability and market potential (e.g. growth, profitability, longevity) of the concept.

 

How attractive is this opportunity? How will the business grow (new customer segments, new products/services, distributors, franchise, company stores, etc.)?

 

You should also note what additional information you would want to collect before proceeding with the venture. Evaluation Criteria Before submitting your final report, review the Grading sheet Group 15.pdf