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Design

Do product research: analyze the competition and interview potential customers

In order to know how good an idea is, you need to research the competition, identify a market segment, find and interview potential customers, and develop target personas.
DifficultyMedium12 hours
Interested in this free-access course?

Successful products come from a compelling product vision that is turned into reality. Effective product managers conduct product research by:

  1. Analyzing the competition

  2. Interviewing customers

  3. Designing plausible business models

Product research is a fundamental part of product strategy. You will learn how to identify and find potential customers, how to interview them, and how to tell if they are dishonest. You will learn the psychology behind talking to customers, and you will conduct customer interviews in a way that strips out potential bias. This will yield results you can trust!

You will also learn some basic marketing theory, including:

  • Defining the scope of your industry and competition

  • The jobs-to-be-done framework

  •  Other competitive analysis tools such as SWOT analysis, Feature Audits and PEST analysis

At the end of this course, you'll be able to propose a product that helps the business meet its objectives through delivering benefits that customers really care about in a way that is more efficient than competitors.

Learning outcomes

  • Understand competitive analysis
  • Define the scope of your competition
  • Interview customers to generate bias-free conclusions you can trust
  • Complete a business model canvas

Turn it into a career

Take one of our 100% online diploma training programs, and transform your know-how into professional skills.

  • Up to 100% of your training program funded
  • Flexible start date
  • Career-focused projects
  • Individual mentoring

Contributors

Instructor

Patrick O'Malley

Executive level Chief Product Officer for online businesses

Created by

Last updated: 1/23/2025

License

Design

Do product research: analyze the competition and interview potential customers

DifficultyMedium12 hours
Free-access course