Do you have a business idea but you do not know what to do next? In this mini-course, you will learn how to proceed with your idea, segment your customers and conduct user research. This document is ideal for founders, business executives, aspiring entrepreneurs or individuals who just want to learn how to get started on their business ideas.

1. GETTING STARTED
ON YOUR BUSINESS IDEA
Ayomiposi Ogunti
Founder, IdeaBud

2. “If you've got an idea, start
today. There's no better time
than now to get going. That
doesn't mean quit your job
and jump into your idea 100
percent from day one, but
there's always small progress
that can be made to start the
movement

3. Idea?
Validate

4. What is Idea Validation?
Idea validation is the process of testing business ideas to
understand their viability.

5. However, you cannot validate until you have properly segmented
your customers. The importance of segmentation before idea
validation is to give you a clear picture of whom to interview
(depending on your chosen research method) so as to get accurate
feedback from potential customers.

6. MODULES
1. Introduction to Customer Segmentation
2. Conducting User Research

7. By the end of this mini-course, I want
you to
MORE KNOWLEDGEHAVE
FEEL CONFIDENT
about your customers

8. INTRODUCTION TO
CUSTOMER SEGMENTATION

9. THE PICTURE SPEAKS

10. Customer Segmentation (also known as market segmentation) is
the practice of dividing potential customers based on similar
characteristics - demographics, psychographics, geographics,
behavior.

11. Behavior04
● Hobby
● Social media use
● Mobile phone use
● Purchasing style
Geographics03
● City
● Region
● Country
● Size
Psychographics02
● Need
● Frustration/Pain point
● Attitude
● Motivation
Demographics
● Age
● Education
● Income
● Religion
01
Please note the categories are not limited to the bullet points listed above

12. When segmenting your potential customers, here are
some of the questions to think of:
Where do they reside?
What is their age range?
What is their income level?
What do they have interest in?
Where can they be found?
Are they internet-savvy?
Do they have any special preference(s)?

13. Create customer segments for an e-learning app that offers digital
marketing (DM) courses.

14. Learners Facilitators
● Digital marketers
● Aspiring digital
marketers
● Freelancers
● Training Institutes
There are 2 broad customer segments: the learners (students) and
the facilitators which can be further broken down into categories
of potential customers with similar characteristics.

15. Aspiring Digital
Marketers
Digital Marketers
Training
Institutes
Freelancers
Age: 22 - 30 years
Occupation: Social
media manager,
Marketer, Graphics
designer, Content
writer etc.
Income level: 120k -
250k
Tech Savvy: Yes
Need: Foundational
courses to starting a
career in DM
Age: 22 - 30 years
Income level: 120k
- 300k
Career level: Entry
level, Mid level
Tech Savvy: Yes
Need: Solidify
knowledge in DM
Seeking career
growth
opportunities in
DM
Level: Min. of 3
years experience
Areas of Expertise:
Social media
management,
Content writing,
SEO, Email
marketing etc.
Need: Increased
visibility
Extra source of
income
Level: Min. of 3
years of operation
Areas of Expertise:
Social media
management,
Content writing,
SEO, Email
marketing etc.
Need: Increased
visibility
Extra source of
income
Learners Facilitators

16. You can further segment customers based on age range, income
level, needs etc. It is important to note that customer
segmentation is not cast-in-stone, it should be based on what is
most important to your idea so as to get a deeper level of
understanding of each segment.

17. Create and communicate targeted marketing messages that will
resonate with specific groups of customers, but not with others
(who will receive messages tailored to their needs and interests,
instead).
Select the best communication channel for the segment, which
might be email, social media posts, radio advertising, or another
approach, depending on the segment.
Establish better customer relationships.
Focus on the most profitable customers.
Why Segment Customers?

18. Create customer segments for your idea and send to
hello@ideabud.org. Let’s review it together!

19. After segmenting your customers, the next thing to do is to GO
OUT, TALK TO POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS. This is called User
Research.

20. CONDUCTING USER RESEARCH

22. “User research is how you will know your product or service will work
in the real world, with real people. It’s where you will uncover or
validate the user needs which should form the basis of what you are
designing.”
— Chris Mears, UXr

23. The first step to conducting a user research is creating a research plan.
A research plan entails:
• Objective
• Hypothesis/Questions
• Methodology
• Participants
• Schedule

24. Objective
What do you want out of the research effort? Clearly write what
you aim to achieve from undergoing the research.
What do you think you understand about your users?
Hypothesis/Questions

25. Methodology
How are you going to gather insight? There are 2 types of research
- qualitative and quantitative. Your research goal depends on the
research methodology you choose to deploy. It can also be a
combination of both methods.

26. Qualitative Research
Qualitative Research also called exploratory research is used to
gain an understanding of underlying reasons, opinions, and
motivations. It provides insights into the problem or helps to
develop ideas. Some common methods include focus groups
(group discussions), individual interviews, and
participation/observations. The sample size is typically small, and
respondents are selected to fulfil a given quota.

27. Quantitative Research
Quantitative Research is used to quantify the problem by way of
generating numerical data or data that can be transformed into
usable statistics. It is used to quantify attitudes, opinions,
behaviors, and other defined variables – and generalize results
from a larger sample population. Quantitative data collection
methods include various forms of surveys (online surveys, paper
surveys, mobile surveys and kiosk surveys), face-to-face
interviews, telephone interviews, website interceptors, online polls
etc.

28. Participants
Segmenting customers initially has helped made this easy, you
know who to target. The question is how to find participants. Here
are some ways to recruit participants:
• Social media channels
• Online communities
• Live-intercept on your website
• Market research firms/online panels
• Current users
• Online advertising
• Family & Friends

29. Schedule
When can you expect the research to take place, when will
initial results be available, and when will the full report be
delivered?

30. Incentives
You want to ensure your participants are compensated for the
effort required to take part in your study, or you run the risk of
low response rates, but you don’t want people who are just in it for
the money and may not be as thoughtful in their responses.
Incentives could either be monetary or non-monetary.

31. YOU ALREADY KNOW THE BASICS
OF STARTING YOUR IDEA, SO
START NOW!

32. Would you like us to help you with your product
idea?
Send an email to hello@ideabud.org and we will be in
touch!

33. Additional Resources
How To Test Business Ideas
A Comprehensive Guide To UX Research
How To Conduct User Experience Research Like A Professional