Entrepreneurship · Week 8 of 18

Market Research &
Competitor Analysis

Your BMC is full of assumptions. Time to test them.

NKUHT · International Tourism Management Program · 2-hour session

Today's plan

One session, two halves

0:00–0:10

Welcome back. Recap: your full BMC.

0:10–0:35

Primary vs. secondary research. Designing good survey questions.

0:35–1:00

Competitor analysis — including "doing nothing."

1:00–1:45

Activity: design your validation survey.

1:45–2:00

Peer review, debrief, quick learning check.

Quick recap

Last week → This week

WEEK 7

You completed your full 9-block BMC and checked it for internal consistency.

WEEK 8

Now you test whether real people actually agree with your assumptions.

Research basics

Primary vs. secondary research

For validating a new idea, primary research usually matters more.

PRIMARY

Data you collect yourself — surveys, interviews. Slower, but specific to your idea.

SECONDARY

Existing data from other sources — reports, studies. Faster, but may not fit your exact question.

Survey question design

Avoid these two traps

Good questions test real behavior: frequency of use, willingness to pay, current alternatives.

LEADING QUESTION

"Wouldn't a faster checkout process be great?" — pushes the respondent toward "yes."

VAGUE QUESTION

"Do you like this idea?" — doesn't test willingness-to-pay or actual behavior.

Hour 2 · Activity

Design Your Validation Survey

Goal: a short survey testing real demand, with a target of 30+ responses.

  1. 01 Write 5-8 questions testing willingness-to-pay, frequency, and current alternatives.
  2. 02 Check each question: is it leading? Is it vague?
  3. 03 Identify your direct competitors, indirect competitors, and the "do nothing" alternative.
  4. 04 Trade your draft survey with another team — they flag any leading/vague questions.
  5. 05 Finalize and prepare to distribute this week.
Activity timer

Work time

45:00

Tip: give a warning before time is up.

Debrief · Ask the whole class

Talk about it

1. What's your "do nothing" competitor — what do people currently do instead?

2. Which question did your peer-review partner flag as leading or vague?

3. What number of responses would actually change your mind about your idea?

Quick learning check

Before we go — 3 short questions

1. A leading question is one that...

2. The "do nothing" competitor refers to...

3. Primary research is generally...

See you next week

Week 9 — Midterm Progress Report

Next week: present your verified problem, solution, and BMC to a Peer-Review Panel.

Bring: your survey results so far.