My journey as a consultant has been enriched by conducting numerous field surveys, leading to the creation of successful fintech solutions with vast customer bases. Here’s a distilled version of my learnings, inspired by Jan Chipchase, the pioneer of field research, aimed at guiding newcomers through the nuanced process of field surveying.
Embrace Objectivity
A key takeaway from Chipchase’s teachings is the importance of neutrality. As researchers, we must refrain from influencing participants’ responses, striving for authenticity in the data we collect.
Discovering the Questions
The quest for meaningful survey questions should not start from scratch. Instead, it involves uncovering the questions already present in the minds of your target audience. Here’s how you can achieve this:
- Initiate Conversations: Engage with a diverse group, aiming for 100 to 200 participants, to share their experiences, focusing on specific areas like the challenges and benefits of international money transfers.
- Collect and Analyze Responses: Carefully listening to their experiences will reveal common pain points and satisfactions, offering a statistically robust foundation for your research with a low margin of error.
- Highlight Recurring Themes: Commonalities in responses will emerge, pointing you towards the most pressing questions that your survey needs to address.
Solutions Within Reach
It’s often assumed that while many can identify problems, only a few can propose solutions. However, my experiences suggest otherwise: many individuals are capable of both recognizing problems and envisioning their solutions. The rarity lies not in finding solutions but in the ability to implement them effectively. As a field researcher, it’s your role to gather these shared solutions and insights without directly asking for fixes, focusing instead on understanding the depth of the issues.
Crafting Your Survey
With your insights in hand, design a concise survey focusing on three to five key questions derived from your initial conversations. This brevity ensures that each question probes deeply into the issues that matter most to your audience.
From Insights to Action
The culmination of your field survey is the synthesis of collected data into actionable strategies. This phase is where you translate the widespread understanding of problems and their solutions into a viable blueprint for your product or service.
Conclusion: Bridging Gaps with Field Surveys
Field surveys transcend simple data collection; they are a dialogue with potential users to uncover their explicit needs and implicit desires. By adopting this structured yet flexible approach, you create a foundation for products that resonate deeply with users, driving meaningful innovation and impact.
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This page was last updated on March 13, 2024.
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