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Course with employment: "Profession Methodologist from scratch to PRO»
Learn moreA quick reference is a concise summary of key information on a specific topic. It serves as a quick overview of key aspects and allows the reader to quickly obtain the necessary information without in-depth study. It is important that such a reference be clear, concise, and contain only relevant information. The primary purpose of a quick reference is to inform, so it should be understandable and accessible to a wide audience. Including keywords and phrases in your text improves its visibility in search engines, making it more effective for users searching for information on the topic.
Development Director at Rostelecom IT. Previously, he held the position of head of the business unit at the educational platform Netologiya and headed the Humanities department at the Lyceum of the Higher School of Economics. Experience in managing and developing educational projects allows for the effective implementation of innovative solutions in the field of information technology.
A methodologist and researcher with experience collaborating with the National Research University Higher School of Economics and the Moscow Higher School of Social and Economic Sciences (MHSES). A leading teacher at the HSE Lyceum, she actively participates in the development and implementation of educational programs. A deep understanding of teaching methodology and research enables effective teaching and improves the quality of education.
If you're planning to create a new online course, it's important to carefully select a topic that will resonate with your audience. You can be confident in the success of your idea and invest in developing educational materials, video production, and advertising campaigns. However, after launching the course, you may receive negative feedback from students or discover through marketing analysis that the chosen topic doesn't meet the interests of your customers. Therefore, before starting course development, it's important to conduct thorough market research and target audience surveys to ensure the topic's relevance and avoid unnecessary expenses.
The experience gained is useful even if the chosen topic doesn't generate interest. It's important to collect feedback, identify the reasons for low demand, and adjust your actions accordingly. However, it's preferable to minimize the costs of obtaining such data and determine in advance which topic will be of interest to the audience. There are effective methods for analyzing the needs and preferences of potential students. It's important to take several steps to research the market and identify hot topics that will attract attention and be in demand.
Gathering Data Through Interviews
The first step to generating hypotheses for launching a new product is conducting interviews. These conversations can be organized with both current students in your courses and those who have expressed interest but did not complete a purchase. The main goal of these interviews is to understand the needs and demands of the target audience and to formulate an offer based on the feedback received from users. This will allow you to create a product that is most relevant and in demand in the market, and will also increase the likelihood of successful sales.
The number of people to interview depends on your goals and the features of the product. If you are unsure how many to start with, it is recommended to interview 5-10 people. If the information you've collected isn't enough, you can always increase your sample size.
If you can predict the next respondent's response, this indicates that you've collected enough information. This approach allows you to effectively analyze data and draw conclusions based on the available information.
There are several key aspects to consider when conducting an interview. First, it's important to prepare a list of questions in advance that will help expand on the topic and elicit the necessary answers. Second, you should create a comfortable atmosphere for your interviewee so they can freely share their thoughts and experiences. Third, you should listen carefully and ask clarifying questions to deepen the conversation and elicit more complete answers. Furthermore, consider the time allotted for the interview to avoid dragging it out. Finally, don't forget to take notes or record information to avoid missing important details. These recommendations will help make the interview more productive and informative.
- Try to control your emotions and ignore the respondent's emotions—they can distract from the essence of the interview. If you're really interested in, say, machine learning and you show enthusiasm when you mention it, your interviewee will notice and, in response, begin to convince you of their interest in such a course. A better question is when the person last read about machine learning. If the answer is “A long time ago” or “Never,” this will clarify the situation for you much more than any emotional comments.
- Ignore praise - you are conducting an interview to formulate a hypothesis, not to receive compliments on your ideas.
- Listen more than you talk.
- Don’t prompt the interviewee for answers to questions. “You like our product, don’t you?” - such a question expects a specific answer and will not be of little use.
- Focus on the user’s past experience, not their wishes for the future. Otherwise, the respondent is unlikely to be able to give precise answers, and it will not be possible to formulate a clear hypothesis from such data.
Sample questions can include various topics and aspects that interest the audience. They can relate to specific areas, such as health, technology, education, or personal development. It is important to formulate questions in a way that attracts attention and stimulates discussion. For example, you can ask questions about the latest advances in medical science, trends in the IT industry, or methods for effectively learning new skills. Such questions not only stimulate interest, but also help to better understand the needs and interests of the target audience, which in turn improves interaction and communication.
During interviews, we often note that clients are interested in the concept of work-life balance and skills time management. To determine which of these aspects will be more in demand by our audience, it is necessary to test hypotheses. This will help us find out which topics are truly relevant to customers and what should be emphasized in the future.
Testing Formulated Hypotheses
Testing a hypothesis with a target audience survey is an effective method of obtaining valuable information. A survey allows you to collect data on the opinions, preferences, and needs of your audience. This allows you to not only confirm or refute a hypothesis but also gain a deeper understanding of how customers perceive your product or service. Using the survey results, you can make informed decisions that will help improve your offerings and increase customer satisfaction. Surveys can be conducted in a variety of formats, including online questionnaires and personal interviews, making them an accessible tool for market analysis.
If you are developing your first course and do not yet have a student base, or you need to gather information from a completely different audience, you should consider turning to specialized communities. However, it should be kept in mind that the level of activity in such groups will be significantly lower compared to communicating with loyal customers who are already familiar with your brand and company values. This is important to consider when planning marketing strategies and interactions with potential students.
Before creating a survey, it is necessary to clearly define its purpose. In this case, the goal is to identify the most in-demand course. The survey can include testing several hypotheses simultaneously. For example, you can find out which aspect interests the audience more: work-life balance, time management, or healthy eating. The first question can be formulated as follows: "Which problem do you encounter more often: A, B, or C?" After that, you can refine the questions, focusing on a specific topic. This will allow you to collect more accurate data and better understand the needs of the target audience.
The survey wording should be understandable to the respondent. Use simple and accessible language so that people can easily understand the essence of the questions. The clearer the wording, the higher the likelihood of receiving accurate and informative answers.
The length of the survey varies depending on the type of business. For example, when developing a highly specialized niche product, collecting high-quality feedback with a short survey can be difficult. For a deeper analysis and understanding of your target audience's needs, you need to use more detailed surveys to gain useful insights and improve your product.
When creating surveys, it's important to consider the time required to complete them. It's recommended to limit surveys to ten minutes. Long surveys often lead to lower participation rates, especially if your audience is unfamiliar with you or your product. For "cold" audiences, brevity is especially important. To increase conversion and attract more participants, you can offer a reward for participation, such as useful material or a discount. This will help increase interest and motivate them to complete the survey.
If you'd like to assess interest in time management and work-life balance, consider the following questions: How do you manage your time to effectively balance work and personal responsibilities? What time management techniques do you use to increase your productivity? How do you prioritize your daily life? Do you find time to rest and recharge? How do you manage work-related stress? What time management tools or apps do you prefer to use? How do you rate your current work-life balance? These questions will help you gain a deeper understanding of your interest in time management and work-life balance, as well as identify needs and preferences in this area.
A simple multiple-choice poll can be an effective way to select a course topic. Participating in such a poll takes only a few seconds, making it convenient for everyone.
Surveys can be created either on your business page on social media, such as VKontakte and Facebook, or using specialized services such as Google Forms and Yandex.Forms. The choice of platform for creating surveys depends on which media are most popular among your target audience. Choosing the right tool will help you obtain more accurate and useful results, which in turn will increase user engagement and improve customer interactions.
Another effective method of testing a hypothesis is to offer potential clients the opportunity to pre-order a course or lesson. This approach not only allows you to assess interest in the product but also creates preliminary demand, which can form the basis for further development of the offer. Pre-ordering also helps collect feedback and make any necessary adjustments to the course before its official launch, which can significantly increase its appeal to the target audience.
The goal of this approach is to test demand for the product before its actual creation. You haven't yet invested in course development, landing page creation, or advertising campaigns, but you have an idea you plan to sell. In this case, don't charge the full price. Instead, offer an upfront payment. If for any reason the course fails to launch—for example, if the required group isn't reached—you can refund the money and express your gratitude to those who signed up. Offer a bonus or gift as compensation. This approach will not only allow you to gauge interest in your product but also build a loyal audience before its launch.
This is one of the most effective ways to test a course topic. Unlike surveys, potential clients don't simply express their preferences hypothetically; they back them up with real actions. They essentially vote with their money, which allows for a more accurate understanding of course demand. This approach helps identify relevant topics and training formats that truly interest the target audience.
The disadvantage of this method is the need for an existing client base with whom you have established contact. Pre-ordering is ineffective when working with a "cold" audience.
Collecting Feedback After Launch
After testing demand for the product, you can use the collected data to decide whether to launch it and allocate resources for development. An effective step is to create a system for testing and validating ideas, for example, opening a channel or group on Telegram, WhatsApp, or any other social network. Invite loyal customers and brainstorm topics for discussion. Regularly conduct interviews and surveys, and organize polls, offering participants bonuses and discounts for active participation. This approach not only allows you to quickly receive feedback but also helps increase customer loyalty, which can directly influence the formation of your school's product line.
About nine out of ten hypotheses will fail testing, but this will significantly reduce the number of unsuccessful launches and reduce resource costs.
After carefully developing and launching the product, it is important to honestly inform the audience that this is its first version. It's essential to actively collect user feedback, as it will be an invaluable source of information for optimizing the current product and developing future updates. This approach will help improve quality and customer satisfaction, which in turn will positively impact your brand's reputation.
How it works: examples
If you teach people how to write novels and are planning to launch a new course, it's important to understand how to organize the sales process. A potential client lands on your landing page, where they submit a purchase request. A sales specialist then contacts them, provides additional information about the course, and convinces them to purchase. You already have a contact database that includes both previous buyers and those who abandoned their purchase. Effective use of this database can significantly increase conversion and attract new students.
The first step is to find out the reasons why potential buyers abandoned their previous course. Perhaps they are interested not in novels, but in short fiction, such as short stories. To do this, it's recommended to interview some of the client base who submitted an application but did not complete the course purchase. This will help better understand the audience's needs and tailor the course to their needs.
During interviews, we discovered that some potential buyers were interested in writing short stories, while others wanted to master nonfiction writing skills. To confirm or refute this hypothesis, you could conduct a survey among your target audience or organize a poll on social media. This will help you assess how closely the findings from the interviews align with your audience's interests and determine which topics resonate most. This approach will allow us to more accurately tailor content and offers to customer requests.
In our case, the distribution of votes is as follows: 70% of participants chose short stories, and 30% - non-fiction. This not only helps us decide on a topic but also allows us to understand the target audience for the new course. Now we know exactly who we can offer this course to, which will significantly simplify the process of its promotion and sales.
If you own an English language school and want to expand your range of courses, it's important to understand what additional programs will be of interest to your audience. Your current client base is formed primarily through recommendations, so it's worth focusing on their needs and preferences. Conduct a survey among students to find out what topics or course formats they are interested in. This could be, for example, exam preparation, business English, or conversation clubs. Also, consider creating online courses to attract new clients and increase the availability of your services. Focus on the quality of teaching and methodological materials to increase student satisfaction and develop a positive image of your school.
In this situation, it's important to identify the individual needs of your audience and understand the reasons why clients chose your course. You need to find out what else they use to meet their needs. For example, you might discover that some students are learning English for career advancement, while others are doing it for personal development, such as communicating fluently while traveling and watching TV series with original audio. Understanding these motivations will help you tailor your course and increase its appeal to different segments of your audience.
Consider developing niche products, such as an in-depth business English course or a travel course focusing on conversational vocabulary with minimal emphasis on grammar. This will attract a target audience that might not be interested in our general language courses. Given the diversity of learners' needs, creating specialized courses can significantly increase conversion and satisfy customer requests.
You can offer customers the opportunity to refer friends for a bonus or discount, stating that the new course will only launch when a group of ten people is enrolled. This is especially effective if the course is taught by a teacher who is already well-known and well-liked by the audience. This will not only allow you to gauge interest in the new product before its launch but also to obtain pre-orders, which will further confirm the topic's relevance.
Couldn't there be a simpler way, without all these surveys and interviews?
Choosing the right course topic isn't the only factor determining its success. Success depends largely on many factors, including the needs of the target audience. If you choose a topic without first analyzing audience needs, you risk wasting time and money. Ultimately, you'll still need to research customer needs and test your hypotheses to avoid the same mistakes made earlier. The digital environment offers extensive opportunities for collecting data and engaging with potential students. Don't miss the opportunity to use these resources to enhance your offering and build a loyal audience.
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Also study:
- How to launch your online course and avoid failure
- How to create a high-quality online course: 6 conditions
- Checklist: 5 ways to increase the profitability of an online course
- 6 ways to make a training course engaging
