Market Research and Product Development Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Marketing Managers, Product Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-M-036

Before you join: Participants should understand basic marketing terms such as customer segments, positioning, target markets, products and pricing.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Market research and product development teams must decide which customer problems merit investment, how large the opportunity is, and whether an offer will win adoption at an acceptable return. Weak briefs, unrepresentative samples, poorly worded surveys and untested concepts create costly false confidence. This course provides a disciplined route from a management decision through evidence collection to product requirements, launch choices and post-launch learning.

Participants learn to frame researchable business questions, define target markets, segment customers and select appropriate qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method designs. They develop discussion guides, questionnaires, sampling plans and analysis approaches, then turn findings into customer insights, concept choices and product specifications. The course also covers concept testing, prototype testing, pricing research, business cases, Stage-Gate decisions and launch metrics.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with realistic cases, group analysis, research-design tasks, survey and interview critiques, product-concept decisions and application planning. Cases can be adapted for banking, public services, consumer goods, technology, healthcare, NGOs and business-to-business markets. Participants leave with a reusable market research and product development toolkit, a completed research brief, and a 90-day plan for applying the methods to a live business issue. The five-day instructor-led course is available in classrooms in 50+ cities or live online, includes approximately 32.5 contact hours, and awards a certificate of completion.

What you will be able to do

  • Frame decision-focused research briefs with objectives, questions, methods and evidence requirements
  • Segment markets using STP analysis, Jobs to Be Done and customer journey evidence
  • Design qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method research plans with appropriate sampling
  • Create interview guides and questionnaires that produce reliable, usable customer evidence
  • Analyse survey and qualitative data using cross-tabulations, thematic coding and statistical interpretation
  • Translate customer evidence into product opportunities, value propositions and concept statements
  • Test concepts, prototypes and pricing assumptions using structured product development methods
  • Prepare evidence-based business cases, launch measures and post-launch learning plans

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce research briefs that senior stakeholders can approve and fund
  • Design questionnaires and interview guides without relying entirely on agencies
  • Identify weak evidence, sampling errors and unsupported product claims
  • Present customer findings as clear recommendations for product and marketing decisions
  • Build a credible development case for a new offer, feature or service improvement

For your organisation

  • Reduces investment in products based on assumptions rather than customer evidence
  • Improves consistency of research briefs, sampling choices and supplier conversations
  • Identifies customer needs and purchase barriers before costly development commitments
  • Strengthens pricing, proposition and feature decisions with structured test results
  • Creates repeatable links between customer insight, product requirements and launch measures

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can frame a decision-focused research brief that defines the evidence required.

  • Market research decisions linked to product, pricing, channel and launch choices
  • Marketing problem statements separated from symptoms, assumptions and management questions
  • Decision-focused research objectives using SMART criteria and evidence requirements
  • Exploratory, descriptive and causal designs matched to decision uncertainty
  • Secondary and primary research assessed for timeliness, fit and bias
  • Research brief structure covering decisions, respondents, methods, timing and budget

Participants can define a market opportunity using segment, customer and competitor evidence.

  • STP analysis connecting market definition, segments, targets and positioning
  • Jobs to Be Done interviews identifying functional, emotional and social progress
  • Persona profiles grounded in behaviours, needs, barriers and buying triggers
  • Customer journey maps locating moments of truth and unmet needs
  • Value proposition canvas linking customer pains, gains and product benefits
  • Market sizing through TAM, SAM and SOM assumptions
  • Competitor benchmarking comparing offer features, prices, claims and channels

Participants can select a research design and sampling approach suited to a business decision.

  • Research questions converted into measurable constructs, variables and hypotheses
  • Qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method designs selected against research objectives
  • Population, sampling frame and unit of analysis defined precisely
  • Probability sampling using simple random, stratified and cluster approaches
  • Non-probability sampling risks in convenience, quota and purposive recruitment
  • Sample-size logic using confidence intervals, margin of error and power
  • Fieldwork protocols controlling screening, incentives, consent and data quality

Participants can plan and interpret qualitative research that reveals customer needs and motivations.

  • Discussion guides structured with funnel sequencing, probes and neutral wording
  • Depth interviews conducted using laddering and critical incident techniques
  • Focus groups managed for group dynamics, dominance and social desirability
  • Observation and ethnography capturing context, behaviour and workarounds
  • Qualitative coding using thematic analysis, codebooks and saturation criteria
  • Insight statements separating evidence, interpretation, implication and action

Participants can build questionnaires that measure customer attitudes, behaviours and preferences reliably.

  • Questionnaire flow built from screeners, core measures and classifications
  • Closed questions written to avoid leading, double-barrelled and ambiguous wording
  • Likert, semantic differential and rank-order scales selected appropriately
  • Survey logic using skip patterns, randomisation and validation rules
  • Pilot testing checks comprehension, completion time and measurement reliability
  • Response bias diagnosed across acquiescence, recall, nonresponse and mode effects
  • Consent notices and data minimisation applied to respondent information

Participants can analyse research data and distinguish useful findings from weak signals.

  • Data cleaning rules identify duplicates, missing values, outliers and coding errors
  • Cross-tabulations compare segments using counts, percentages and significance tests
  • Descriptive statistics summarise central tendency, variation and distribution shape
  • Confidence intervals distinguish signal from sampling variation in survey estimates
  • Correlation and regression interpreted without claiming unsupported causation
  • Conjoint analysis estimates feature trade-offs and willingness to pay
  • Research dashboards display decision metrics, segment cuts and key findings

Participants can turn customer evidence into prioritised product opportunities and testable concepts.

  • Opportunity areas prioritised using desirability, feasibility and viability criteria
  • Design thinking frames problems before ideation and concept selection
  • Voice-of-customer evidence translated into needs, outcomes and specifications
  • Kano analysis classifies basic, performance and excitement product attributes
  • Concept statements define target user, need, benefit and reason-to-believe
  • Morphological analysis combines solution elements into product concept alternatives
  • Concept screening matrices score strategic fit, differentiation and development risk

Participants can plan concept, prototype and feature tests that support product development decisions.

  • Product requirements documented with user stories, acceptance criteria and constraints
  • Minimum viable product scope isolates assumptions requiring early evidence
  • Prototypes selected from paper, clickable, functional and service blueprint formats
  • Usability testing observes task completion, errors, confidence and satisfaction
  • A/B tests compare propositions, features or prices using controlled exposure
  • Stage-Gate reviews govern progression from discovery through development and launch
  • Failure mode and effects analysis anticipates product and service risks

Participants can use research evidence to support pricing, investment and launch decisions.

  • Pricing research combines Van Westendorp, Gabor-Granger and conjoint evidence
  • Market demand assumptions translated into volume, revenue and margin scenarios
  • Business cases separate research evidence, assumptions, costs, benefits and risks
  • Product portfolio choices assessed with BCG matrix and lifecycle position
  • Go-to-market plans align proposition, segments, channels, sales enablement and measures
  • Launch metrics define adoption, conversion, retention, satisfaction and profitability
  • Post-launch learning agendas schedule feedback loops and product iterations

Participants can communicate research findings ethically and plan their application to live decisions.

  • Research quality criteria assess validity, reliability, credibility and transferability
  • GDPR principles applied to lawful basis, consent, retention and access
  • ESOMAR guidance informs transparent recruitment, incentives and respondent treatment
  • Insight narratives use Pyramid Principle to connect findings and recommendations
  • Decision workshops convert evidence into owners, milestones and success measures
  • Research repositories preserve methods, instruments, findings and reuse conditions
  • 90-day application plans sequence priority research and development decisions

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Decision-focused market research brief template
  2. Customer segmentation and persona model
  3. Interview guide and questionnaire design checklist
  4. Sampling and fieldwork planning template
  5. Product concept testing scorecard
  6. 90-day research and product development action plan

Who should attend

  • Marketing Managers — need defensible evidence for market, segment and campaign decisions
  • Product Managers — need customer insight to prioritise concepts, features and product requirements
  • Market Research Executives — need stronger research design, analysis and insight communication methods
  • Brand Managers — need to test positioning, proposition and pricing before market investment
  • Customer Experience Managers — need structured evidence on journeys, pain points and unmet needs
  • Innovation and Strategy Managers — need to assess opportunities and build cases for new offers

Skills and tools covered

Research designCustomer segmentationSurvey developmentQualitative analysisConcept testingProduct business cases

Tools and standards

STP analysis, Jobs to Be Done, Kano model, Stage-Gate process

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short briefings to introduce methods, followed by case work, group exercises and structured analysis of research and product decisions. Participants critique research briefs, sample plans, interview questions, survey items and concept statements. Simulations examine customer evidence, competing product choices, pricing signals and launch decisions. Facilitated discussion focuses on the trade-offs involved in real commercial and public-service research. Each participant develops application priorities for a current market, customer or product issue.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic marketing terms such as customer segments, positioning, target markets, products and pricing. Some experience working with customers, sales data, marketing plans, product ideas or business cases is helpful. The course assumes participants can read tables and percentages and discuss commercial decisions with colleagues. Prior market research training, statistical software expertise, coding ability or formal product management certification is not required. Participants are encouraged to bring a current market, customer or product question for use during application planning.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should understand basic marketing concepts and have some exposure to customers, products, campaigns or commercial decisions. Previous research training, statistics qualifications and product management certification are not required.

Bring a current customer, market or product question if you have one, along with any non-confidential research briefs, survey results or product concepts you can discuss. A laptop is useful for live online delivery and recommended for classroom sessions.

It suits marketing, product, brand, customer experience, innovation and market research professionals who need to make or influence product and market decisions. It is particularly useful for people managing agencies or internal research teams.

Marketing strategy courses focus primarily on positioning, channels and commercial plans, while product management courses focus on product delivery and lifecycle decisions. This course concentrates on collecting, interpreting and applying customer and market evidence to those decisions.

You can use the templates to improve a current research brief, assess a supplier proposal, redesign a survey or prepare a concept test. The 90-day action plan identifies the decisions, stakeholders and evidence needed for an immediate work priority.

The course provides approximately 32.5 contact hours, normally from 08:30 to 16:30 each day. Time is divided across research framing, customer insight, research design, data interpretation, concept development, testing, business cases and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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