5
min read
A target audience is the people or organisations that may benefit from your offer. “Men and women aged 25–45” is rarely enough to plan a website.
You need the buying context: what happened, what problem they face, which terms they compare and what concerns them. These insights shape clear copy and useful sections.
Start with the decision you need to make
Research should answer a practical question. Do private and business clients need separate pages? Why do visitors call to ask about price? What helps them choose?
Without a question, it is easy to collect interesting facts that do not affect the website.
A furniture studio benefits from distinguishing someone furnishing one room from a business buying an office set. Their ages may overlap while their decisions differ.
What data is already available?
Review enquiries, sales questions, rejection reasons, reviews and order history. Analytics reveals landing pages and actions, but not every motivation.
Separate observation from assumption. “Five customers asked about installation” is an observation. “Everyone thinks installation is too expensive” remains a hypothesis.
Do not collect unnecessary personal details. Context, requirements and decision sequence often suffice.
Conducting interviews
Invite people with relevant experience: recent buyers, service selectors or people who abandoned a purchase. Do not rely only on friends happy to agree with you.
Ask about specific past experiences:
- What triggered the search?
- How did you look for a provider or product?
- Which alternatives did you consider?
- What information was hard to find?
- What influenced your final decision?
- When did doubts arise?
“Would you like a new button?” is less useful than examining an actual booking attempt. Avoid leading questions containing your preferred solution.
Record observations and exact wording according to the agreed recording and data-use conditions.
Defining segments
Group people by differences that change the offer or website journey: task, urgency, project complexity, purchasing role and decision criteria.
Do not make a segment for every incidental difference. A segment matters when it needs another answer, journey or information set.
For each group, describe context, desired outcome, constraints, concerns and necessary evidence. The profile should support design rather than read like a fictional biography.
Applying findings to the website
Provide comparisons when clients need to compare options. Explain calculations when pricing depends on inputs. If several people decide, offer material that is easy to share with colleagues.
Separate journeys through pages or sections based on content. A separate page needs a genuinely different offer, not just another word in its heading.
Use customers' wording when accurate. Do not adopt claims or specifications the business cannot substantiate.
Research checklist
- There is a specific website question.
- Real enquiries and decision experiences have been reviewed.
- Observations are separate from hypotheses.
- Participants fit the relevant journey.
- Questions do not suggest the answer.
- Segments reflect behavioural differences.
- Findings become pages, sections and materials.
- Changes can be tested with users.
A small interview set is not market-wide statistics. It reveals motives and problems; their prevalence may need further validation.
Common mistakes
Demographics alone do not explain decision journeys. Current customers omit those who declined. Sales interviews help but cannot fully replace talking with users.
Another mistake is ending with a polished presentation. If findings do not affect content and journeys, the research has not served its practical purpose.
Frequently asked questions
Can I start before I have customers?
Yes. Study people with similar needs and test hypotheses, without presenting assumptions as established needs.
When should research be updated?
When the offer or acquisition channel changes, or new enquiry problems appear. It is a working resource rather than a permanent document.
Getting started
Collect common pre-enquiry questions. We can identify missing evidence, conduct research and translate findings into website structure.
