Capstone: Complete Research Project

Your Complete Research Project

🔄 Quick Recall: In the previous lesson, we conducted competitive analysis to understand the market landscape. Now you’ll combine every research method from the course into a single comprehensive project.

This capstone walks you through executing a full customer research project, step by step. You can use the provided scenario or substitute your own business for a personalized project.

The Scenario

FreshBox is a meal kit delivery service that’s been operating for 18 months. They have 2,500 active subscribers and are experiencing two problems:

1. 30% of new subscribers cancel within the first 3 months
2. Net Promoter Score dropped from 45 to 32 over the last quarter

The CEO wants to understand why and fix it before expanding to new markets.

Phase 1: Define Research Questions (Lesson 2)

Before any research, crystallize what you need to learn:

Primary research questions:

1. Why do new subscribers cancel within the first 3 months?
2. What’s driving the NPS decline among existing subscribers?
3. What do retained customers value most (to protect those elements)?

Business decisions this research will inform:

• Whether to redesign the onboarding experience
• Which product/service changes to prioritize
• How to adjust messaging for customer acquisition

Using AI

“I need to research why FreshBox (meal kit delivery) has 30% early churn and declining NPS. Help me define: (1) 5-7 specific research questions, (2) which research method best answers each question, and (3) a research timeline for completing all methods in 4 weeks.”

Phase 2: Analyze Existing Data

Before collecting new data, mine what you already have:

Analytics review: Churn timing (exactly when in the 3 months?), usage patterns before cancellation, popular vs. unpopular meal choices.

Support ticket analysis: Common complaints, feature requests, reasons cited for cancellation.

Cancellation survey data: If FreshBox collects exit reasons, what do they show?

✅ Quick Check: What data might a meal kit company already have that could reveal why customers cancel? (Think: order history, delivery tracking, customer service logs.)

Using AI

“Here’s FreshBox’s existing data: [order frequency drops 40% after week 3; most common support ticket is ‘delivery timing’; cancellation survey top reason is ’too expensive’]. Analyze this data and generate hypotheses about the root causes of churn and NPS decline.”

Phase 3: Design and Launch Survey (Lesson 3)

Survey 1: Active subscribers (understand NPS decline) Survey 2: Recently cancelled subscribers (understand churn)

Using AI

“Design two surveys for FreshBox: Survey 1: For active subscribers to understand declining satisfaction. 7 questions, mix of quantitative and open-ended. Survey 2: For subscribers who cancelled in the last 3 months to understand churn drivers. 8 questions with a screening question. For both: include question types, response options, and avoid any leading language.”

Phase 4: Conduct Interviews (Lesson 4)

Based on survey results, conduct deep-dive interviews:

Interview 8-10 people across three groups:

• 3-4 loyal subscribers (what keeps them?)
• 3-4 recently cancelled subscribers (what drove them away?)
• 2-3 subscribers who almost cancelled but stayed (what saved the relationship?)

Using AI

“Create an interview guide for recently cancelled FreshBox subscribers. Include: warm-up, context questions about their original motivation for subscribing, core questions about their experience and cancellation decision, and dream questions about what would have kept them. All questions must be open-ended.”

Phase 5: Build Personas (Lesson 5)

Synthesize survey and interview data into 3-4 customer personas:

Likely segments:

• The Health-Conscious Professional (subscribes for convenience and nutrition)
• The Cooking Learner (subscribes to build cooking skills)
• The Busy Parent (subscribes to simplify family dinners)
• The Budget-Conscious Trier (subscribes for the trial deal, price-sensitive)

Using AI

“Based on these interview themes: [paste themes and patterns from each group]. Create 4 detailed personas with: name, demographics, goals, frustrations, subscription journey, churn risk factors, and a key quote. Identify which persona represents the highest-value retention opportunity.”

Phase 6: Map the Journey (Lesson 6)

Create a journey map for your most important persona:

Stages: Discovery → Trial signup → First delivery → Weeks 2-4 → Month 2-3 → Renewal decision → Post-churn (or advocacy)

Using AI

“Create a customer journey map for the ‘Busy Parent’ persona at FreshBox. Include 7 stages from discovery through renewal decision. For each stage: actions, thoughts, emotions (1-5 scale), touchpoints, and pain points. Highlight the moments of truth where churn risk is highest.”

Phase 7: Competitive Analysis (Lesson 7)

Understand what alternatives churned customers might be choosing:

Direct competitors: HelloFresh, Blue Apron, Home Chef Indirect competitors: Grocery delivery (Instacart), restaurant delivery (DoorDash) Replacement: Traditional grocery shopping and cooking

Using AI

“Conduct a competitive analysis for FreshBox against: HelloFresh, Blue Apron, and Instacart. Compare: pricing, meal variety, delivery flexibility, onboarding experience, and customer satisfaction. Create a positioning map and identify FreshBox’s best differentiation opportunity.”

Phase 8: Synthesize and Present

Combine all research into actionable recommendations:

The Research Report Structure:

1. Executive summary (1 paragraph)
2. Key findings (3-5 bullets with supporting data)
3. Personas (visual one-pagers)
4. Journey map (with annotated pain points)
5. Competitive landscape (positioning map)
6. Recommendations (prioritized action items)
7. Next steps (what to do with these findings)

Using AI

“Based on all research findings: [summarize key themes from surveys, interviews, personas, journey maps, and competitive analysis]. Write an executive summary and 5 prioritized recommendations for FreshBox to reduce churn from 30% to under 15%. For each recommendation, include: the evidence supporting it, expected impact, and implementation difficulty.”

Course Review

Here’s your complete customer research toolkit:

Key Takeaways

• A complete research project combines multiple methods for a comprehensive understanding
• The process flows from broad to specific: questions → data → surveys → interviews → synthesis
• Personas and journey maps transform raw data into tools the whole team can use
• Competitive analysis contextualizes your findings within the market landscape
• AI accelerates every phase from research design through synthesis and recommendations

Congratulations!

You’ve completed Customer Research with AI!

You now have a professional customer research toolkit that most business professionals never learn. The skills you’ve built—designing surveys, conducting interviews, building personas, mapping journeys, and analyzing competitors—will improve every business decision you make. Understanding your customers deeply isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s the foundation of every successful business.

Your final step: Pass the quiz above, then click “Get Your Certificate” to claim your certificate of completion.