Phase 1: Discover
Overview
    Analyzing Your Industry
    Understanding Your Audience

The discovery process is learning all you can about a project before you start - an analysis of the company, industry and audience. Discovery can range from a few days of informal online research to a few months analyzing market trends and customer demographics. The price tag can vary from zero dollars to a healthy six-figured fee depending on approach, deliverables and expertise. Whatever the approach, discovery is a process of information gathering and research that allows a team to familiarize themselves with the project at hand - from a fresh perspective. Allocate a few weeks to conduct an informal competitive analysis and to create user profiles concurrently with the project definition phase.

Formal vs. informal analysis

Formal analysis can be one individual or a team of experts with a background in marketing research, or analysts who dig deep into the competitive market, industry and audience to form a basis for advertising and marketing. It is an in-depth analysis of the company's business and brand supported by objective data as it relates to the industry. Informal analysis generally focuses on an analysis of features and design from a user's perspective.

Analyzing Your Industry >>

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