We know that research is an important factor as 80% of all restaurants fail in their first year of opening, many due to the wrong location. We have conducted desk research which has shown that there are 8 possible locations and we now need to create a short-list of 2 or 3, but there are some odd findings Some smaller locations seem to have lots of restaurants Some areas you expected to be larger don’t seem to have the population numbers What other research do you suggest to create the short-list and to suggest the best possible locations?
You have carried out some excellent secondary research, now you need to do some primary research. It’s now about shoe leather. Firstly there are some discrepancies that you mention where smaller locations seem to have lots of restaurants. This could be because their listing in the places you have carried out the research is not accurate. Fish and chip shows may have classified themselves as restaurants rather than fast food outlets. A visit to the locations will tell you this.
Secondly you mention some strange findings with numbers. I’m guessing that the location is outside the UK and this may be due to various factors; people living ‘off grid’ with real population numbers not being counted, some previous political strife where people do not wish to appear on the authorities’ lists. Again, a visit and observation will give you much more information. While you’re visiting, you could do a few other things: