What's a sample? And, why does it matter?

If you are asking questions to make business decisions... it matters who you are asking! Check out this video: Samples in under 60 seconds.

When you're collecting information for your business or organization, sample matters.

What's a sample? Think of it this way: Everyone you work with — all the people — that's the population of people you serve. It'd be difficult to ask everyone you serve a question (for example, on a survey or in an interview), so you pick a smaller group: a sample.

Who's in your sample is super important. Why? Because it gives context for the information you're sharing or using to make decisions. Whenever you collect information or share it with others to, for instance, market yourself, you have to be clear about who you're talking about.

Good data for marketing or decision-making needs to come from a sample that reflects the people you work with or serve. For example, if the people you work with are in their 20s but the only people you got feedback on your product/service from are in their 30s… well, then that data is no good to you!

Define the key characteristics you care about — age, race/ethnicity, gender, location, career, hobbies, and so on, and make sure your sample reflects them.