Change your point of view
Editor’s note: Susan Sweet is a senior research associate at Doyle Research Associates, Chicago.
Gone are the days of wine and roses, literally. The practicalities of conducting qualitative research have changed dramatically, though the need to explore the hearts and minds of consumers has not.
In many cases, clients and qualitative consultants are no longer able to plan and conduct an optimal research design to answer important research questions, let alone enjoy cocktails and fresh flowers in the facility’s back room. Budgets have been slashed, researchers are asked to do more in less time, and clients are pushed to reach meaningful conclusions and make recommendations on the spot.
So how can clients and suppliers work together to navigate the new business realities while preserving the richness and direction provided by thoughtful qualitative research? The answer lies in infusing creativity throughout the research process. Clients and consultants must flex their creative muscles to design the best method for the job, execute it imaginatively, employ innovative analysis techniques and design creative deliverables that have real impact for key decision-makers.
Recruit strategically
Hiring the best recruiters can yield experience and advice on finding a difficult-to-reach consumer. Seasoned recruiters will recommend looking outside standard facility databases and newspaper ads to net better, faster recruiting. Consultants who use strategic thinking and contacts to get into the right places often find their target consumer quickly and efficiently.
Go where the target is. While conducting a study about teen and young adult lifestyles, we recruited outside an Urban Outfitters store. This store embodied the type of consumer we needed to reach: edgy but not counter-culture, independent young women who were interested in trends and fashion. In one afternoon, we had more than enough respondents who could then be more thoroughly screened over the telephone by professional recruiters. Similarly, for a high-tech study, we spent a few hours scouring professional journals and Web sites and thereby found the opinion leaders in the industry. By contacting those people and then networking via e-mail and telephone, the study was filled with the precise target: innovators and experts working on the cutting edge of new technologies. We’ve even recruited nervous, first-time moms via OB/GYN offices and maternity shops.
Get out of the group room
Take research out of the standard focus group facility to open both clients’ and respondents’ eyes to new or hidden truths, as well as to minimize facility costs. Any location where respondents will be most comfortable with the subject matter (e.g., schools, community centers, bowling alleys, bars, parks) will make the discovery process more relaxed and natural for respondents. Clients become part of the process by becoming in-person note takers or camera operators, instead of sedentary consumers of M&Ms. Removing the mirror from the research equation can awaken all kinds of excitement for researchers, respondents and clients alike.
Clients benefit from mixing new research locations and combining methods in a typical study. A national athletic apparel store discovered, by adding in-store observation and interviews to its usual mix of in-facility focus groups, that a few simple changes could make dramatic improvements to its relevance with core consumers. Specifically, the retailer needed more hip, young salespeople (teens don’t want to buy fashion from people who remind them of their parents), full-length mirrors (they want to check out the entire look, not just the shoes), and improved promotional displays (they want a brand they can be proud to shop). The mixed methods helped identify the key issues and potential solutions, as well as giving the client team a much-needed dose of reality.
Confront respondents with their actual (vs. reported) behavior to illustrate product issues and insights, as well as help clients understand realities that seem to be in conflict with previous research findings. Observe how consumers interact with “their” brands, in actual home use, and be surprised along with them. In numerous in-home observational research studies, we have watched consumers hold up a bottle of one brand of stain remover, while calling it another (e.g. “I can’t live without my Spray ‘N Wash” while holding up a bottle of Shout). We have also observed consumers who claim to buy a new bottle of sunscreen each year using brands and packages that were discontinued years earlier.
Customer observation might reveal easy solutions. A toy manufacturer was losing market share in a category it previously dominated, and point-of-purchase sales materials were initially blamed. But in-store consumer observation showed the simple solution was related to the “superior” rubber used in the market leader’s tires: the more expensive, long-lasting rubber squeaked on the showroom floors and seemed to signal a product problem to customers. Simple changes were made, and market share levels returned to their previously high levels. In this case, seeing (and hearing) was believing.
Assign homework
A well-designed “homework” assignment gets respondents thinking about the topic prior to the research session and can eliminate barriers of time and place. In addition, it creates a sense of commitment and dramatically increases involvement in your project. Although homework assignments can add to the cost of a project, the rewards usually eclipse the investment.
Photo-journals or video and audio diaries help consumers capture their world as it unfolds each day. Visual collages and storytelling assignments help bring consumers’ thoughts and feelings to the surface in a gentle way. Pantry, handbag, closet and garage checks highlight the realities of daily living. All these types of homework assignments bring the consumer world to life on a daily basis for brand teams. In addition to providing rich insights and stimulus for discussion during the research project, homework assignments serve as a great leave-behind, archival piece that client brand teams can use over and over again.
Especially effective with kids, though also useful with adults, is an assignment to bring favorite possessions or products to a group discussion. This provides an easy warm-up, show-and-tell exercise, as well as real-world grounding for future brand and product discussion. And in new product development, consumers can be asked to make existing products (or create new ones) for display and/or tasting.
Consumer field trips give brand teams the opportunity to virtually fan out in a way that even a week of store checks would not allow. Consumers can take advance shopping trips, serve as “spies in the field” to assess retail environments and product or category displays, or conduct their own observations in public spaces. They can be asked to visit client and competitive Web sites and report back on the experiences. When no time for advance homework is available, respondents can be asked to use waiting room time to assess desirability of new products.
Turn analysis on its ear
Since clients are asked to make decisions faster and present results almost immediately after research is conducted, qualitative consultants need to lead the way and enable progressive analysis. One method is to employ “brainwriting” or another form of active listening during the research process, and then analyze the notes in an organized session immediately following the fieldwork.
During the interviews, groups or observation sessions, client team members listen and observe respondents, and take notes on Post-Its. They do not self-censor. Rather, they “brainwrite” ideas, thoughts, questions, concerns, product ideas, observations and inconsistencies, or anything else that occurs to them. Throughout the research, team members post their notes onto larger, flip-chart pages taped to the walls of the research facility or meeting location. Depending on project objectives, the walls may be covered with Post-Its in a random fashion, or sorted into pre-determined “buckets.”
To make optimal use of the findings, involve a diverse project team in every step of the fieldwork and analysis, including a day-long work session immediately following the research. While numerous methods of analyzing the Post-Its may yield a successful result, the key is to use convergent thinking to reach meaningful, actionable findings. In our Team Navigation sessions, we help clients sort the notes and analyze the resulting Post-It groupings based on five key areas: what the group of notes means/what it has in common, how the company or brand is currently (or not) addressing that area, how the consumer may benefit, how the client brand will benefit, and what risks are involved in pursuing that direction. Though customized for each project, the process is generally the same and the Team Navigation session helps build momentum, devise a plan for next steps and gain internal buy-in from a cross-functional team who can fuel faster business decisions.
Breathe life into deliverables
Lively reports and presentations are expected from qualitative consultants and should be the norm. But “lively” and “useful” deliverables can come in many forms. What would a client prefer? Would 50 pages of black-and-white text representing a thorough analysis, or a quick, animated presentation incorporating actual video clips of respondents illustrating the findings be better for a team who has only days to make a decision that will impact millions of dollars? The choice is not always obvious.
Researchers can fall into the habit of creating a traditional deliverable that not only costs more but does not actually meet an individual client’s needs. Spend more time understanding how and when a decision needs to be made, and suggest a report format and content to meet that need. In addition, learn who will read the deliverables and what will aid most in decision-making. Is the audience more influenced by verbatim comments or a consultant’s informed analysis? Allow the audience, timing and budget to dictate the deliverable options presented, and ensure that client and consultant agree in advance on the desired outcome.
Make it fun
Although the process of designing, conducting and analyzing qualitative research has become more difficult in recent years, successful consultants and clients alike are having as much fun as ever. Enjoyment comes from working together to overcome obstacles, making even old research challenges seem new and interesting, and delivering well-packaged findings that have real business impact. These professionals know that creativity takes work, but the rewards are great.