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Experience By Methodologies

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Methodologies

Below are some of the approaches I have adapted and the proprietary techniques and data interpretation methods I have created to provide the best quality research at a good value. You can read more about these approaches in my book Qualitative Marketing Research: An Interactive Approach (2014). Available for download from  Amazon Kindle.

Client Review

"Thank you for an incredible job of moderating. Both [client] and I were really pleased. You had such a tremendous energy level and did a great job managing the clients. I think we got some fabulous insights and it was a real success. [The client] had positive comments about the report too and was pleased with the depth. [The Senior VP] also commented that he really liked your writing. So that’s more than 2 thumbs up but you get the point. Thanks again."

Account Manager, Burke Marketing Research

Sample Fonts

One-on-Ones, Dyads - for sensitive issues, detailed probing, step-by-step decision making

Mini-Groups, Focus Groups - for in-depth probing, defining and clarifying perceptions, generating ideas, using group dynamics of homogeneous respondents

On-site - for observational studies, for studies where personal environment jumpstarts ideas and associations

Telephone and On-Line Focus Groups - for bringing together hard-to-reach people

On-Line Bulletin Boards - when you want insights through community communication and discussion over a period of time

Learning Labs - daylong interaction between different respondent segments and clients to achieve the fullest implications around brand and product on a continuously iterative basis

Maxi-Groups, Several-on-Several, Enterprise - for clarifying and evaluating perceptions

Integrated - quantitative and qualitative research

Client Review

"We appreciate your hard work and especially the fact that you were part of 'our team.' That’s really what we were looking for and you absolutely provided that with your insights and dedication."

Research Manager, Parker Marketing Research

Sample Techniques

For when you've developed prototypes or are entering a new category and want a first-hand knowledge of the consumers, their buying behavior, and product needs. For when you want to get at the heart of the problem by probing concrete, individual experiences:

Phenomenon Interviews - to experience what the respondent experiences • Step-by-Step Flow - to guide respondents to increasingly specific answers
Situational Drawings - to uncover underlying emotions or learn more about the details of a situation or event
Scripting - to guide respondents through their decision-making processes
Re-enactment - to reconstruct habits and routines
Nominal - to ensure coverage of divergent opinions
Sensory Immersion - to better define position or concept • Sorting - to identify key features
Perceptual mapping - to show brands/attributes in relation to each other
Spatial Relationships™ - to understand environmental relationships in order to turn retail/service industry space into places that motivate purchase and consumer/brand relationships
Modified Delphi - to identify and forecast trends

For exploring ways of sensitizing consumers to new or existing products, for brainstorming, for acclimating your staff or stakeholders to changes:

Brainstorming Interviews - to stimulate creative thinking
Sentence Completion - to gain top-of-mind reactions
Image Profiles - to explore respondents' image of a product
Metaphors - to prompt thinking outside of normal thinking patterns
Semantic Conversions - to develop positive or negative alternatives to perceptions
Collage - to contemporize brand equity

For competitive positioning, brand identification, concept testing:

Imaging - to explore respondents' perception of the target audience
Chits™ - to capture the awareness of competitive brand attributes
Layering of Projective Techniques, Story Telling, and Laddering - to understand consumers at a deeper than normal level in order to relate personal values to brand attributes
Respondent Given Circumstances™ - for exploring the full context of product need and usage
Lifechoice Motivations™ - for exploring the relationship between emotional drivers and product improvements
Improvisation - to reconstruct emotions and behavior
Picture Sorts - to dimensionalize emotional responses in concrete images
Archetypal Imagery™ - for discerning brand archetypes

For interpreting the data:

Textual Analysis - analysis of what respondents say (includes verbatims)
Pattern Analysis™ - analysis of emotional and behavioral patterns to capture the emotional logic driving purchase