For a microscopic view of your customers, think Ethnography – the research method that goes beyond traditional market research to give you a deeper understanding of your customers.

Ethnography includes a variety of techniques ranging from in-home interviews to elaborate studies that combine qualitative and quantitative methods. Morpace has extensive experience with the following ethnographic techniques:

In-Home or Workplace

• Active observation of lifestyle, self-expression, product purchases and usage. Includes structured interviews to elicit information on values, personality, attitudes, social and cultural context, and brand perception.
• Active video observation of random individuals engaged in activities that relate to your product or service.
• Passive observation using video cameras in natural settings such as in the home, workplace, social event or vehicle to record interactions with your product or service. 
• Diary studies in which consumers keep records (written, audio or video) of their interactions with your product or service.

Projection Workshops

• Not all ethnographic research occurs “in the field.”  In fact, some of the most effectiveand efficient techniques occur in the same settings as more traditional focus groups.
• Projective methods gain answers to the ‘whys’ by using techniques such as word association, story telling, role playing, and collage building to give consumers a communication channel through which they can express their true attitudes, emotions, and needs.

Analysis, Interpretation, and Application

Critical to ethnographic studies is analysis and interpretation of the complex data that they produce. Morpace ethnographers analyze activities, statements, attitudes, metaphors, and emotion words to identify common threads that characterize the customer group under investigation. This process is enabled by fitting the diverse data into a unique framework developed by Morpace called Consumer Values Animation™, or CVA™.

Validation

Responding to time constraints and cost pressures, many qualitative ethnographic studies are limited in scope. Findings then may best be thought of as hypotheses that may apply to the population as a whole. Morpace Consumer Values Animation™ and B-Link™ (Benefit Linkages) are methods that have proven successful in validating findings from qualitative ethnographic research.

Whether in the field or in a more controlled setting, Morpace knows when a technique is appropriate and when it is not. So when you want to put your customers under a microscope, contact Morpace for ethnography done right!