Collective grief and qualitative research: Navigating the impact of today's heavy news cycle

Editor’s note: Cynthia D. Harris is founder of 8:28 Consulting, a Columbus, Ohio-based qualitative research and marketing strategy firm. 

Wake up to another frightening headline this morning?

With all the negativity that is happening in this world from a global pandemic to social unrest to parents becoming homeschool teachers overnight, don’t we all want to do what Lenny Kravitz declares in his song, “Fly Away?” In that iconic song, he suggests ‘I want to get away … I want to fly away.” But most of us cannot just get away with all the travel restrictions in place to curb the spread of COVID-19.

News headlines and blog posts are ridden with tales of racism, social justice protests, crime, sickness and destruction. In addition to the dark headlines, we must also decipher between embellished news (aka fake news) and the actual truth. We are forced to choose daily what impact we will allow these heavy messages to have on our lives. With everything going on in the world today, it is understandable to want to escape it all. Contemplating escapism seems reasonable to many given the harsh realities we currently face.

But how can we get away as market researchers and marketing professionals when our role is to deeply understand the consumers we serve – which sometimes requires putting ourselves in vulnerable positions to learn from consumers, even during a global pandemic?

The reality is, we are grieving. As a country and as a global society. Even false assertions in the media contribute to the overall disruption of our well-being as humans. Consider the human psyche as a balloon; the more it fills with air, the more likely it is to reach its maximum capacity and eventually explode. We are in an environment where researchers (and respondents) are coping with wide-spread negativity. As such, we must pause to contemplate the impact it could potentially have on our work.

What is collective grief anyway?

Despite our demographic and cultural differences, the one thing that binds humanity is our suffering. Everyone experiences loss and we all know what it means to grieve. As defined by Merriam-Webster, grief is a deep and poignant distress or suffering that often evokes strong, overwhelming emotions. Though circumstances may be different, it is believed that everyone experiences grief in five defined stages – denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. While these stages are common in many cases, it is important to note that the duration of each stage varies for everyone and there is no way to predict how long each stage will last.

Currently, we are all hearing about the same news stories and experiencing the same pandemic … all at the same time, which leads to what experts call “collective grief.” This collective grief accumulates to make navigating life very heavy for everyone - and especially those who may be disproportionately impacted by the major events. 

So what does grief have to do with MR and brand strategy?

As the world continues on through a phase of collective grief, both researchers and respondents alike are coping in ways that affect how we see the world. Working moms are working from home while also homeschooling their children. Singles are still searching for their ideal mate all while trying to stay safe and out of crowds to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Qualitative researchers are being asked to moderate heavy topics in focus groups, virtually of course. Americans are waking up hoping to not see another hashtag of a name that represents someone’s life lost at the hands of police. 

We are all grieving – and yet, we are also still making decisions about products we buy, brands we support and ad campaigns we invest in. In this environment of collective grief, it is critical that we as researchers and brands recognize how grief is impacting the way consumers navigate through the world and how they perceive brands’ responses to things. 

Navigating through collective grief

Here are four practices that researchers and marketers can adopt to effectively navigate through this period of collective grief:

1. Be willing to be the uncomfortable voice in the room. 

It is always hard to speak up … but nowadays, it seems even harder to do so. That said, to be effective in our work as qualitative researchers and brand builders, it is important that we courageously speak up on behalf of consumers when we are in digital conference rooms making decisions on their behalf. Did you notice your respondent reprimanding a child during your digital in-depth interview? Convey that data point to your client in a way that builds empathy for the consumer. Be willing to share the unspoken details of the interview that could provide depth and character to the consumer’s story that you are trying to share.  

2. Extend self-care beyond yourself. 

Self-care is often suggested as a means to deliberately take care of our own mental, emotional and physical health. But during a time of collective grief, self-care should not only be incumbent on the researcher or employee as we navigate these trying times. It is critical that everyone on the team is bringing 100% to the table every day and in order to ensure that happens, make decisions and requests that are in the interests of protecting your colleague’s health and well-being. Need someone to work on a recruit over the weekend? Send them a gift card for food delivery to ease the burden of having to plan a family meal for that day. Have lots of focus groups to conduct to deliver the objectives of your research? Make sure you plan break time for your moderator to regroup before heading into another focus group.

3. Attempt to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.

Qualitative research is powerful, and it is even more powerful when you are willing to empathetically insert yourself into the shoes of your consumer. While we may never fully understand the experience of respondents, we can be willing to listen intently to consumers and then incorporate their pain points into your daily life. Deliberately build your empathy muscle to better understand context around your consumers’ lives. Trying to meet the needs of busy working moms in the kitchen? Plan to prepare a family meal with scheduled distractions interrupting you (e.g., set an alarm on your phone to go off in five-minute increments). Want to understand how health-conscious consumers view a grocery store shopping experience? Consider making next week’s grocery list within a restricted eating preference (gluten-free, etc.) and pay attention to what pain points may come up for you. 

Do everything you can to intentionally empathize with the consumers’ lives. 

4. Find a tribe. 

The world is going through quantum changes and change is hard. During these challenging times, it is very helpful to have comradery to navigate our evolving world within a community. Consider starting a weekly mastermind session with a trusted friend or colleague to share and check in on personal and professional goals. Find a professional organization to join to discuss matters that are impacting your industry and professional world. Consider joining online gyms and health organizations to be deliberate about remaining healthy through these times. Whatever you do, make it a priority to find a community of support so you are not surviving in this challenging environment alone. 

5. Ensure your team reflects the increasingly diverse market it serves.

Diversity, equity and inclusion have become buzzwords in many regards. But the companies and brands that will win now and in the future are the ones that hire and retain talent from a diverse set of backgrounds. Especially during times of collective grief, ensuring diversity of all sorts on your team means you will have a stronger, more well-rounded viewpoint on how to navigate through and respond to major collective challenges – like thriving through a pandemic. But it’s not enough to just hire diverse talent, we must also be willing to listen without reproach to the perspective brought forth from this talent to better understand the needs of all people through these uncertain times. One of the most basic of human needs is to feel seen – and there has never been a better time to assure those you work with that they are seen and that they matter. 

Standing with consumers 

As the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once stated, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Through this time of challenge and controversy, we have a choice as researchers and as brands to stand with our consumers, colleagues and clients with open arms and to be prepared to listen and act on their behalf in a way that makes their lives easier. Take care of yourselves, colleagues. And above all else, be kind because as we navigate this collective grief, everybody’s going through something.