Try new ethnography-lite!

Editor’s note: Phil Harriau is president of The Caney Group LLC, a Monroe, Conn., research firm.

Market researchers use three basic methods of conducting context-based market research, along with combinations of each, to capture their desired data: passive observational research, active observational research, and ethnography.   Ethnography has resurfaced over the last few years as a means of really getting to know the potential customer. The bond that develops between researcher and participant in real-world environments is the key to making this approach superior to traditional central location approaches. But the cost of ethnography is often so great that many companies can’t afford to hire a degreed anthropologist who will spend days or weeks in the field. Let’s take a closer look at the characteristics of each of these context-based methods, and then see why there are practical alternatives to ethnography and its lengthy, often expensive methodology.

Ethnography: The how and why

Historically, ethnography has been the most extensive market research method. Through ethnographic research, we can learn much about how lifestyle, values and culture influence what people buy and how they use products and services. Ethnographers spend time in their customers’ natural environments to study interactive behaviors and both spoken and unspoken needs. Often spending days or weeks with people, they observe, ask questions and participate in their daily activities at home, school, workplace, the grocery store, health club or soccer field. Applying the rigors and techniques of social science, ethnographers identify how a brand and/or product reflects people’s lifestyle, culture and values.

Ethnographic studies are ideal for exploratory projects where the objectives are initially undefined but become clearer as fieldwork progresses. Ethnography also works well for projects with goals that cannot be attained using traditional methods. For example:

  • Assessing brand identity for products with strong emotional or personal identification where brand relationships are based on personal values and sense of self, such as clothing, automobiles, personal care products and cosmetics.
  • Revealing new product opportunities through exploratory studies where little real-world data exists about customer behavior and lifestyle as they relate to product use.
  • Defining problems, parameters and value propositions that lead to consumer satisfaction.

It’s easy to see why ethnography is an expensive method of market research, with its up-close and personal study of people’s lifestyles.

The Hummer: addressing basic human needs?

Let’s look at products like fashions, automobiles, fragrances, cosmetics and home furnishings. The decisions we make about products like these reflect our chosen lifestyle and what we hold most dear. Although we may strongly desire these items, one could argue that we don’t really need them for our continued existence. Think for a moment about Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs - remember his pyramid ranging from basic physiological needs to higher-order needs that lead to self-actualization? 

Now think about a Hummer, or a bottle of $300-per-ounce perfume. Do we really need these items in order to continue thriving, even surviving, in our daily lives? They play more into our sense of self worth from an outwardly-referenced point of view. And tapping into this sense of self worth, or the more fundamental, unarticulated needs that we’re not even aware of, is where ethnography works very well. That’s why ethnography has become increasingly popular with advertising firms seeking to create messages that resonate with our need for self-actualization.

True ethnography really requires living in a community for a year or so and observing the inhabitants. In market research, ethnography is more compressed - it’s usually a day (or period of days) in the life of customers in a setting of interest to the client - home, shopping, work, wherever the behavior is of interest. But it requires multiple visits to the subjects, with extended and lengthy interviews. This method requires time, the cost can be prohibitive and the data analysis is tedious. It can also be a drain on the client’s time, if she/he is part of the project.

Alternative observational research methods

Of course, if you need true ethnographic research, use an ethnographer. Ethnographers are people with formal training in social sciences, typically holding post-graduate degrees in anthropology or having extensive field training under the guidance of someone with these credentials. But, it’s a fallacy to assume an ethnographer is needed for every context-based application. Context-based research methods such as passive and active observational research can be very appropriate alternatives - think of them as “ethnography lite”! When a company has issues with timing and budget, using passive or active observational research might be more practical than full-scale ethnography.

Passive observational research involves watching customers as they select or use a product or service. To obtain a benchmark of these interactions, either live observers or video cameras are put in place to passively record these events as they occur. The hidden-camera method has become increasingly popular because it eliminates the need for costly field observers to be in place for extended periods and provides a permanent record of customer behavior. When video cameras are used, placements can be either overt, as in the home or workplace, or covert, as in retail stores, museums, parks, other public settings. These studies uncover the “who, what and when” aspects of product selection. Passive observation can provide the basis for developing displays and packaging targeted to customers’ demographics and shopping style.

Here’s how passive observational research works in a retail environment. A fixed video camera is placed in one or more locations where behavior of interest occurs. For example, in the case of a study on snack purchases, one or two cameras might be placed in the snack aisle of a grocery store. Usually, people don’t know they’re on camera. If data is collected for an extended period of time, it can actually become a quasi-quantitative study, looking at traffic patterns, the demographics of people visiting the retail display, the length of stay, and their behaviors with the product. Here are a few of the most significant benefits of passive observational research when the hidden-camera method is employed:

  • It’s cost-effective; a technician installs a camera and then leaves.
  • There is no need to pay someone to do interviewing.
  • Motion detectors and timing devices minimize the use of tape, and it’s only activated in the targeted space.

Active observational research involves an observer/interviewer watching customers under natural settings - at home, on the job or in a retail environment - as they interact with the given product or service. The interviewer then asks questions of the customers, getting to the “why” of the observed behavior and asking them to describe their experiences. For many products, a straightforward active observational interview is sufficient to understand customers’ needs, setting the framework for product development and positioning strategies.

Functional products like houseware items, tools and appliances are well-suited to this method. The most significant advantage of active observation is that it shows real-world customer interactions with products in the marketplace. It reveals the frustrations customers might feel about the products, and modifications or work-arounds they invent that can suggest ideas for new or improved products. Other benefits of this approach include:

  • Getting answers to the “why” questions, in addition to the who, what and where provided by passive observation.
  • Participants can be probed for a deeper understanding of anomalies and compensatory behaviors.
  • The interviewer is free to explore off-topic issues connected to the study objectives.

Combining the two

A combination of passive observation with active questioning is like “show and tell” and can be very useful for locations such as the workplace, home or retail operation. Here’s how it works: the observer watches the customer interact with the products while the behavior is being taped, and then asks the “why” questions directly to the customer. For example, an observer watches a consumer in the grocery store pick up four different boxes of cereal and then select the fourth. The entire sequence is caught on tape, which, as we’ve already pointed out, captures many dimensions of customer behavior but only answers the “what” question. In order to find out the “why” of the interaction, the observer approaches the consumer and asks a few questions. Often participants are recruited and prepared in advance, but just as often, respondents may be asked to participate on the spot.

When the observation is to take place in the consumer’s home, she/he is recruited ahead of time and the entire process is laid out in advance. A camera is installed in an area of interest to the client; for example, in the family room to capture leisure activities. A motion/timer is activated to record behaviors of interest over a period of days, but only when there is actual motion in the room. After a day or two, the family forgets the camera is there and everyone settles into their natural behavior. Once the taping is concluded, the market research company collects, views and edits the tape. They then meet with the homeowners to talk about what they saw, making the entire process a combination of quasi-passive observation and active questioning.

The advantages of active observational research? The client can get to know the habits of their customers - their environment, family dynamics, lifestyle, activities. From the information provided on the tapes, the interview that follows is more meaningful. The interviewer has already become intimately familiar with the family, their home, their routine, and feels that she/he has bonded with the family. Also important, the process answers questions about who makes the decisions and how the family is structured.

More practical than ethnography

Observational research works well in situations that involve a process, like how a service is delivered or how a product is used; for example, household products, appliances, food preparation, retail purchases and service industries like hotels and fast-food restaurants. The consumer’s interaction with the product or service takes place in the environment in which it’s being selected or consumed. The market researcher is interested in knowing the consumer’s unmet needs, and how the device or product or service meets those needs. Often, the data will suggest product improvements or ideas for new products or services.

Getting back to Maslow’s hierarchy, how a product is used and how it meets basic needs are not at the top of Maslow’s pyramid. But these are the critical questions that must be answered when new products are being developed and tested. While ethnography can provide insights that go far beyond traditional qualitative research methods, in many cases it can be like swatting a fly with a sledgehammer. Applied in this context, it means that the gap between traditional marketing research methods and ethnography can often be filled by observational research methods that are faster and more cost-effective than full-scale ethnography.