New research agency promises qualitative ‘revolution'

UK-- A new agency is promising to “revolutionise” the qualitative research agency by using interview methods derived from clinical psychology techniques to dig deeper into the minds of consumers.

The firm, Consumer Dynamics, has been launched by brand strategy firm The Brand Works and consulting agency Clinical Psychology Associates.

Co-founder Hugo Brooks told Research that the new venture will use clinical psychology interview techniques to counter what he called “flaws” in traditional qualitative research.

He said “traditional” focus groups and depth interviews give researchers the chance to get close to consumers but do not give a clear understanding of that consumer's mind.

Brooks said a consumer's behaviour may change when they are part of a focus group and result in providing researchers with inferior information.

“If you think about a standard focus group,” he said, “what we actually do is put consumers in the most socially awkward situation they're going to be in all year. They're mixed with a group of people they don't know in an unfamiliar environment and then asked lots of questions. This is then used as a way of making crucial decisions about brands and companies and we feel it isn't a great starting point.”

These situations can create subconscious barriers to self-expression, and Brooks said the way round this is to employ a range of clinical psychology interview techniques that allow consumers to become “completely comfortable and relaxed” and provide interviewers with a much deeper level of insight, without worrying what the rest of the group will think of their answers.

“Psychologists have been doing this for years: talking to people and helping them understand their deepest inner hopes and fears. That's what a psychologist does, he enables a process where he gets to understand what is really going on and it is about employing those techniques in a research environment,” Brooks said.

Consumer Dynamics will run one-one one depth interviews with consumers – to be carried out by clinical psychologists – and workshops of between 20 and 100 people.

Although Brooks said consumers can be negatively affected by being in a focus group, he is confident that being in a much larger workshop will not have the same effects on their psyche.

He said: “What we're effectively doing is spending time getting people comfortable and relaxed with eachother, which is done through a series of processes. These include people getting to physically know eachother to running around in very high speed actions where consumers are asked a lot of questions in succession. Because everyone is busy and active they lose self consciousness.”

Author: James Verrinder