What was qualitative research like 10 years ago? What did we know then and what do we know now?

Plunkett Communications Inc. came into existence a decade ago, so this vantage offers a reference point to observe the differences between the culture of qualitative research then and how it has evolved into a more sophisticated tool today. Many of the practices we take for granted today are markedly different from those of the late 1980s.

The 1990s have been characterized by the catch phrase 'change or die'. Many brands and organizations that are household names today were barely on the radar screen 10 years ago, if they existed at all. Yahoo was a young unknown company, Sympatico hadn't been born yet, and the Interac debit card was just being test marketed.

But have we, in the discipline of marketing, changed to meet these new challenges? In many ways, we have.

This is the first in a series of three articles that will examine fundamental changes to qualitative research, in three areas, over the past 10 years. This first article will focus on the improvement to listening skills.

Realizing the value of sharper listening skills
In 1989, the tendency was to conduct groups of eight or more respondents; the mirror divided "us" and "them"; there was a back-room atmosphere that often verged on a party; and the moderator adhered fairly closely to a guide consisting of straightforward and direct questioning.

Today, we are conducting smaller sessions (e.g., pairs, trios and minis), more of them, sometimes in more stages, and often in more markets–realizing that different attitudes outside the "GTA" could be more helpful in developing national strategies. We are becoming more skillful and imaginative in our use of stimuli. Sometimes we want to look to a more real world setting–even the consumer's home–for example, using a videotaped guided tour with her/him to look through the cupboards. These changes are providing us with the ability to more clearly establish patterns, give each individual a greater opportunity to speak because of less "competition" for airtime, go more below the surface of attitudes and behavior, and, as a result, sharpen our listening skills, so we have greater understanding of our target audience's needs and responses.

The mirror, once viewed as a barrier between respondents and professionals, is now being seen as a lens through which observations can be made and insights can be gathered. The nature of the relationship between consumers and marketing professionals has come closer. The astute marketing professional now wants to understand what the respondent needs, rather than how they will react to what they are given.

Marketing professionals, rather than using the back room as a social gathering, are actively listening to the sessions. Even the posture of the back room has changed. Seating tended to be away from the mirror; now observers are sitting closer, paying more attention to what is unfolding on the other side. All of this reflects a greater respect for what the consumer has to say.

The day of the rigid discussion outline, without stimuli or projective techniques, has passed. Where there once was a quantitative-like list of questions, asked in a given order, using set wording, much qualitative research has evolved into a vibrant probing of consumer's motivations and the meaning underlying their words. In the past decade, the more imaginative use of stimuli–homework assignments, photo sorts and personification–has helped us become much better listeners and gain greater insights.

Improving our listening skills can also be achieved by allowing consumers to act on their creativity and ability to articulate feelings. Borrowing techniques from anthropology has also proven to be extraordinarily valuable. For instance, studying the needs of female athletes in situ, as Nike did when their planners took video cameras with them to gymnasiums, helped to develop breakthrough ideas and advertising that was extremely relevant to the target audience. And giving cameras to respondents, asking them to make their own videos or photo diary, gives intimate insight into the realities of their worlds.

As we look back at the marketing business 10 years ago, and compare that snapshot to today, we see how we have evolved many of our tools–tools that simulate real world experience and thus give us more insightful analyses and ways to appeal to an ever more sophisticated, complex, and savvy consumer. We are limited only by our own imagination, tempered by an understanding of rigorous research standards. We now can apply these tools and techniques to a wide variety of target groups ranging from five year olds to CEOs.

MARION PLUNKETT is president of Plunkett Communications Inc., a full-service Toronto-based marketing research firm offering both qualitative and quantitative research.