WHAT WE DO

TRADITIONAL

  • Traditional and the most commonly used methods
  • Typically invite target samples to a research facility
  • Information is collected through conversations
    and interactive discussions
  • Focus group discussion is one of the traditional and the most commonly used methods in qualitative research.
  • Typically consisting of 7-8 participants per group, FGD is an effective way to collect information through interactive exchange of views, experiences,
    attitudes and beliefs, and collective exploration of a subject or an issue.
  • At Research House bo:m, we believe that the quality of FGD relies heavily on the skill of the moderator.
    We take pride in the best-skilled moderators to facilitate the groups and to interpret and analyze the findings.
  • interview enables understanding of individual reactions to personal or sensitive issues outside of a group situation.
  • Most in-depth interviews are conducted face-to-face,
    but when interviewing geographically dispersed respondents, we can share stimulus materials online (E.g. Skype).
  • Hybrid gang is a combination of quantitative and qualitative research when there is a need to collect
    quantitative measurement of consumer reaction as well as to understand the reasons behind those numbers.
  • It is an effective way to make strategic decisions before a product launch especially in the cases where there’s
    only a few mock-up products are available for testing or when there is a need for a controlled testing environment for sensory test.

  • Market excursion is planned typically for foreign clients who’d like understand Korea market in a relatively short period of time.
  • Depending on the clients’ needs, Research House bo:m plans the detailed agenda tohelp them explore
    the market effectively and obtain information that they need.
  • Upon request, market excursions are led by a bo:m researcher with an expertise in the relevant field or industry.

ETHNOGRAPHIC

  • Ethnographic approach
  • In-situ observation where researchers go into consumers’ real-life environment or to the market
  • On the basis of understanding sociocultural background
  • Home spy (commonly called “home visit”) is one of the popular ethnographic approaches which our clients appreciate.
  • It enables us to observe consumers’ lifestyle, and their usage and attitude towards particular products in their actual living environment.
  • It is effective in analyzing their actual usage of products and perception behind it. It is also possible to understand their values through observing their life.
In-home interview
    • An interview is conducted in consumers’ homes where they can comfortably talk about their thoughts and feelings while sharing a piece of their daily life.
    • Being in the consumers’ living environment and listening to their unfiltered opinions enables us to observe the reason of disparity between what they say and what they actually do.
    Show and tell
      • Demonstration of certain behaviors or habits which happen in the house either through completion of diary with photos or self-recorded videos to gain deep insights and understand their actual usage and consumption attitude.
      • By conducting pantry check or bathroom check, we are able to gain insights and their real perceptions towards different brands and products.
      • Effective to understand lifestyle or product usage behavior through observation in the cases when home visit is not feasible due to time or cost limitations.
      Passive camera
        • For observation of particular usage of product or certain behavior over a relatively longer period of time (e.g. several days, one week, etc.)
        • A surveillance camera is installed in consumers’ homes to record consumers’ most natural environment and to uncover unconscious behaviors and needs.
        • The recordings (“raw data”) are then analyzed by bo:m researchers to identify meaningful data.
        • As it requires consumers’ agreement (to install surveillance camera in their homes) and long analysis process, the down side of this methodology is high cost implications.

  • Shopper shadowing is an ethnographic method what enables observation of retail environment in consumers’ natural setting.
  • bo:m researchers who are trained in ethnography accompany and shadow shoppers in the most nonintrusive manner
    to observe their shopping behavior and understand their purchase process in their real shopping environment.

  • As the name implies, “safari” is an “expedition to observe”.
  • Researchers strive to be as unobtrusive as possible – detaching from being participants of the research and becoming observers.
  • Observations can occur cross-sectionally (observations made at one time, from half-day) or
    longitudinally (observations occur over several time periods to a few days).
  • Daily lives of ordinary people could be a target for ethnographic research. Observing in detail the natural
    behavior of target users help us understand consumers’ unspoken needs as well as their underlying values behind what they say and do.
Street safari, store safari, etc.
    • Safari ca be conducted at specific areas or locations (e.g. streets, stores, etc.) to understand market and
      social phenomenon by examining consumer behavior,
      attitude, and other non-verbal cues.
    • Researchers are engaged in “pure observation” for a significant amount of time to
      record and accumulate observation to extract market tendency or a noteworthy phenomena.
    • Safari can be used effectively either to create or confirm hypotheses.
    “Power of observation”
      • At Research House bo:m, we believe in the power of observation. We invest significant amount of time training our researchers
        to observe not to simply “see” but to catch meaningful data from what they observe and
        also to read the meaning behind consumers’ unconscious behaviors.
      • Through observation, we are able to obtain rich information from consumers’ unconscious behaviors,
        unmet needs which they are not even aware of, and their actual behavior behind their rational thinking process.
      • Observation can help overcome the following limitations:

  • Eye-tracking is the measurement of eye activity.
  • By using a special equipment (which follows the direction of pupils), data is collected to answer:
    • - What are they looking at?
    - What are they ignoring?
    - What are they focusing on?
    - What is they first thing they look at?
    - What is the natural flow of their eye movement?
    - What do they look at for the longest time?
    - Etc.

DIGITAL

  • Less structured than other methods
  • Use of digital medium or device to
    collect information and market data
  • Analysis of digital communication as a market data
  • Netnography is an online research method originating in ethnography which is applied to
    understand social interaction in contemporary digital communications contexts.
  • It adapts the traditional, in-person participant observation techniques of
    anthropology to the study of interactions and experiences manifesting through digital communications.
  • For an issue or topic of interest, bo:m netnotraphers explore online resources for observation of online textual communication as well as
    multimedia communication such as video, audio, and pictures to understand what consumers doing, why, and how – e.g. product usage behavior.
  • Market scan is useful for clients who are interested to explore and learn about many products –
    e.g. obtain information on new products in the market, learn about competitor products, etc.
  • Through various online resources, products in the market can be “scanned” by bo:m researchers to not only
    obtain product information, but the voices of actual users – consumer feedback, products’ pros and cons, etc.
  • To ensure the information is not biased or skewed towards a particular group of people’s opinion, bo:m researchers “scan” a wide spectrum of
    online resources ranging from brand website to consumers blogs, SNS,online community bulletins, news articles, and so on to obtain a holistic view.
  • Digital communication is rising as an important tool to collect today’s consumers’ thoughts and opinions.
    Consumers increasingly feel comfortable to express themselves through digital medium, and they
    reveal information, also sensitive details, unasked and voluntarily online more naturally.

INNOVATIVE

  • Innovation workshop involving creative ideation
    techniques togenerate new ideas for development of
    product, concept, or marketing strategies
  • Innovation lab is conducted typically for a New Product Development study at a various stage of product development process.
  • Depending on clients’ business objectives and innovation scope,
    bo:m researchers design the lab to derive expected deliverables – workshop scale, ideation techniques, etc.