Consumer Ethnography

Related
topics

Description

Corporate Anthropology
Day-in-the-life Ethnographies
Observational Research
Slice-of-Life Research
Voice of the Customer

Consumer Ethnography, a qualitative research technique, uses a

variety of methods to study behavior, attitudes and culture to better
understand what customers want and how they make their purchasing decisions. Ethnography, a branch of anthropology, is
viewed by a growing number of experts across industries as a
core marketing competency and an alternative or supplement to
traditional focus groups. Instead of asking consumers to discuss
products or services while sitting in a room, researchers, who
are trained in ethnographic fieldwork, observe people (openly or
secretly) and interview them where they live, work, play and shop.
A detailed analysis of observations reveals consumer motivations
and interactions with brands, and enables companies to discover
new segments and design more satisfying offerings and more
effective marketing campaigns.

Methodology

Consumer Ethnography has the greatest impact when used

at the start of product development, where findings can spark
innovation that translates into a winning product or service.
A trained ethnographer should oversee the step-by-step
research process:

Create a focused research proposal;

Allow time for thorough observation;
Develop an interview outline;
Select field techniques: one-on-one interviews, audio/
videotapes, photographs, team observations;
Conduct fieldwork: at homes, stores, work, recreational
sites, or a combination of locations;
Analyze findings.

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Common
uses

By chronicling the cultural trends and lifestyles that influence

consumer decisionshabits, annoyances, desires, unfulfilled
needs of emerging marketsConsumer Ethnography can help
companies:
Break into new markets;
Refresh established products;
Transform a corporate culturefor example, transition from a
technology to consumer-product focus;
Create brand image or re-brand a company or product;
Validate a new product concept.

Selected
references

Abrams, Bill. Observational Research Handbook: Understanding

How Consumers Live with Your Product. NTC Business Books,
2000.
Ante, Spencer E., with Cliff Edwards. The Science of Desire:
As more companies refocus squarely on the consumer,
ethnography and its components have become star players.
Business Week, June 5, 2006.
LeCompte, Margaret D. Designing and Conducting Ethnographic
Research (Ethnographers Toolkit, Vol. 1). AltaMira Press, 1999.
Mariampolski, Hy. Ethnography for Marketers: A Guide to
Consumer Immersion. Sage Publications, 2006.
McFarland, Jennifer. Margaret Mead Meets Consumer
Fieldwork: The Consumer Anthropologist. Harvard
Management Update, September 1, 2001.
Schensul, Stephen, L., Jean J. Schensul, and Margaret D.
LeCompte, Essential Ethnographic Methods: Observations,
Interviews, and Questionnaires (Ethnographers Toolkit, Vol. 2).
AltaMira Press, 1999.
Sherry, John F. (ed.). Contemporary Marketing and Consumer Behavior:
An Anthropological Sourcebook. Sage Publications, 1995.
Underhill, Paco. Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping. Simon &
Schuster, 1999.
Zaltman, Gerald. How Customers Think: Essential Insights into the
Mind of the Market. Harvard Business School Press, 2003.

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