The Value of Making Virtual Interviews Your New Research Approach
Qualitative research has been our jam at Cast & Hue since we were founded. As a team of behavioral nerds, we believe words are important, and a gateway to the mind. We are constantly speaking with consumers about their behaviors with, and perceptions of, your brands. Qualitative research can be collected in a number of ways and for sake of saving you time in reading something short and valuable let’s talk about one: interviews.
Interviews are a fantastic way to learn about experiences through the lens of a subject’s point of view.
In a one-on-one interview setting, you have the privacy to discuss potentially uncomfortable topics, eliminate bias from another participant, and probe for more in-depth insights with each participant to truly understand their latent motivations and perceptions that drive decision-making. Our in-depth interviews provide a core understanding of key audiences and their attitudes, perceptions, motivations, behaviors and decision-making drivers.
What’s the difference in conducting interviews virtually versus face-to-face? What we’ve found is there are a few differences, and even more similarities. While in-person interviews offer a strong opportunity to build rapport with clients and customers, virtual interviews can be done faster and with less overall logistical effort that in-person research demands. Both approaches to interviews allow for the same amount of attention to detail within the discussion and depth of discussion around a topic.
Most importantly, research conducted virtually allows for faster insights to action.
This is particularly relevant now given the pace of change across all industries due to the pandemic, and constant changing consumer needs and perceptions. In-person settings typically mean time for travel, transcription, analysis, etc. When executed virtually, travel and other factors like administrative tasks play a role in lessening the turnaround time from collecting data to providing actionable insights for change. This doesn’t mean you can cut corners and expect the same level of insights that you may have received in a larger, more concerted effort in the past. Your research facilitators and analysts must have alignment on the project goals, be intentional with every decision, and ideally be experienced in conducting research in a virtual setting. Virtual interviews are most successfully conducted with the use of web cameras, recording the research, and providing the same comfort and confidence to the participants that they would have in person. There may still be times when the research will demand a partial for full in-person presence, for example with technology constraints around age, use, availability, etc.
One-on-one interviews are far more effective than focus groups.
Because of the number of participants in most focus groups, moderators are often only able to uncover surface opinions and perceptions without the depth of insights that are needed to make an impact on your research discoveries. One-on-one approach mitigates some of the additional inherent challenges that are associated with focus groups:
- Groupthink, in which the group will often align on certain opinions that they believe are “right”
- “Alpha” participants who can guide the conversation and minimize the thoughts and perceptions of other participants.
While a great moderator can work to mitigate these things from happening, the only true way to eliminate them and focus solely on what is important — the findings — is to give the interviewee undivided attention.
We have certainly seen the openness and demand for virtual research increase since March of this year because of the pandemic. Research, in all industries, is establishing the new normal and virtual environments are now more accepted than ever for people of all ages and backgrounds. In this new environment, in-person research will be more rare than it ever has been before. In order to hear from your audience you will need to pivot and we are here to help. To learn more, visit CastandHue.com.
