Both quantitative and qualitative methodologies have come a long way from traditional means of operationalizing these research techniques. In this digitalised world, rarely do we complete a survey with pen and paper. Research participants do not require specific fieldwork apparatuses like palm pilots to make daily diary entries. Researchers are not required often to actually go to the field to study a cultural phenomenon and collect their data. Human behaviour, experiences, social interactions, and societal norms can be researched with the use of mobile technology as one of the leading toolkits for researchers.

More so, new and innovative tools used for field work are already in the pockets of research participants. Smartphones hold the power for research to be conducted remotely, where the researcher can interact with and observe human experiences in the moment. The ubiquity of smartphones in the 21st century has caused a shift in both qualitative and quantitative research. Digitisation gives us the opportunity to capture insights quickly, remotely, and reduces costs of traditional modes of conducting experience research.

The Emergence of Customer Experience Research Tools

In this article we put the spotlight on the qualitative element of conducting research with the use of agile tools. One or the most popular areas of research that has embraced the digitisation of qualitative research methods, is customer experience research. In fact, we are seeing an uptick in the inception and utilisation of customer experience research tools. From the many customer experience research projects we have supported over the years, the primary reason researchers, marketing teams, and UX teams are embracing such tools is because it gives you direct access to your customers. It provides you with rich qualitative insights that benefit most, if not all areas of your business and most importantly, the customer experience. So, when and why did customer experience research tools become a frontrunner in the researchers CX toolkit?

Digitisation of Qualitative Research Methods

In many ways, there is no exact point in time that we can determine the digitisation of qualitative research. Experience research methods, such as experience sampling, have long optimised technology for research. One that comes to mind is the use of Palm Pilot technology in the early 2000s. Although Palm Pilots seem to have had a similar shelf life as the dot com era, this technology had become one of the most optimal ways of conducting experience research remotely. However, cost factors, and usability impacted its effectiveness. And as we know, not long after palm pilots were introduced into the market in the 2000s, smartphones quickly followed and grew in popularity, particularly since the launch of the very first iPhone in 2007.

Onset of Covid-19

However, CX has really embraced the digitisation of experience research methods since the onset of Covid-19 in 2020. Why? Simply because it was the safest way to reach customers, and offered the most effective way to capture insights. Although the global pandemic resulted in an extraordinary disruption to the way we live, it opened new opportunities for organisations to understand how customers interact with their brand, particularly through digital and online channels. Customer experience research tools afforded researchers new ways of understanding customers during this global event.

The increasing digitisation of how we conduct customer experience research in conjunction with the dramatic shift in how people live their lives during and post-pandemic, has resulted in brands wanting to learn more about their customers - and CX research conducted through the lens of qualitative methods, and leveraged by innovative mobile technology has prompted us to lay out the main reasons how a customer experience research tool can help you uncover qualitative CX insights.

1/ Customer Empowerment

What do we mean when we say ‘Customer Empowerment’? To be more generic, we can also refer to this as empowering your research participants. In the context of customer experience research, we are referring to the ability to give your customers the opportunity to bring you into their lives, and show you how they interact with various services, online or in store. We are referring to customers showing you how they behave and experience products through different contextual and environmental factors. Most importantly, customer empowerment refers to the non-intrusive nature of a CX research tool that you would otherwise risk through traditional modes of qualitative research such as, focus groups.

Onboarding a customer experience research tool puts the power of insights into the hands of the customer themselves. Through traditional methods, such as focus groups, there is always the risk that some research participants might not get the opportunity to express their true opinions, or biases may form. Of course, the risk of bias arising is common across many, if not all research methodologies. One of the values of customer empowerment is reducing the risk of bias.

With respect to uncovering qualitative CX insights, customer empowerment will always, without fail present you with a range of unknown about your customers lives. Reducing the researcher effect of traditional fieldwork, when your research participants interact and engage with the customer experience research tool, they have a greater sense of control. They use photo, video, and text to show you their experiences within the context of their daily lives.

2/ Insights through Video Diaries

A customer experience research tool leverages not only the power of mobile technology, but also the value of traditional qualitative methodologies. To be more specific, it is the blend of both qualitative methods and the technological component of a customer experience research tool that drives new insights. More particularly, we are talking about video diaries. Time and time again, market researchers and CX management teams are seeking out this blend. Take a daily diary for example.

Traditional daily (or end of day) diaries were used for research participants to reflect on their experiences over the past day. At times, participants may have been required to make multiple diary entries on a number of occasions during any given day. The complexity of this was that diary entries were made via pen and paper - or even via the palm pilot (late 90s early 2000s). Completely diaries via pen and paper can be a burden for some people, but with the emergence of a CX research tool, new opportunities arose.

Now, diaries can be completed via your customers own smartphone. In addition, and more importantly, the concept of a diary entry is not restricted to text only. We have seen a substantial increase in the use of video diaries. Through this media qualitative insights are extraordinarily significant. This coincides directly with customer empowerment. The adoption of a video diary technique gives you direct access to the lives of your customers. They will provide you with rich and contextual insights into their lives via video, whilst also narrating and describing their experiences with your product or service.

3/ Underpinning CX Data with Context

Up to recently, customer experience research had often been conducted through quantitative techniques. Customer satisfaction surveys often remain one of the go to tools for measuring CX. However, the increasing numbers that are turning to qualitative methods of conducting customer experience research, do so to capture the why. Layering your CX data with context can help provide answers to why questions.

A contextual understanding of your customers means that you are able to see, hear, and even feel (through empathy) many of the varying factors that play a role in their path to purchase. For example, seeing how your customers behave as they sit at home and begin their journey of awareness with a product they seek; understanding the influences that impact their decision making across various channels in their purchase journey, all come from the context that puts you in the shoes of your customers. 

We found an exceptional amount of our clients, particularly those within the sphere of market research, looking to get a deeper contextual understanding of their customers. We have noted that the aim of capturing context will often result in empathy building for your customers throughout your team. In fact, there is a blog for that - “Why Context is Vital for Great Market Research”.

Summary

Through the use of the multimedia component that is embedded in the CX research tool, and the empowerment bestowed upon your customers as they provide you with the qualitative needed to provide positive experiences, contextual insights will bind the results of your findings. It is inevitable that you will find varying differences across your customers. You will identify new problems they experience. You will see that not every customer experience is the same, and ultimately, you will be able to leverage the CX research tool to provide rich qualitative insights to your insights repository.

Contact us

We’ve supported thousands of research projects covering everything from mapping the path to purchase for aquarium filters to mortgage buyer journeys to mapping the patient journey of kidney transplant patients.

If you’d like to discuss a specific patient diary research project or are just curious to learn more, get in touch now.

Recent Articles