Traditional Research
Many times, traditional focus group methods still work best for a given learning objective. But it can be hard to get a collection of strangers to spill the beans. That's where Chatter's unique style comes in. We employ a variety of proprietary creative exercises that inspire vivid feedback and lively conversation. Respondents loosen up and have fun in the process, yielding a richer understanding of consumer sentiment.
Consumer Expeditions©
Chatter's innovative approach to in-home and ethnographic research
Consumer Safaris
Jane Goodall couldn't properly study chimps in the zoo, so she lived among them in the bush. Researching consumer behavior is no different (though we don't think consumers are chimps). Thus, we go where consumers live, work and play. It's where some of the most honest and actionable research insights reside and where what's observed can be as important as what's said.
Table for Six
When it comes to adults, dinner parties are the most comforting forum for debating current events, discussing the ups and downs of marriage, fretting about the family finances—and learning about new products and services. As a result, Chatter sponsors in-home dinner parties across the country, allowing us to tap into this rich petri dish of consumer sentiment and understand brands within the context of peer influence.
Research Embeds
We've found two places guaranteed to be chock full of high concentrations of consumers: in stores and at consumer conventions. These folks are already engaged in the category (or the brand), thereby providing the "right" respondent right away. It also offers a low-cost way to get in front of large number of consumers in record time.
Digital Ethnographies
Many of us live half our lives online – in social networks, on blogs, through phones, via email, with Skype and more. Thus, ignoring the cyber lives of consumers is like leaving a movie before it ends. Chatter’s “dignographies” include dedicated, custom-built social networks and personal consumer blogs that our clients can observe as respondents create them. It’s a real-time window into online behavior.
Gaming Showdowns
Gaming is more than just joysticks and high scores. It’s also a culture. For this reason, Chatter likes to get family and friends together in their homes, where we can watch them play together. We may lubricate the conversation with free pizza and Mountain Dew, or even a beer or two (for our adult gamers only of course). But the end result is quite serious – a vivid portrait of the motivations, biases and social connections that drive one of the most dynamic mediums around.
Patient Shadowing
It’s difficult to reliably develop and market a medical device or pharmaceutical without diagnosing physician or patient needs first. But Chatter doesn’t merely talk to these folks, we seek out the brand environment where decisions are made, observing procedures in the operating room and shadowing doctors and staff as they make their rounds. By understanding context and use cases in this way, Chatter gains a more holistic understanding of how brands and products are really perceived in the marketplace—and what to do about it.