Know thy customer

Sharon M. Goldman

Ethnographic research can provide qualitative insights to help grow brands, so long as it does not simply become another academic exercise.

Could spending a few hours at a customer's home be a marketing boon? According to agencies and brands using ethnographic research techniques in their marketing efforts, the answer is a resounding yes.

Ethnography, the study of people in the context of their own cultures and lives, came to the marketing research industry from the field of cultural anthropology. It's a function of the shift among many marketers the past two decades away from studying products and toward studying people.

"Before, people would say, 'Do you like it? Would you buy it?' Now it's about a much more sophisticated study of...

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