“I’m writing to tell you how valuable the ethnographic process was for our team as well as the company. Over time, the research community has relied more and more heavily on quantitative methods, sometimes hiding behind the numbers we created because they were statistically significant. While we gained from these methods, we lost a lot that we did not even realize we were losing. We lost the “essence” of our consumers, the emotional and visceral understanding of that which makes them who they are.”

“While quantitative research will continue to provide important knowledge about our consumers, I have learned that ethnography is the “glue” that holds all the numbers and data together. Ethnography provides the understanding. Ethnography is also important for personal enrichment. By trying to see the world from another’s perspective, you grow into a better person yourself. Consumers are no longer respondents or numbers on a page. You have put a face on your consumer, and she will forever smile back at you. She is now your friend.”

“I see the power of this new relationship demonstrated often by members of our team who worked on the project together. They all have renewed energy to better represent our consumer within the organization. We are no longer just representing our functions or ourselves, we are representing the consumers we now know so well. We have become her “proxy” internally. Team-based ethnography caused energy to cascade through our organization. Thanks for opening our eyes to a whole new world of possibility and welcoming us to the future of market research.”

– The Procter and Gamble Co., Manager, Customer & Market Knowledge