Our research studies give our clients the evidence to make important decisions with confidence and certainty. On your behalf, we seek to understand the facts of the marketplace, overcoming the bias of speculation. Our work provides management with the data and clarity to act and the courage to stay the course.
Qualitative Methodologies
Focus Groups
Group discussions are an effective method for exploratory research, particularly when investigating group decision-making processes or topics of low customer involvement.
Group discussions often produce more valuable thoughts and ideas than separate individual interviews, as participants stimulate one another into thoughts and reactions that may not occur in a one-on-one situation. Forethought takes steps to ensure that the right group dynamic is constructed to maximise the quality of output.
Our moderators have facilitated countless focus groups, and are trained in the latest techniques for drawing out underlying motivations, attitudes and beliefs.
In-depth Interviewing
Face-to-face interviewing as an exploratory research technique allows interviewers to build a rapport with respondents, enabling them to comfortably investigate the issues of most relevance and importance to respondents in a natural setting and to progressively uncover issues and attitudes – often things the respondents themselves were not consciously aware of.
Our in-depth interviewing team are experts in building rapport, questioning, identifying underlying themes in communication, and understanding non-verbal cues. All of our senior interviewers are postgraduate qualified to at least Masters level, allowing for deep insights into motivations, attitudes and beliefs. They specialise in connecting with respondents who are not normally open to participating in group interviews.
Executive Interviews
Beyond the collection of important insights, Executive Interviews provide the added benefit of strengthening customer relationships in the business-to-business context. They also:
• Signal commitment,
• Provide an independent perspective that overcomes biases,
• Get to the underlying issue,
• Provide feedback to the account team, and
• Identify potential risks and opportunities not evident to the account team
The Delphi Technique
The Delphi technique is a qualitative research methodology used to investigate the likely occurrence of future events. It is a technique used for gaining expert consensus, predicting future trends and aiding in strategic planning in a variety of settings.
The technique seeks to gain the most reliable consensus of opinion through a series of intensive interviews, intercepted with controlled feedback.
A Delphi group is normally constituted of a small number of experts in a particular field and involves repeat questioning over a series of occasions by experienced interviewers..