In-Depth Interviews

Important customer insights

An in-depth interview aims at taking a deeper look at the attitudes, motivations and needs of those interviewed. To make it possible, in-depth interviews are conducted as partially structured individual interviews. The interviewer follows a guideline that defines certain issues for the interview. This structuring makes the interviews comparable to each other. The layout of the interview is very lax for the interviewer and he or she can flexibly adjust to the interviewee and his/her specific situation and can adjust requests organically as the conversation evolves. This proximity to a natural dialog results in the interviewee feeling comfortable and taken seriously, thus providing authentic information. A catalog of questions that would have to be stiffly complied with would make this significantly more difficult. The openness for the individuality of the person questioned and the personal contact in the in-depth interview create a space for the exciting and frequently also surprising findings.

What is this method of conducting in-depth interviews compatible with?

Classic applications include:

the thorough testing of communications materials, prototypes, mockups and questions of any kind within a small scope (brief interview of 20-50 minutes)

the detailed exploration of topics, usage reasons, needs, motifs, trends (in-depth interview of 45-90 minutes)

ethnographic immersion into the consumer world (in-depth interviews with visits/monitoring 60-120 minutes)

topics that should not exposed to group dynamics, e.g. for sensitive, very personal topic or for very different lifestyles of interviewees

In certain cases a format makes sense that allows several individuals to respond simultaneously to prepared topics. In these cases focus groups could be a better approach than in-depth interviews. We will be happy to assist you in finding the optimum method for your questions.