Steve King

Partner

Emergent Research

www.emergentresearch.com

Steve King is a Partner at Emergent Research.  Steve's current research and consulting is focused on economic decentralization and the growth of small business, and the impact of the Internet and social technologies on media and marketing.

Steve has served as vice president of Corporate Marketing for Macromedia, vice president and general manager of Asia Pacific for Lotus Development Corporation and vice president of marketing for Isys Corporation.

He has also been the interim CEO, CMO or head of business development for 6 start-up technology companies and has served on the fiduciary or advisory boards of over a dozen companies.
Steve is a senior fellow and board member at the Society For New Communications Research, a research affiliate at the Institute for the Future and an advisory board member at Pond Ventures.

Market research has always been used to determine the potential pool of customers for a particular product or service. Future possibilities are determined based on demographic facts and figures and past behavior. But past performance is not a fully reliable indicator of future behavior, therefore may not be enough. Ethnography is a more in-depth form of market research that is based on the results of qualitative assessment by researchers. In this article, we dive into the evolving world of ethnography and why now may be the time to get to know your customer on a new level. According to an article by Bright Innovation on storyofdesign.com, “Ethnography, studying customers, is looking forward.” This kind of in-depth understanding of the customer can be critical to product development decisions, strategic direction and specific marketing tactics. Traditional market research involves specific, highly practical questions, while ethnography involves anthropological researchers visiting consumers in their homes or offices to observe and listen in an unobtrusive way. The changing face of technology and media convergence has meant that the results of quantitative research have become less relevant. Changes in social behavior have led to increases in cultural branding. Brand communities formed around powerful global brands like Nike and Harley Davidson have powerfully influenced product direction. Currently, ethnographers are mostly hired by high-tech companies to better understand potential customers and keep abreast of socio-cultural influences. Moisander and Valtonen pointed out in a research paper, “Much of consumer behavior involves everyday routines and practices that consumers do not actively think about.” Discrepancies have arisen in past quantitative research between what people say they do and what they actually do. But ethnographic research creates vast amounts of paperwork. In order for companies to avoid feeling overwhelmed, the results need to be carefully analyzed by skilled ethnographers who are able to apply behaviors and attitudes in the context in which they were observed. As for the future, ethnography helps determine trends. As Moisander and Valtonen noted, “The particular logic of coolness— what is “in” now is “out” tomorrow—fuels the engines of business and economy in many remarkable ways.” Figuring out the next cool trend and its market is crucial to success. To turn this trend into an advantage for your business, consider the following. Ethnography takes customer understanding to a new level. Use ethnography to see hidden customer realities. Consider ethnography for surprising insight. Unfocused ethnography can be data overload. Lastly, use ethnography as part of a comprehensive market research effort.