Qualitative research that makes an impact

During the energy crisis, we restructured the qualitative research of an energy provider. The aim was an approach that delivers authentic insights into people's concerns and desires. What was originally conceived as a concept for turbulent times, has now become the cornerstone of our client's CX strategy. Read why here:

We want our customers to experience us as an approachable and trustworthy provider in the energy market. To achieve this, we need to better understand the uncertainties, frustrations, and hidden needs of our target audience. In the midst of the energy crisis, one of Europe's leading energy providers turned to us with this challenge.

During our briefing workshop, it quickly became clear that it wasn't just about gaining a better understanding of the target groups. Equally important as the insights themselves would be to initiate a shift in perspective among people within the organization. The employees should develop empathy for people, meaning they need to understand and feel what moves the customers.

Our team of qualitative researchers and consultants developed an approach that included a continuous series of qualitative Day After Interviews. Whenever energy topics dominated the headlines or the company released significant information, experienced researchers conducted brief, qualitative online interviews with energy customers. These interviews gathered emotions, concerns, pain points, and informational needs.

To respond flexibly to news in the media and information from energy providers, we simplified the project processes to ensure that the interviews could be conducted quickly, capturing the fresh reactions.

The success of this approach relied on the research team having in-depth expertise in the energy market and extensive experience in conducting qualitative interviews. This eliminated the need for time-consuming screener and guide alignments. Instead, the essential data points were quickly and easily coordinated. As a result, the guides were reduced to a few core questions, and the interviewers had the freedom to explore flexibly. The outcome: Despite the short duration of each interview, lasting only 30 minutes, the client gained deep, personal, sometimes private insights into the thoughts of the people.

Under the motto: “Experiencing Customers,” we ensured that as many employees as possible could experience customers live and authentically. Many took the opportunity to follow the conversations. Others received the core findings enriched with anonymized audio and video clips. This enabled employees to gain impressive insights into the emotional landscape of energy consumers – an experience with lasting impact.

What was originally intended as a research approach during the energy crisis is now an indispensable part of our client's CX research. And in other research areas like brand research or innovation research, our concept delivers customer voices that make a difference.