In-depth Interviews
One to one, for what people won’t say in a group
In China, individual interviews often reveal what group settings hide. Without others listening, respondents are more willing to criticise, admit problems or talk about money, health and status.
When to use them
- Sensitive topics: health, finance, personal care, family
- B2B and professionals: decision-makers, doctors, specialists, who rarely join groups and speak more freely alone
- Usability and product tests: watching someone use a product or website and talk it through
- Hard-to-reach audiences: executives and high-net-worth consumers who need a flexible time and place
Formats
- Online video, now the most common format, streamed live to your team
- Face to face at our facility, the respondent’s office or home, when a product needs to be seen or handled
- Telephone, for busy professionals
Interviews usually last up to an hour, sometimes longer with senior respondents.
Who interviews
Sophia Xu, our founder, conducts most of our in-depth interviews herself, especially with senior executives and professionals, which is one of her specialisms. She has more than 20 years in market research and interviews in Mandarin, and senior respondents tend to open up to an interviewer of her experience. She also shapes the discussion guide and debriefs your team in English. On the occasional project with more interviews than one person can run, or a respondent better matched with someone else, our other senior bilingual interviewers take some of them, briefed by Sophia. Meet Sophia
What makes ours work
- Experienced, bilingual interviewers matched to the respondent’s age and status
- Careful recruitment, including senior and specialist respondents reached through our networks
- Live viewing and interpretation, so your team can follow and send follow-up questions in real time