An in-depth interview is nothing more than an informal conversation that takes place according to a specific plan. This interview is based on the use of various methods that can prompt the respondent to thorough, as well as to deep discussions on a range of issues of interest to the researcher.
In-depth interviews require receiving from respondents not filling out a formal questionnaire, but immediate answers are not questions. As a rule, such interviews are conducted by experienced psychologists. Their main task is to understand how the respondent actually relates to the issue under discussion.
An in-depth interview is conducted in a special room in person. At the same time, there are no strangers, phones are disconnected, there are no external irritants. In principle, all of these conditions are subject to change. Sometimes an in-depth interview is conducted by phone, but experts say that talking on the phone is not very effective. What is the reason? First of all, it is almost impossible to persuade a person to speak absolutely over the phone.
Also note that in most cases such an interview is conducted with only one person - groups are thus rarely interviewed.
The time it takes for an in-depth interview is different. It can last thirty minutes and three hours. It all depends on the individual characteristics of the respondent, as well as on the tasks of marketing research.
An in-depth interview in some cases is recorded on a voice recorder or camcorder. The recording can be further processed so that it is more convenient to examine it (pauses and all unnecessary things have been removed). The processed record is called a transcript. Based on it, an analytical report is written based on the results of a marketing research. It is worth noting that video recording is used only when there is a need to study the non-verbal response of respondents.
In-depth interview methods are different. Use them to achieve the following tasks:
- the study of how consumers actually relate to a particular product, manufacturer, brand, and so on;
- drawing up a portrait of potential buyers and consumers;
- testing and checking the effectiveness of various kinds of promotional materials;
- search for free niches, as well as the development of new products;
- Assessment of the popularity of existing products.
The same tasks are included in the list of tasks for studying focus groups. However, an in-depth interview will be more effective than a focus group in the following circumstances:
- the topic of discussion is complex, and only people with specific, unique professional knowledge and skills can reveal it;
- in-depth interviews are very effective then. When there is a need to conduct a survey of competitors (competitors will not express their true attitude to a particular problem during an ordinary interview);
- such an interview is very convenient when any personal topics, intimate experiences, and everything else that people are not used to discussing with outsiders are raised;
- it is convenient even when the respondents are geographically distant from each other or small in number. An example is a survey of officials from various regions;
- it is effective even when you need to interview busy or influential people. The bottom line is that a specialist psychologist conducting an in-depth interview will be able to beat everything so that even a long conversation seems easy, interesting and completely unobtrusive.
Note that today such interviews are used quite often. Professionals who know how to conduct them correctly are in great demand.