Applying the long interview in direct marketing research

Abstract

The long interview is an intensive questioning of respondents selected for their special knowledge, experiences, and insights (or ignorance) of the topic under study. The objectives of the long interview include learning the thinking, feeling, and doing processes of the respondents, including an understanding of the respondent's worldview of the topic under study in her or his own language. We compare the strengths and weaknesses of the long interview to other primary data collection methods. We describe a research application of the long interview in direct marketing. The study was designed to: a) learn about the rich complexities in the lives of household gardeners buying and using seeds/plants after responding to direct marketing appeals, and b) resolve the conflicting “theories-in-use” of how and why different customer types purchase products. These differing theories were proposed by different managers in the firm sponsoring the study. The development and critical testing of competing theories-in-use are described. The study was designed to learn about five customer types. The results include thick descriptions of the processes of buying and using seeds and plants purchased through direct marketing offers and store visits.