Diary Studies are a powerful research method for sensitive topics

Money and finances are some of the sensitive topics we are just not programmed to talk about. 

We rarely talk about money, how much we earn, how much we save or spend, and what our future financial plans are? Finances are very personal to each individual and are not something we talk about openly. Even in the age of social media and oversharing with all our big purchases and achievements shared on our feeds for all to see, we still keep very private about how much we spent on that new car or luxury holiday. 

Which of course begs the question how can market researchers gain insights into how people view the subject of money?

Some of the biggest companies in the world are financial services institutions, and the most successful ones tend to put their customers at the center of all the operations. But how do you create a customer-centric experience when your customers are not willing to share any information about the core product at the heart of the industry - their views on finance?

Given the sensitive nature of this research topic, Focus Groups or an in-depth interviews are poor methodologies to try to learn more about a respondent's finances. [Check out our “Diary Studies: a powerful alternative to Focus Groups” post]

Influenced by the presence of the researcher and other respondents, participants would more than likely avoid answering honestly and feel uncomfortable in a group setting. 

Similarly with a 1 to 1 interview, the researcher bias can hugely affect the honesty of the responses and result in very little actionable insights being collected.

What is a Diary Study?

Indeemo Founder & CEO Eugene Murphy describes a Diary Study and the different context this qualitative research methodology can be applied.

Using Diary Studies for banking and finance research: Lloyds Bank

At Indeemo we are pioneers when it comes to human to human research conducted using the Diary Study method [What is a Diary Study?].

By leveraging the power of smartphones and online connectivity we enable our clients to conduct research remotely using Diary Studies. Given the nature of the research methodology it is perfect for generating insights from sensitive topics.

We were delighted to be able to support Lloyd’s bank on a research project conducted using Indeemo’s Diary Study software. 

The Lloyd's team wanted to connect with their customers in-the-moment and to understand their contextual behaviours. In a traditional interview setting the respondent is taken out of their context and relies only on their memory to share their actions or experiences which can often be post rationalised or influenced by the researcher. With Indeemo, they were able to capture real life responses and insights previously not available in this type of research. 

How Lloyds Bank conducted their sensitive research Diary Study

For the banking diary study they recruited 20 participants for a period of 3 weeks and designed

• 13 money tasks 

• 5 lifestyle tasks 

• 5 tracking tasks 

Using photos, videos, screen recording and notes, respondents were free to share their Lloyds experience and financial goals and concerns freely and openly. 

By defining a clear project objective and designing creative diary tasks, the Lloyds team empowered their customers to complete the diary study the way they wanted, resulting in the successful completion of an insightful and engaging project. 

The Indeemo Diary Study app enabled Lloyds to connect with their customers in a private and secure way, and allowed them to share their feedback from the comfort of their homes at their convenience and in a way that is most authentic and comfortable for them. 

In this seminar, learn how Lloyds bank was able to elicit rich, actionable insights and connect with their customers with the help of Indeemo. 

“I was absolutely amazed at how engaging, and personal and human this felt. Because it was over 3 weeks, I felt that I developed a different relationship than I would in 90 minutes.This was faster. This was cheaper. But it wasn’t lower quality.”

-Research by Lucinda Craig, Qualitative Researcher

Let us support your next Diary Study

To learn more about Indeemo and how we can support your next sensitive market research project, call us or submit your contact details.

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