Concept m offers
Research and Consulting
in over 40 Countries and
more than 12 Industries

In the world of globalized markets and changing consumer trends, marketing issues are becoming more complex and the need for research and consulting more varied.

Our worldwide network with offices in Cologne, Berlin, London, Peking and Los Angeles as well as researchers and consultants in further 40 countries means we have the expertise to offer you research and consulting solutions tailored to your request. At the same time, our tools fit perfectly into your corporate processes.

With our integrated research and consulting we cover the whole thematic spectrum of strategic and operational marketing.

Motives – Target Groups

Based on in-depth psychological concepts we decipher what drives markets, which motives determine consumer behaviour and how target groups “tick”.

Brands – Communication

We support your brands and communication with communication tests or integrated brand and communication consulting.

Innovations – Trends

We identify actionable innovations and trends. This stems from our empirical knowledge on cultural psychological and category-specific developments.

Touchpoints – POS – Web

Based on our research and consulting expertise in the fields of service design, web usability and POS design, we support your customer journey and sales processes.

Our Foundation:
Morphological Psychology

Morphology is the most modern complete in-depth psychology. In addition to capturing factors close to the conscious mind, it also grasps the unconscious factors of consumer behaviour. In the tradition of Freudian motivation research and Jungian archetypes, compatible in many basic principles with more recent neuropsychology and semiotic approaches, morphological market psychology has developed a multitude of data collection and analysis tools which are suitable for practical use.

Morphology allows a unique transfer of depth psychology to the topics of everyday, cultural and market psychology. As a result, morphological market research produces unique new perspectives and exceptionally profound insights on concrete marketing issues.

The linking of qualitative research, quantitative research and consulting is inherent in morphology from the start.

MORE ABOUT MORPHOLOGICAL MARKET PSYCHOLOGY

QUALITATIVE MARKET RESEARCH

QUANTITATIVE MARKET RESEARCH

CONSULTING

The Advantages of our
Qualitative Research

Know what drives consumers

What drives markets? The consumers and the sum of their decisions. But what drives the consumers? How do products, brands and advertising work?

Our qualitative research finds out by using morphological market psychology.

We identify the decisive unconscious motives and opposing motivations governing product usage, purchase decisions and brand experience. The result: a sound understanding of your market, your customers and your brands.

Decode unconscious consumer behaviour

Consumers are not conscious of the key motives. With our morphological in-depth interviews and focus groups we possess proven instruments to precisely identify unconscious drivers. Your advantage: based on our in-depth psychological research findings you can better tailor your products, brands and communication to consumer needs.

In-Depth Interviews

In-depth interviews allow consumers to describe their individual experience and behaviour in particular detail. Our psychological interviewers ensure the interview does not remain on the surface but raise contexts that usually go unnoticed.

Focus Groups

In focus groups, the group effects which determine opinion-forming on products and brands can be deciphered particularly well. The art lies in the psychological moderation which steers the discussion dynamics in the right direction.

Friendship Pair Interviews

Interviewing friends and acquaintances together in a pair interview enables firstly the very detailed examination of individual perspectives but secondly also the stimulation of a discussion process in a companionable atmosphere.

Projective and Creative Techniques

Consumers’ experience and behaviour is determined by mental images which are often unconscious and hard to verbalize. Projective and creative techniques like collages, picture sorting etc. make these images accessible for the research. The special skill of our moderators is to analyse the relevance of the image associations together with the test persons.

Get closer to real everyday life

To understand consumer behaviour, live observation of consumers in their everyday situations is becoming more and more important. In interviews, consumers are often not spontaneously aware exactly how products and brands plus their psychological promises are integrated in their everyday lives.

In-Home-Interview

Interviews in a home environment allow everyday rituals of product usage to be investigated in more detail.

AlltagsStudio-Settings

In our research home, we re-enact the in-home situation and make it possible for test persons to feel at home.

In-Company Interviews

Experience has shown that interviews for B2B market research often function better when the test persons are interviewed directly at their workplace. Here the interviewers can witness live what actually governs the work processes.

In-Company-Interviews

Pre-Tasks and Diaries

In interviews and focus groups it is possible to relate even more closely to actual consumer experience and behaviour when the test persons document their contacts with the brands and products in advance. This takes place for example with smartphone snapshots and short notes. In addition, the test persons are assigned pre-tasks so they reflect on certain moments of consumption before the interview.

Qualitative online tools for digital consumer touchpoints

We use innovative digital and online tools to investigate the digital life in which consumers and media users engage today.

Qualitative Online Panels and Insight Communities

In the age of user forums and personal blogs, consumers are accustomed to exchanging their product experiences at length in the social media. With online panels we utilize this new communication culture for our market research purposes.

Online-Interviews, Online-Fokusgruppen und Live-Chats

When test persons are hard to reach or geographically dispersed, these online forms of interviewing provide advantages over face-to-face interviews and groups. With our special interview methods, we achieve great customer closeness despite online distance.

Morphologische Web-User-Research

Our web user research goes beyond classic web usability and UX research because, in the web sessions with the test persons, we capture the psychological dimension of interaction with the websites and online stores.

Geo-Tagging

Special smartphone apps allow the location data of the test persons to be accurately tracked while shopping. Qualitative interviews on shopping experiences and store experience can be made more specific when information is available on visit rates, visit times as well as pre and post activities.

Our Morphological Analysis Tools

Based on our decades of experience, we have developed tailored morphological analysis tools to answer the many different questions pertaining to marketing.

In-Depth Morphological Analysis of Motives

Using our tool of motivation impact units we decode which unconscious drivers are behind consumption behaviour. This allows us to reach fundamental insights which successfully guide targeting as well as product and brand positioning.

Behavioural Journey Mapping

For customer journey research we have developed a special set of tools to meticulously analyse the processes involved in purchase decision-making and product experience. The findings gained on consumer touchpoints and critical incidents serve to better address the phases of the purchase process and to strengthen consumer loyalty.

Morphological Segmentation Tools

For our ethnographic motivation research we have developed precise, case-specific segmentation models which either differentiate between different target personas or product usage forms or purchase decision forms. These segmentation models provide a valuable basis for further strategic decisions.

Brand Decoding Tools

Our brand decoding tools enable a deeper brand understanding. What accounts for the relevance of brands in a consumer’s daily life, how they are perceived and work as brand personalities, how far they conjure up deeply rooted brand myths, and what requirements are made of their further development – our brand decoding tools decipher all this.

Optimization of Advertising Impact

With our advertising impact analysis tools we decipher how the different advertising media, formats and channels generate and steer advertising messages, and which messages are ultimately received by the consumers. Based on these findings we can give very concrete recommendations on the optimization of advertising.

Innovation Labs

Our innovation labs make it possible to include the consumers in the process of innovation and product development. In innovation workshops we discover the trends on which new successful products are based. In concept clinics we develop new product ideas up to marketability by going through iterative optimization steps in the research process.

Case Study Beverage Brand

A traditional juice brand which has been established for decades is looking for a new orientation in response to the new product and use trends, e.g. to-go drink situation or new power fruit flavours.
more >

The Advantages of our Quantitative Research

Measure what’s relevant

Every marketing decision means a weighing up of alternatives. So it’s good to have dependable numbers on possible decisions.

The quantitative research of concept m delivers precisely these data – we measure what’s relevant.

Our research doesn’t remain at the rational surface but, based on the solid foundation of our psychological expertise, quantifies exactly those emotional and unconscious factors which are decisive for each particular issue.

Our goal: we bring in-depth psychology in numbers. Our numbers are of relevance because we ask the right questions.

Consistent integration of qualitative and quantitative research

Our quantitative research is based on our qualitative insights. Thanks to one-stop project management and systematic linkage of the research process, there is guaranteed to be no transfer loss between qualitative and quantitative research.

Face-to-Face Interviews In-Hall or In-Home

Face-to-face interviews take place in a completely controlled environment, which we can also guarantee in our AlltagsStudio or the Cologne test studio. This assures high internal validity. In-home interviews ensure that the test persons feel comfortable to discuss even sensitive issues.

Online-Forschung (CAWI)

We employ the right tools to answer your questions about the digital world. Multimedia usage gives the interview a playful touch. Data privacy is obligatory for us.

Telephone Survey (CATI)

Many target groups can still best be reached by phone. With the help of our partners, we guarantee the samples will be representative of the population.

Written Survey (PAPI)

We can conduct a classic paper and pencil survey independent of place and very flexibly. On client request we remain in close contact with you when designing the questionnaire.

Behavioural Observations

It is conceivable to observe target persons or groups in a variety of scenarios and models: at the POS, while watching TV or in the home environment. High information quality is guaranteed by objective conducting of the observations.

Field Explorations at the POS

A field exploration takes place very close to the real life of consumers. Interviewing at the moment of truth minimizes recall losses which can occur when the interview is held later. External validity of the results is increased. We interview your target group at the POS or conduct product tests in food stores.

Secondary Research

It sometimes makes sense to first process existing information before starting a new survey. The intelligent linking with available insights can also add to the precision of primary research.

Higher item quality – higher validity

The quality of quantitative research stands or falls with the items measuring what’s really relevant. Based on our qualitative in-depth psychological research we know the language consumers use to talk about consumption topics and how items can be worded to grasp subtle meanings.

Cluster Analysis

The cluster analysis allows us to detect similar psychographic consumer attributes within your test data. We thus succeed in forming roughly homogeneous personality types of consumers. The consumer segments can be subsequently confirmed and optimally described with the help of qualitative research.

Conjoint-Analyse

Conjoint analysis enables us to examine different product combinations (e.g. materials, forms or colours) with regard to approval or rejection by your customers. As outcome you obtain recommendations on the optimal combination of product features.

Factor Analysis

With the help of factor analysis we can uncover relationships in your data. Moreover, we can condense information and reduce it to the underlying attributes. It is also possible to check hypotheses, e.g. on purchase intentions or loyalty.

Causality Analyses

To examine a possible connection between cause and effect, we use the proven methods of correlation and regression analysis. We can thus find out how far e.g. the price, income and used advertising budget have an effect on your product sales.

Correspondence Analyses

With the correspondence analysis we can visualize your complex data and e.g. make recommendations for the positioning of your products.

Price-Sensivity-Meter/Van Westendorp

With this method we measure what your customers are willing to spend. We can determine how the consumers see a certain price level and establish the optimal price for your product.

In-depth-Implicit Measurement

With innovative implicit methods of measurement we track down the unconscious parts of responses. This enables us to considerably increase the validity of the quantitative measurement.

Response Time Measurement

To find out how spontaneous and unreflected a test person’s response is, we can measure response times, e.g. when evaluating commercials. These measurements are an important implicit indicator allowing conclusions to be drawn about unconscious drivers in consumer behaviour.

In-dept-Implicit Brand Research

With implicit brand research we pursue an innovative direction in quantitative market research. It is used to investigate the actual drivers of consumer behaviour when buying a brand.

In-depth Implicit Comms Research

We have developed a toolbox linking qualitative in-depth psychological techniques with implicit measurement. We thus succeed in identifying key factors of success and failure in advertising, for example first versus second screen. We underpin our qualitative methods with representative statistical measurements from impact research.

Apparatus-Based Research

With modern apparatus-based methods of measurement like eye tracking or other physiological procedures like skin resistance and EEG to register impact and arousal, we can specifically investigate behaviour patterns and communication effectiveness.

Case Study Car Sharing

A car sharing provider wants to know which target groups it can reach with an innovative service concept, and what potential business can develop from this.
mehr >

Advantages of our Consulting

Implement what takes you forward

Market research is fundamental, but you don’t get far with insights alone. Therefore, companies that know how to act on these findings have a leading edge.

The morphological consulting of concept m acts at the interface of research and practice, and supports companies in all phases from the initiation of marketing processes to the implementation of strategies.

We are familiar with your challenges

Our consultants have gone through a classic career in the marketing departments of renowned companies, possess thorough knowledge of corporate processes and are familiar with the instruments of strategic and operational brand management.

This puts us in a position to quickly speak a common language with marketing decision-makers and to derive clearly understandable recommendations for action.

We make a “big picture” out of “big data”

The relevant practical experience along with many years of training in morphological market psychology enables our consultants to link quantitative and qualitative information and also to cut through complex relationships so that a transparent “big picture” emerges from complex “big data”. Therefore, the value-adding potential of information and psychological insights can be derived and transferred to targeted marketing concepts.

We see ourselves as companions with depth and vision

Our knowledge of changes in cultural psychology allows our consultants to keep a constant eye on the resulting requirements for your company and your brands. It is our goal to stand by your side in times of change as a source of orientation and companion – for small or big steps. That’s why we have no consulting “off the peg” but show respect for the individual challenge of every task and are convinced that “one size fits all” does not do justice to the importance of business decisions.

Case Study Content Marketing

An insurance company wants to find new ways to contact customers and also decide which concepts for topic management and content marketing through social media channels are appropriate for its own provider brand and are promising with central target groups.
more >

More about us and our work spirit

COMPANY

Campus

CAMPUS – CONCEPT M
RESEARCHES, UNDERSTANDS, CONNECTS

Campus is concept m’s think tank. Here, you can get a picture of our international research workshop, orientation on trends and topics, an overview of our publications and case studies, and the latest corporate news.