Meet Lisa Harrison, The Olinger Group’s new Qualitative Research Director.
Why did you decide to specialize in qualitative research?
I really like hearing people’s stories. I think clients often have an idea of who their customers are, but they don’t fully get the picture until they hear the customer’s voice.
For example, I have done a lot of work with female incontinence products. The companies have all the sales figures and numbers and trends, which are necessary, but they need to hear the emotion. Executives and marketers need to really hear women talk about how they want to avoid embarrassing situations, have the confidence to play sports again, and even just be comfortable.
How do you talk to someone about such a sensitive topic?
With empathy and humor. I did focus groups with relatively young active women. My approach was: “OK, we are all girls here. We all know that we have issues.”
I used an exercise that I created called “Once upon a time.” I had all the women write a fairy tale about the first time the character in their story needed to use a pull-up incontinence product. They turned their stories face down in the middle of the table. I mixed them all up and passed them out. Each woman read someone else’s story.
As they were reading, the other women would say things like: “That’s my story!” or “Oh, I relate to that.” The exercise made them laugh, and they were very, very open with their thoughts and experiences.
So open that I had to bite my tongue. We were discussing if and how adult pull-up products can be pretty. One woman, maybe in her 60s, looked at me and said: “You know, you never know when you are going to want a little uh-uh-uh.” All the women in the group cracked up. They loved it.
I had to be professional, so I just said OK. But as soon as I hit the back room, I was like: “You know that is a quote for the report!”
Do you prefer focus groups or IDIs?
I enjoy the energy of focus groups, but sometimes you need the privacy and safety of an IDI. That is especially true when you are dealing with PHI.
Pre-COVID, I conducted IDIs with parents who were hesitant to give their 6-year-old child a vaccine. Their reasons were varied, but they often involved conflicting emotions and external pressure. This resulted in high stress levels that are best cared for and moderated in a 1:1 setting.
What does a successful project look like to you?
I see success in the client’s face. It might be a look of complete surprise because they learned something new, or one of comfortable validation because the results are exactly in line with what they expected. Either way,
I know the client received the valuable information they need to move forward with their project.
Why did you join The Olinger Group?
I worked on my own for 19 years and I loved it, but it was time to be part of a team again. And I like the fact that TOG does qualitative and quantitative studies. The two really go hand-in-hand.
Also, I like the boutique feel at TOG. Everyone knows and supports each other here.
I think customers like that boutique feel, too. With really big companies, it often happens that seniority is what is sold, but the junior level is what happens. One great thing about The Olinger Group is that you know who you are going to work with. I think everyone here is pretty senior. You are getting people who have a wealth of experience and a breadth of knowledge.
Please join us in welcoming Lisa to the TOG team.