Qualitative research
Uncovering the ‘why’ behind behaviours, revealing unmet needs, and shaping ideas that resonate - our qualitative research services drive smarter, more human-centred decisions.
Upgraded for a digital-world
Discover our full-service qualitative research solutions, with custom projects starting from just £10,000.
Human-Centred Research. Outcome-Focused Insights.
At Waveform we take a fresh approach to qualitative research. We blend human-centred approaches, cutting-edge research tech, and outcome-driven frameworks to deliver insights and impact at pace.
Our qualitative projects helps brands connect with their audience: why they choose certain solutions, products and brands, what adds value to their lives, and how to consistently become a brand of choice. At Waveform, we combine expertise, innovative methodologies, and strategic frameworks to create insights that deliver empathy and drive real impact.
Full-service projects
Proven frameworks, processes, and platforms to deliver results in as little as 10 working days from the initial project setup.
Quality you can trust
We support you at every stage. All projects include bespoke design, management, participant recruitment, fieldwork, analysis, reporting, and debriefing.
Results from 10 days
Our streamlined, remote-by-default team delivers high-quality projects efficiently and cost-effectively.
Cost effective
With an experienced UK team, rigorous processes, and best-in-class research partners, we ensure quality and authenticity are embedded in every project.
Our Qualitative Research Services
With over 20 years of experience in online qualitative research, we design and deliver insight projects across a broad spectrum of industries and use cases. Discover some of our key services and example costs:
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Online Insight
Sprint Communities.
A smarter, more inclusive, alternative to traditional focus groups—delivering richer, more agile, insights. Designed to explore topics in depth and at speed while ensuring empathy and actionability.
Whether sparking new ideas or guiding strategic priorities, Online Insight Sprints put your audience at the heart of inspiration, planning, and decision-making.
KEY APPLICATIONS:
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Understand how consumers navigate your category, discover brands, and make decisions. Identify emerging trends and optimise positioning.
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Uncover friction points, unmet needs, and Jobs-to-be-Done to inform product innovation and improve customer experiences.
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Develop and refine concepts, messaging, and product features by gathering in-depth audience reactions and preferences.
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Assess how different messaging, features and experience elements resonate, allowing for iterative improvements before launch.
EXAMPLE SPEC & PRICING:
Research delivery
Tailored tasks, including 1-2-1 Q&As, group discussions, remote user testing, surveys, card sorting, and diary studies.
Participants
24+ participants (equivalent to four focus groups, with options for more).
Project schedule
From 15 working days, with 3 days of fieldwork and 90 minutes of activity per participant.
Project costs from:
£12,500 +VAT
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In-depth video
Interviews
Our remote video interviews allow direct engagement with your audience - uncovering their needs, behaviours, and perceptions in rich detail. Led by expert researchers, these sessions blend qualitative depth and empathy with the speed and flexibility of remote methods.
Whether explorative, generative or evaluative, video interviews offer a powerful way to connect with your audience and inform decisions with real human insights.
KEY APPLICATIONS:
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Explore the underlying motivations and unmet needs shaping customer behaviour. Use deep insights to fine-tune propositions and messaging.
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Identify the key factors that drive brand adoption and switching behaviour. Understand what convinces customers to stay—and what might push them away.
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Gather detailed qualitative feedback on branding, messaging, and customer experiences to ensure relevance and impact.
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Build detailed audience personas based on real stories, behaviours, and motivations—helping to guide targeting and positioning strategies.
EXAMPLE SPEC & PRICING:
Research delivery
Remote 60-min video interviews, researcher-moderated, with PowerPoint/PDF report, AI-generated transcripts, and an insight activation debrief.
Participants
10 participants (including recruitment & incentives, with options to add more).
Project schedule
From 10 working days, including fieldwork and reporting.
Project costs from:
£10,000 +VAT
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Mobile ethnographic diary studies.
See beyond what people say—explore why, where, when, and how they interact with products and brands in real life. Our mobile diary studies capture real-world behaviours, experiences, and decision-making in context.
From understanding user journeys to testing longitudinal product experiences, diary studies offer an in-the-moment view of your audience - helping you uncover opportunities, identify pain points, and develop solutions that truly resonate.
KEY APPLICATIONS:
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Walk in the shoes of your users and Personas - understand their daily lives, behaviours, and interactions with your brand as they happen.
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Track decision-making over time to identify key barriers and motivators that drive customer choices.
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Identify pain points and innovation gaps through in-the-moment qualitative insights.
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Evaluate real-world product use, adoption, and feedback over time to improve customer experience and positioning.
EXAMPLE SPEC & PRICING:
Research delivery
7-day diary study, with scheduled daily activities and ad-hoc feedback via survey forms, text, video, screen shares, and photos.
Participants
40 participants (including recruitment & incentives).
Project schedule
From 15 working days, with 3 days of fieldwork and one hour of activity per participant.
Project costs from:
£12,000 +VAT
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Automated Qual
Video Surveys
A fast, cost-effective way to scale qualitative research. Led by experienced researchers, our bespoke video surveys combine the depth of user interviews with the speed and reach of surveys.
Whether you need to build audience insight, generate ideas, test concepts, gather feedback, or deepen empathy, video surveys unlock the power of qualitative research - efficiently and at scale.
KEY APPLICATIONS:
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Gain rich, authentic feedback on concepts, campaigns, and customer experiences. Understand what resonates, what needs improvement, and how your brand can better engage your audience.
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Capture spontaneous thoughts and creative contributions from real users. Use qualitative insights to refine messaging, develop new product ideas, and enhance engagement strategies.
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See your brand through your audience’s eyes. Understand their needs, motivations, and pain points to create marketing, products, and experiences that truly connect.
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Identify the factors that drive loyalty and trigger churn. Use real feedback to enhance customer retention strategies and create stronger brand relationships.
SPEC & PRICING:
Research delivery
Online qualitative video survey, AI-moderated, with PowerPoint/PDF report & AI-generated video transcripts.
Participants
50 participants (including recruitment & incentives, with options to add more).
Project schedule
From 10 working days, including fieldwork and reporting.
Project costs from:
£8,000 +VAT
Ready to start your project? Or read on to find out more…
WHY WORK WITH WAVEFORM?
Actionable Insights. Expertly delivered.
How research is designed, conducted, analysed, and reported determines the value and impact of your insights. With over 20 years of experience, we’ve refined an approach that delivers best practice while adding value at every stage.
Innovative Remote Research Solutions
We use the latest remote research methods to deliver inclusive research with authentic and timely insights.
Seamless, in-the-moment participation across mobile, tablet, and desktop.
Creative tools: video Q&As, diary studies, remote screen recording, card sorting & more.
AI-enhanced analysis to surface key themes quickly and in depth.
Authentic trusted survey participants
Trusted, engaged participants are at the heart of every project. Through rigorous recruitment processes we ensure participants genuinely reflect your target audience - authentic, inclusive, and representative.
We apply strict quality checks and validation to verify response authenticity, ensuring you can trust insights when making critical decisions
Inspiring action-focused outputs
We don’t just deliver reportage, we create beautiful and insightful outputs, that bring audience needs to life and activate insights. Deliverable options include:
Insight activation reports and workshops
Audience / Segment Personas
Websites and virtual research walls
Video reports and compilations
Customised for each brand’s needs
Each of our projects is custom-crafted - aligned to meet each projects specific objectives and enhanced with fresh creative thinking each time.
Mixed-method projects
Adapt number and profile of participants
Add-on outputs: Videos, Data viz
Advanced qualitative analysis
When a fresh actionable perspective is needed, we employ a range of advanced qualitative analysis frameworks and techniques:
Jobs-to-be-Done / contextual inquiry
Journey mapping / ‘Switching Forces’
Behavioural science / heuristics
Semiotics / cultural analysis
Eye-tracking / Neuro
Built for a digital-first world
Our highly experience team are used to delivering quality work at pace. Our experience, use of technology and AI means we can move quickly whilst never letting go of the importance of authenticity, empathy and insights.
Ready-to-go systematic frameworks
Expert researcher designed & led
AI & automation enhanced
Ready to launch your project? We are…
Get in touch
We are ready to get started on your project today.
On a tight budget and schedule? We have a range of Streamlined Insight services with prices starting at just £7,500+VAT.
