Ethnography is hot, a very cool thing because it's been around for over 100 years.
 
Conceived in the 1920s by sociologists and cultural anthropologists, ethnography is an observational technique that studies people where they live and work, in their natural environment.
 
Traditional research approaches (like the formal focus group, for example) often deliver artificial, skewed or false feedback that doesn't reflect what people really think. Ethnography seeks out – and finds – true thinking, motivations, reactions and yields a deeper understanding.
 
Some people have described this research approach as "living with the tribe." Cultural Anthropologist LiAnne Yu offers her perspective:
 
"If you want to understand what motivates a guy to pick up skateboarding, you could bring him into a sterile laboratory and interrogate him… or you could spend a week in a skatepark observing him, interacting with his friends, practicing new skills and having fun. Ethnography is observing people's behavior in their own environments so you can get a holistic understanding of their world – one that you can intuit on a deeply personal level."
 
While there are many different types of ethnographic research, one derivative has taken a strong hold in the B2B and technology marketplace: design ethnography.
 
In the '70s and '80s, it was common for new tech products to be introduced without much (or any) feedback from "end users" (I always hated that distancing term). This wasn't surprising because most of these tech companies were founded and/or run by engineers. The prevalent notion was to invent something and then find a market for it. Let's just say this approach was slightly myopic.
 
But the '90s – and especially the '00s – have seen a thunderous shift. Now the smartest tech companies are "living with the tribes" to create products that consumers really desire (Business Week article "The science of desire."). Intel designed their $500 Community India PC using ethnographic research. Motorola designed their text messaging A732 with ethnographic research. And you can be sure the Apple iPhone is drenched in consumer perspective.
 
One of the High Priests of Ethnography is Hy Mariampolski, a pioneer in the application of ethnographic methods for marketing research. His book, "Ethnography for Marketers" has some intriguing insight on why ethnographic research yields a better understanding:
 
"There is a common misunderstanding that pervades some corporate managers that consumers are eager to tell marketers all about their dissatisfactions with current offerings and needs for new products... Consumers do not spend a great deal of time consciously thinking about how to improve on products or what new products might help them."
 
Mariampolski says, "Consumers leave numerous clues and hints to new opportunities, which marketers need to watch for and interpret carefully." By observing people (vs. engaging them directly), ethnography discovers hidden behaviors and thinking you wouldn't be able to uncover with formal research, such as:

• Combining things – if the product isn't working the way they want it to, people sometimes get creative and concoct "home remedies" that combine multiple products to get them closer to the desired effect. Ethnography reveals which combinations of product functionality can be integrated to get consumers where they need to go.
• Work-arounds – if consumers are frustrated, they often improvise and work around a barrier. Mariampolski offers a pertinent technology example: "If they are not aware of, or do not understand, all the operations required to complete a task in a database program, for example, they may patch together unique ways of solving problems, or alternatively, perform some task based on their own limited knowledge of the program's functionality." Ethnography unmasks these design defects.
• Transference – this one is amazing. A product can fail dismally when the consumer uses it, yet many people blame themselves for the problem. Ethnography helps technology companies create products that work the way they are supposed to work.
• Avoidance – if the right product isn't available, consumers may avoid certain tasks altogether or relegate them to the end of their to-do list. Ethnography spotlights opportunity.
• Imaging perfection – when products don't perform as expected, most consumers simply assume the capabilities to meet those needs don't exist. Ethnography unlocks consumer ideas of perfection.

In addition to designing better products, ethnography is also used to revitalize current products and services; to break into new markets; and to transform internal cultures.

Ethnographic approaches can be applied to the process of communications, especially within the research phase. Primary research (focus groups; online surveys; phone calling surveys; Harris polling, etc.) can be significantly augmented by integrating observational feedback gleaned from customers and prospects. This is useful because traditional primary research has far more limited personal contact, is more focused in its methodology (e.g. "Please answer these questions") and doesn't use laid-back observational techniques. For marketing, PR and communications professionals, the end result of ethnography, is far deeper customer-centered insight which can profoundly shape communications strategy, messaging and tactical efforts with all publics.   

Ethnography is focused on a better understanding of the customer. It relates to "personas" which many B2B marketers are beginning to embrace to better understand their customers. Instead of relying on a vague profile of their customers, personas produce vibrant views of customers so they can be better served.
 
- Andy Beaupre