Introduction
Why Start a Multi-Method Project in AYTM?
Why AYTM is an Ideal Starting Point
- Speed and efficiency: AYTM empowers teams to gather survey data in days rather than weeks, making it ideal for fast-paced business decisions.
- Cost-effective: As a DIY market research platform, AYTM offers an affordable way to test ideas before diving into more resource-heavy methods.
- Clean foundational data: You can use survey insights to identify key segments, surface surprising results, or highlight areas that need deeper exploration.
Turning Quant Data into Strategic Direction
Used correctly, AYTM becomes more than just a stand-alone tool – it’s the first step in a layered, strategic research project design. The insights generated can lead to important follow-up questions like: - Why is this segment responding differently? - What unmet needs sit behind this low satisfaction score? - What mental models influence how consumers interact with our product? These questions signal opportunities to explore further through qualitative research. By starting in AYTM, you create a structured, data-informed launchpad for your next phase.Supporting Teams with the Right Expertise
For insights teams that are stretched or navigating DIY tools for the first time, expert guidance can be the difference between surface-level findings and breakthrough discoveries. That’s where On Demand Talent comes in – experienced research professionals who can help guide tool use, connect phases, and ensure data drives meaningful next steps. On Demand Talent doesn't replace your team, but augments it. They bring hands-on knowledge of platforms like AYTM, plus creative foresight in knowing which qualitative methods make sense next – saving time, avoiding missteps, and maximizing your impact.How to Connect Quantitative Surveys with Qualitative Depth
Making the Transition: From Quant to Qual
Bridging these two methods isn’t a copy-paste process; it takes thoughtful sequencing and a clear understanding of your learning objectives. Here’s how to begin:1. Mine your AYTM data for qualitative cues
Start by looking for anomalies, surprising trends, or unanswered questions. These are great indicators that something is worth exploring further. If 70% of respondents favored Concept A, but 30% preferred Concept B for a completely different reason, you’ve got an opportunity to investigate motivations, values, or perceptions hidden in those choices.2. Choose the right qual method for the job
Consider the story your quant data is starting to tell – and what you still need to understand. For example: - Use 1:1 interviews to dig deeper into personal drivers, hesitations, and lived experiences. - Apply ethnographic research to see behaviors in context and uncover unmet needs. - Try co-creation sessions to ideate alongside consumers and understand how they’d shape your solution. These qualitative approaches don’t exist in a vacuum – they’re stronger when built on a base of solid quant insights.3. Link participant selection between phases
One effective way to connect your AYTM survey to qualitative work is through integrated recruiting. For example, invite specific quant participants into follow-up interviews based on how they answered. That allows you to map attitudes to behaviors and maintain continuity across your research project design.Building a Smart Multi-Method Design
Here’s a simplified, fictional example of a multi-method journey in market research: A beverage company runs an AYTM concept test with two new flavors. Survey results show broad appeal for Flavor A, but a smaller, passionate group loving Flavor B. To dig further, the insights team sets up online interviews with each segment. Interviews reveal that Flavor B consumers are younger, trend-driven, and associate the flavor with health benefits. These insights inform product positioning and future campaign targeting – combining data-backed direction with human depth. This example reflects how pairing AYTM survey results with the right qualitative research can add value across product development, marketing, and strategy.Expert Support to Make the Pieces Fit
Designing hybrid market research studies like these takes more than tools – it takes experience. SIVO’s On Demand Talent can help manage these handoffs, ensuring each phase informs the next. Our professionals are skilled at crafting multi-method journeys, linking quant and qual, and helping internal teams unlock more value from their research investment. Whether you're building long-term insights capabilities or supporting a time-sensitive project, expert help with market research tools makes your research not only faster – but smarter.Example: Moving from AYTM Data to Ethnography or Co-Creation
Example: Moving from AYTM Data to Ethnography or Co-Creation
Starting with a structured survey in a DIY platform like AYTM can provide an excellent foundation for a multi-method research journey. These tools are ideal for gathering broad, quantitative insights – what consumers are doing, feeling, or choosing. But when you're ready to understand the deeper why behind those numbers, qualitative methods like ethnographic research, co-creation workshops, or in-depth interviews become essential complements.
Let's take a simple fictional example to illustrate how these methods can connect.
Imagine a mid-sized food brand launches an AYTM survey to test new flavor concepts for a snack product. The survey results show strong interest in bold, international-inspired flavors. However, one concept performs unexpectedly well – a unique seasoning blend that wasn’t expected to be a frontrunner. The brand wants to learn more: Is the term triggering a specific consumer emotion or desire? Is there a cultural association they’ve overlooked?
From AYTM to Qual: What Happens Next?
This is a perfect moment to move from quantitative to qualitative:
- Ethnographic research can uncover how consumers actually incorporate snacks into their daily lives – home, work, travel – and reveal subtle behaviors that help explain survey results.
- Co-creation sessions with selected participants allow consumers to help shape positioning, visuals, or potential marketing messages for the new flavor, bringing the concept to life while validating appeal in context.
These follow-up approaches don’t just confirm what you learned through AYTM – they expand it. By seeing and hearing how consumers interact with a product or idea in their natural environments or creative ideation settings, your insights become more human, nuanced, and actionable.
Using AI-powered survey data as a jump-off point and layering rich, contextual feedback from participants gives insights teams a clearer picture of both macro trends and micro motivations – a key strength of any multi-method research journey.
At SIVO, we regularly see how structured quant and open-ended qual can feed into one another, especially when the transitions between methods are thoughtfully designed. Teams that build their research roadmap with these handoffs in mind can move faster from insight to strategy, while keeping consumer voices front and center.
Why Multi-Method Journeys Require Hybrid Research Expertise
Why Multi-Method Journeys Require Hybrid Research Expertise
Bringing quantitative and qualitative methods together isn't just about combining different research tools – it's about integrating them effectively. Hybrid research expertise is the ability to speak both languages of data: the structured, scaled analysis of quantitative research and the interpretive, immersive depth of qualitative research.
When teams attempt to bridge these modes without the right strategy or skill set, valuable insights can be missed or misapplied. This is especially true when transitioning from a DIY tool like AYTM to more hands-on methods like focus groups, interviews, or ethnography. Weak handoffs between methods can result in disconnected findings, duplicated effort, or fuzzy takeaways for stakeholders.
The Role of Hybrid Expertise in Multi-Method Design
True hybrid research professionals know how to balance data breadth with depth. They:
- Start with a clear business objective and choose which methods answer specific parts of the question
- Interpret AYTM survey outputs not just for statistical significance, but for signals worth deeper exploration
- Design follow-up qual methods that tie directly to quant findings, ensuring coherence in the overall narrative
- Synthesize insights into integrated stories that resonate with stakeholders across marketing, product, and customer experience
Over time, this leads to more confident strategy decisions, better consumer understanding, and stronger internal alignment around insights.
For insights teams that are newer to multi-method approaches, or for overstretched researchers juggling tool-heavy workloads, having access to hybrid thinkers can dramatically improve research quality. These professionals not only ensure your research stays on objective – they help uncover nuances that single-method analysis often misses.
As more organizations invest in DIY consumer insights tools, hybrid expertise becomes even more critical. It's not just about running a survey or leading a focus group – it's knowing how to connect the dots between them.
Whether you're exploring new markets, optimizing brand messaging, or innovating in product development, hybrid research leaders help your team avoid blind spots and make smarter, consumer-informed choices.
How On Demand Talent Supports Seamless Multi-Method Execution
How On Demand Talent Supports Seamless Multi-Method Execution
As DIY research platforms like AYTM empower teams to move faster, the demand has shifted: it's no longer about “how to collect data,” but “how to use it strategically.” This shift is where SIVO’s On Demand Talent solution adds exceptional value.
On Demand Talent gives teams access to experienced, on-call research professionals with hybrid expertise – meaning they’re equipped to guide an entire multi-method research journey from start to finish. From planning the initial AYTM study through designing qualitative follow-ups and synthesizing final insights, these experts ensure nothing gets lost in translation.
Why Choose Talent Over Traditional Freelancers or Consultants?
Unlike general freelancers, On Demand Talent professionals are pre-vetted and ready to jump in quickly, often within days. They’re not temporary band-aids – they’re partners who bring strategic insight, process fluency, and methodological experience.
Here’s how On Demand Talent bridges the gap for overstretched insights teams:
- Maximize Quant + Qual: From structuring smart survey logic in AYTM to moderating deep-dive interviews, they span both capabilities effortlessly.
- Build team capability: ODT experts can coach internal teams on survey optimization, qualitative facilitation, or synthesis techniques, leaving skills behind – not just project deliverables.
- Flex with business needs: Whether you need support for a one-time market entry study or ongoing consumer tracking, this flexible model scales up or down as needed.
- Keep insights human: As tools and AI accelerate research cycles, ODT helps ensure consumer understanding doesn’t get reduced to dashboards and templates.
As pressures mount on timelines, budget, and internal capabilities, On Demand Talent can help you move from isolated tactics to cohesive insights strategies. And by doing so, they help you unlock the full potential of tools like AYTM – so fast data leads to thoughtful action.
Whether you’re a small brand testing a new idea or a Fortune 500 company running multi-market innovation research, fractional support from seasoned professionals can help your projects go further, faster – without compromising quality.
Summary
Designing an effective research journey doesn't mean choosing between quant or qual – it means knowing how and when to use both. Starting in platforms like AYTM helps teams gather fast, scalable data, but pairing it with qualitative depth transforms findings into meaningful direction. This post explored how to start in AYTM, transition into methods like ethnography or co-creation, and the crucial role hybrid experts play in connecting it all. With the support of On Demand Talent from SIVO, teams can execute detailed, high-impact research without being limited by resources or skills. Whether you’re launching a product, reimagining a brand, or exploring customer needs, a well-designed multi-method research strategy can be your competitive edge.
Summary
Designing an effective research journey doesn't mean choosing between quant or qual – it means knowing how and when to use both. Starting in platforms like AYTM helps teams gather fast, scalable data, but pairing it with qualitative depth transforms findings into meaningful direction. This post explored how to start in AYTM, transition into methods like ethnography or co-creation, and the crucial role hybrid experts play in connecting it all. With the support of On Demand Talent from SIVO, teams can execute detailed, high-impact research without being limited by resources or skills. Whether you’re launching a product, reimagining a brand, or exploring customer needs, a well-designed multi-method research strategy can be your competitive edge.
