In-depth interviews
in Singapore
Surveys tell you what people do. Focus groups tell you what people say in front of others. In-depth interviews tell you why. A well-designed IDI programme gives a single participant 60 to 120 minutes to explain, contradict, and surprise themselves. That space between the first answer and the real answer is where the valuable insight lives.
Assembled has conducted in-depth interview programmes across skincare innovation, financial services, luxury goods, employer branding, mobility platforms, food and beverage, and healthcare. Our IDI work spans consumer segments from mass-market to ultra-premium, B2B decision-makers, healthcare professionals, and specialist populations that require culturally adapted moderation in English, Mandarin, Malay, or Japanese.
Every project description below follows our standard confidentiality practice. Client names are withheld. Participant identities in all photography are obscured or replaced in accordance with Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act. Discussion guide content remains proprietary to clients unless otherwise agreed.
Custom discussion guides and programme structure
Every IDI programme starts with a discussion guide built specifically for the project. We do not use templates. For a luxury watch brand studying three distinct consumer segments, we developed sixteen individual moderator decks tailored to specific participants and segments, each with visual stimulus materials calibrated to that cohort's interests and purchase stage. Current owners explored satisfaction drivers and emotional brand connections. Lapsed prospects explored barriers, information gaps, and competitive alternatives. The conversation architecture differed because the psychology differs.
For a skincare innovator evaluating new formulations, the discussion guide went through four distinct iterations before fieldwork began. Each version refined the screening criteria and conversation flow based on pilot findings. The final guide incorporated a pre-task component where participants engaged with products before the interview, so the session captured authentic experiential feedback rather than speculative reactions. That iterative investment in the guide is what separates productive 90-minute sessions from aimless ones.
Screening, recruitment, and sample composition
The quality of an IDI programme depends almost entirely on who sits in the chair. For a premium skincare study, the screening questionnaire went through four iterations because the initial criteria failed to distinguish genuine premium consumers from aspirational buyers. The threshold that worked was a minimum of five skincare products in regular use, combined with purchase recency and brand-specific usage patterns. That kind of screening takes longer and costs more than pulling names from a generic panel, but the alternative is 90 minutes of conversation that generates nothing actionable.
For a study exploring employer brand perception, we recruited dual cohorts: job seekers actively evaluating employment options and current employees across different tenure stages and functional areas. The dual-cohort design allowed comparison between external perception and internal reality. When significant discrepancies appeared between what job seekers expected and what employees actually experienced, those gaps became the most strategically valuable findings in the entire programme. Recruitment for B2B and specialist segments draws on professional networks, association memberships, and LinkedIn outreach with verified screening.
Moderation, format, and fieldwork
Sessions run 60 to 120 minutes depending on topic complexity. A straightforward brand loyalty study might need 60 minutes. A premium skincare sensory evaluation with pre-task product engagement needs the full 120. We conduct interviews face-to-face at our Singapore facility, at client locations, in participants' homes for ethnographic context, or via video for geographically dispersed or schedule-constrained respondents. For a hospital operations study, we used Zoom to accommodate clinical staff working across shifts and 24/7 rosters.
Moderation adapts to segment and culture. For a grooming brand requiring bilingual research, we developed separate moderator guides in English and Japanese, with culturally adapted conversation flows reflecting differences in how consumers in each market discuss personal care. For a fintech study, we used an innovative homework methodology where participants documented their actual financial tools through annotated screenshots before the interview. Researchers reviewed these submissions in advance, so every session opened with specific, observed behaviours rather than generic prompts. That preparation turns a good interview into an exceptional one.
Analysis, transcription, and reporting
Every IDI session is audio-recorded and fully transcribed. The transcripts become a searchable archive that outlasts the project, a permanent reference when questions arise six months later about what a participant actually said versus what the summary captured. For a car-sharing platform study, the full-audio approach provided additional stakeholder value because senior product teams could directly hear user voices describing friction points, rather than relying solely on written reports filtered through an analyst's interpretation.
Reporting goes beyond transcript summaries. For a luxury goods client, we delivered segment-specific strategic findings including consumer psychographic profiling, purchasing behaviour analysis with decision timelines, design preference mapping, price sensitivity frameworks, and competitive positioning analysis drawn from the consumer perspective. For a brand loyalty study across active and lapsed customers, the deliverables separated retention intelligence from win-back strategy, giving the client two distinct playbooks from a single research programme.
When in-depth interviews
are the right approach
IDIs are not always the answer. They cost more per participant than surveys and produce smaller samples than quantitative research. Here is when the investment pays off.
Financial behaviour, health conditions, employer dissatisfaction, premium purchasing. Participants share things in a one-on-one setting that they would never say in a group. IDIs remove the social performance that contaminates focus group data on personal topics.
Luxury purchases, B2B procurement, insurance product selection, technology adoption. When the decision involves multiple stakeholders, extended timelines, or competing priorities, IDIs provide the 60 to 120 minutes needed to map the full journey without rushing.
Healthcare professionals, C-suite executives, ultra-premium consumers, niche hobbyists. These respondents are expensive to recruit and unlikely to participate in group settings. IDIs respect their time constraints and extract maximum insight per session.
New formulations, prototype evaluation, early-stage concepts. IDIs let you watch a single consumer interact with a product for an extended period, capture real-time reactions, and probe specific moments of hesitation or delight that group settings would smooth over.
For other research methods, see our practical guide to market research in Singapore covering focus groups, ethnography, and quantitative surveys. For industry-specific research, see our healthcare, financial services, skincare & beauty, and food & beverage research pages.
Talk to us about
in-depth interview research
Tell us what you need to understand about your consumers, your market, or your brand. We will design the right IDI programme.
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