ETHNOGRAPHIC CONSULTNG: WHAT IS THAT?
contexters is an ethnographic consultancy. What does that mean?
contexters: It is an innovative form of strategic consulting offered by well experienced ethnographers. All of our services help you understand everyday behaviour, trends, worldviews and especially sociocultural differences on a whole new level. We take this method and its scientific precision and apply it to the market. Our consultancy offers strategic advice, market research and workshops on topics such as diversity and inclusion, intercultural communication and global mindset. We help you to assess, further develop and create new visions, concepts and measures.
How is this special?
c: Ethnography is all about changing your perspective. Broaden your view, look beyond boundaries that you have taken for granted! Whether that is a cultural bias in form of eurocentrism or your understanding of a certain organisational unit or product. We employ ethnography to contextualise- which is why we also refer to our data as integrated knowledge. We dive deep into the field you wish to investigate. We have tools to comprehend ideas, behaviours, worldviews etc. through the eyes of the other. This makes it different to systemic approaches, for instance. Whether you require strategic advice on your company or organisation, or you wish to better understand how your product is experienced and used – it is about understanding other people and their perceptions, ideas, behaviours, etc. And that is exactly what we offer!
Why you guys?
Because we are real! We did not just visit an ethnographic workshop to satisfy the latest fad, we are both trained ethnographers with years of experience. We have studied ethnography and spent years applying its methods to various projects. We combine scientific precision with ample experience of applying ethnographic methods to fields such as strategic advice and market research in the areas of health, beauty as well as business growth and market expansion. Plus, we are great fun to work with!
Consulting and market research, OK. But what makes your workshops ethnographic?
c: Remember when we said that ethnography is all about changing your perspective and seeing the world through the eyes of ‘the other’? The ways we look at the world and think about things are often pre-configured by certain worldviews. It is what we take for granted, what seems ’normal‘ to us. We call this ethnocentrism. Our workshops provide tools that allow you to recognise such biases and to move beyond them. By doing this, you learn how you can become part of the change and contribute to more diverse and inclusive work spaces or you understand how racism starts, unfolds and manifests. So, we can help you understand how people behave, feel, what they believe in and what they like doing or not. But we also empower you to change! In today’s ever-changing and increasingly globalised world, our workshops expand your capabilities of better understanding other people, their cultures and behaviours. You realise that you are also ‘the other’- for literally everyone else, but yourself. This way our workshops help you to learn how to change your perspective, decode other cultures in order to communicate better and more successfully!
What makes contexters different to other consultancies?
c: Our focus on ethnography is what makes us different. Plus, we are trained and experienced ethnographers. We keep mentioning it, because we do know it makes a difference. Why? Here is an example: Just because you can diagnose your cold does not make you a medical expert- would you agree? You see that guy aiming at the yellow centre spot on the target? That is what we do and deliver: data that is spot on. That may be what others aim for, too, but the difference with us is that we give you what people see from their perspective, not from ours, nor even from yours. We present you not only what they have told us, but a unique synthesis of people’s point of views.
We contextualise the data we collect and identify the relevant intersections that frame and shape the topics that are relevant for you. Which means that our insights are deeper. We call this thick data. And it is this thick data that makes us contexters: we do personal, deep, and contextualised data and capability workshops.