Neuromarketing and qualitative research
Eye tracking and testing with real users to understand what people look at, what they ignore and why they don't do what you expected.
Let's talk about your project- 2
- in-house labs: eye tracking and user testing
- +15
- in-house studies published
- 48 h
- to reply, at most
Brands that have trusted Laika
One of these situations may well sound familiar.
You think you know your audience, but you only have demographic data
You know age, city and device. You don't know what they expect to find, what makes them hesitate or how they understand your offer. You need to observe real people and talk to them before segmenting.
You need to know what captures attention before people say it
People don't remember what they looked at first, or why they looked back. Eye tracking gives you biometric attention data: where the gaze lands, for how long and in what order.
Your decisions are based on what people say, not what they do
Surveys and focus groups tell you intentions. What you need is to see the actual journey: where they click, where they stop and what they say out loud while doing it.
There's an audience that consumes content but doesn't buy, and you don't know why
They arrive, read, look and leave. Analytics marks the drop-off but doesn't explain the reason. You need in-depth interviews to understand what's missing for them to take the step.
You're about to launch a campaign or redesign without validating it with real users
The decision is made and the budget is committed. A test with eight people from the right profile can stop you publishing something confusing or that isn't looked at where you think.
You've already done studies, but nobody trusts the results
Small samples, questions that led to an answer and conclusions written afterwards. What's missing is a method: a clear hypothesis, justified recruitment and a verdict that can be defended.
Four fronts we always work
The technique changes with the question: eye tracking, task testing, interviews or a combination. The method doesn't. We write a hypothesis, design how to test it, collect the observation and close with a verdict that can be measured again.
Question and hypothesis
Turning a business doubt into a hypothesis that can be confirmed or ruled out, written down before measuring anything.
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- Which decision depends on the result
- The hypothesis in one sentence, with what would confirm it and what would break it
- Which variable is observed and what is left out
- What can be claimed and what can only be suggested
Study design
Choosing the technique and sample that answer that hypothesis, written down so the study can be repeated.
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- Technique to match the question: eye tracking, task testing, interviews or a combination
- Participant profile and recruitment criteria
- A task and question script that doesn't suggest the answer
- Controlled conditions, device and order so results can be compared
Collection and analysis
Collecting observation under stable conditions and separating what repeats from what happened to just one person.
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- Moderated sessions, recording both what people do and what they say
- Cross-checking observation against the site's own analytics
- Patterns by profile, and the findings that stay anecdotal
- What the study cannot answer, written explicitly
Conclusion and verification
Closing the hypothesis, ordering changes by evidence and defining how to verify later whether it worked.
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- A verdict: the hypothesis holds, is ruled out, or there isn't enough evidence
- Changes ordered by evidence and by effort
- The metric and period that will verify the effect
- What's worth measuring again a few months later
Who does it?
Senior profiles who design the study, moderate the sessions and sign off the conclusions. Whoever analyses is who explains the verdict and later checks whether the change worked.
Why Laika?
Research isn't recording people. It's writing a hypothesis and accepting it may not hold.
We design the study before looking at results, collect observation under repeatable conditions and deliver a conclusion that survives an awkward question in committee.
One method, not a fashionable technique
The question decides the technique. Sometimes it's eye tracking, sometimes task testing or interviews, and sometimes looking properly at the data you already have is enough.
The hypothesis is written before measuring
It's the only way the result can be defended when nobody likes it. If the method is bent to fit the result, the study is worthless.
We research with our own name on it
We publish our own eye tracking studies on the search results page. The method is tested at home before it's applied to your project.
You get a verdict, not a long video
Recording sessions is easy. The hard part is saying what changes, on what evidence, and what stays as it is.
Frequently asked questions
How many people do you need?
It depends on the hypothesis. To detect comprehension and usability problems, six to ten people per profile is usually enough. If you want a representative figure, that's a different study: a survey with a different sample.
What's the difference between eye tracking and user testing?
Eye tracking measures what gets looked at and in what order, without depending on what the person remembers. User testing explains why they did what they did. They're usually combined: one gives the data, the other the explanation.
What if the study says the problem isn't where we thought?
It happens often, and it's the best possible outcome: you've avoided investing in the wrong place. We report it anyway, even when it contradicts the starting hypothesis.
Do you recruit the participants?
Yes, with the criteria agreed before we start. If your audience is very specific, recruiting among your own customers is sometimes better, and we decide that during design.
How long until I see results?
The first findings and decisions land within weeks. Impact on visibility and revenue depends on your platform and your team's implementation speed: on mid-sized projects we usually talk about three to six months for solid movement.
I worked with another agency and it didn't work. Why now?
What usually fails is judgement, not effort: tasks get executed without deciding what matters. Before proposing anything we review your data, and if the problem isn't visibility we'll tell you, even if it means not selling the project.
Tell us what you need to verify
With the decision on your table and what you've already measured, we can tell you whether a study is needed and of what kind. We look at your project before proposing anything.
Want to settle the argument with evidence?
We write the hypothesis with you and tell you what can be verified and what can't.
We look at your project before proposing anything. Reply within two working days at most.
Talk to us about your study