Meet Sarah and the Challenge She’s Solving

Sarah’s remit spans the spectrum, from “why people do what they do” to parsing market trends and big data. In other words: she’s blending the human “why” with the market’s “what.” That breadth makes qual essential,and historically, difficult to deploy at the speed of everyday decision‑making.

“We have a really do‑it‑yourself kind of operation… it’s hard to work qual into that kind of scrappy hustle.”

Why is that? Three big reasons many teams will recognize:

• Speed vs. depth. Traditional qual is fantastic for depth but slow to spin up. You can’t put a full study in front of every decision.

• Respondent fatigue. Open‑ended survey boxes often yield thin answers because people wonder if anyone will read them.

• Reach and quality. Reaching beyond your existing contacts is critical, but only if you can be sure the people on the other end are real and relevant.

Sarah’s story is about solving those,without adding headcount, blowing budgets, or waiting weeks.

Sarah describes her team as “do‑it‑yourself,” the kind of crew that will find a way even when resources are tight. But even the most inventive insight pros can feel boxed out of meaningful qual when the stakes (and the tempo) are high. As Sarah puts it, working qual into “that kind of scrappy hustle” is hard,until you change the way qual gets done.

In the short testimonial video above, Sarah shares how Conveo helps her team run conversational, qualitative research right where the business needs it,quickly, credibly, and with respondent experiences people actually enjoy. This post unpacks the key moments from her story and offers practical takeaways for any insights team trying to scale qual without sacrificing rigor.

The Shift: From Form Fills to Conversations

At the center of Sarah’s change is a simple idea: move away from one‑way, open‑ended prompts and into guided, conversational qual that respondents actually want to do.

“What Conveo lets me do is… have them talk to us in more of a conversational style.”

In practice, that means Sarah’s team can engage buyers and consumers they already know,and go beyond those circles when they need fresh voices. She highlights how important it is to confirm authenticity as they expand:

“It also enables me to make sure I’m talking to a real person when I want to go outside of the people that are already in conversation with us.”

That combination,talking with your core audiences and reliably reaching new ones,unlocks everyday qual in places it didn’t fit before. Instead of reserving qual for the “big moments,” Sarah can seed it throughout the journey: concept refinement, packaging, message resonance, path‑to‑purchase friction, and more.

Why Respondent Experience Changes Your Data (and Your Speed)

If you want fast and helpful responses, start by making the experience feel good for participants. Sarah calls out one detail that sparks delight:

“It works kind of like a karaoke… the words go bold as they’re being read. It’s oddly engaging.”

That small UX flourish signals care. It tells respondents what to do next without friction. And when the experience is smooth and, dare we say, fun, the quality of what people share goes way up:

“You get really rich data in a way that’s harder to do in an open‑ended response on a survey.”

Sarah also notes something you rarely hear after a survey: people thank you.

“People get really excited at the end to tell us how much they like doing it… It feels more fun and more vibrant, more vital, more engaging.”

Why does that matter? Because better experiences produce better data,more detail, clearer stories, and fewer low‑effort replies. And better data at source means less time cleaning, probing, or running follow‑ups to fill gaps. Net‑net: you go faster with more confidence.

The Speed of Business (and How to Keep Up)

Even the best‑run brands are moving faster than they did a few years ago. Categories evolve, channels fragment, and stakeholders want signal now. Sarah calls it plainly:

“The speed of business has gotten faster… you can’t as easily make qual happen everywhere you would like… Conveo helps do that.”

Speed doesn’t have to mean shallow. Conversational qual lets you:

• Launch in hours, not weeks. Light‑weight instruments that retain depth can go live quickly.

• Stay close to context. Ask right after a product use moment, right when an ad lands, or as a behavior is unfolding.

• Keep stakeholders engaged. Shorter cycles and clearer outputs keep cross‑functional partners leaning in.

Sarah sums it up simply:

“I find Conveo to be a really engaging way of getting consumer answers… and I look forward to using it more.”

Inside Sarah’s Everyday Qual Toolkit

Every team will use conversational qual a bit differently. From Sarah’s comments, five patterns stand out,useful for any insights leader aiming to scale:

1) Blend known audiences with fresh reach.

Sarah starts with “buyers, consumers, people that we’re in contact with already,” then extends beyond to new, verified participants. That balance preserves continuity while avoiding echo chambers.

2) Keep prompts guided and human.

Open text boxes can be lonely. A guided prompt,a human voice, bolded cues, step‑by‑step scaffolding,draws people out. Sarah’s “karaoke‑style” description isn’t about gimmicks; it’s UX empathy that makes expression easier.

3) Ask the right question at the right moment.

Because setup is light, Sarah can drop targeted questions into the flow of work: after a sell‑in meeting, ahead of a seasonal display, or mid‑campaign. You don’t need to wait for the quarterly tracker to learn something meaningful.

4) Treat authenticity as a first‑class requirement.

When you go beyond known panels, verifying you’re “talking to a real person” is non‑negotiable. Sarah calls that out directly,and it’s what makes the data decision‑grade rather than anecdotal.

5) Feed quant with qual (and vice‑versa).

Sarah’s remit includes big data and trends; conversational qual helps explain the “why” behind the curves. When a number moves, she can immediately gather stories around it, then swing those learnings back into the next instrument.

What “Rich Data” Looks Like in Practice

Let’s get concrete. What does Sarah mean by “really rich data” that open‑ended survey boxes struggle to produce? A few practical differences show up consistently:

• Context density. People don’t just state a preference; they describe the moment (time of day, companions, what else they considered).

• Narratives, not fragments. Instead of single‑sentence replies, you capture mini‑stories with beginnings, middles, and ends.

• Signals you can act on. Quotes that sink into a deck, verbatims that copy straight into creative briefs, and user language that translates into on‑pack copy.

• Lower noise, higher intent. When respondents feel guided and seen, you get fewer shrugs and more considered answers.

Sarah specifically contrasts this with the classic open‑ended prompt where people wonder if “anyone is even gonna read this.” That skepticism shapes what they write,and how much they’re willing to share. The more conversational format counters that skepticism by making the audience (you) visible and the process engaging.

From “Scrappy” to Scalable: Qual as a Team Habit

One reason Sarah’s story resonates: it reframes qual from a special‑occasion research format into a team habit. You still run the big studies when they matter. But you also create a cadence of quick, focused conversations that:

• keep a pulse on how buyers and consumers experience your brand,

• reveal friction that’s easy to fix now (instead of expensive to fix later),

• and give cross‑functional partners a steady stream of human voices.

For scrappy teams, that habit matters. It democratizes access to consumer language and turns “we need insight” from a blocker into a 24‑hour path forward. Sarah says Conveo “solves a number of problems for me,” and habit formation is the quietest (but biggest) one: you do more qual simply because it’s now easy to do.

A Day in the Life: Where Conversational Qual Slots In

To make this tangible, here are a few moments where teams like Sarah’s regularly drop in conversational qual. (If you’re picturing your calendar as you read, you’re doing it right.)

• Pre‑read the room (before a big sell‑in). Sense‑check which benefit claims feel clearest or most motivating,so your 30‑minute slot lands.

• De‑risk a creative choice. You don’t always need a monadic test; sometimes you need to know whether a phrase feels natural or forced, or which “reason to believe” language sounds believable.

• Close the loop on a trade story. Buyers hear dozens of pitches. Capture their language after the meeting to strengthen your next one.

• Listen at launch. In the first few days of a campaign, ask “What did you think we were promising?” Real‑time misinterpretations are marketing gold.

• Translate data into stories. When a behavioral metric moves, pull respondents into a quick conversation to unpack the “why,” then arm marketing with quotes.

Note how each use case is small by design. You’re not fielding a massive study; you’re inserting a lightweight conversation where it will prevent rework, accelerate a decision, or turn a hunch into a shareable signal.

Respondents as Advocates (Yes, Really)

One of the most striking parts of Sarah’s story is the post‑experience glow. In a world where surveys can feel like chores, she hears enthusiasm:

“They’re super excited to do something different… more fun and more vibrant, more vital, more engaging.”

When people enjoy participating, they opt in again and they give you more. That flips a common constraint on its head: instead of bribing for attention, you earn it with a format that respects time and makes expression easy.

What This Means for Insights Leaders

Whether you run insights for a single brand or a portfolio with dozens of stakeholders, Sarah’s approach offers three leadership takeaways:

1) Treat usability as a research methodology.

UX isn’t just for products. The way respondents move through your instrument determines the richness and reliability of what they tell you. Sarah’s “karaoke‑style” mention is a reminder that micro‑interactions shape macro‑outcomes.

2) Build a dual‑track system: always‑on + deep‑dive.

You’ll always have cornerstone studies. Pair them with always‑on conversations so your team can answer narrow questions quickly and keep momentum between big waves.

3) Make authenticity visible.

Stakeholders trust qual when they trust the source. If you’re reaching outside known lists, be explicit about how you ensure you’re “talking to a real person.” Sarah calls that out, and your partners will appreciate it too.

Bringing It All Together

Sarah started with a scrappy, DIY team attempting to wedge qual into a pace that didn’t seem to allow it. She ended with conversational qual that fits the rhythm of the business,something her buyers and consumers want to do, that yields “really rich data,” and that scales across more decisions without friction.

If you’re leading insights at a brand where decisions happen every day (and not just at the end of a research calendar), Sarah’s message is simple: you don’t need to choose between speed and substance. You can have both, as long as the conversation is designed for people,not just for forms.

“Conveo helps make it happen… and I look forward to using it more.”

Want to Try What Sarah Describes?

If you’re curious about how conversational qual could show up in your week, here’s a simple path:

1. Pick one decision next week where human context would help,naming nuance, an on‑pack line, a value prop.

2. Draft a guided prompt in everyday language (what you’d say aloud in a hallway chat).

3. Start with people you already know (customers, beta users, loyalty members), then extend to new voices with authenticity checks.

4. Share back the same week,with verbatims, short clips (if you collect them), and a tight read on the “why.”

You’ll feel the difference immediately: better inputs, faster cycles, more confidence.

Huge thanks to Sarah Snudden, Head of US Consumer Insights at JDE Peet’s, for sharing her experience. Watch her short testimonial and hear the story in her own words,and if you’d like to see what conversational qual could look like for your team, we’d love to show you.