Whether we implement a fully tailor-made solution or a standardized method depends wholly on the questions you ask.

Car clinics in Germany, usability tests of engine-independent air heating systems in Siberia,  at home interviews with  female-Mini drivers in Mexico, cultural studies at car dealers in Rostock, group discussions  with truckers in the US, Facelift research for SUVs in the Middle East, studies with BMW drivers about brand image in South Africa and so much more.
GIM’s Automotive Team adds intelligent methodical research routines to existing standard research procedures.
This is how we help you to gain insights into your brand, your customers and your products.

We carry out research in the area of private cars as well as light and heavy utility vehicles and on behalf of suppliers and motor-cycle manufacturers.

Successful B2B research requires expertise in content, target group specific survey methods, and an appropriate infrastructure for fieldwork organization.


GIM B2B Market Research offers efficient field and organization routines specifically geared to the requirements of B2B market research. It is need-oriented, user-specific and made to measure, both qualitative and quantitative:

Beauty and cosmetics is a complex subject with many different levels and associations which are delicate to research, because it 

• concerns the inner self and touches on highly sensitive emotional aspects of our personality
• is subject to the process of ageing and is shaped by our personal evolution
• rarely provides simple answers since it includes a multitude of complex and mutually influential factors which can only in rare cases be understood on an individual basis
• is difficult to keep track of, because it is based in an industry with a dizzying array of options and variety where definitions are constantly changing

The key is better understanding - GIM’s Beauty Experts 

GIM’s Beauty Experts have been doing research 

• for more than 20 years
• in Germany and in 25 other countries
• with men , women, teenagers and +50 groups 
• with consumers and professionals
• for the mass market and the premium market 
• offline and online 

Brands provide orientation. That's what they were invented to do, and that's why they are so successful with customers. A brand is not only a symbol of reliability - of the product itself, or of its image - it is also a way of continually honoring an identity promise to customers. A brand is a bundling of desires, value systems, and promises of performance that gives the customer not only a sense of security, but a feeling of contentment with what and who they are. 
GIM's brand research takes into account this fundamental role brands play in people's lives, opening new research paths for developing and evaluating not only brands, but also the promises they make, and their target groups. That's why market research at GIM is always closely connected to target group and consumption research. Additionally, our market researchers continually keep abreast of current cultural developments, which at the end of the day determine the context that brands have to function in. 

We use a comprehensive method to ensure that our conclusions regarding products' performance are sound and well founded: the so-called "Product Clinic."

Our national and international "Car Clinics" are organized and prepared specifically for the automotive market. The project teams that conduct these studies include highly experienced automotive-industry experts in addition to members with backgrounds in market research. 

Qualitative Perception Analysis for TV Communication

TV commercials are perceived, comprehended and assessed individually. GIM Comm checks TV communication via multilevel explorative in-depth interviews.

GIM Comm reconstructs the individual process of perception and understanding of TV communication and provides valid individual assessments free of distortions caused by group dynamics and social desirability.

Conjoint provides you with answers to numerous questions concerning product development, product optimisation, and target group segmentation:

Product optimisation with Conjoint

Conjoint shows you the relative significance of individual product features, and provides you with indications of the attributes consumers think a product and/or service should optimally incorporate. 
Conjoint also shows you how changes to individual product features impact upon acceptance of the overall product. It is thus possible to measure the willingness to pay a certain price for specific product features (e.g. the colour of a car's bodywork) as well as the effect of price changes on this product's market shares. 
External influences upon one's own market shares, such as measures taken by competitors (e.g. price changes or product improvements) can also be analysed and illustrated using Conjoint.

In addition to conventional methods of market research, we also rely on creative methods. We don’t just work with words and sentences, but also with non-verbal sign and symbol systems such as collages and sketches. To supplement rational thought, we also rely on role-play and imaginative exercises.

When customers, consumers and market research institutes from different countries and cultures come together, it can lead to comprehension difficulties and misinterpretations.

We see ourselves as cultural brokers between the culture-specific peculiarities of the respective markets and its consumers on the one hand, and the specific area of interest for our clients, many of whom operate internationally, on the other.

What will people respond to tomorrow? How are people's habits, desires and consumption patterns going to change? How can companies react in time to changes in the worlds consumers live in? What sector-specific developments should your company be prepared for? What general frameworks will companies face in the future? A Delphi study can answer all of these questions.

The Delphi method is based on surveying experts on likely future developments in specific sectors and topic areas as well as society on the whole. 
Our Delphi studies employ a group of highly qualified experts in a set of closely related specialties to do a qualitative survey. Unlike in quantitative approaches that use prewritten, multiple-choice questionnaires, Delphi experts are at liberty to reformulate questions to reflect the nuanced perspective their expertise affords them, and to incorporate other relevant questions that they deem important or relevant, and that are not yet covered in the questionnaire. This renders the study able to forge connections between different thematic areas, and to analyze the influence of future developments from a variety of different angles.

Actual consumer behaviour is often different from the information provided in interviews - market research observes this phenomenon again and again. Therefore, GIM Ethno concentrates on places where people actually live and function: in their homes, at the workplace, while shopping, and during their leisure time. GIM Ethno researches social environment and consumer behaviour – in a way that is true to life.

Our tools are interviews (varying from several hours to several days in length) and on-the-spot observations. The methods used are diverse: in-situ explorations, 'perceptual walks', accompanied observations, and photo and video documentation.

We know that interacting with your customers and business partners is a delicate issue, because in carrying out studies, we are representing your company.  That is why we think it is important to ensure only hand-picked and GIM-trained experts, who are compatible with the target group, conduct face-to-face interviews. And rest assured, when we do research and interact with your most valuable business partners, all interviews will be conducted by experienced GIM project managers only. 

We do both qualitative and quantitative research for financial institutes and insurance companies at national and international level. We design customized studies for your market research purposes - they will fit customers, B2B (field, distribution, brokers, banks) or Private Wealth Management.

Do you want a highly accurate analysis of all the relevant insights and benefits in your industry? Are you interested in finding out how consumers actually use your products at home - as opposed to your design team’s ideas on how they should be used? Or do you want to find out which products are stored next to yours on your customers’ shelves? Learn all about it in a video from GIM Vision.

We do research on behalf of leading global manufacturers and companies but we also carry out research for regional businesses. We do both qualitative and quantitative research at national and international level. We offer tailor-made studies for B2C and B2B.

In the era of homo digitalis, just about anything is possible, but, as we like to say, that doesn't mean it makes sense to do it all. GIM has been successfully using the internet to conduct both qualitative and quantitative research for years. In doing this, we use the internet "both ways": as a medium for conducting creative research and generating content, and also as a data source for user-generated content (as when working with social media). 
Now, we have collected and bundled our experience in this area and have produced something that is more than the sum of its parts: GIM Connect - an innovative research platform that exploits a wide array of research possibilities: 

• From quick "concept weekends" to intensive "co-creation seminars" 
• From focused "home use tests" to close-ups of one specific "insight community" 
• From supplemental "echo reflections" on focus groups to "panel communities" 

The world of consumers’ experiences is often foreign to companies’ decision makers, who usually live in different socio-cultural contexts from their target groups. Development of products relevant to your target group, however, requires a high level of empathy with your consumers. Stepping outside of your own perspective and putting yourself in the role of the consumer are prerequisites both for sustainable product development and for successful marketing. GIM DIVE allows decision makers to slip into their consumers’ universe and see the world from their eyes. 
Consumer immersion: Experience the consumer’s world for yourself 

• Gain direct access and insight into the everyday lives and consumption-worlds of your consumers. 
• Take part in your target group’s lives: learn to do, think and feel as they do. 
• Reflectively take on your consumers’ roles and assume their perspective under the guidance of a culture coach.

An effective and well-tolerated product does not necessarily guarantee successful market penetration. The requirements of the health care system coupled with the demands of today’s new generation of health product consumers make the full exploitation of market potential extremely challenging. 
GIM’s Health team specializes in providing you with the right answers at the right time. 

We carry out both national and international research; B2B with physicians, medical staff, pharmacists, medical sales representative and experts on science. But we also do B2C with patients and consumers.

We are very experienced in the field of household products at national and international level. We carry out qualitative and quantitative research. For the area of low-involvement products, we offer specific creative procedures and a combination of cultural and quantitative research methods.

We carry out research on: 

• Cleaning agents
• Detergents
• Cleaning tools 
• Air fresheners
• Office supplies and household items

"In a one-size-fits-all approach to marketing, products and messaging are distributed evenly and indiscriminately over a given milieu without making an effort to differentiate specific target groups. Such imprecision inevitably leads to losses, and moreover, it runs the risk of ignoring exactly the aspects of consumers that are the most relevant." -Wilhelm Kampik, GIM CEO.

Common approaches to target-group classification are only able to take into account relatively general sociocultural and demographic categories, such as age, gender, and general attitudes and values.

International concept development is a complex process carried out by many actors in diverse locations. Not only is this arrangement time consuming, it can actually lower the quality of the content produced. GIM INCODE™ helps by integrating - at both the national and international levels - the processes of insight generation, concept development and concept review. This allows international concepts to be developed not only efficiently but in a way that takes cultural differences into account -ensuring local success. 
GIM INCODE™ is a multi-step method, specially developed for complex, international concept-development projects. It is applicable in all industries and sectors, and for both national and international product implementations. 

"Just let us brainstorm!" We hear this often from our clients looking for new ideas - whether for products, services or special production processes. Not only is this understandable, it's necessary. Generating true innovations and successfully managing an innovation process, however, requires more that just brainstorming and conducting a few isolated creative workshops. It means bringing more structure, commitment and goal-orientation into the conventional process of idea generation.

Using media has become a habit and is embedded in a pattern of situational and social contexts. Ever more complex questions arise due to the simultaneous usage of several media, the fact that the same content is available from multiple media and that the number of so-called ‘touch points’ is growing. We provide a variety of methods which will help you to gain a deeper understanding of how media-sources are used. We analyze contexts, settings and situations, related to the usage of media. In doing so, we provide the basis for intelligent content design, communication and market positioning - sourced from your specific target group.

Fields of research 

• Basic studies about behavior regarding media usage, target groups and content
• Brand core analysis, image analysis, studies on market positioning
• Assessment of format, pre-testing and testing of concepts, trailer studies, presenter studies
• Music research, research on the positioning of music

Motives are the key to consumer behavior. Understanding the consumption motive is the foundation of successful product development and marketing. Motives are the force that shapes and drives human action. Consumption motives therefore determine consumer behavior. Many motives are unconscious, meaning that they are not readily accessible by the consumer. Measuring such motives stretches traditional questionnaires and statement forms beyond their limits. This is because questionnaires are based on consumers' self-evaluations, therefore working on the assumption that the consumer actually understands his or her own motives for acting.

Online communication increasingly shapes and influences the perceptions and expectations of brands and products. Brands need to be up-to-date on where, what and how their consumers and customers communicate. However, many web monitoring solutions use a very technology-focused approach to harvest online communication instead of contextualizing communication streams to gain a maximum of consumer insights.

NetListener™ is GIM’s netnography research solution for deep insights beyond pure web statistics. Truly exploratory - as ethnographic research should be – NetListener™ is inspired and driven by human analytical power and a passion for insights and curiosity. It was developed by GIM with the demand to offer the same high-quality results as our offline business: actionable results prepared by real researcher personalities, not by technology-driven or automated analysis.

Brands and products are symbols. Each brand and product must assert itself unmistakably among all other symbols. But it is becoming ever more challenging to achieve a clearly defined positioning for brands and products at the symbol level. We decipher relevant symbol processes in the market and identify successful symbol strategies for brands and products. What we offer as standard is an expanded understanding of symbols: on the one hand there are the objective characteristics of a product or brand (e.g., packaging design, communication, logo), and on the other hand, these products and brands are embedded in a context of socio-cultural interpretations which must be considered during analysis.

For an increasing number of companies, the POS has become the primary site of competition for customers. Only here - at the Point of Truth - do consumers come into contact with the entire competitive field. For this reason, it is imperative that companies position themselves in this increasingly price-driven environment with innovative concepts. 

Sustainable innovation is a decisive factor in your company’s success. Product development and market uptake, however, are pricey. In order to spot and harness potential, it is indispensable to carry out target-group-driven market research.

For our customers with businesses in industry or trade we, GIM’s B2B Technology Experts, offer a one-stop qualitative and quantitative market research. Our specially-trained staff know your sectors through and through and have the technical know-how to offer customized B2B research that fits your needs. All our methods and research procedures are tailored to the standards of industry and trade.
We do B2B research in more than 35 countries worldwide with decision-makers and users, engineers, experts and scientists.

Product areas

• Power tools 
• Fastening and fixing systems 
• Construction chemistry
• Fire safety
• Heating and ventilation systems
• Industrial cleansing systems 
• Industrial solutions / mechanical engineering
• Specialty chemicals (e.g. adhesives, coating) / chemical goods
• Water treatment systems 
• Building materials 
• Transportation / logistics
• Service of technical products
• Aircraft construction
• Renewable energies

You want to know how competitive your product is without having to read the fine print? 
We are experienced and have an impressive track record when it comes to carrying out research on landline or mobile phone communication. We do both qualitative and quantitative B2C and B2E (business to employer) research at national and international level.

We also do research in the following areas

• Innovative products 
• Generation of ideas and portfolio development 
• Rate plans/deals
• Invoice design 
• Added-value offers 
• Moving services 
• Service standards 
• Website design 
• New target groups 

How can companies measure their marketing success? How can companies keep an eye on how consumers in different markets perceive their brands relative to the competition? How can companies maintain their brands' value in changing times? 
GIM Tracking Studies measure, over the long term, the most important key performance indicators (KPIs) for marketing. These KPIs mostly come from three main areas: sales, image, and communication. Important KPIs in sales include brand awareness, buying interest and loyalty. Important image KPIs include innovation and trustworthiness. The most important communications KPIs are the memorability of advertisements and the impression that a communications campaign makes on consumers. 

People don't buy sport shoes just because they're comfortable. Just like they don't buy cars just for their technical features or luxury foods for the taste. Although these factors certainly play a role, other considerations - such as authenticity, success, prestige, fun, harmony, and fitness - are much more important. 

We define ourselves by our values; they are expressions of our culture and society. "What is important for me in life? What do I want to be like? What do others consider important?" Values often guide the way we purchase branded products. We assign values to brands and products. Indeed, values lie at the core of the way we see brands. 

Values are crucial for successful branding

In the everyday world of marketing and sales, the time available for processing market research findings is in increasingly short supply. As a rule, clients are thus keen to receive graphic results conveyed in a fast and plausible way that can immediately be implemented by practitioners from marketing or sales. And yet they expect out-of-the-ordinary findings that will promote successful commercial activity, even in difficult times. Market research based on ethnographic video documents is ideally suited to satisfying both demands.