It's not hard to understand why someone would not immediately associate market research with ethnographic techniques more commonly associated with anthropology. Cultural anthropologists might take up residence with a small tribe in a river basin in Southeastern Asia with the hope of gaining a deeper understanding of the development of normative values. Market research, on the other hand, has a more straightforward mandate: to gain insights into consumer behavior and preferences in the interest of furthering corporate sales and marketing objectives, Why would someone utilize these ethnographic techniques in the market research arena? Surprisingly, the real question is why wouldn't a market researcher use ethnographic techniques. Successful market researchers must probe every facet of a consumer group to help their clients to better understand their audience. Ethnographic techniques afford market researchers depth of insight that polling alone cannot provide. Rather than giving them a fractional insight into some retail or packaged-goods interest, it provides researchers with a detailed portrait of an entire consumer segment.

Since ethnographic research is a holistic method it incorporates both quantitative and qualitative data analyses. Any understanding of ethnographic research would be incomplete without an appreciation for the manner in which data is collected. There are many different ways that ethnographic data can be collected but some include: direct group observation, interviews or conversations, in-depth interviewing, trying to discover local beliefs or perceptions, long-term studies of particular areas and case studies. The most commonly used methods by market researchers to achieve these goals are case studies, in-depth interviews and survey samples of a population.

Ethnographic research is deeply connected to effective market research because these researchers utilize ethnographic research tools in order to draw broader, more complete conclusions about entire consumer segments. This holistic method of study helps identify groups within markets that create implications for marketing strategies that are created to reach these different groups. Whether these groups can be identified as subcultures based on age or other unique characteristics, market research utilizes information garnered from ethnographic research methods to better reach these segments. Ultimately, market research is about knowledge: more powerful, dynamic marketing strategies will emerge when more information has been gathered.