One platform. The full research agenda.
Great research needs both rigor and humanity — the statistical confidence to measure and compare, and the consumer-led depth of understanding to know what the numbers really mean. inca brings these together in a single conversational study, giving every finding the quantitative weight and the human context it deserves. The result is research that is not just more efficient, but genuinely better — a true best of both worlds, at scale, that opens up new possibilities for what a single methodology can achieve.
Know what works. Know why. Know how to make it better.
Innovation and communications research demands more than a score. It demands understanding — of what resonates, what falls flat, and precisely what needs to change before you commit to production or launch. inca delivers all three in a single study.
Examples of questions teams bring to inca:
- Which of these product ideas has the strongest consumer appeal? And what would make it irresistible?
- Which range of flavors should we launch?
- What is landing in this creative, and what risks missing the mark?
- Which pack design best communicates quality and why?
How inca delivers it: Quantitative choice, scale, and stimulus assessment questions measure appeal. Loops allow multiple stimuli to be rotated and a ranking established. AI probing then systematically explores what drives those scores — surfacing the precise language, emotional triggers, and associations that make a concept win or lose. Nothing is left to interpretation.
What this replaces: Focus groups and IDIs to explore reactions, followed by a quant survey to measure preference. Two studies, separated by weeks and budget. inca combines them — at scale, with the consistency that only AI can deliver across thousands of participants.
The foundational intelligence that shapes how you grow.
Strategic decisions deserve strategic research. When the question is about brand positioning, category dynamics, segmentation, or long-term opportunity, inca's full toolkit — quantitative frameworks, AI-facilitated probing, qualitative projective techniques and deep dive tools — builds the layered, evidence-backed understanding that drives meaningful business decisions.
Examples of questions teams bring to inca:
- What does our brand truly stand for in consumers' minds, and where is the gap with our ambition?
- Where do we have permission to grow, and where are the boundaries of our brand?
- Where are the underserved needs and white spaces in our category?
- What does loyalty really mean to our consumers, and what puts it at risk?
How inca delivers it: Quantitative measures establish the landscape: brand funnels, penetration, driver analysis, etc. Consumer-led mini-indepth interviews combined with qualitative projective techniques, such as Emotional Laddering and the Deprivation Technique, go beneath the surface to uncover the less conscious drivers. Critically, conversational data is coded, quantified, and analysed with the same rigor as any structured variable — so qual insights carry quantitative weight.
What this replaces: The classic qual-then-quant model: exploratory focus groups to generate hypotheses, followed by a large-scale quant study to measure and prioritize. With inca, the two work in concert from day one — producing consumer-led discoveries, more integrated findings, richer segmentations, and stronger strategic direction, faster.
Diagnose fast. Act with confidence.
When sales dip, a competitor moves, or the business needs answers now, speed without rigor isn't good enough. Rapid issue investigation on inca quantifies the problem and diagnoses the cause — in one study, on one timeline.
Examples of questions teams bring to inca:
- What is driving negative reviews of our latest launch?
- What is the reaction to a competitor launch?
- How can we persuade a retailer to stock our brand?
- Why are trial rates high but repeat purchase low?
How inca delivers it: Quantitative choice and scale questions size and rank the issue. AI-facilitated probing goes beneath the numbers to identify root causes and surface the specific levers that will move the needle. The result: findings that don't just describe the problem — they point to the solution.
What this replaces: Historically, these projects required a qual diagnostic round followed by quant validation — two studies, two timelines, and a gap between the insight and the action. inca delivers both simultaneously.
inca across the full research agenda
Ready to see inca in action?
Whether you're running a rapid turnaround brief or a multi-market strategic study, inca gives your team the tools to do it — on your own terms, at the speed your business demands.
Frequently Asked Questions
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For many research questions, yes. inca combines quantitative measurement with AI-facilitated qualitative depth in a single study, so you get the statistical confidence of quant and the human understanding of qual without running two separate projects.
That said, inca is not a replacement for every methodology. For highly exploratory or sensitively moderated work, a dedicated qual approach is still the right choice. And for studies requiring discrete choice modelling such as conjoint analysis, a specialist platform would be more appropriate.
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Timelines vary by project, but because inca combines qual and quant in a single study, it typically delivers results significantly faster than a sequential qual-then-quant approach. Most studies can be designed, fielded, and analysed within the timeframe of a standard quantitative project.
One important distinction: the inca Conversational Research Platform isn't a "board." It's not best suited for digital diary or journaling exercises. Think of an inca chat more like an in-depth interview completed in one sitting. Participants can take or upload pictures, record or upload videos, and they can pause and return to the chat later. But if your research requires many activities and exercises outside of the chat itself and more of a journaling style, inca may not be the best format.
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inca works across a wide range of research briefs — from rapid turnaround innovation and creative tests to rich, multi-layered strategic studies such as segmentation and brand positioning. The common thread is any research question that benefits from both measurement and understanding. If you need to know both what and why, inca is a strong fit.
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Yes. inca is panel-agnostic. You can work with your preferred sample provider, or invite participants directly via email, SMS, or intercept link.
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Absolutely. Get in touch and we can walk you through relevant examples or set up a demo tailored to your insight needs.