Customer Story

Feeling Mutual

Multi-award-winning Qualitative Research Consultancy · UK · Innovation & Agile Research · 15+ countries

A focus group gives you less than 15 minutes of input per person.
Qualzy gives you two full hours - without recall bias.

"In a focus group, only 1 person can speak at once. So, in an 8 person, 2-hour focus group, you actually get less than 15 minutes of input per person. That's not enough depth for what my clients need. With Qualzy you get a full two hours of feedback per person."
Tom Woodnutt, Managing Director - Feeling Mutual

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15+

countries served on a single project

markets launched simultaneously without researcher stress

2 hrs

of depth per participant vs <15 min in a focus group

recall bias - participants respond live, in the moment

Download this case study

2 hours of depth per person. 15+ countries. No recall bias.

Feeling Mutual runs agile innovation research for clients who need insight fast — and rigorously. With Qualzy, Tom Woodnutt captures in-the-moment participant behaviour across 15+ countries, launches 6 markets simultaneously, and delivers participant depth that a focus group simply cannot match. This PDF covers how async research, AI theme extraction, and a reliable platform partner changed how he works.

Useful for any researcher pitching async qual to a client who still defaults to focus groups.

Two full hours of participant depth per person — versus under 15 minutes in a comparable focus group

6 simultaneous international market launches with translated guides — no overnight stress

In-the-moment capture: EV charging sessions, UX screen recordings, photo diaries — no recall bias

AI theme extraction enabling emerging insights for clients during fieldwork

Collaborated with Qualzy on 2023 industry AI initiative — surveying 150+ global qual researchers

The challenge

Innovation clients need insight faster than traditional methods can deliver it.

Tom Woodnutt has been using online qualitative platforms for 15 years. His clients develop, test, and launch digital products on tight timelines - they cannot wait six weeks for a traditional fieldwork cycle to complete.

But speed without depth is useless. Focus groups give you people performing for the room, not reflecting real behaviour. Recall-based interviews give you what people remember, not what they actually did. Tom needed a method that was both fast and genuinely rigorous.

Depth comparison

<15 min

of input per person in an 8-person, 2-hour focus group. With Qualzy: a full two hours of private, in-the-moment responses.

"Qualzy gives me peace of mind. It takes the stress away knowing that I have a technology platform that works really well, and support that is flexible enough to deal with the unexpected."
Tom Woodnutt - Feeling Mutual

The solution

In the moment. In 15 countries. Without staying up all night.

Feeling Mutual uses Qualzy's async platform to capture participant behaviour in real time - mobile video uploads during an EV charging session, screen recordings of website interactions with verbal commentary, photo diaries and text responses in the moment of experience.

Qualzy's team applies translated guides across markets and manages overnight launches - Tom does not need to understand the language to be confident the fieldwork is running correctly. And the AI tools were built for exactly the kind of work Tom does: "making the platform more useful, not just using AI for the sake of it."

Mobile video & photo diaries Screen recording tasks Concept testing with scoring 6 simultaneous market launches In-platform translation AI theme extraction

Early AI leadership

AI built for researchers, not for marketing copy.

In 2023, Tom and Qualzy collaborated on an industry AI initiative - surveying 150+ global qualitative researchers on the impact of AI on their work. That kind of proactive, collaborative development is what keeps Feeling Mutual coming back.

"Qualzy was early to ride the wave of generative AI innovation, quickly developing tools that help researchers do their work more easily. It is making the platform more useful, not just using AI for the sake of it."
Tom Woodnutt, Managing Director - Feeling Mutual

"With Qualzy, participants can upload mobile videos, complete a photo diary, or share text about their thoughts, anxieties, and frustrations. Qualzy helps me delve into the intricacies of their lived experiences."
Tom Woodnutt, Managing Director - Feeling Mutual

The outcomes

Agile research that keeps up with innovation clients

Two full hours of in-the-moment participant depth per person - 8× what a comparable focus group delivers
6 simultaneous international market launches with translated guides - zero overnight stress for the researcher
EV charging sessions, website usability studies, concept tests - captured live as they happen, not recalled from memory
AI-assisted theme extraction enables daily emerging insights for clients during fieldwork
Screener data upload enables instant data filtering by recruitment criteria
150+ global researchers surveyed in Qualzy-Feeling Mutual industry AI initiative (2023)

A focus group gives you less than 15 minutes of input per person.Qualzy gives you two full hours - without recall bias.