ZMET (Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique)

The Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) is a qualitative consumer-research method that uses images and metaphor to surface the deep, often non-conscious thoughts and feelings that drive how people relate to a brand, product, or experience. Developed by Gerald Zaltman and applied with Robin Higie Coulter, it rests on the premises that most communication is non-verbal, that thought is image-based and metaphorical, and that much of what shapes behavior lies below conscious awareness. Participants gather their own pictures representing their feelings about a topic before a lengthy depth interview, in which a trained interviewer probes the stories behind the images to move from surface metaphors to a small set of universal deep metaphors such as balance, transformation, connection, and journey. Across participants, the elicited constructs and their connections are combined into a consensus map of the shared mental model. Zaltman's 2003 book How Customers Think and the 1995 Journal of Advertising Research article with Coulter set out the technique and its rationale. ZMET aims to hear the voice of the customer in the visual, metaphorical terms in which people actually think.