Focus Groups
All businesses need to stay in touch with their customers and the market. Some do this by asking their customers informal questions, monitoring their sales, and even some light reading. However, there are several market research approaches that do a much better job than this. One effective tool is the focus group.
This technique uses a small group of people, a moderator, and a setting where the moderator can stimulate discussion about topics where information is desired.
The focus group itself consists of 6 to 10 who are representative of the market segment you are interested in. The moderator leads the discussion by stimulating conversation about the issues of interest. The setting where the focus group is held should be a separate, conference-type room, free from distraction where the comments can be recorded and participants are free to speak their mind.
The purpose of the focus group is to develop qualitative information that either defines the problem or develops initial concepts. It is used to get feedback on how the market might react to a new product or service. This can aid in its design or redesign. A focus group could also be used to determine consumer attitude and behavior for some market segment. It also can be used to measure effectiveness in advertising and communications.
How does the process work? The business first needs to set some goals for the focus group. What information is needed? Sometimes we use focus groups to explore ideas when we are not sure what the consumer reaction will be or even what the right questions are. This preliminary research then leads to more specific work without wasting a lot of time and expense on detailed, irrelevant work.
The moderator is an important part of a good focus group. She must have some facilitation skills and be a good communicator (not a bad set of skills for any business owner). The moderator begins the discussion by establishing rapport with the group. The duties also include setting guidelines for the discussion, and outlining objectives. He should also provoke discussion and finally summarize the results with the group.
The advantage of a focus group is that it stimulates lots of interaction among participants that you would not get with a on-on-one interview. An idea from one creates ideas from others. Comments are more spontaneous. Also there is security in a group and this encourages comments. People are less likely to “make up” answers. Finally you can tape record comments for the record.
The disadvantages are mostly procedural. You need to obtain a group of 6 to 10 people who represent your market segment. You need a room and a moderator. When ever possible I recommend that the business owner be the moderator. There is some downside to this but if he can learn some communication skills and stay detached, there can be a big advantage. First it keeps the cost down and many small businesses do no market research because of the cost. Secondly, who better to know the questions, topics and direction to follow than the owner? One potential disadvantage of a focus group is that one vocal person may dominate the discussion, leading to a skewed result even with good moderator work. This is why it’s important to conduct at least 2 or 3 focus groups to get a representative market result.
So give focus groups a try. You will get market feedback and can learn some communication skills in the process.
This article was written by Seattle SCORE Chapter member Fred Parkinson for the Kitsap Sun in Bremerton.