Focus group is a type of marketing research. In the course of interviews with representatives of the target audience, the company's management manages to find out the positive and negative aspects of the offered goods and services. This information is necessary to improve product quality, increase customer loyalty.
Focus group preparation
To begin with, the goal of the study is clearly stated. The phrase “find out what people think” will not work. It is necessary to decide what exactly is important for the company's management to know: whether people like or dislike their product, what exactly does not suit customers, what problems arise during use, etc.
Focus group participants are ordinary people, selected according to criteria such as gender, age, marital status, income and preferences in certain brands. A standard focus group requires 8-10 people. The interview is conducted by a moderator - a specially trained person with a psychological education. Its tasks: to ask questions, to control the interaction of participants with each other, to ensure that the discussion does not deviate from the main topic.
After the approval of the list of participants and the approval of the presenter, the preparation of the room, handouts, samples, etc. begins. A couple of days before the study, invitees are called and reminded of the focus group.
Conducting a focus group
The duration of the focus group ranges from 1, 5 to 3 hours. At the very beginning, the moderator greets the invited participants, gets to know them and explains the purpose of the study. If there are observers from the staff or management of the company in the room, they are introduced to the respondents.
For 10-15 minutes, the presenter asks general questions regarding the activities of the company: what is known about it, how long have people been using its products, etc. The purpose of such a survey is to liberate the audience, tune in to the right wave. Next, the moderator proceeds to the main questions that meet the purpose of the study. About an hour is given for discussion. The moderator needs to give each participant an opportunity to speak out and prevent the dominance of some respondents over others.
After discussing all important topics, take a short break. Participants can relax, communicate with each other, and the presenter and observers can discuss the progress of the study, evaluate its effectiveness. If company representatives are satisfied with the results obtained, focus group participants are thanked for their cooperation, paid, and sent home.
Pros and cons of conducting focus groups
The main advantage of a focus group is that it enables the company's management to observe the real consumers of their goods and services. The invited participants can express themselves in a free form, explaining their opinion.
The disadvantages of this study include the unwillingness of strangers to discuss intimate, monetary topics, issues related to the purchase of expensive real estate or transport. It can also be difficult to gather consumers of rare brand goods and business people.
