Related Terms: Market Research
A focus group is a marketing research tool in which a small group of people (typically eight to ten individuals) engages in a roundtable discussion of selected topics of interest in an informal setting. The focus group discussion is typically directed by a moderator who guides the discussion in order to obtain the group's opinions about or reactions to specific products or marketing-oriented issues, known as test concepts. While focus groups can provide marketing managers, product managers, and market researchers with a great deal of helpful information, their use as a research tool is limited in that it is difficult to measure the results objectively. In addition, the cost and logistical complexity of focus group research is frequently cited as a deterrent, especially for small companies. Nonetheless, many small businesses find focus groups to be useful a means of staying close to consumers and their ever-changing attitudes and feelings. By providing qualitative information from well-defined target audiences, focus groups can aid businesses in decision making and in the development of marketing strategies and promotional campaigns.
APPLICATIONS
Traditionally, focus groups have been used by makers of consumer products to gather qualitative data from target groups of consumers. They are often used in the new product development process, for example, to test consumer reaction to new product concepts and prototypes. Focus groups are also used to test marketing programs, as they can provide an indication of how consumers will react to specific advertising messages and other types of marketing communications. In this way, focus groups can help advertising and promotion managers position a particular product, service, or institution with respect to their target audience. Reactions to new types of product packaging can also be tested with focus groups. In addition, many companies have used focus groups as a tool to learn more about consumer habits, product usage, and service expectations.
As focus groups increased in popularity during the 1980s and 1990s, they were increasingly used to explore relatively narrow information niches. For example, pharmaceutical companies have convened focus groups consisting of medical professionals to test concepts related to new drug products. The legal profession has used focus groups to improve the quality of their cases. Nonprofit organizations have used focus groups to test fundraising campaigns. Focus groups have been used in industrial settings by business-to-business marketers. Some companies have even set up employee focus groups to learn more about employee motivation.
CHARACTERISTICS
A key factor in determining the success of focus groups is the composition of the group in terms of the participants' age, gender, and product usage. Focus group participants are generally selected on the basis of their use of, knowledge, attitudes, or feelings about the products, services, or other test concepts that are the subject of the focus group. In selecting participants, the objective is to find individuals who can knowledgeably discuss the topics at hand and provide quality output that meets the specified research objectives.
The most common method of selecting participants for focus groups is from some type of database that contains demographic, psychographic, and lifestyle information about a large number of consumers. Such databases are available from a variety of commercial vendors. A list of desired characteristics is drawn up and matched with the database to select participants for focus groups. These characteristics may include purchase behavior, attitudes, and demographic data such as age and gender. The goal is to select participants who would likely be in the target audience for the products, services, or concepts being tested.
There is no absolute ideal in terms of the number of participants, although eight to ten participants is the norm. Different moderators are comfortable with different sizes of focus groups, but most consultants encourage companies to utilize groups in the eight-ten person range. Those who prefer this size focus group contend that these groups are large enough to provide a nice range of perspectives and make it difficult for one or two individuals to dominate the discussion (moderators should guard against such developments). Groups that include more than ten participants are usually more difficult for moderators to control. Group interaction in larger groups is also more difficult, and moderators have a harder time stimulating discussion. In addition, it is often more difficult for a moderator to spend time following up on the insights voiced by one individual when there are a dozen or more participants.
Focus groups that are relatively homogeneous in terms of age, gender, and product usage generally work better than mixed groups. When it is desirable to obtain data from different age and gender groups, most experts recommend scheduling a series of focus groups using homogeneous participants. They claim that group dynamics tend to become inhibited in mixed-gender or age-focus groups. In addition, specific topics can be explored in greater depth when there is homogeneity among the participants with regard to usage of or attitudes toward the products being tested.
MODERATORS
Moderators play an important role in determining the success of focus groups. Well-trained moderators can provide a great deal of added value in terms of their past experience, skills, and techniques. On the other hand, poorly trained moderators are likely to fail to generate quality output from their focus groups. In addition to professional, full-time focus group moderators, other types of individuals who often serve as moderators include professional researchers, academicians, marketing consultants, psychologists or psychiatrists, and company representatives.
Focus group moderators serve as discussion leaders. They try to stimulate discussion while saying as little as possible. They are not interviewers. They usually work from a guide that provides them with an outlined plan of how the discussion should flow. The guide includes topics to be covered together with probing questions that can be used to stimulate further discussion. Moderators try to include everyone in the discussion. They allocate available time to make sure the required topics are covered. When the discussion digresses, it is up to the moderator to refocus the group on the topic at hand.
SESSIONS
When setting up a focus group session, it is important to give careful consideration to the physical setting where it will take place. The location should be one that encourages relaxed participation and informal, spontaneous comments. The focus group facility must be of adequate size and have comfortable seating for all of the participants. Living room and conference room settings both provide good locations for focus groups, but public places—such as restaurants and auditoriums—are generally regarded as too distracting for gaining optimal results. In selecting a focus group site it is also important to make it geographically convenient for the participants. Locations that are hard to find or located in out of the way places may cause delays and scheduling problems. Finally, sites should be determined with an eye toward the schedules and locations of managers and executives who should be in attendance.
