Conducting a focus group is necessary when, within the framework of marketing research, it is required to answer the questions posed or to find out the attitude of the target audience to certain qualities of a product being introduced to the market. To obtain objective data, at least 3-4 focus groups are required.
It is necessary
room with a conference table, video camera, tripod, participants, moderator
Instructions
Step 1
Define the range of questions you want to get answers to during the focus group. You must clearly understand what you will do with them, how to use them in your business strategy. It often happens that the questions put up for discussion are not the same as the result - the result of the study remains on paper, not finding embodiment. When writing questions, try to take into account the interests of all parts of the company, not just your marketing department.
Step 2
Decide who will be the moderator, that is, the leader of the focus groups. This should be a sociable person who knows how to ask questions, if the need arises - to move the course of the conversation in the right direction, to encourage the participants to give detailed answers. The moderator should not record the responses of the invited guests during the research. This functionality should be assigned to observer psychologists on the other side of the mirrored wall.
Step 3
Provide for video recording equipment. Mark in advance the shooting point where you will put the camcorder on the tripod. Test if everyone at the table gets into the frame. Adjust sound, lighting, color balance. Also, when preparing for the focus group, provide soft drinks, pens and notebooks for the participants, and a flip chart for the moderator.
Step 4
Invite participants. Think about how to encourage their consent. Once again, make sure that they are all your potential buyers, and not just unemployed, in large numbers and with regular frequency for a small fee participating in such studies. Better to do the sampling yourself rather than relying on external marketers.
Step 5
Only ask a new question to focus group participants after thoroughly discussing the previous one. This study does not allow a return to topics, as this disrupts the process of adequate perception of the product. If the topic under discussion concerns a material subject (not a service), be sure to prepare samples. Having them on hand will make it much easier for focus group participants to answer the moderator's questions.
Step 6
Watch the video. Compare your feelings with the opinion of observer psychologists. Record all responses from invited participants. To analyze the results, draw up a pivot table in which repeated answers are highlighted with markers of the same color. In order for the answers to the questions posed to be objective, 3-4 meetings should be collected for each product, at each of which up to 10 people can be present.
