Focus Group FacilitationFocus Group Facilitation

By By

Matt GagliardiMatt Gagliardi

OISM 470W Section 3OISM 470W Section 3

Focus Group FacilitationFocus Group Facilitation

Getting Clear Insight to Getting Clear Insight to How Customers ThinkHow Customers Think

Introduction Introduction

• What are Focus Groups?What are Focus Groups?• How Focus Groups are used in Business How Focus Groups are used in Business

and Government.and Government.• Focus Group Creation and Use.Focus Group Creation and Use.

– How to properly create focus groupsHow to properly create focus groups– How to effectively use focus groups.How to effectively use focus groups.

• Evaluating Results.Evaluating Results.

What are Focus Groups???What are Focus Groups???

• Focus Groups are a group of Focus Groups are a group of people, that are brought together, people, that are brought together, and asked to share their opinions and asked to share their opinions about a product or service.about a product or service.

Where Focus Groups are Where Focus Groups are UsedUsed

• Business UseBusiness Use– Drive Marketing StrategiesDrive Marketing Strategies

• How customers thinkHow customers think

• Government UseGovernment Use– Forming election strategiesForming election strategies– Publishing trendsPublishing trends– Impeachment rhetoricImpeachment rhetoric

Creating Focus GroupsCreating Focus Groups

• Hiring outside consultants vs. Hiring outside consultants vs. Internally established groups.Internally established groups.– Advantages Advantages – DisadvantagesDisadvantages

• Choosing a ModeratorChoosing a Moderator• Internal vs. External Internal vs. External

Hiring ConsultantsHiring Consultants

• Hiring external Consulting Hiring external Consulting companies to establish and companies to establish and moderate the focus group.moderate the focus group.

Advantages of ConsultantsAdvantages of Consultants

• Limited knowledge of productsLimited knowledge of products• Will not make bias decisionsWill not make bias decisions• Have favorable resultsHave favorable results• Trained, experienced and Trained, experienced and

competent professional competent professional researchers.researchers.

Disadvantages of Disadvantages of ConsultantsConsultants

• ExpensiveExpensive• Unable to conduct groups on your Unable to conduct groups on your

scheduleschedule• Do not want to risk an unsuccessful Do not want to risk an unsuccessful

groupgroup• ““I am familiar with my product and I am familiar with my product and

can ask the right questions”can ask the right questions”

Choosing a ModeratorChoosing a Moderator

• Someone who Someone who knows how to knows how to benefit from benefit from group dynamicsgroup dynamics

• Can use Can use techniques that techniques that reduce negative reduce negative influence or influence or feedbackfeedback

Choosing a ModeratorChoosing a Moderator

• Can control the Can control the dominant group dominant group membermember

• Can motivate the shy Can motivate the shy member to member to participateparticipate

• Use techniques to Use techniques to extract the maximum extract the maximum amount of amount of information possibleinformation possible

Internal ModeratorsInternal Moderators

• Internal moderators can save Internal moderators can save money, but can inhibit group money, but can inhibit group outputoutput– Chance that participants will refrain Chance that participants will refrain

from showing concern or acting from showing concern or acting negatively to ideas.negatively to ideas.

– Have great knowledge on product, Have great knowledge on product, which could intimidate participantswhich could intimidate participants

External ModeratorsExternal Moderators

• Extremely helpful in designing Extremely helpful in designing groupsgroups

• Professional moderators bring Professional moderators bring experience from different research experience from different research situationssituations

• ObjectiveObjective• Able to extract a lot of information Able to extract a lot of information

from group membersfrom group members

Facilitating Focus GroupsFacilitating Focus Groups

• Key ConceptsKey Concepts• Advantages and Disadvantages of Advantages and Disadvantages of

use.use.• Things to be careful of.Things to be careful of.• New Technology.New Technology.

Facilitating Focus GroupsFacilitating Focus Groups

• Key ConceptKey Concept– Explore a topic to form ideas, not Explore a topic to form ideas, not

definitive answers.definitive answers.• Focus groups provide insight in Focus groups provide insight in

exploratory work to help companies exploratory work to help companies realize the range of issues, perception of realize the range of issues, perception of these issues, and the intensity of feelings these issues, and the intensity of feelings of their customers.of their customers.

Advantages of Focus Advantages of Focus GroupsGroups

• There are only a limited number of There are only a limited number of people asked to participate, so people asked to participate, so participant downtime is reduced.participant downtime is reduced.

• Gives excellent insight onto what Gives excellent insight onto what customers believe.customers believe.

• Low cost.Low cost.

Disadvantages of Focus Disadvantages of Focus GroupsGroups

• Yield a wide range of ideas on a Yield a wide range of ideas on a topic, not definitive answerstopic, not definitive answers

• Results could be misleadingResults could be misleading• Only show a small percentage of Only show a small percentage of

what population believes.what population believes.• Inexperienced moderators can Inexperienced moderators can

impair or ruin expected resultsimpair or ruin expected results

Things to be careful ofThings to be careful of

• As focus groups are relatively As focus groups are relatively expensive, companies must make expensive, companies must make sure they get their monies worth.sure they get their monies worth.

• Choosing and distinguishing Choosing and distinguishing between good and bad group between good and bad group moderators.moderators.

New TechnologyNew Technology

• New voting devicesNew voting devices– Participants can vote confidentially to Participants can vote confidentially to

questions by pressing buttons on a questions by pressing buttons on a hand held device.hand held device.

• Computers can instantly process Computers can instantly process information for immediate debateinformation for immediate debate

Evaluating ResultsEvaluating Results

• Establishing valid results from Establishing valid results from Focus Group.Focus Group.

• Distinguishing between different Distinguishing between different results to see what the possibilities results to see what the possibilities of advance areof advance are

Real world ExamplesReal world Examples

• ““Focus groups were used to Focus groups were used to provide strategic input to elections provide strategic input to elections of Prime Ministers and presidents, of Prime Ministers and presidents, feedback for action by political feedback for action by political groups or companies”.groups or companies”.

SummarySummary

• From this slide show, you should From this slide show, you should have learnedhave learned– What Focus Groups AreWhat Focus Groups Are– How to Create and what to look for in How to Create and what to look for in

creating focus groups.creating focus groups.• Differences between Internal and External Differences between Internal and External

focus groups.focus groups.

SummarySummary

• Advantages of hiring consultantsAdvantages of hiring consultants• Choosing an effective moderatorChoosing an effective moderator• How to properly facilitate focus How to properly facilitate focus

groups.groups.

SummarySummary

• Things to be careful of when using Things to be careful of when using focus groupsfocus groups

• New technologies usedNew technologies used• Real world Examples of Focus Real world Examples of Focus

group use.group use.

Works CitedWorks Cited

– Cowley, James. Anyone can run research focus Cowley, James. Anyone can run research focus groups, right? Marketing News. V33 n5. Mar 1, groups, right? Marketing News. V33 n5. Mar 1, 1999. P. 151999. P. 15

– Vincent, Lynn. 7 Deadly sins of focus groups. Vincent, Lynn. 7 Deadly sins of focus groups. Bank Marketing. V31 n5. May 1999 p 36-39Bank Marketing. V31 n5. May 1999 p 36-39

– Greenbaum, Thomas L. Doing your own Focus Greenbaum, Thomas L. Doing your own Focus Group is like fixing your own plumbing. Group is like fixing your own plumbing. Marketing News. V25 n11. May 27, 1991. P. 8-9Marketing News. V25 n11. May 27, 1991. P. 8-9