Using Focus Groups

Whatever sector you work in, you need to seek out customer feedback, so that you can develop products and services that fully meet people's needs.

Focus groups help you to gather this feedback cost effectively. They can also give you a much deeper insight into customer thinking than can be gathered from questionnaires and surveys.

However, you can waste a lot of time and effort if you don't plan focus groups carefully. In this article, we'll look at how you can set up and run an effective focus group.

What Is a Focus Group?

A focus group is a market research meeting in which, typically, six to 10 people are asked for their opinions, perceptions or attitudes about a product, service or idea. A moderator guides a discussion, asks focused questions, and draws out views from all of the participants.

However, focus groups are more than question-and-answer sessions. They can tell you what people think or feel about a topic or idea – and, importantly, why they feel this way – because you can ask follow-up questions, and you can analyze body language and other non-verbal cues.

How to Conduct a Focus Group

Follow the steps below to set up and run an effective focus group.

Step 1: Identify Your Goal

Your first step is to zero in on the single topic, product or idea that you want to focus on. This will help you to keep your planning – and your focus group session – on-topic.

Think about the following questions:

• What are you trying to learn?
• What information do you need?
• Who will use this information, and for what purpose?

Once you know what you want to learn from the focus group, come up with eight to 10 questions that address your goal. Prepare open questions (ones that can't be answered with a yes or no) that will draw out people's thoughts, feelings and opinions.

Step 2: Choose Your Moderator

Your choice of moderator directly affects your group's success.

Moderators should have a high degree of emotional intelligence. They need in-depth knowledge of the topic or product being discussed, and enough objectivity to keep their own opinion out of the discussion. They must also have excellent active listening skills, and be able to facilitate the group effectively.

In addition, moderators should be able to challenge poor group dynamics, handle conflict, and show an open mind toward participants, no matter what their education or background is.

Consider hiring a trained external moderator to get the best from your focus group.

Step 3: Invite Participants

Recruit participants through channels used by your target customers – such as websites, social media, local newspapers, or your organization's intranet. That way, you'll reach the widest group of potential participants, and you'll have a large selection of people to choose from.

You can also ask your contacts to nominate participants for your study. Ask well-connected business professionals or community members to suggest suitable candidates. Make sure that you explain the purpose of your study, and the type of participants that you're looking for.

Remember, your focus group should consist of six to 10 people. So, once you have a number of potential participants, you'll need to narrow this group down. It's usually best to invite more participants than you need, as a fair proportion of them will likely be "no-shows."

Always explain the format of the session to people in advance. For example, let them know if you want to record their views on video.

Think carefully before offering any payments or other incentives. Are these necessary? Will they be appropriate (for example, if some of the participants are employees)? And could they even skew the results of the focus group, by making people overly sympathetic to your product or idea?

Step 4: Conduct the Focus Group

If you're the moderator, or if you're present in the session, make sure that you set clear expectations as soon as the session begins. For example, it's important to ensure anonymity. Give out numbered labels, and ask everyone to address one another using numbers rather than names.

Additionally, make it clear that there are no right or wrong answers, and that anything said in the group will be confidential (you'll need to say who will be able to access the recordings of the session).

You should also let people know what kinds of language and behavior will be acceptable in the group, and give people the chance to leave if they're no longer comfortable with the expectations you've set out.

Once everyone is happy to proceed, you may want to use a short ice breaker to help participants relax.

Be aware of group dynamics as the discussion gets underway. For example, you may notice that one person is dominant, or that another doesn't contribute. Open up the discussion with a neutral and open question: for example, "What other views might people have on this topic?"

Be aware of your own body language, and that of others. For example, if you show signs of anxiety or boredom, it's likely that participants will pick up on these. Likewise, if one of your group appears nervous, do what you can to put them at ease, without disturbing the flow of the discussion.

Give people time to think before they answer a question, and rephrase it if there's no response. However, don't be afraid of silence: it can prompt "left field" ideas that, in turn, can generate highly productive discussions.

Step 5: Analyze Data

If you didn't attend the session, talk to the moderator and any other staff present at the group first. Ask for their opinions and initial thoughts about the session. If they made an audio recording, ask them for a seating plan to illustrate where each person sat.

Next, go back to your original goal. What exactly are you looking for in this data? Keep this in mind as you read the transcript, listen to the audio, or watch the video.

You'll also want to examine these factors, if appropriate:

• Participants' familiarity with one another, and with the topic of discussion.
• Each person's body language when they asked a question or gave a response.
• Whether there were many similar responses, periods of silence, or indications that participants were confused.

At this stage, you might find that you have further questions to ask, so you may need to plan another focus group or carry out more research.