About Mind Tools Join Corporate Services Tool Explorer Contact Us Newsletter 304 October 1, 2013 In This Issue... Using Focus Groups Questioning Techniques Developing Surveys Marketing Essentials The Innovation Circle Anticipate Find us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter   So, What Do Your Customers Really Want? Customer feedback is essential. It helps you tailor your products and services to meet people's most keenly felt needs. You can gather this information cost-effectively with focus groups: these allow you to capture a large amount of detailed information in just one session. In this newsletter, we outline how to run an effective focus group. We also look at how you can ask questions that generate useful insights, and we explore how you can use surveys to gather wider market feedback. Enjoy the newsletter!         James Manktelow and Rachel Thompson MindTools.com - Essential skills for an excellent career!     Featured Resources at Mind Tools Using Focus Groups Using Small Group Meetings to Collect Customer Views Learn how to collect customer feedback through guided discussion. Newsletter Readers' Skill-Builder Questioning Techniques Asking Questions Effectively Find out how to gather the information that you need by asking the right questions. All Readers' Skill-Builder Developing Surveys Asking the Right Questions the Right Way Discover how question style and survey design can boost survey response rates. All Readers' Skill-Builder   ... And From the Mind Tools Club Marketing Essentials Learn about the key tools and principles needed to develop a successful marketing strategy. All Members' Bite-Sized Training The Innovation Circle A Process for Introducing New Products and Services This simple cycle guides you through the steps needed to develop, implement, and manage a new process, product, or service. All Members' Skill-Builder Anticipate: Knowing What Customers Need Before They Do, by Bill Thomas and Jeff Tobe In this Book Insight, find out how you can increase profits by giving your customers a better experience. Premium Members' Book Insight Lafley and Martin's Five-Step Strategy Model Making Effective Strategic Choices Read about a five-step process that you can use to develop a winning strategy for your organization. All Members' Skill-Builder   Mind Tools Apps Business Tools on the Move Download our free iPhone, iPad, and Android apps, and access more than 100 of our tools - in a format that's ideal for busy people. Download Now   Editors' Choice Article Using Focus Groups Using Small Group Meetings to Collect Customer Views Whatever sector you work in, you need to seek out customer feedback. This helps you develop products and services that fully meet people's needs. Focus groups help you 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. Focus groups generate detailed market feedback through discussion. © iStockphoto/scanrail What is a Focus Group? A focus group is a market research meeting in which, typically, six to ten 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. Note: Focus groups generate subjective information from a small number of people. As such, you shouldn't use them on their own to make risky or costly decisions. You need to use quantitative data gathered from a wider portion of the market, as well. 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 ten 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 towards participants, no matter what their education or background is. Consider hiring a trained external moderator to get the best from your focus group. Note: You'll also need an assistant moderator. This person will handle logistics, take notes, and monitor recording equipment during the session. Step 3: Invite Participants Recruit participants through channels used by your 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 ten 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 it's likely that a fair proportion of them will be "no-shows." When you invite participants, make sure that you tell them about the format that you'll use in advance. For example, let them know if you want to record their views on video. Note 1: A 1991 study found that money was a powerful incentive for focus group participants. However, cash incentives are not always appropriate - for example, if your participants are employees of your organization. Use your judgment as to whether an incentive is appropriate in your situation, and, if so, what the right kind of incentive is. Note 2: Think carefully about the composition of your focus group. Participants should be from your target market, and should be comfortable talking about the topic of discussion in front of others. Be aware that people may feel uncomfortable discussing certain topics with people from different backgrounds, or where there is a power imbalance, and they may not share information fully as a result. For example, imagine that you want to gather input from staff at a school. Teachers might not be completely honest if their principal or school board president is also present. In this case, you'd get more accurate feedback by holding separate focus groups. 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 often 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. Note: Online focus groups can help generate insight into issues that people may not be comfortable discussing face to face. They can also be cost-effective if your target market is dispersed, or in a remote location. To run these groups, you can use online chat resources or web conferencing tools. Many market research companies also offer online focus group platforms. However, remember that online focus groups won't allow you to gather nonverbal information. 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. Key Points In a focus group, people are asked for their opinion, perception, or attitude about a product, service, or idea. A moderator guides the discussion and aims to generate interaction between participants. You can then analyze this interaction, along with non-verbal information from the group. Follow these steps to hold an effective focus group: Step 1: Identify your goal. Step 2: Choose your moderator. Step 3: Invite participants. Step 4: Conduct the focus group. Step 5: Analyze data. Focus groups can be cost-effective, because you can potentially gather large amounts of information from one session. However, they should not be used on their own to make costly or risky decisions - quantitative information is also needed. References Share this article:         A Final Note It's just as important to get internal feedback about how you're doing - after all, some of our colleagues are really "internal customers." You can use the tools that we've highlighted in this newsletter to gather views and insight from people in your organization, too. Once you've gathered the feedback that you need, you must decide what you'll do with it. So, next week, we'll look at how you can make more objective decisions. Have a great week! James Manktelow Email us Mind Tools Essential Skills for an Excellent Career! References Rodgers Marketing Research (1991) 'Money not the only motivation for respondent,' Marketing News, Volume 25, No. 11. (Available here.) [Accessed 14 July 2013.]   Mind Tools will treat your email address with complete respect and will not circulate it to any third party. (Click here to view our Privacy Policy.) If you have enjoyed this issue, please do email it on to your friends and co-workers. To find out about new resources on the Mind Tools site as soon as they're uploaded, click here to subscribe to the Mind Tools RSS feed (you'll need an RSS newsreader installed). You can also use Mind Tools in your organization. Our corporate division provides solutions from 25 to 10,000+ users and we connect seamlessly with leading LMS/Portals, so you can put our unique toolkit directly into the hands of your workforce. Find out more here. We welcome appropriate reprinting and reuse of Mind Tools material, but you must get our permission first! 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