| Since their debut in the
1950s, focus groups have become central to advertising and
marketing research. In a focus group, a handful of people focus
their discussion on a certain topic, product or product category.
The describe how they use a product and what caused them to buy it.
When they work, focus groups reveal consumer behavior.
But something has gone awry. When
marketers and advertising agencies run out of ideas, they often ask
consumers to do their homework for them. They expect focus groups to
make decisions they themselves should make.
Many marketers who sponsor groups
expect too much and put in too little. When unsure of themselves,
the answer becomes, "Let's run more groups." One company
sponsored 65 focus groups and the manager still considered the
results inconclusive. While this is good business for the research
supplier, it doesn't say much for management savvy. To avoid such
problems, here are seven tips on how to run a successful focus
group.
- Spread them out When
held in a variety of geographic locations, focus groups can
reflect how a cross section of consumers will react to a
product. Too many managers book groups in nearby areas to save
time and money, then expect the finding s to hold true across
the country. Often they don't.
- Make it real To
make a focus group work, the members must be able to respond to
a product the way they do in the real world. Consumers react to
names, colors, packaging and an adept moderator's questioning.
Too often consumers are asked to theorize on what they think
they want. They are asked to react to sketchy white cards that
have no relation to the real world.
- Be flexible
Some moderators' outlines look like screenplays instead of tools
for gathering insights.
"Among some clients there is
paranoia that a group can go sour if it is not tightly
controlled", according to Ira Berenhaus, research manager of
the Wool Bureau. But controlling a focus group defeats its
purpose. "The reason that groups are so helpful is that there
is give and take," explains Berenhaus. Unfortunately, he
says, clients expect a focus group to mesh perfectly with the
notions they bring in. "Clients ought to realize that ideas
and groups don't always work out the way you expect.
- Take no for an answer
Negative feedback is as important as positive feedback,
especially in highlighting potential pitfalls. Rather than admit
a product is not appealing, however, marketers often settle for
half-hearted responses. "I'd buy it if I had a coupon"
becomes a rousing success story when retold to a client.
- Be there
The greatest sin of all is not to be there. The best response
you can get from a focus group is often nonverbal. Body language
can show real enthusiasm, genuine disinterest, or intractable
opposition. Sometimes just three little words, "I'd buy
that," are loaded with meaning. But it's difficult to
include subtle responses in a report.
If you are not at the focus group,
you won't know what happened. The president of a famous cheese
company sat in stunned disbelief as one group after another
criticized his cheese, his company's advertising and his company.
No report could have communicated what he learned by sitting in
back of the mirror. There was a happy ending: he repackaged his
product, renamed it and repositioned it in the marketplace. His
sales doubled.
- Find virgins
Some marketers are replacing the consumers in their focus groups
with so-called consumer experts. Some people make a fair second
income by attending focus groups and they're rapidly turning
into a subclass of marketing experts. But after attending
several groups, consumers lose their objectivity. Experienced
respondents are easy to spot. -- They're the ones commenting on
marketing and advertising theory.
- Don't entertain
Many marketers are afraid they will bore a focus group. But
bored groups are part of the game. And so are sour groups. The
fun starts when consumers are shown a product that makes them
say "Aha!" One insight about one product makes it all
worthwhile.
These insights can yield marketing
breakthroughs. Arm & Hammer's famous
baking-soda-in-the-refrigerator campaign came about because of focus
groups. The people behind the mirrors saw something and built on it.
Mr. Feig is president-creative director of New Products Workshop
Inc. For information contact him at feig@barryfeig.com
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