Lexington, KY - With consumer spending habits changing, this is a good time to find out if you need to make some changes to your business model, products or services. Priorities change during slow economic times, and doing the same thing you've always done may no longer work for your business.
One good way to get consumer information is through focus groups. This type of qualitative research allows you not only to find out what people think, but also what's driving their opinions. Phone surveys and other types of quantitative research provide statistically accurate information, but they don't allow you to continue digging for more as a focus group can.
Here's how a focus group typically works. The target audience is defined and then recruited to participate in a session. Each participant is screened to meet the client's criteria in terms of who they want to reach. For example, it might be mostly females over age 35, with a college education and income above a certain number. Ideally, each group would contain about 10 people. The number of groups is subjective, but it's best to have a minimum of three or four.
There are some focus group facilities that offer one-way glass so that clients can watch and listen. These facilities also offer video and audio recordings of the groups. As great as these locations are, it is not necessary to hold a focus group there. It can be done pretty much anywhere. I've conducted focus groups at libraries, churches and hotel meeting rooms. The location depends on how much you want to spend. If you can afford a focus group facility with all the bells and whistles, then by all means, you should use one, especially if you want to observe. If these amenities are not important to your research, the less expensive location will probably do just as well.
The client and the group facilitator work together to develop a guide, outline or list of questions for the sessions. This should be written in a way that does not bias the answers or promote any preconceived ideas you might have about your business.
Some people believe that focus groups don't really provide accurate information, based on the assumption that people are like lemmings. The naysayers believe "group think" takes over and people will agree with what's being said so as not to be different. My experience hasn't shown that to be true. There's no denying that each group has its own dynamics. But, it's rare to find a group of 10 people that can agree unanimously on anything.
With that said, it doesn't take long to begin to see patterns from group to group. For example, in doing health care research, people in most groups will say they've had a bad experience at a hospital. In talking with small business owners, people say one of the biggest challenges they face is how to pay for marketing. If an organization is statewide, people in each part of the state believe their problems are different from those in the rest of the state. (That's usually not true.)
So, although there are similarities in what is said, the ideas are universal from group to group, not just within one group. Seeing these group patterns tells us what's important, what's not working or what people like. Occasionally, there will be a group that's quite different from the others, but from my experience, that is rare.
In addition to helping you find out what people think, focus groups can give you a little public relations boost because people are flattered that you want to know what they think. In some cases, the participants don't know who the client is. This is because in some situations knowing the client could bias answers. But when participants do know the client's name, inevitably, they thank the facilitator for inviting them and asking their opinions.
After all the research is complete, a report is drafted. Typically, the report breaks out information from each group and then an executive summary is compiled to show the most common answers to various questions.
Focus groups are not for everybody, but for a lot of organizations, they are a good research method. Sometimes, when a business can afford it, phone research is conducted first and followed by focus groups based on what the phone survey showed.
One thought about phone surveys: many people no longer have a landline and depend solely on cell phones. This, along with caller ID, can make doing phone surveys more challenging and may restrict the number of younger people that can be reached.
More recently, companies have been turning to online surveys. This is a good, inexpensive option, but statistically, the results may not be as accurate as a business needs. They do, however, provide a good baseline of information.
Whether it's focus groups, online, phone, or good old-fashioned customer comment cards, all businesses need feedback and input. People really do want to share their opinions, and will appreciate that you are asking for them. So, do some customer research, and then, act on what you hear. People like to know that their opinion counts.
Mary Hemlepp, APR, is co-owner of the Lexington-based public relations firm Wiser, Hemlepp & Associates. Contact her at mary@wiserhemlepp.com.