As the name suggests, a focus group gathers a set of participants who will likely engage in a discussion surrounding a specific subject. The interviewer talks to the users and asks for their opinions on a product or service through surveys, user testing, or personalized interviews. It can be deemed a study approach that helps the organizer delve deep into the users’ minds and take a practical approach. If you own a small business and are considering forming a focus group, this dedicated guide will help you understand everything about it, including its benefits and main goals.
How Do Focus Groups Work?
Simply put, a focus group is a gathering of 4 to 10 individuals involved in a dynamic research operation that focuses on a specific topic or service. A facilitator or moderator guides the focus group and asks a set of questions to record responses and gestures. These insights are used for research and a thorough understanding of the users’ thought processes. In turn, they are translated into plausible solutions to improve the product or service.
Ideally, the participants can interact and talk among themselves to decipher their needs and provide different perspectives on the subject. This can influence other’s opinions and introduce another angle to the conversation, which can benefit the facilitator by gaining deeper insights. Ideally, participants of a focus group need to be present in person for qualitative interaction. However, some are even contacted online or through video calls. While some brands have dedicated rooms to conduct focus group meetings, others call their focus groups at a central meeting point accessible to all.
What Are The Main Goals Of Focus Groups?
The main purpose of forming a focus group and encourage participants to engage in conversations is extracting information and decoding the users’ thought patterns when using a particular product or service. Typically, focus groups are formed by organizations conducting research on specific topics or brands looking into developing specific products or services. When there is little to no information about user groups reacting and responding to similar products, focus groups act as a starting point.
Depending on the moderator’s goals, they can show promotional concepts and present new ideas to note the group’s reaction and interaction. Some of the main reasons to form focus groups are identifying the users’ needs for a specific service, testing ad campaigns and marketing strategies, tracing reactions to new releases like movies and books, and deciphering buying patterns or new trends. The number of participants in a focus group depends on the brand’s main goal, operating budget, and the moderator’s expectations.
Who Can Participate?
Depending on the seriousness and stage of the research campaign, the moderator can either conduct an intense interview between 2 participants or encourage over 15 to 20 people to engage in a conversation. Generally, a common group of users with different ethnicities, ages, and gender is appointed to generate varied perspectives. Anyone interested in talking about specific topics can join a focus group and share their thoughts. This helps the brand look at the problem from all angles and solve it for their customers.
In other cases, a brand may want to target a specific group of users, which are their ideal customers. The participants’ profiles are decided according to the nature and type of subject to be discussed. For example, gathering a group of men to discuss menstrual products is pointless. Factors like age, gender, education, and profession are taken into consideration when forming focus groups for specific topics.
Role Of The Moderator
Since every focus group is different in terms of the number of participants and the topic of discussion, the moderator or facilitator has to pay close attention to the outcome to make the most out of each session. Moderators need to be patient and poised even if the discussion gets heated or intense. They should also know the right way to ask questions without manipulating the answers. This can help the brand get qualitative answers and improve their products accordingly.
Ciphering the users’ answers and juggling between different opinions is another important skill that every moderator must possess. Instead of leaning on one side, they must stay neutral and respect the users’ opinions. Most importantly, they should know how to lead a discussion and naturally change the course of the conversation to make it more fruitful.
The importance of user experience is rising in popularity, which has also given traction to focus groups. A lot of organizations and brands are conducting user interviews and ensuring that their products and services can comply with their needs. If you own a small business, consider forming a focus group for your next project.
