From the course: Market Research Foundations
Focus groups
- Last week, someone came up to me at a party and said, "Oh, you're in market research. "One time I got paid to try a bunch of candy flavors "and tell a company what I thought." When people think of market research, the first thing that comes to mind is often the focus group, a discussion with a room full of people who share common traits. Focus groups tend to get a bad rap in the industry mostly because they've been misused for years. In market research, participants often say one thing and do another. That means when you ask someone to describe what they would do, it's notoriously unreliable. However, focus groups are perfect in some situations. Let's look at three times when you should use a focus group as part of your research plan. First, a focus group is a good bet when you need to brainstorm ideas directly from your target audience. Let's say you're a tech company interested in what new features you haven't thought of before that people might suggest for your app, or maybe you're creating a podcast and you want to know what topics people are interested in. Maybe when it comes to your content, your team is stuck in a rut. Focus groups are perfect for brainstorming new ideas. They're also a good option when you're starting from scratch and getting to know your customer. With a focus group, you can invite your customers to tell you about their experience with your company or describe how they felt during different interactions with your brand. Even if you weren't at all sure who your core customers were, after just one focus group you should be able to make a pretty good hypothesis. A round of behavioral research next can help you hone your personas even more. The third reason to consider a focus group is if you want to know how the public will react to a new product or situation. Hearing people discuss their reactions and bounce ideas off each other helps to gauge what emotions a new product or situation might bring up. Politicians use focus groups to pilot messaging or get the words right before they deliver a speech to a big crowd. You might want to use a focus group to pilot questions for a large-scale quantitative study. Just remember that focus groups measure reactions, not behavior. They won't give you answers, but they will help you gather ideas and measure shared sentiments. So consider a focus group a starting point, an innovation workshop, and next time, maybe you'll be the one asking people for their feelings about candy flavors.
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