Focus Groups

When it comes to primary data collection, there are many methods marketers can use. One of them is focus groups. A focus group is an interview method where a moderator interacts with participants to collect their opinions on a topic. However, there is more than one way to conduct a focus group interview. In today's explanation, you will learn about the different types of focus groups and how they are carried out.

Focus Group Definition

A focus group is a primary research method where the researcher selects a group of customers to interview. Its purpose is to gather data on people's perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, or product feedback.

A focus group often consists of one moderator interacting with two or more participants. However, there can be two moderators, one directing the discussion and the other observing.

Focus groups' participants can be chosen based on location, age group, status, gender, job titles, etc.

The main benefit of a focus group is that it allows researchers to collect insightful data while connecting with the customers. However, it may not work when the participants are shy or unwilling to give information. Thus, researchers need to take into account the type of customers before adopting focus groups as a research method.

Types of Focus Groups

Depending on the number of participants and moderators, focus groups can be split into many types. Typically, there are five types of focus groups.

Mini-Focus Groups

As the name suggests, mini-focus groups are carried out in small groups. When the number of participants is high, the moderator can split them into smaller groups of 3-5 people. This allows everyone to engage in a discussion and voice their opinions. Later, each group can share the final idea/opinion/solution they come up with and discuss it with other group members. Mini-focus groups can save a lot of time and effort in conducting focus groups.

Two-Way Focus Groups

Two-way focus groups include a moderator interacting directly with a group of participants. During the discussion, the moderator can ask or answer any question that the participants might have. This type of focus group is most effective when the number of interviewees is small, and the discussion topic is specific.

Dual-Moderator Focus Groups

In this type of focus group, there are two moderators. One will interact with the participants, while the other will observe the discussion and handle the technical aspects of the interview. This kind of focus group is more effective than the one-moderator focus group as it ensures the moderator can pay full attention to the participant without taking notes or reading her body language.

Dueling Moderator Focus Groups

In contrast to dual-moderator focus groups, dueling-moderator focus groups include two moderators interacting with the participants simultaneously. Both will ask questions, engage, and observe the participants' behavior. The advantage of dueling moderator focus groups is that they can give more diverse viewpoints and minimize subjectivity in research.

Respondent-Moderator Focus Groups

Unlike the other types of focus groups where the moderator comes from inside the company, moderators in respondent-moderator focus groups are the participants themselves. One participant will be asked to become a group leader and moderate the discussion.

The Advantages of Focus Groups

Focus group is a popular method in market research not only because of the easy setup but also the insightful information that they can provide. Here are the most common focus group benefits:

Focus groups: insightful data

A focus group is a qualitative research method. It collects in-depth information about customer behavior, attitudes, and perceptions.

Compared to other methods like surveys and questionnaires, focus groups allow participants to express themselves more freely and elaborate on their answers.

Participants can also interact with the interviewer in real-time and thus ask questions.

Focus groups: body language observations

Focus group interviews are often conducted in person. This allows the researcher to observe the participants' body language and adjust the conversation to be more in tune with them. Watching the eye movements, hand gestures, and facial expressions also helps the researcher see if the participant is confused, or needs more prompting to provide an honest answer.

Focus groups: low costs

Focus group interviews are also relatively cheap. There is little cost involved except renting out a location or hiring a moderator. In most cases, companies can use their own office as a meeting point and appoint HR personnel to conduct the interview.

Focus groups: emotional connection

Focus group interviewing allows the researcher to engage deeper with the participants. Some expert moderators can even turn the interview into a heated conversation and drive the best responses from the interviewees.

The Disadvantages of Focus Groups

Focus groups have many advantages, but that doesn't mean they are without disadvantages. Here are some challenges that researchers might face when holding a focus group interview.

Focus groups: time-consuming analysis

While the discussion can last from 30 to one hour, the following data analysis can take days. The researcher has to transcribe the discussion, underline key points, synthesize data, and then use the information collected to answer the research questions. In cases where the research question is not answered, the researcher has to conduct more interviews and use other research methods to collect more data.

Focus groups: participants are shy or unwilling to give information

Another issue may be that the participants are shy or not comfortable giving information. This poses a challenge for researchers in collecting honest opinions or sparking an interesting conversation. If the moderator is not careful, the participant may feel offended and refrain from entering future focus groups.

Focus groups: difficulty in engaging a large group

This is often the case in large focus groups. While interviewing more people means that researchers have more diverse opinions to analyze, it's hard to engage a large group of participants. There won't be enough time to interview everyone. Some people may be tuned out or distracted when waiting too long for their turn.

Examples of Focus Groups in Marketing

There are many instances where companies use focus groups in marketing research. For example:

• Learn about customers' budgets and what is important to them before developing a marketing campaign.

• Gather reviews for a recently launched product.

• Ask customers about an issue they are facing and develop a solution to address that issue.

• Discuss with customers what changes they want to see in the product.

When done right, focus groups can offer marketers valuable customer insights about customer preferences, pain points, and how much time and money they are willing to spend on a product.

Marketers can also apply focus groups in problem-solving. This can be done internally and externally. For example, a group of employees and managers can form a focus group and discuss an issue in a previous marketing campaign. In the case of external focus groups, the company can invite a few trusted clients to join a discussion and brainstorm solutions with the internal team.