Focus Groups
Focus groups are a qualitative research technique used to gather insights and opinions from a small, diverse group of people. Typically led by a moderator, participants engage in open discussions about a specific product, service, or concept. The aim is to uncover consumer perceptions, preferences, and attitudes, providing valuable input for marketing strategies and product development.
8 Key excerpts on "Focus Groups"
eBook - ePub- Bonita M. Kolb(Author)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...6 Conducting qualitative Focus Groups DOI: 10.4324/9781003165194-7 Focus group methodology A marketing research focus group is a methodology that uses participant interaction and moderator probing to uncover consumer wants, needs, and desires. A focus group is sometimes misunderstood as being a mere discussion group, where a moderator introduces a topic and then sits back and takes notes. However, it is the interaction between the moderator and group members and also between the members themselves that gets beyond participants’ first responses to explore deeper motivations. The focus group is designed to collect data and not just to air opinions. This interaction distinguishes Focus Groups from other types of group sessions, such as group interviews that do not encourage interaction between research participants. Used correctly, Focus Groups are an excellent method of generating new ideas for product benefits and promotions, exploring the causes for problems or failures, and gaining insights that can then be used to design quantitative research studies. Focus Groups are probably most frequently used as a means of generating new ideas. Product development is ultimately the responsibility of company employees. Although these employees may have marketing expertise, it is customers who will make the purchase decision. It only makes sense to ask customers for assistance in generating ideas for new or improved products. In addition, Focus Groups can be used to generate ideas on new promotional campaigns, including effective marketing messages and appropriate choices of media. Focus Groups are also used to learn the ‘why’ or cause of problems or failures. The problems explored in a focus group could be why a product is not succeeding in the marketplace. It may seem to be a simple task to ask consumers why they don’t like a product...
- Bonita Kolb(Author)
- 2008(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Focus Groups are considered exploratory research because an issue or problem is being explored. For this reason Focus Groups are often one of the first choices of research methodology when little is known about the cause of a problem. Once Focus Groups have been used as a first step in exploring an issue, the findings can be confirmed using a quantitative research technique such as a survey. Focus Groups are sometimes misunderstood as mere discussion groups where people just talk while a moderator listens. However, a well designed focus group conducted by a trained moderator is much more. The purpose of a focus group is to encourage participants to go beyond their first response to the issue being discussed. Interaction with the moderator and also between the group members is designed to uncover deeper insights which can be used to develop new and creative ideas for the marketing mix. In addition, these insights can then be communicated to groups within the organization to build the case for support of the marketing programme (Hanson, 2001). Focus Groups do not start with a hypothesis about the cause of a problem. Instead they are used to generate new ideas for the organization. In addition they can be used to explore reasons for an organization’s problems or failures. In a focus group ideas for a new consumer segment to target, new ways of packaging a product and more effective promotion can be generated. Purposes of conducting Focus Groups Exploring the cause of a problem or issue New market segments to target Enhancing the product to increase its appeal Developing effective promotional campaigns Exploring problems: When an organization has a problem, it is tempting to try to solve the issue internally. However, the employees of the organization can only see the problem from their own viewpoint. While these insights are important it is extremely helpful to get the opinions of current or potential consumers as to the cause of the problem...
eBook - ePubQualitative Methods in Business Research
A Practical Guide to Social Research
- Päivi Eriksson, Anne Kovalainen(Authors)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications Ltd(Publisher)
...14 Focus Group Research This chapter will provide information on: What focus group research means How to organize and conduct Focus Groups How to analyze focus group data How to write and evaluate focus group studies. What is focus group research? The term focus group derives from ‘focused group discussion’. This means that a group of people is ‘focused’ on discussing a selected topic or an issue. Focus Groups were used in the USA before and during World War II to study the reception of war propaganda broadcast on radio. Some of the key procedures of focus group research were refined in the 1950s by Robert Merton and his colleagues (Kamberelis and Dimitriadis, 2014). Since then, Focus Groups have been adapted into social science research and psychology as well as practical market and consumer research (Stewart and Shamdasani, 2014). Focus Groups are widely used in academic marketing research to study consumer behaviour, including attitudes, needs, perceptions, preferences and choices. In addition, Focus Groups have been adopted in business-to-business marketing research, which addresses topics such as industrial buying, development of competition, and business relationships and networks. Besides marketing, business researchers can use Focus Groups in all sub-fields of business research, varying from human resource management and workplace studies (Claes and Heymans, 2008) to accounting (Gammie, et al. 2003), and SME studies (Bøllingtoft, 2012). The aims of focus group research in business research include collecting empirical data on lay people’s, experts’ and managers’ viewpoints, beliefs, experiences and, most importantly, on their spontaneous interaction (Edmunds, 2000). Focus Groups work for all these purposes because of the interaction taking place among the participants. Studying interaction provides an insight into how individuals are influenced by and draw on others’ viewpoints in a group situation (Stewart and Shamdasani, 2014)...
eBook - ePubUsing Research Instruments
A Guide for Researchers
- Peter Birmingham, David Wilkinson(Authors)
- 2003(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...The product of a focus group is a unique form of qualitative information which brings understanding about how people react to an experience or product. (Anderson 1996: 200) Focus-group interviews have enjoyed consistent popularity over many years as an effective and economical instrument of data collection. If you have an interest in market research you will no doubt be aware of the dominance of the focus group within that field, having been utilised for decades to evaluate consumers’ opinions of products and services ranging from new cars to washing powders, television programmes to customer help-lines (Greenbaum 1998). The information they produce has been used to develop better products and to encourage consumers to use or buy them. This original commercial focus has gradually widened to include consumers of education, health and community programmes and services, such as the extent of parents’ support for new school facilities, patients’ levels of satisfaction with their treatment at their local hospital, pensioners’ thoughts on the quality of their local civic amenities, and so on. Political parties are the latest in a long line of clients of focus-group consultancies, keen to gather public opinion of their prospective parliamentary candidates and MPs, and what they stand for, with a view to maximising their appeal (Diamond and Bates 1992). During the 1980s market researchers were joined in their use of Focus Groups by social science researchers. They realised that the ways in which focus group interviews are organised–in particular the relaxed and convivial setting, the unrestricted nature of the discussion, and the neutrality of the moderator–meant they were particularly suited to collecting data on sensitive, delicate and otherwise complex or difficult social issues...
eBook - ePubMarket Research in Practice
An Introduction to Gaining Greater Market Insight
- Paul Hague(Author)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- Kogan Page(Publisher)
...06 Focus Groups The focus group The focus group is a research tool used to collect data through group interaction on a topic. Essentially, it is a group experience comprising a small number of carefully selected people who are recruited to discuss a subject on the basis of their shared experience. Focus Groups have four key characteristics: They actively involve people. The people attending the group have an experience or interest in common. They provide in-depth qualitative data. The discussion is focused to help us understand what is going on. Focus Groups have traditionally taken place in a face-to-face environment, with all participants brought together in one location for a given period of time to discuss the research topic. However, technological advances have made it possible to bring groups together online, overcoming the barrier of participant proximity to the focus group venue. Online groups tend to adopt one of two styles: the ‘live chat’ forum or the ‘bulletin board’ group, which tends to remain open and live for several days but does not require participants to be logged in during the whole period. The people that make up a focus group Focus Groups typically are made up of five to 10 people. The group needs to be small enough to allow everyone the opportunity to share insights, and yet large enough to provide group interaction and diversity of experience. Larger face-to-face groups inhibit discussion, as some delegates shy away from venturing opinions, while smaller groups may be limited in their pool of ideas. Bulletin style online groups afford the opportunity for a larger number of participants. Commonality of experience and interest Focus group participants have a degree of homogeneity, and this is important to the researcher...
- Bonita Kolb(Author)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Tools for increasing interaction, such as projective techniques, will also need to be planned. ● The moderator of a focus group needs personal skills and the ability to resolve group conflict. The personal traits that are necessary in a moderator include interest in the research process, curiosity about people’s ideas, adaptability and empathy. The skills of a successful moderator include knowledge of research methods, the topic under discussion, group dynamics and the ability to analyze and report the findings. Using Focus Groups Focus Groups are a qualitative research technique that uses participant interaction to uncover consumers’ attitudes, opinions and values. Because an issue or problem is being explored, Focus Groups are considered exploratory research. They are often used when little is known about external trends, consumer preferences or the cause of a problem. Once Focus Groups have been used as a first step in exploring an issue, the findings can be confirmed using a quantitative research technique such as a survey. Focus Groups are sometimes misunderstood as mere discussion groups where people just talk while a moderator listens. However, a focus group conducted by a trained moderator can encourage participants to go beyond their first response to the issue being discussed. Interaction between the group members is used to uncover deeper insights which can result in new and creative ideas for the marketing mix. The insights revealed by a focus group can then be used to build support within the organization for the new ideas. Focus group research questions Because the employees of a tourism, hospitality or event management organization can only see a problem or issue from their own viewpoint, it is extremely helpful to get the opinions of current or potential visitors. For example, if attendance is falling at the annual heritage fair, the organization might consider the problem to be lack of promotion of the event...
eBook - ePubQualitative Marketing Research
Understanding Consumer Behaviour
- Dominika Maison(Author)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...3 Qualitative methods The different tools in the hands of a marketing researcher Classic qualitative marketing research methods: focus group interviews and individual in-depth interviews Focus group interviews (FGIs), also called focus group discussions (FGDs), are the most commonly commissioned type of qualitative research in marketing (Belk, Fischer, & Kozinets, 2013; ESOMAR, 2016; Greenbaum, 1993). The greater number of group discussions compared to individual interviews in the marketing context is mainly down to fashion (being considered more spectacular) and convenience (shorter performance times, ease of interview observation by clients), not actual methodological premises. From methodological point of view both methods are essentially very similar and can often be used interchangeably. This doesn’t mean that both methods are identical as certain differences do exist between them, thus, when deciding whether a group or individual interview is more suitable, we must be aware of the consequences of using each of these methods (see Table 3.1). A focus group interview is a discussion between several people, usually about six to eight, led by an interviewer, called a moderator. The moderator’s task is to guide (focus) the interview appropriately in order to find out as much as possible about the research subject (Cowley, 2000). This approach has four characteristic elements: (a) it is carried out in a group setting (several participants), (b) it is focused around (concentrates on) a specific topic, (c) the conversation is in-depth (not superficial), and (d) it is in the form of a discussion, not just a question and answer session...
eBook - ePub- David L. Morgan(Author)
- 1997(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications, Inc(Publisher)
...Rather than generalizing to larger populations, you may need an in-depth understanding of a particular setting or circumstance. This is where Focus Groups and other qualitative methods excel. For example, when the research topic involves understanding the success or failure of a particular program in a specific setting, Focus Groups may well be the most efficient and effective tool for uncovering the reasons behind this outcome. Put simply, different methods have different strengths. For many purposes, the strengths of Focus Groups will be entirely sufficient. Focus Groups Tell You How People Will Behave Focus Groups, individual interviews, and surveys all rely on verbal reports. They tell you how people say they will behave. These data thus consist of attitudes. As social psychologists know all too well, predicting behavior from attitudes is a tricky business. Often, no matter how sincerely people believe they will do something, when it comes right down to it, they do something else. Survey researchers have had to deal with this myth for years—carefully explaining that the kinds of attitudes that surveys capture may not be strong predictors of actual behavior. The same problem occurs with Focus Groups. In fact, this myth may be even stronger for Focus Groups, since you can actually witness people saying what they will do. Not only do you get to hear people talk about their likely behavior, you can watch the group validate these statements as everyone nods and murmurs agreement. This is indeed evidence about how people will behave, and it can be quite compelling evidence, but it is far from conclusive. The naive acceptance of what people say in Focus Groups can be quite costly. For example, in a needs assessment project, people may swear up and down that a program is essential, and then, after you go to all the trouble and expense to provide that program, they fail to use it...
