1. Focus Group Facilitation By Matt Gagliardi OISM 470W Section 3

2. Focus Group Facilitation Getting Clear Insight to How Customers Think

3. Introduction What are Focus Groups?What are Focus Groups? How Focus Groups are used in Business and Government.How Focus Groups are used in Business and Government. Focus Group Creation and Use.Focus Group Creation and Use. –How to properly create focus groups –How to effectively use focus groups. Evaluating Results.Evaluating Results.

4. What are Focus Groups??? Focus Groups are a group of people, that are brought together, and asked to share their opinions about a product or service.Focus Groups are a group of people, that are brought together, and asked to share their opinions about a product or service.

5. Where Focus Groups are Used Business UseBusiness Use –Drive Marketing Strategies How customers thinkHow customers think Government UseGovernment Use –Forming election strategies –Publishing trends –Impeachment rhetoric

6. Creating Focus Groups Hiring outside consultants vs. Internally established groups.Hiring outside consultants vs. Internally established groups. –Advantages –Disadvantages Choosing a Moderator Choosing a Moderator Internal vs. ExternalInternal vs. External

7. Hiring Consultants Hiring external Consulting companies to establish and moderate the focus group.Hiring external Consulting companies to establish and moderate the focus group.

8. Advantages of Consultants Limited knowledge of productsLimited knowledge of products Will not make bias decisionsWill not make bias decisions Have favorable resultsHave favorable results Trained, experienced and competent professional researchers.Trained, experienced and competent professional researchers.

9. Disadvantages of Consultants ExpensiveExpensive Unable to conduct groups on your scheduleUnable to conduct groups on your schedule Do not want to risk an unsuccessful groupDo not want to risk an unsuccessful group “I am familiar with my product and can ask the right questions”“I am familiar with my product and can ask the right questions”

10. Choosing a Moderator Someone who knows how to benefit from group dynamics Can use techniques that reduce negative influence or feedback

11. Choosing a Moderator Can control the dominant group member Can motivate the shy member to participate Use techniques to extract the maximum amount of information possible

12. Internal Moderators Internal moderators can save money, but can inhibit group outputInternal moderators can save money, but can inhibit group output –Chance that participants will refrain from showing concern or acting negatively to ideas. –Have great knowledge on product, which could intimidate participants

13. External Moderators Extremely helpful in designing groupsExtremely helpful in designing groups Professional moderators bring experience from different research situationsProfessional moderators bring experience from different research situations ObjectiveObjective Able to extract a lot of information from group membersAble to extract a lot of information from group members

14. Facilitating Focus Groups Key ConceptsKey Concepts Advantages and Disadvantages of use.Advantages and Disadvantages of use. Things to be careful of.Things to be careful of. New Technology.New Technology.

15. Facilitating Focus Groups Key ConceptKey Concept –Explore a topic to form ideas, not definitive answers. Focus groups provide insight in exploratory work to help companies realize the range of issues, perception of these issues, and the intensity of feelings of their customers.Focus groups provide insight in exploratory work to help companies realize the range of issues, perception of these issues, and the intensity of feelings of their customers.

16. Advantages of Focus Groups There are only a limited number of people asked to participate, so participant downtime is reduced.There are only a limited number of people asked to participate, so participant downtime is reduced. Gives excellent insight onto what customers believe.Gives excellent insight onto what customers believe. Low cost.Low cost.

17. Disadvantages of Focus Groups Yield a wide range of ideas on a topic, not definitive answersYield a wide range of ideas on a topic, not definitive answers Results could be misleadingResults could be misleading Only show a small percentage of what population believes.Only show a small percentage of what population believes. Inexperienced moderators can impair or ruin expected resultsInexperienced moderators can impair or ruin expected results

18. Things to be careful of As focus groups are relatively expensive, companies must make sure they get their monies worth.As focus groups are relatively expensive, companies must make sure they get their monies worth. Choosing and distinguishing between good and bad group moderators.Choosing and distinguishing between good and bad group moderators.

19. New Technology New voting devicesNew voting devices –Participants can vote confidentially to questions by pressing buttons on a hand held device. Computers can instantly process information for immediate debateComputers can instantly process information for immediate debate

20. Evaluating Results Establishing valid results from Focus Group.Establishing valid results from Focus Group. Distinguishing between different results to see what the possibilities of advance areDistinguishing between different results to see what the possibilities of advance are

21. Real world Examples “Focus groups were used to provide strategic input to elections of Prime Ministers and presidents, feedback for action by political groups or companies”.“Focus groups were used to provide strategic input to elections of Prime Ministers and presidents, feedback for action by political groups or companies”.

22. Summary From this slide show, you should have learnedFrom this slide show, you should have learned –What Focus Groups Are –How to Create and what to look for in creating focus groups. Differences between Internal and External focus groups.Differences between Internal and External focus groups.

23. Summary Advantages of hiring consultantsAdvantages of hiring consultants Choosing an effective moderatorChoosing an effective moderator How to properly facilitate focus groups.How to properly facilitate focus groups.

24. Summary Things to be careful of when using focus groupsThings to be careful of when using focus groups New technologies usedNew technologies used Real world Examples of Focus group use.Real world Examples of Focus group use.

25. Works Cited –Cowley, James. Anyone can run research focus groups, right? Marketing News. V33 n5. Mar 1, 1999. P. 15 –Vincent, Lynn. 7 Deadly sins of focus groups. Bank Marketing. V31 n5. May 1999 p 36-39 –Greenbaum, Thomas L. Doing your own Focus Group is like fixing your own plumbing. Marketing News. V25 n11. May 27, 1991. P. 8-9