| frankmartin | asks | Who here has direct experience moderating, participating, or being a client for focus groups? |
Aug 06, 2008 -
12:58AM
| frankmartin | asks | Who here has direct experience moderating, participating, or being a client for focus groups? |
| frankmartin | says | small group interviews, or one-on-ones (IDI's) |
| frankmartin | says | I want to hear about your experiences, and how you think it might relate to Web 2.0 |
| frankmartin | says | in helping people understand WHY people buy stuff, and how we can use the interactivity of this and other sites |
| frankmartin | says | to make people buy more stuff? |
| DebInAustin | says | I have done political focus groups. |
| frankmartin | says | done? |
| DebInAustin | says | sorry- all of the above-moderating, writing the questions/surveys, participating, and a client |
| Teeg | goes to share the link and will brb  |
| DebInAustin | says | in grad school I ran focus groups with my colleagues on various topics- the purpose was to do social linguistic analysis on the participants |
| DebInAustin | says | the topics weren't the purpose, although the participants thought they were. |
| frankmartin | asks | deb how did you use them? |
| DebInAustin | says | my grad school focus groups were to study dominance in conversation between men and women in group situations. |
| Connie | [note: if you are following the plurkshop on the "plurk page," you will have to manually refresh your browser.] |
| DebInAustin | says | my political FGs were looking at various demographics and their perceptions of issues and campaign topics/candidates. |
| DebInAustin | says | the purpose was to help us develop messaging- both topics and how to frame them |
| frankmartin | asks | thanks connie - so Deb, the purpose was to study the participants rather than to gain insight for commercial or political reasons? |
| frankmartin | asks | gotcha - cool app |
| frankmartin | asks | very academic as opposed to comercial |
| DebInAustin | says | in grad school yes. There are various linguistic devices people use to dominate a conversation we wanted to see which ones were used |
| Connie | I have never done any focus groups, so I'm listening intently. |
| DebInAustin | says | by the different genders, who was successful and how they used them. |
| frankmartin | pontificates: focus groups have been used for the past 30 - 40 years |
| KDFrawg❤ | says | I did a lot of them for business process improvement. |
| DebInAustin | says | the political stuff probably is a better fit for tonights conversation, although my grad school stuff was more fun to transcribe and analyze |
| frankmartin | they were originally conducted in living rooms by people curious as to why participants used products or bought stuff |
| frankmartin | gradually, they moved to conference rooms with one-way mirrors |
| DebInAustin | says | the mirror things makes me think of the CIA! |
| frankmartin | cool kdfrawg - example? |
| frankmartin | says | we are at a crossroads again in the qualitative industry |
| AmberCadabra | closest I've ever been to a focus group was as a participant. |
| shepherd | wonders | if focus groups are leveraged to drive opinion or create strategies? What process motivates most focus groups to convene? |
| frankmartin | says | we are able to use the webfor almost continuous interaction - what are some of the ways that YOUsee we can do the same sort of "research"? |
| frankmartin | says | shepherd - not to drive, but to understand, and to create the foundation for "learned influence" |
| AmberCadabra | Frank, do you think the unstructured nature of the web is an asset or a detraction to cos trying to use it for research? |
| AmberCadabra | focus groups are often very ..uh...focused. in structure. specific questions, etc. |
| AmberCadabra | online, the community is asking AND answering |
| frankmartin | says | Now we see Starbucks andDell using the web to collect qualitative info about the customer experience |
| frankmartin | says | ambercadabra - both |
| AmberCadabra | I would think the web presents questions to companies that they never thought to ask or address |
| frankmartin | says | it's unstructured, which allows more freedom and less constraint for participants |
| shepherd | thinks | the web makes it easier to poll mass wide spread opinions, but perhaps at some lost of focus. |
| DebInAustin | asks | what is the definition of "learned influence"? |
| frankmartin | says | amber - the beautiful thing is tha you ask the question, and it goes where it well, with no time constraint |
| shepherd | is | switching to mobile view for a better threaded follow. |
| AmberCadabra | so frank, doesn't that make it hard to determine where and when you have the "answer" (if that's even possible?) |
| DebInAustin | asks | when you ask those kinds of questions online, is self-selecting respondents a concern, or a benefit? |
| frankmartin | says | deb - marketing research is about helping people make informed decisions with respect t marketing and making goods and services |
| frankmartin | says | we learn what motivates buyers and prospects, and use that in marketing |
| DebInAustin | asks | I see. |
| frankmartin | says | amber - ah, the answer! Afraid bells don't ring when it comes! |
| AmberCadabra | Right! So it's more of an educated guess? |
| AmberCadabra | Frank what do you think the advantage is of a trad focus group vs. using the web? |
| frankmartin | says | in quant self selecting is a no no - in Qual - it's not that inportant to prevent in qualitative such as this |
| Teeg | wonders | if it ends up looking a lot like our Plurkshop threads. The answer is there, along with several other answers. |
| frankmartin | says | amber - trad = focus andclients viewing and participating in a short time frame |
| DebInAustin | asks | because your respondents are the people you are looking for anyway. The web makes it easier to find them. |
| frankmartin | says | web = less control, more free reign and longer time frame and cheaper |
| AmberCadabra | Frank - for those of us who aren't trad. marketing trained, can you define "qual" and "quant"? |
| frankmartin | says | both have applications |
| shepherd | wonder how you balance the opinion of one focus group versus others to find "learned influence"? |
| frankmartin | says | Quant - projectable to a population of respondents. Obama leads McCain 55-45 |
| frankmartin | says | Qualitaive = deep. Voters don't rust McCain because his wife looks like she has had plastic surgery |
| frankmartin | says | trust |
| AmberCadabra | LMAO nice example |
| frankmartin | says | most of the time - more than one group is done shepherd |
| frankmartin | says | And most of the time, focus groups are blended with other research and field interviews in an attempt to get closer to truth |
| frankmartin | says | deb - sometimes the web makes it easier to find them - there are many who still are not connected |
| frankmartin | says | and those who are not lookalike demographically |
| DebInAustin | says | Frank can you give us an example of an FG that is blended with other research and field interviews? |
| AmberCadabra | Frank, can you offer an example of how you've successfully used the web as a focus group? |
| frankmartin | says | teeg exactly - Plurk is a terrific way of testing thoughts and ideas with people who have a little moreexpertise than your average bear! |
| AmberCadabra | LOL ok Deb first |
| DebInAustin | says | that makes sense on finding respondents. A lot depends on what demographic you are looking for. |
| DebInAustin | says | is it just me, or is the thread moving really slow tonight? |
| frankmartin | says | Examples: new product. Web was used to collect opinions about options that are currently available in a product line |
| shepherd | asks | are blind study focus groups best for research on opinions, or do participants know fully why they are there? |
| frankmartin | says | Those opinions were used to recruit participants for focus groups to discuss the new product |
| frankmartin | says | shepherd depends on the application - blind is useful when the knowledge of who the client is can affect the response |
| frankmartin | says | Hi I'm from Coke what's your fav soft drink? |
| frankmartin | says | sigh - it is slow...  |
| frankmartin | says | amber - we have used web groups to recruit participants who do not live in the same area, but who share interest or expertise |
| frankmartin | says | we then pick their brians online about everything from usage to advertising |
| frankmartin | says | brains! |
| Teeg | wonders | if the number of people willing to participate in offline focus groups has dropped as online ones have increased? |
| frankmartin | says | no - it's increased, as more people understand what they are |
| frankmartin | says | plus - recruiting is easier now that we have email addresses! |
| AmberCadabra | i have a co here that is always calling me since i participated in one |
| AmberCadabra | and they email me a lot too |
| shepherd | thinks | part of the slowness is the nonlinear interplay of responses. In conversation, threads can overlap & body language creates subthreads |
| AmberCadabra | I admit to being a focus group skeptic -they always seem so contrived to me but i suppose they must work |
| frankmartin | says | Chicago has about 50 facilities! |
| shepherd | notes that the last comment is in regard to Plurk threads as a conversation or forum as opposed to live conversation in a room. |
| frankmartin | says | amber - I've sensed yourskepticism - not surprised.But you would be FANTASTIC as a moderator- because you are curious. |
| AmberCadabra | shepherd i do think plurk is a little hitchy tonight too |
| AmberCadabra | curious I is. But much is because I came by marketing by accident, not thru formal edu/training |
| frankmartin | says | Sometimes focus groups are done of the wrong reasons |
| AmberCadabra | So many of the trad techniques are unfamiliar to me |
| frankmartin | says | And sometimes the moderator sucks |
| AmberCadabra | Yeah the last moderator I had sucked. I think you have to be able to vamp a bit and see where the convo goes |
| frankmartin | says | the best marketers came to it from somewhere else itseems - but they share thetrait of nearly indefatigable curiosity |
| AmberCadabra | whoa $5 word LOL |
| frankmartin | says | maybe - depends on the group chemistry, how well the group was recruited and the outline |
| shepherd | wonders | if influencers are sometimes planted into focus groups as participants? |
| DebInAustin | says | I am with Frank, Amber would be a great moderator! |
| DebInAustin | says | I would have to sit behind the mirror! |
| AmberCadabra | Frank do you directly attribute particular marketing successes to the use of focus groups? |
| frankmartin | says | shepherd - "planted" by whom? |
| AmberCadabra | dang maybe I missed my calling, huh? |
| frankmartin | says | amber - all day long |
| frankmartin | says | deb - I think you'd be good too - but diff from Amber |
| shepherd | says | planted by the focus group client. Guess I'm skeptical as well |
| frankmartin | says | I have seen clients leave with tears in their eyes because they were happy, and crushed |
| frankmartin | says | shepherd - there is no reason the client would do that - their purpose is to learn WHAT will make it successful |
| AmberCadabra | Crushed b/c they learned something that was contrary to what they hoped, you mean? |
| frankmartin | says | yes - because they had invested a lot of dreams and money only to find out the idea was not a good one |
| Connie | Bet you are called upon to do some hand holding when the client learns some things they didn't really want to know. |
| Teeg | could see you doing one, Deb. I think Amber's would ask more questions but yours would be intense and focused. |
| Connie | So at what stage should the company do a focus group? |
| shepherd | is | thinking in terms of political focus groups to sway opinions. |
| Connie | A start-up, I mean. |
| AmberCadabra | ouchie. isn't that a case for doing the focus group first, at the initial stages of the idea? |
| AmberCadabra | is | on Connie's wavelength |
| frankmartin | connie all the time - but most of the time it is a continuing process anyway |
| AmberCadabra | Deb I too think you'd be a great moderator. |
| frankmartin | connie - not to be oblique - but at any stage where they sense they could make better decisions if they knew more about a particular market |
| frankmartin | yeah - but most of the time clients do a lot of work to get to that point |
| Connie | I'm thinking like when they're choosing a name? Finding out who would use their product/service therefore how to market it? |
| AmberCadabra | frank, can you give some examples of those moments where a focus group has proved invaluable? |
| Connie | Or if there is a big enough market? |
| AmberCadabra | moments meaning those junctions or stages |
| frankmartin | shepherd - political groups are used not to "sway", but to learn what arguments, or talking points resonate |
| frankmartin | with targeted groups |
| frankmartin | connie - interestingly enough, that's not the best application. I never do groups to "test" creative, but to generate food for creative |
| frankmartin | thought |
| shepherd | often sees "startup" weekends where people come together as a self generated focus group to come to consensus on a business strategy. |
| frankmartin | examples: at the beginning of a process when clients are "optimizing" a produc |
| frankmartin | when they are trying to find out the vocabulary people use in different situations, to describe frustration |
| frankmartin | or to create empathy |
| frankmartin | all of which can be used for creative stimulation |
| AmberCadabra | oh the vocab piece is super interesting |
| AmberCadabra | like a really really expensive thesaurus?? (i kid) |
| Teeg | asks | how do you use a focus group to describe frustration? |
| AmberCadabra | frank can focus groups work for companies of any size? |
| frankmartin | shepherd - the best focus groups will never generate "consensus", but generate **insight** |
| Connie | okay, I'm understanding it more as research now. (duh) Intelligence gathering rather than testing. |
| frankmartin | yes - focus groups do not test. Test markets test |
| AmberCadabra | connie not duh, i'm right there with you! |
| frankmartin | Focus groups put the product in the best position to succeed |
| frankmartin | all the time Amber |
| frankmartin | I do groups all the time for small companies who are making big decisions |
| frankmartin | thesaurus? More like a foreign language dictionary  |
| AmberCadabra | and are you the one that suggests that a focus group is the right mechanism, or do they already know that? |
| shepherd | thinks | he has a much clearer idea of the process. |
| Connie | We had a client who came to social media late in their startup process, after spending many thousands on tradtl PR and advertising. |
| DebInAustin | says | I once learned so much from a political focus group that it not only shaped our messaging, but gave us enough food to go back and re-do |
| DebInAustin | says | our program. |
| Connie | Bottom line is that they just did not have a big enough market for their service yet - they were too early. |
| Connie | A focus group might have helped them determine that earlier. |
| frankmartin | says | Most of the time now, clients call me when they want to do groups - but they also call when they are in a quandary |
| frankmartin | says | connie - so true |
| frankmartin | says | people are getting counsel from traditional agencies, and guess what tehy recommend? |
| DebInAustin | says | I think some orgs I have worked with didn't want to use the FG to learn from, but really just to reinforce what they already knew and that |
| DebInAustin | says | limited, or eliminated the benefit they could have gotten. |
| AmberCadabra | Deb that's EXACTLY what I've experienced and probably why I've been so skeptical |
| frankmartin | says | deb that happens all the time! I've been called in to do groups to "prove the boss wring!" |
| Teeg | is | going to sound like a total newb, but how do you run a focus group? The only ones I've had experience with were from psych class in college |
| frankmartin | says | WRONG  |
| frankmartin | says | please excuse my t yping!!! |
| frankmartin | says | deb and amber that's the moderator's fault |
| frankmartin | says | the moderator either knew better and did the groups anyway, or they should have known better |
| AmberCadabra | who hires the moderator? |
| Connie | You mean the moderator is directing the conversation too much -- like a trial attorney asking leading questions? |
| frankmartin | says | teeg - check out my blog for more than you would ever want to know about how to run focus groups |
| Connie | Oh, you mean the decision to do the FG at all. gotcha |
| frankmartin | says | frankconradmartin.typepad.com |
| Teeg | will | do that |
| AmberCadabra | LOL Frank I've learned a ton from your blog |
| frankmartin | says | the best moderators do all of their talking to the clients before the groups! |
| frankmartin | says | Clients hire the moderator - but that can be everone from the Junior assistant fledgling to the CEO |
| AmberCadabra | is | it usually someone from the company itself? |
| frankmartin | says | yes, Amber |
| frankmartin | although I'll frequently get referrals from the Agency |
| Connie | How expensive is a FG? Cost of moderator plus what - venue? do you pay participants? |
| gwensutton | says |  read and learn. thank you |
| frankmartin | Focus groups cost $5000 - $7500 - depending on 1) what you pay participants, and 2) how much it costs to recruit them |
| frankmartin | surgeons cost more than college students, for example |
| frankmartin | Mods breaking into the biz cost less, but that's why a lot of people have a bad experience with groups |
| DebInAustin | says | you guys, I have to go! I am sorry!! Thanks so much Frank. I learned a ton! |
| AmberCadabra | I got paid a whoppin' $100 for the one I did for cars.com WOOT |
| Connie | Thanks for ballpark figure. helps me know whether to suggest it to a client. |
| AmberCadabra | tho I don't think they wanted me to know it was them LOL |
| frankmartin | Happy to debindenver! |
| Connie | Understand that about experienced moderators -- you get what you pay for, literally, in the value of information gained. |
| frankmartin | that's a good fee Amber! We pay consumers about $85, depending on the market |
| Teeg | says | See you later, Deb! |
| Connie | Amber raises a good question. How often do the participants know what company they are doing a FG for? |
| frankmartin | So true - frequently the biggest thing moderators can do is keep clients from losing focus |
| frankmartin | The young moderators don't like doing that |
| frankmartin | They know about 25% of the time, can guess about 50% and are clueless 25% |
| AmberCadabra | In the one I did, it was so obvious b/c of the questions they kept coming back to |
| shepherd | learned a lot from this Plurkshop. Very interesting. Thanks for the insight. |
| frankmartin | yeah - there probably was no downside to letting you figure it out |
| Teeg | wonders | should you only have 1 question that you're hoping for an answer to, or are 2 related questions okay? |
| frankmartin | Thanks for coming shepherd! |
| Connie | Frank, this has been very informative. You can tell I knew next to nothing. Thanks for spending the time with us. |
| frankmartin | Teeg - more than one are ok - but I do ask clients to set priorities |
| frankmartin | connie - you've helped me a million times sweetie - this was nothing. Always good to chat with you! |
| shepherd | says | good night all! Enjoyed it. |
| AmberCadabra | Frank this has really been enlightening!! Are you going to write a recap, by chance?? |
| Teeg | says | Thank you for leading this, Frank. I've read your blog for a while, but missed the articles on Focus groups. Learned a lot tonight. |
| Teeg | says | missed the pages on focus groups rather |
| frankmartin | AmberCadabra - yes, I'll blog it tomorrow! |
| frankmartin | And thanks for coming to AmberCadabra and teeg! |
| frankmartin | asks | anything else? If not Plurkshop over! |
| AmberCadabra | LOL my brain is full I think |
| Teeg | says | Lots to think about. Great Plurkshop Frank! |
© copyright 2007-2012 Plurk Search People Search Verified Account APIFAQ
Contact Us About Blog Jobs Terms Privacy