Plurk

219 responses to this plurk (Jump to bottom)

  • 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.
  • DebInAustin says
    sorry- all of the above-moderating, writing the questions/surveys, participating, and a client
  • Te-ge
    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.
  • 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
    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 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Te-ge 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
    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!
  • 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... X-(
  • Te-ge is
    mostly listening and learning Deb...plus, Plurk seems to be loading slow tonight, or mine does at least.
  • 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
  • Te-ge 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
  • 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
    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
  • 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?
  • AmberCadabra
    dang maybe I missed my calling, huh? :-)
  • 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.
  • Te-ge
    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?
  • 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
    connie - interestingly enough, that's not the best application. I never do groups to "test" creative, but to generate food for creative
  • 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
    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)
  • Te-ge 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
  • frankmartin
    Focus groups put the product in the best position to succeed
  • 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
  • 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
    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!"
  • Te-ge 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
    please excuse my t (s_annoyed)yping!!!
  • frankmartin says
    the moderator either knew better and did the groups anyway, or they should have known better
  • 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
  • Te-ge 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
    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
    (g_applause)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!
  • 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
  • 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
  • Te-ge 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
  • Te-ge wonders
    should you only have 1 question that you're hoping for an answer to, or are 2 related questions okay?
  • 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?? :-)
  • Te-ge 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. :-)
  • Te-ge says
    missed the pages on focus groups rather :-)
  • frankmartin asks
    anything else? If not Plurkshop over!
  • Te-ge says
    Lots to think about. Great Plurkshop Frank! :-)

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