Focus Groups
In the case of focus groups, a facilitator asks 6 to 10 participants within the framework of a group discussion for their attitude to certain topics. Focus groups are far more than pure opinion surveys or haphazard enumerations of different needs: they derive their strength from the facilitated exchange of views between participants, which impresses one again and again as a result of its creative and unexpected results.
They allow vivid and authentic insights into the psychological context in which the customer perceives the company's products and communication measures.
Qualified Facilitators
In close consultation with the client, we first of all create the discussion guidelines in which the content and issues are pre-structured. It is important here that even though the facilitator uses these guidelines to steer the group, they should at the same time nonetheless not excessively restrict the discussion.
Our focus groups are all conducted by experienced project managers who, by skilfully steering the group, also encourage and take up the participants' reciprocal ideas.
Meaningful Selection of Participants
In addition to the project manager's qualifications and experience, what is chiefly important for the success of a focus group is to appropriately illustrate the target group via the careful selection of participants. In this way, the entire spectrum of opinions, emotions, and reactions can be illustrated in spite of a small sample.
Thanks to the opportunity to follow the discussion behind a one-way mirror, you as the client can also obtain fascinating insights into how your customers think. In addition to the original video recordings of every focus group, you will naturally receive a sophisticated analysis of the results.
Intelligent Evaluation
The evaluation of focus groups requires the project manager to have plenty of experience of group dynamic processes, but at the same time a pronounced feel for the business context.
This is because when it comes to qualitative methods such as focus groups it is even more important that you should receive a report which clearly addresses issues that can be implemented in your company, and which develops practice-related proposals for marketing, sales, customer service, communication, and strategy.
Online Focus Groups
Focus groups can also be conducted online. In such cases, participants take part in the focus group sitting at their own PC, and an online facilitator guides the group as if it were a virtual chatroom. It goes without saying that Vocatus has the necessary technical systems to conduct worldwide online focus groups.
Online focus groups are advantageous if the participants are scattered in different countries and it would be impossible to carry out a focus group in a particular location. Online focus groups equally have considerable benefits when it comes to sensitive or taboo topics because the participants' anonymity generally leads to greater openness on the part of individual participants.
Particularly in the case of online focus groups, the experience of the online facilitator is of special importance so as to integrate each participant equally into the group.