Our client at one of the world’s leading food manufacturers has observed hundreds of focus groups. Working with A Pomegranate recently, he said he’s never seen groups where participants stay behind after the group and are reluctant to leave because they are so stimulated and engaged!
Focus groups can be tremendously revealing when they are put together with skilled design, execution and objective analysis. We use recruiting techniques to avoid research ‘groupies’ and bring research ‘virgins’ into the room.
Then we design a discussion guide with enough space to allow surprise themes and ideas to emerge. We create a relaxed environment, engage participants in a lively and focused discussion and let them have fun.
As human beings, we know that the nature of a conversation is affected by where it is held. There are times when the best way to uncover deep consumer understanding is to have that conversation with consumers in places and in ways where insight and intuition become the rule, not the exception. So we hold focus group discussions in creative settings, whether in facilities, in participants’ homes, or in client-relevant locations such as in a bar, hotel, restaurant or store.