Utilizing Focus Groups

"Before a company invests time, money and effort into a new product or service it should determine interest from potential customers. Focus groups can help do this. By bringing together a small group of customers or potential customers, companies can gather pertinent data not attainable through surveys or other forms of market research. Focus groups are exploratory in nature and are intended to help a company more clearly define additional research activities and direction."

• Create an environment conducive to discussion. Set up a room where participants will be at ease and feel free to talk. You want a quiet meeting space. If you want feedback on a prospective new product, you may want to hold the focus group at a third party’s location so input isn’t biased by information about your company.

• Select an objective facilitator. Members of the team may not be the best individuals to run the meeting. Since they helped to conceive the product or service, they may be biased. A facilitator should be a good listener, nonjudgmental or intimidating, and able to elicit responses from participants and encourage them to elaborate on their thoughts and ideas.

• Promote a stimulating discussion. You are seeking a variety of opinions, and a group setting will encourage give-and-take. Props or prototypes of products, advertisements or other material often help trigger in-depth responses.

• Invite those whose opinions matter. If you have a new product idea, invite those customers for whom the product is intended. If you have a change in process under consideration, involve those whose support would be critical to its successful implementation. The group shouldn’t exceed ten to twelve participants.

• Set a time frame for the meeting. Most focus groups shouldn’t last more than two hours. But the meeting should be long enough to allow all of the people to participate. If the discussion is on a roll and you are getting lots of valuable ideas, you and participants may want to keep it going.

• Record responses. It’s easy to forget what was said. It is also possible to let your own opinions distort what you think you heard. Have someone take notes, or record the discussion and have a transcription for post-meeting review. If you record the session, however, it is a legal requirement that the participants are aware that they are being recorded.

• Elicit written feedback. You want the opinions of all of the participants. Simply asking respondents to write down their initial thoughts before discussions begin ensures that you get input from all participants and captures the full range of ideas.

• Thank participants. At the end of the session, tell the participants that you appreciate their involvement. Many focus groups include a meal at the facility. Some organizations pay participants a nominal fee.

• Use the focus group data to refine your direction. Companies shouldn’t prematurely draw broad conclusions from focus groups—they only provide general guidance. Use what you’ve learned from the session as a starting-off point to continue your market research.

PASS

• Personal integrity. I give Bren credit for not losing his integrity in the boardroom. He didn't try to sell out Alex. I admired that he went into the boardroom with an attitude that he wasn't a "loser" and stood up for their product design.
   

• Give consumers what they want. Magna interviewed a variety of Staples store customers asking for their opinions about what kind of organizational product they liked and for what reasons. They discovered customers preferred the caddy organizational holders. They used that insight to design a new four-sided approach. Consulting the consumer is critical to new product design.
   

• Meet with the client personally. Magna met with the Staples executives face to face to establish rapport. In Tana's words, "These executives are our judges; if they like you, we have an in." Alex apparently wouldn't have agreed, saying in one of the dumbest remarks frankly that I have heard on this show, "They're not a client. They're just judges." I doubt that is the approach Alex takes with judges in the courtroom.  One critical piece of information that Magna got as a result of their meeting -- that the executives wanted them to improve on an existing organization item versus revolutionizing a new one. Net Worth missed that tip by not meeting with them and subsequently produced a design that failed.

FAIL

• Disrespectful leadership. Effective leaders do not give feedback in a way that demeans the other person. Craig has demonstrated a pattern this season of continually talking down to the female candidates. He told Kendra he had to speak to her like one of his children, "when I have to repeat myself" and "let me run this by you slowly." When a difference emerged between Craig and Kendra over the product design, as the project manager, he said: "This conversation is over. I am giving you respect that you don't even deserve, young lady." Young lady? Respect is something that is earned. In order to gain the respect of others, you first need to treat others with respect.
   

• Leadership rigidity. Project manager Craig began the project dictating rigid rules for his team. He told Kendra to present brainstorming ideas only on paper. How ridiculous is that? He was neither open nor receptive to her design ideas and, let's face it, Kendra has a pretty successful track record in this arena. In today's competitive and complex marketplace, effective leaders must create an open, collaborative environment to foster creative ideas and human potential. Craig has proved he does not have the skills to accomplish that.
   

• Meet with the clients face to face. Face-to-face meetings establish rapport and bonding with customers. Some estimate that between 55 percent and 70 percent of communication is conveyed non-verbally -- both in tone of delivery and body language. You cannot maximize communication clarity and relationship potential by phone. Net Worth's decision not to meet with Staples executives personally to gain clarity about expectations was a mistake.

The Report Card

Net Worth: Effort -- Performance -- Creativity --   C D C	WEEK THIRTEEN BOOK SMARTS Magna STREET SMARTS Net Worth
Magna: Effort -- Performance -- Creativity --   B B C