Participants must feel as relaxed as possible and strongly motivated
to be truthful. Physical surroundings can be crucial to achieving the right
atmosphere. At one agency an executive noted, “We wondered why
demographic, psychographic, or other considerations and brought together to discuss various
topics of interest at length. Participants are normally paid a small sum for attending. A professional
research moderator provides questions and probes based on the marketing managers’ discussion
guide or agenda. In focus groups, moderators try to discern consumers’ real motivations and why
they say and do certain things. They typically record the sessions, and marketing managers often
remain behind two-way mirrors in the next room. To allow for more in-depth discussion with
participants, focus groups are trending smaller in size.19
Focus-group research is a useful exploratory step, but researchers must avoid generalizing from
focus-group participants to the whole market, because the sample size is too small and the sample is
not drawn randomly. Some marketers feel the research setting is too contrived and prefer to seek other
means of collecting information that they believe are less artificial. “Marketing Memo: Conducting
Informative Focus Groups” has some practical tips to improve the quality of focus groups.
In the American Airlines research, the moderator might start with a broad question, such as,
“How do you feel about first-class air travel?” Questions then move to how people view the different
airlines, different existing services, different proposed services, and specifically, Internet service.
102 PART 2 CAPTURING MARKETING INSIGHTS
marketing
Memo Conducting Informative Focus Groups
people always seemed grumpy and negative—people were resistant to
any idea we showed them.” Finally in one session a fight broke out between
participants. The problem was the room itself: cramped, stifling,
forbidding. “It was a cross between a hospital room and a police interrogation
room.” To fix the problem, the agency gave the room a makeover.
Other firms are adapting the look of the room to fit the theme of the
topic—such as designing the room to look like a playroom when speaking
to children.