Focus groups can be an effective marketing research tool. But like all tools, they need to be used properly in order to provide meaningful results. The most successful focus groups include the following characteristics:

  • Appropriate research objectives

Robert Bohle, president of Focus on Issues, a St. Louis-based marketing consulting and research company, says the primary purpose of focus groups is to test and develop hypotheses. "Focus groups help define various customer population segments. They help companies make better judgments," says Bohle.

William Newbold, supervisor of marketing research at Detroit Edison adds, "Focus groups are ideal for concept testing, copy testing and preliminary advertising testing." The focus group format allows the moderator to "change things on the fly and retest it. When you need a real fast turnaround and fast input," focus groups are appropriate, Newbold says.

Bohle points out, however, that focus groups have a major limitation - they only provide directional information.

  • A skilled moderator

The central figure in focus groups is the moderator, who guides and leads the discussion. This role is crucial to the overall success of the groups. However, a good moderator must walk a tightrope between asking questions and eliciting feedback from all of the respondents. "The moderator has to be able to manage without leading (the respondents) and has to be able to control strong personalities in the group," Newbold says. "A moderator is 70 percent of what you get from a focus group. The moderator has to make everyone feel important, so they will talk."

"You need a good moderator who knows the issues but isn't defensive - a moderator can't be too close to the issues. It should be a third party," says Robert Sitkauskas, director of communications technology for Detroit Edison's VRU system. Bohle agrees. "The discussion guide and the moderator are key. The most important part is the ability of the moderator to listen and probe without passing judgment."

  • Good recruiting

Another key to good focus groups is proper recruiting. Good representation is crucial for achieving meaningful results. "The recruiting should be really representative of the customer base," says Newbold. Representative and balanced focus groups were one reason Detroit Edison's VRU groups were so successful. Sitkauskas says focus groups are ideal for eliciting customer responses from a variety of demographic groups relatively quickly and easily.

  • Well-planned discussion guide

While Detroit Edison's focus groups had a clear agenda, Detroit Edison was careful to build flexibility and fluidity into the groups. "You should have an agenda," Sitkauskas explains, "but not a rule-based agenda." Bohle adds that a discussion guide should be just that - a guide. Part of the success will depend upon the ability of the moderator and the respondents to go beyond the original guide and delve into the important underlying issues.

Indeed, the accessibility issue was never a part of the original focus groups moderator's guide. The utility thought power outages were the problem. However, the moderator uncovered inaccessibility as an underlying problem.

  • Proper environment

Creating the proper environment is another key to the overall success of focus groups. To be truly effective, the research sponsors must establish the proper setting. "The setting has to provide the kind of environment where you can communicate not what you want to hear, but what you ought to hear," Bohle says.

  • Interpretation

Focus groups are meaningless if the findings are not interpreted correctly. You need someone insightful to draw the conclusions from the groups, says Newbold, to make sure the findings are put in their proper context. "People can jump to conclusions based on focus groups and can be misled by one strong personality. We advocate holding multiple groups." Sitkauskas agrees, stressing that reliance on just one group can lead to skewed results.