Focus groups should conducted in a controlled setting with a skilled moderator who can assist with analysis and insights. Focus groups are designed to inform leadership as they create strategies, or refine offerings and vision. A well-run focus group can be very helpful to inform broader market trends, consumer preferences, brand perceptions and purchasing behaviors. This can be an especially attractive means of obtaining feedback as it genuinely reflects the voices of important stakeholders. There are a several benefits to focus groups as well as some limitations. Limitations may be managed with due diligence and, in particular, attention to informed consent (UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, 2024).
Benefits
- Nuanced customer preferences
- Deeper insights
- Realtime feedback
- Opportunities for clarification
- Idea generation, and
- Cost effectiveness
Limitations
- Moderator bias and influence
- Tendency for groupthink
- Small sample size – not generalizable
- Trained moderators may be expensive
- Privacy concerns
Focus group content, questions and reflections may include current working relationships, new initiatives and stakeholders, gaining consensus on a given topic, assessing program effectiveness and asking for feedback on a project website or program (John’s Hopkins University, 2024).
A focus group can be achieved in four distinct phases.
- Design,
- Data Collection,
- Analysis, and
- Results and reporting.
Best practices for conducting focus groups should include;
- Understanding the desired outcome in order to effectively guide discussions.
- Recruiting a diverse group that reflects the target audience of the research.
- Finding an experienced moderator who knows how to facilitate discussion and to establish and maintain healthy group dynamics.
- Ensuring safety and the ability to take measured risk within the group setting.
- Maintaining confidentiality and abiding by ethical standards.
- Respecting the timeframe of the focus group.
- Ensuring participation for all by attending to different interaction styles.
- Looking for patterns and themes in data while considering all perspectives.
At Woodland Strategies, a strategic consulting firm with primary offices in Minneapolis, MN, we offer a variety of services. This includes facilitating focus groups for a wide variety of organizations. We are trained facilitators and can help you with this type of qualitative research to take the pulse of how things are truly going for your various stakeholders. We work with local, national and international clientele.
A well-executed focus group can offer a wealth of qualitative information beyond any quantitative data. This can be very informative data for program evaluation and management. Information gleaned from a group such as this can help an organization create a strategic compass to help guide future efforts – with invested stakeholders’ voices guiding the way. Contact us at Woodland Strategies to get started today!
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