Focus groups have been a great tool for market research in Melbourne and across the globe for many years. However, organising a successful marketing focus group can be difficult if you don’t have a plan in place. A focus group can help your business create realistic goals, employ customer-building techniques and help the public understand your business model. These two simple, but important, steps can help you establish a thorough and beneficial Melbourne market research focus group.
STEP ONE: Engage a local market research company in Melbourne to assist you in organising a targeted focus group for your needs.
When selecting a focus group, you want to make certain that they specialize in the type of market research you need. By choosing a local market research company in Melbourne they are more likely to understand your market and have experience running similar focus groups to what you are looking for. From choosing the correct venue to making sure that they have qualified professionals to run the focus group and making them aware of the desired outcome of the focus group as it pertains to your product or service.
There are multiple reasons for a company to engage in focus groups as a market research tool and various ways to conduct a focus group. After you have chosen a market research company in Melbourne, make sure they have the ability to showcase your company’s business model with consistency and have a goal-oriented plan aimed at growing your business. To do this they need to have clear and measurable objectives for the focus group. This will help keep discussions on track and ensure that you reach the desired outcome of the focus group.
STEP TWO: Choose the participants for the focus group to satisfy your market research objectives
Participants should be chosen with care and planning. The ideal number of any successful focus group is between 10-15 people. Using a small group encourages open and honest dialogue. Establish your desired demographic, whether it is a particular age group, sex, or other characteristic, knowing whom your product or service appeals to is part of any desirable marketing strategy. However, within your selected demographic, try to establish a wide variety of attendees.
People are more willing to participate in a focus group if they “get something” out of it. Make sure that your focus group participants feel that their opinions are important to your company, and that you appreciate them. You can do this by providing them with free products or valuable offers, giving them special promotional offers that are just for participants or other ways to show them that their time and effort is important to you.
A straightforward agenda, with all elements executed with precision will ensure the data collected can be used to better market your product or service.
Having a clear objective, ready and willing participants, and choosing the right market research company in Melbourne will ensure that your focus group is a success. Focus Groups provide authentic insight into what consumers think and feel about a product, how they would use it, why they like or dislike it, and what they would do to change it for the better. They are a great way to refine products and the outcome can be incorporated into various design and marketing activities for your company.
It is essential, however, that a successful focus group be run by professionals that can not only choose the participants and guide the agenda, but can establish a clear line of communication directly with the consumer.
Want to learn more about how to choose a Melbourne market research company? Check out this article 5 things to consider when choosing a market research company in Melbourne.
