The Right Way to Do Focus Groups

Many marketers love focus groups. They think getting feedback is valuable.

To some degree, sure. But there’s a lot about the way they’re often done that doesn’t work.

First, most “people” aren’t qualified to give feedback. Only legitimate prospects with a need for the product are worth listening to. Not “people,” whether that be your brother’s wife, the guys in your bowling club or your workout buddy.

(Unless they’re actual prospects, of course.)

Second, many people tell you what you want to hear, not what they actually think. They don’t want to hurt your feelings. They don’t want to criticize. And so they won’t give you the feedback you need to improve.

Third, there’s a big difference between intention and action.

We all intend to eat healthier, exercise more, and maintain a work-life balance.

And yet we end up eating whatever’s in the house, going for a nap instead of a run, and working more than we should.

So how do we get useful data from focus groups? A few tips:

One: Know exactly who your customer is and only invite those people to join.

Two: Don’t ask them “like” questions (i.e. “do you like such and such?” or “how do you like such and such?”)

Instead, ask them “engagement” questions… “Of these bullet points, which ones make you want to know more?” or “What do you need to see to start using this product?” “What would hold you back from using this product?”

Three: Test the results of the focus group as soon as possible. If it’s a product, run copy as if the product changes were already made and see if people buy. If it’s a copy element, use Pay Per Click to see if that copy element works.

Customer feedback is indeed useful. So long as it’s qualified. And can be tested.