Online focus groups use chat and conferencing technology to enable real-time 'conversation' among a select group of consumers, businesspeople or experts, using a web browser. Their popularity among marketers is fast-growing with good reason: online groups offer a way to capture the complexity of consumer decision-making and 'consumer truths' without the expense and arduous efforts of travel, recordings and transcripts. Online focus groups can be used for a wide range of studies, from exploratory or 'ethnographic' research, to more traditional advertising copy research, concept testing and Web site usability research. Even product testing can be done online!

A Global Audience at Your Fingertips

Users of online groups often report that respondents are more honest and less influenced by peers in online settings than in face-to -face ones. Online groups are especially suitable when the population of interest is small or difficult to identify using traditional methods, but is equally useful for more general populations. Recruiting homogeneous groups of respondents from multiple geographies is a particular advantage of online focus groups, as compared to traditional focus groups. BrandAmplitude has successfully recruited and studied concession stand volunteers, band directors, heavy Internet shoppers, frequent movie goers, flavored rum users and owners of high end exercise equipment with online groups.

Hybrid Online Research Designs

Hybrid qualitative and quantitative research designs were invented as a way to get even more insights from online focus groups. In this approach, an online screener is used to survey a quantitative sample of consumers on category usage and attitudes as well as reactions to specific marketing ideas. Survey respondents are recruited for participation in online groups based on their survey responses. This is particularly effective for researching new concepts -- the quantitative research evaluates the concept appeal and research among concept acceptors provides insights about what is driving that appeal and how it can be enhanced and effectively communicated.

Experienced Online Researchers

As with any tool or method, online focus groups are only as effective as the experts who orchestrate them. BrandAmplitude was among the first brand strategy consulting firms to embrace online groups. In collaboration with Artafact Research, our consultants have been actively working to adapt traditional tools to the online environment since 2002. We've learned a lot about what works and what doesn't work and that experience helps us to design studies that make the most effective use of clients' research dollars. Our studies generally take just 3 weeks from inception to completion. Depending upon incidence levels and study complexity, projects can usually be accomplished for $25,000-$40,000. Our work is most effective when we actively collaborate with clients on developing the discussion guides, exercises and screeners to address business needs.

Focus Groups have Been Getting a Lot of Bad Press Lately

Malcolm Gladwell has spoken out against them in his book "Blink" and in several recent pre sentations . Business Week celebrated Gladwell’s perspective in a November 2005 article entitled “Shoot the Focus Group.”

Is it really a good idea to throw away this time-honored research
technique? We think not.