Keeping it in Focus

A focus group can really surprise you. You ask them to react to three possible new logos for your company, and everybody picks the one your team dismissed. Or the group really values the core services you offer, but would never use the innovative new service you were about to introduce. These surprising insights are what make focus groups such an important market research tool.

Remember that the results from a focus group are qualitative, not quantitative. They can’t be statistically projected to your entire customer base. But a carefully organized, well-conducted focus group can be remarkably accurate, giving you a close-up look at real people, with very definite opinions.

You may put together a focus group to test a new branding concept ... get insights about your target market’s buying preferences ... reveal shifts in buying patterns ... investigate new markets ... discover more effective marketing tactics – the list is limited only by your curiosity and ingenuity.

Define the Questions and Participants

An effective focus group begins with a well-defined set of questions. What exactly do you want to find out? The more concrete and specific the question, the better. How receptive would my existing customers be to e-mail marketing? is a better question than What do people think of my company? It’s a good idea to work closely with your marketing firm, who can help you develop and refine your focus group objectives.

And of course you need to decide what kind of people you want in the group. Prospects? Existing customers? Both? You should plan on at least two group sessions, with 10 or 15 people in each one. A college designing a marketing program might put together a focus group of high school juniors. A business trying to improve its customer response time could put together a group of its own employees.

Choose a Facilitator

The facilitator will lead the group, so you’ll need somebody who can present well, and work effectively with a group of people, drawing out the non-leaders and quieting down the chatterboxes. You may hire a company that specializes in focus groups, or find a facilitator on your own staff.

Working with the facilitator, plan the time. Most focus groups take about two hours. Many groups begin with warm-up discussion, and move to more general topics such as the participants’ buying patterns or product/service preferences. A skilled facilitator will use different techniques to elicit responses, such as brainstorming and voting. Typically, the identity of your company will not be revealed until the latter part of the group, when you might ask participants to respond to a logo, a tagline, an ad campaign or some other new initiative.

Recruit the Group

Participants should be reasonably articulate and intelligent, and representative of the people whose opinion you’re interested in. If it’s your existing customers, you already have a list; prepare an invitation that clearly states your purpose for hosting the group, and offer a stipend – usually $100 or $150 – for their participation. Or you may acquire a target group list and have sales reps telephone people until your groups are assembled. Some focus group companies prepare brief qualifying interviews to verify that participants will be the people you really want to hear from.

Collect the Information

Make sure the room is big enough to hold everybody comfortably, and provide refreshments, notepads, pens or pencils, and flip charts and markers for brainstorming and other exercises. A two-hour focus group will generate a lot of information; at a minimum, audiotape it – a videotape can be even more useful, if it doesn’t interfere with group process. (Reassure people that the tapes will be used only internally.)

After the group is over, the team should meet to debrief, sharing first impressions of what they’ve learned. Prepare a summary report and distribute it to the team. If it’s in the budget, make a transcript of the tape, which can be a valuable mine of information for months to come. And don’t forget those participant thank you notes!

For information on how Sullivan Creative can help you with your next marketing program, email us at team @ sullivancr.com.

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Aim for the Target

For a really substantial response from top decision makers, invest the time and money in a targeted dimensional mailing. A well-designed dimensional mailing will get their attention. Timely personalized follow-up will get their business.

Set your imagination free! Some recent, effective mailings have used Rawlings baseball bats for a mailing at the opening of baseball season; a kite, kite string and key, with a Ben Franklin theme; and a box of homemade chocolates. Whatever it is, put your logo on it. Food items are always popular, generally less expensive, and often get passed around the office, getting your name out there in front of more people.

Presentation is everything. Put some time and work into the details. Use colorful packing materials, ribbon, and a nicely printed card placed strategically in the package and signed by the same sales rep who’ll be doing the follow-up call. With all the handwork, limit your mailing to 1,000 pieces, tops.

Qualify your list. With something this nice, you want to reach your top prospects – CFOs, CIOs, people who are making the "buy" decisions. Start with a good list, and then make pre-qualifying calls to tighten it up even more.

Keep the response simple. Don’t ask these people to go register on a web site. Invite them to an exclusive presentation, or direct them to a booth at a conference they may be attending. This is a one-on-one marketing pitch; make the tone friendly and personal.

Use 3rd-party mailing. A package from Fed Ex or UPS looks urgent – they’re more likely to open it.

Follow up! This is the most critical part: the sales force must follow up within a week. If limited resources mean you have to stagger the drop, do it that way. Don’t worry: if it’s a well-designed piece, they’ll remember it ... and you should enjoy a return rate double to triple that of traditional direct mail.

team @ sullivancr.com
www.sullivancreative.com