For businesses to thrive, looking at customer reviews is necessary to determine how to expand and grow. Whether they are a brick-and-mortar shop or an online store, listening to feedback from customers can help them understand what their target market expects from them. But to have a deeper understanding of the customers’ wants and needs, a market research focus group could be the best move for any type of business.
Focus Group Discussion (FGD) is one of the most popular user research principles. Focus groups aim to understand how the customers think and feel about a brand and its offerings, and their findings are usually amplified by more data coming from user experience research.
To help businesses determine if focus group discussions can be the best approach to help them formulate the right strategy for their brands, here are some of the most important details about this research method and how to determine the right time to use this approach.
What is a Focus Group Discussion
FGD is a research technique where the research facilitator gathers a group of people to talk about a specific subject. It aims to get information from the participants’ personal experiences, beliefs, and attitudes within a moderated interaction.
According to Social Research Update, discussions during focus groups enable participants to re-evaluate their own understanding of the subject, and interact and influence others, making it a good reflection of how a market can possibly behave. The report also claimed that focus groups can become a forum for change, which is valuable for businesses or organisations looking forward to improving their messaging or products and services.
In addition, focus groups can help businesses understand the factors that affect customer or user experience. But since the discussion participants often elicit spontaneous ideas and reactions, a one-on-one follow-up with each member of the group must be conducted to complete the user research.
In creating digital solutions such as websites or mobile apps, data from FGDs can be used to compare with usability testing data in later stages of product development.
How to Plan the Focus Group Discussions
Once an organisation decides to use the Focus Group method, as an effective tool in their market research plan, they need to find out when to best schedule the event to get the results that they aim for.
When planning for focus group sessions, it is crucial to consider the following variables:
- Number of focus groups to conduct
- Number of participants for each focus group
- Ideal venue to host the discussions
It is also necessary to determine the best person to host the discussions. In many tech-empowered countries, business decision-makers often have strict skill criteria for focus group hosts. For example, in the competitive Southeast Asian research market, with many research firms specializing in focus group discussion, Singapore firms only employ highly-trained facilitators to conduct their sessions.
When is the Best Time to Conduct a Focus Group
There are several ways to determine the proper timing for hosting a focus group discussion.
A) Find Out the Ideal Time of Year for Focus Group Participants
The first way to find the best schedule for hosting a focus group is to check if there is a convenient time for most, if not all, intended participants. Ideally, it is best to avoid setting a schedule that would conflict with holidays or major local events.
It is also necessary to consider the participants’ jobs that the researcher must contact for the focus group since they most likely adhere to strict schedules. For example, teachers are easier to gather during school breaks than during an ongoing academic year.
B) Pick the Right Day of the Week
Most market research firms suggest holding FGDs in the middle of the week. It can be anytime between Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.
Experts believe that Mondays are inconvenient for focus group research since the participants are often overwhelmed as they begin another busy workweek. Meanwhile, Fridays are very close to the weekend, making the participants want to finish everything as fast as possible to rest and relax.
Also, it is necessary to ensure that the session is worth the participants’ time to willingly engage with the research.
Conclusion
Hosting focus group discussions is highly beneficial for all businesses in Singapore and the rest of the world if they want to know the views and opinions of their customers. It works hand in hand with their strategies in verifying data in their usability testing process if they want to grow and expand their business.
To ensure that the company has the best plan to host a focus group discussion, they can work with a reliable user research and focus group discussion Singapore firm for assistance. Agencies like User Experience Researchers Singapore (USER) can provide them with all the tools and talents necessary in holding a successful focus group. To find out more about us and our services and products, visit our website or enquire at https://www.user.com.sg/contact/.
