Consisting of people connected together via the Internet, online focus groups are an up and coming way of conducting qualitative research in a secure, engaging and vibrant environment.
Because online communication removes many of the logistical problems facing traditional face to face focus groups, they are more cost effective, quicker and easier to implement.
Benefits
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Easier to set up and more cost effective than off line groups
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Respondents can participate from different regions, reducing regional bias
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Faster turnaround than offline groups - response is captured in real-time and projects can be completed within 7 days
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Everyone plays an active role and responds to all questions
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Participant anonymity removes peer group pressure meaning more open and honest opinions
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In comparative studies e-groups found to deliver either the same or better quality of insight (due to 'comfortable' environment)
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Ability for moderator and participants to present and interact directly (point, tick, rank etc.) collectively, with a wide range of media: including images, video clips & websites (rather than viewing on a presentation screen, for example
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No travel and venue hire costs
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Easier for client observers to 'remotely' attend and to make suggestions during the group
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Participants enjoy the experience and easy access means better attendance rate
Typical Problems Businesses Face
Choosing between online focus groups and offline focus groups.
In general, offline research can take a long time (typically 2-3 months from brief to de-brief) to complete, and one of the main problems faced is the difficulty of getting everyone in the group together at the same time.
Also, in a face to face environment, peer pressure can be a very real problem, and change opinions, thereby altering results significantly.
Online focus groups, apart from being significantly more cost effective, also enable research across multiple geographical locations. Indeed thanks to the anonymity that online communication offers, it’s hard to find a medium more conducive to real answers, especially when researching sensitive subjects.
More generally the typical problems clients have are research related so, they need to know more about any number of things - feedback on proposition/concept evaluation, relevance of advertising & marketing messages, customer experience, employee insights etc.
Clear Advantages
Online qualitative research is offered by very few other organisations, and the main difference between those that do, and us, is that we have been doing this for longer than most, making our approach, discussion guide creation and integration with online stimulus materials top of the line.
Our online research platform structure and content is visually appealing, informative, and designed to get you the answers you want, quickly, and efficiently.
We know how to begin, run and wind down an online focus group effectively, and then analyse the results to get you the information your business requires.
How It Works
The process goes something like this:
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The client research brief is turned into a discussion guide which covers the actual questions we will ask in the online focus group. Ad-hoc questions can also be asked while the discussion is underway, so the discussion guide provides the basic outline and running order.
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As part of the discussion guide we will propose relevant stimulus material for participants to view. This could include a wide range of multi-media content types.
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To recruit participants, we then build the profile of the people we need for each group and run screener questions to the online panel to ensure the right profile of participant is achieved.
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Participants access the online focus group via a one click link in an email.
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Once recruited, we then run the online focus groups with each session lasting from 60 – 90 minutes.
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Hard copy transcripts of the groups are available within 24hrs and analyzed.
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Client research debrief within 7 days.
Main Feature
Participants of online focus groups interact in real time with other people, regardless of geographical location or time of day. Because of this, travel and venue costs are eliminated, making for quicker, and more cost effective research that is without any kind of regional bias.
Checklist
When looking for someone to deliver online qualitative research for your company, here are some of the characteristics to look for:
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A company with an understanding of and experience in online research
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A supplier that has dealt extensively with focus groups, both online and offline
Choose Us
Not convinced?
We offer a free demo group so that you can see all the benefits of online focus groups first hand before having to commit to a package.
We have the expertise, experience and perhaps most importantly a real conviction that online research is the way to go, and will make sure that your results really tell you what you want to know.
