Focus Group: Dead or Alive?
Posted by goodmind on March 19th, 2009
“Listen Up, Marketers: The Focus Group is Dead”, thus begins a blog post yesterday by Catharine Taylor on Media Post. Since the article was posted yesterday afternoon, there have been over 30 (lengthy) comments/reactions to this. Some agree with her (or at least commend her for being so bold), and some do not:
For:
Bravo Cathy! Another case of calling out the old guard and questioning obsolete thinking still alive and well at many big agencies. Why still use focus groups? Because after countless days behind two way glass eating M&M’s, it’s clear to me an industrial complex has been built around the mutual admiration of this awkward tactic. In other words, agencies and research companies know how to make money doing focus groups. -Jamie Tedford from Brand Networks Inc.
Couldn’t agree more. In fact I think the old model of recruitment and focus group testing will be dead if not nearly dead in a few years. -Jim Lefevere from Independent
Against:
Ummm..let’s try and remember for what we USE focus groups. Focus groups are “directional”. That is, they should be used in the early stages of a project to get input from real life consumers. They are not intended to be the “be all and end all” of market research.
I would never say the focus group is dead. I would say that social media gives us some new tools to use to test ideas.
Nice attention grabbing headline and great quotes…but let’s get serious! -Maryanne Conlin from MMG
I think some of you are drinking your own Kool-Aid. I can’t wait until “social media” agencies have to rename themselves when social media “dies.” C’mon, why would anyone say any form of listening is dead? That’s just ridiculous. Wasn’t anyone listening to Obama? Enough with the grandiose statements and generalizations. Enough with this black and white approach. There are no easy answers to complex problems. -Jesse Dienstag from DGWB
We do not think the focus group is dead. The focus group is still an important part of the research methodology arsenal, if you will. It allows us to listen, glean insight, and move forward effectively with product or concept development. But the main takeaway is that when trying to obtain consumer feedback, it’s not just about listening, but listening to the RIGHT people, in the right context.
There’s a difference between focus group participants and the consumers you find through social media outlets. Research participants are motivated (by M&Ms & $$$) and cognizant of their role. Consumers involved in social media are motivated by a desire to participate and potentially influence an outcome. They are noticing events like Motrin Moms and Tropicana and are seeing just how potentially powerful and influential they can be.
There’s a place for focus groups. There’s a place for Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, and other forms of social media in the research process. You just need to use them smartly and responsibly.
Is Research Overrated?
Posted by goodmind on December 4th, 2008
Today’s New York Times poses an interesting question: do we overrate basic research?
It’s a pretty loaded piece that takes on most of today’s favorite faux-controversial topics (Mr. Obama’s BlackBerry, the rise of China and India, America’s declining economy, and techno-nationalism). We almost didn’t make it through the entire article, when it seemed to suggest that as a nation, we ought to cut spending on research.
However, the reasoning behind this blasphemy is basically sound. According to Amar Bhidé, a professor at the Columbia Business School, the possibility for “midlevel innovation” is inevitably lost in the shuffle of a big research budget allocated from on high.
Midlevel innovation is defined as anything
…from a venture capitalist tweaking a business model to trim costs by a few percent to a technician fine-tuning his company’s business software to save a couple of data-entry steps in the accounting department.
It basically boils down to finding new ways of using existing technology, not spending big bucks to invent something totally new from scratch. It makes sense, and its something we’ve been helping clients do for a long time through research.
Most companies today need research in the first place, because they have previously relied on the latest technology to solve all of their business problems. Our task is to figure out how to help them use it efficiently, effectively, and profitably.
The Secret to Professional Success
Posted by goodmind on September 29th, 2008
One of our favorite ways to knock out a quick and easy blog post is to discuss (take a shot at) the cause and effect relationship between Facebook activity, and employment situation. We post about Facebook a lot, so we couldn’t resist when Stan Schroeder over at Mashable had this to say about the career intelligence of heavy Facebook use;
If you’re a Facebook user and are at the same time interested in doing whatever you can to help your country, you may have seen an odd advertising campaign there from Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service.
The Facebook ads bear text messages such as “Time for a career change? MI6 can use your skills. Join us as an operational officer collecting and analysing global intelligence to protect the UK.” Obviously, someone over there at the secret service thinks that an average superpokin’, donut throwin’, penguin fondlin’ Facebook fiend is spy material. When I think about it, perhaps they’re right – who else is better suited to do deep data analysis than someone who hasn’t got anything better to do than waste time on Facebook all day?
As a market research firm, maybe we should consider recruiting a few of these prime analytic minds from the Facebook talent pool…
Educated Readers
Posted by goodmind on September 2nd, 2008
Website usability isn’t all about having tabbed navigation and an intuitive layout. The language used within a webpage is of course quite central to user experience. Interestingly, language can also undermine user expectations. Take for example a recent post by Alain Thys on the Marketing and Strategy Innovation Blog.
Using SMOG (a formula used to translate the readability of a text into a score), it’s possible to estimate the level of education needed to read and understand the content of your website. Thys ran a little experiment with several well known brands, using random paragraphs from the “About Us” pages. The results from this informal study are included below;
| Brand |
Score | Education Level |
| Nintendo | 10.49 | Some High School |
| General Electric | 12.49 | High School Graduate |
| Goodmind | 13.06 | Some College |
| McDonalds | 13.25 | Some College |
| IKEA | 13.35 | Some College |
| Honda | 13.49 | Some College |
| Nike | 14.40 | Some College |
| Citi | 15.00 | Some College |
| HP | 15.76 | Some College |
| Porsche | 15.85 | Some College |
| Samsung | 16.69 | University Degree |
| SAP | 16.69 | University Degree |
| Disney | 17.66 | Post-Graduate Studies |
| Microsoft | 17.75 | Post-Graduate Studies |
| Starbucks | 18.49 | Post-Graduate Studies |
User Experience Design
Posted by goodmind on August 28th, 2008
Having recently invested in some usability testing technology for research purposes, we’re bummed we overlooked the Experience Recorder from designer Valeria Fuso.
It’s basically a sophisticated glove in a neon color scheme, with a rich feature set, including a movement sensor, audio recorder, still-image camera, video camera, thermometer, and a wireless computer connection. Plus, the Experience Recorder can;
…record on auto mode, deciding on its own which information to collect, or on manual mode. While in manual mode, the user must activate the Experience Recorder through sensors in the fingers of the glove. For instance, if the user of the Experience Recorder is in manual mode and wishes to record video, they make their fingers into an O shape, and look through the newly formed finger-viewfinder to see what will be recorded. (via Yanko Design)
Fashionable and functional.
What’s in a Name?
Posted by goodmind on July 29th, 2008
Within the past year, alternative operating systems (as in non-Microsoft) have been gaining market share. This trend coincided with the well documented release and consumer fall out over Windows Vista. According to recent research, it looks like Vista may have one more competitor;
Microsoft has a secret new operating system they’re showing to XP-using Vista haters, reports Cnet’s Ina Fried. Codenamed “Mojave,” over 90 percent of the focus groups in San Francisco loved it, with at least one moved to effuse, “Oh wow,” while using it. When can you get hold of this wondrous new operating system? Right now. Mojave is actually just plain ol’ Windows Vista. (via Gizmodo)
For what it’s worth, if we didn’t have to go through the process of installing Vista, we’d probably like it too.
(If you want to know more about the ‘behind the scenes’ reality of software development and release, we recommend the novel to your left)
Brand New Brand Study
Posted by goodmind on June 25th, 2008
Dissecting brand meaning, and what precisely makes a meaningful brand, is popular fodder for the academic disciplines, and better business blogs. It’s also a key component of what we do as market researchers, and we spend a lot of mental energy thinking up new ways to induce consumer definitions of xyz brand, and unpack what said brand “means.”
As such, we’ll be giving this pithy brand map technique from Dear Jane Sample some serious consideration;
Why is mapping exercise this significant from a research perspective? Excellent question, and Grant McCracken has an excellent response;
Noah’s brand tag exercise defines brands in terms of our adjectives. Jane’s project gives us a chance to see how we define ourselves in terms of brands.
This is both halves of advertising’s meaning making arc. Meaning goes into brands. Meaning comes out of brands into us. (emphasis ours)
In a sense, both halves are pretty obvious, or else companies wouldn’t come to us to find out what their customers say/think/feel about their brand/product/service. However, like academics and bloggers, consumers are quick to focus on the theoretical, or abstract meaning that defines a brand. This technique of “brand mapping” seems to ground the definition of a brand within daily life, thus revealing how the meaning (not the brand itself) manifests in actual consumer behavior.
Social Media Resistance Survey
Posted by goodmind on June 6th, 2008
Jacob Morgan wrote a handy post for bub.blicio.us yesterday, summarizing the topline findings from the “Social Media Resistance Survey” (conducted by the USC Marshall School of Business, and the Institute for Communication Technology Management).
We found one of his observations on the wording of a question particularly interesting, partly because the question might actually suggest a larger trend in the way people want to use social media;
Most companies believe that online video, rss feeds, and podcasting are the most valuable tools a company can use in order to enhance a company image or increase productivity. If you’re thinking what I’m thinking then you’re right. Aren’t enhancing a company image and increase productivity 2 separate things? I think so. Business network sites came in 4th place followed closely by social media news releases. (emphasis ours)
Maybe the folks at USC and the CTM are onto something here, since productivity is a meaningful component of company image. After all, outward bound social media applications, such as online video, are an efficient (productive) way to enhance image, create buzz, all that good stuff.
Maybe the small, mid, and large size companies surveyed don’t see image and productivity as totally distinct concepts. How else can you explain the disappointing fourth place finish of business network sites (without acknowledging the personal image benefits)?
The New Anti-Smoking Lobby
Posted by goodmind on May 14th, 2008
The mobileYouth Survey, a global study “covering youth lifestyle trends and mobile consumption” revealed some interesting insights into kids these days. While wireless providers will likely focus on findings such as “Youths spend 8 times more on mobile than on music,” it’s also important to note that youth smoking is on the decline as mobile phone ownership rises.
Although it’s probably pretty likely that cell phones and cigs pose the same cancer risk, don’t be surprised to hear this statistic recycled at cocktail parties and corporate events –or for that matter, during a pre-teen lobby for a mobile device. Next we’ll be hearing accusations of the Verizon spokesman targeting tweens. Oh wait…
What Personality Type Are You?
Posted by goodmind on April 22nd, 2008
Can’t decide whether the glass is half full, or half empty? Then try a more conclusive test to see if you’re really an optimist, or a pessimist, particularly as it relates to your business pursuits, and brand identity. Determine whether the following statement is a pleasant, or an unpleasant truth;
“no matter what kind of company you are, your customers are having a conversation about your products and practices.” (Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com)
No matter which camp you fall in, it’s definitely an absolute truth, one that Salesforce.com has harnessed via their “Ideas” platform. (Making them realists, we suppose). Dell and Starbucks have already begun co-rendering the insights of customers, as brand notoriety is no longer a guaranteed glass half full scenario. In Dell’s case, it’s a box mostly empty.
