Focus Group

As part of my capstone project, a focus group will be conducted tonight.  It has been delayed for two weeks due to some practical reasons (mostly because it's difficult to get a group of people together upon everyone's busy schedule). I am excited that finally this is going to happen.  To be honest, I had never learnt about focus group before until in one of the marketing classes.  I have never attended a focus group as a participant, let alone as a moderator.   So tonight would be a great opportunity for me to experience and learn more about it, though it would a great challenge too.

The term 'Focus Group' was coined by psychologist and marketing expert Ernest Dichter.  A focus group, regarded by many as a group interview, is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked questions about their perceptions, beliefs or attitudes towards a certain topic.  In marketing, focus groups are usually used as an important tool for acquiring feedback from the participants regarding to a new product before it is launched.  It is intended to provide valuable insights about the potential market acceptance of the product.

It sounds easy, but it's not.  While preparing for the focus group, I met quite a few difficulties in booking a suitable conference room, getting the facilities for recording, inviting the attendants, scheduling the date and time, preparing the discussion guide, as well as preparing the food, drinks and gift cards as incentives, etc.  There was a time I felt doubted as to whether the outcome would pay off all the efforts we made.  Would the participants provide opinions that are valuable enough for us to draw some insights?   But I believe it mostly depends on how I do it rather than whether I do it.  Thus, I'm looking forward to the focus group tonight and hope the best is yet to come.