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Focus Groups For Less : Using A Freelance Focus Groups Moderator |
When you face a marketing problem, such as where to focus product development resources or how consumers make decisions within the category, focus groups are a popular market research solution.
However, if you want to use focus groups to gain insights from consumers, a freelance focus group moderator can be a cost effective alternative to services offered by market research companies, says focusfreelance.com.
Focus groups are group research discussions facilitated by a trained moderator, with real consumers who are carefully selected against an agreed profile. The purpose of focus groups is usually to gain detailed insights into consumers' purchasing and usage behaviour, including attitudes to your brand and competitors and reaction to new ideas for your brand. These can include:
- New products
- Advertising campaigns
- Promotions
- Category management tactics or solutions, such as point of sale.
A project normally consists of a number of focus groups, to gain detailed market research insights across more than one target consumer group (e.g. pre-family, young family, older family and empty nesters) and location (e.g. south and north). More than one focus group of each profile is recommended, to ensure consistency of findings.
Many research and marketing agencies use freelance market research consultants to deliver projects for their clients and focusfreelance now allows you to tap into this cost effective resource.
Here are some examples of freelance focus groups and projects we have delivered for our high profile clients - but equally illustrate common uses for focus groups:
- Gaining insights to the brand's customer base and identifying key decision-drivers and segments, to focus advertising and brand development activity
- Understanding shoppers' needs from the retail store, store usage, strengths and weaknesses versus other stores and priorities for store redevelopment expenditure
- Exploring purchasing and consumption habits in relation to a food category and reaction to new product concepts for a high profile brand
- Understanding the viability for an existing brand to stretch into a new category
- Gaining feedback from initial product testing and packaging designs, from the brand's target consumers
- Exploring reactions to educational support/store loyalty programmes and appeal of new promotional concepts
- Measuring the delivery of the category offer, on a number of category dimensions and in relation to purchasing behaviour, within a complex seasonal market
Freelance focus groups providers, such as focusfreelance, can conduct your market research project as if you were using a normal research agency, but without the typical overheads of market research companies.
They can ensure that your research brief is understood and well interpreted, your market research project is designed for your budget and you are involved at every stage to ensure that you gain the insights you need from your focus groups and other market research.
So next time you have a marketing question to answer, or an idea to test, why not explore the freelance option and make your budget go further?
focusfreelance conducts research projects for a number of high profile clients and market research agencies, and we offer advice and practical interpretation based on more than 15 years real marketing experience. For further information, visit www.focusfreelance.com or call 020 7993 6137 / 0113 322 6454.
Barney's insights are based on more than 15 years senior marketing experience both client and agency side, working on projects for major brands. His experience covers market research, brand development, new product development, marketing communications and category management. Barney is an MRS trained focus group moderator and conducts market research on behalf of major branded clients and market research agencies alike. For further information, visit <a href="http://www.focusfreelance.com">www.focusfreelance.com</a> or call 020 7993 6137 / 0113 322 6454.
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