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Online Focus Groups are focus groups conducted online in an Internet chat
forum. Just like face-to-face
focus groups, online focus groups are discussions in which a professional
moderator asks a set of deliberate but open-ended questions in order to
explore respondents’ thoughts, feelings and habits on a subject.
The moderator conducts an online chat with pre-recruited respondents
who join the chat with a password which is emailed prior to the group.
Instead of watching behind a mirror, clients observe online focus
groups behind a firewall which allows them to see the comments without being
seen by the respondents. In
addition, clients can chat directly with the moderator during the discussion
without respondents knowing.
The
advantages of online focus groups can include quicker turnaround and lower
cost when compared to traditional face-to-face groups. Other reasons to
consider online focus groups include:
Ø
Web-Specific Topics – Online Focus Groups are conducted and
often recruited online, so they are well-suited to Web-specific topics, such
as Internet habits or evaluating Web sites.
Ø
Presentation of Stimuli – As with our online surveys, National
Market Measures can present advertising and design concepts to respondents
online, so that these groups can be adapted to a variety of topics.
Ø
Reaching Hard-to-Reach Respondents – Online Focus Groups are particularly useful for
projects where respondents in different geographic areas cannot participate in
face-to-face groups in the same city.
Online Focus Groups work for a variety of applications, including concept
and advertising testing, Web site review, Internet issues and any situation in
which respondent attendance is problematic.
Case
Study
An industrial products company looking to gauge the impact of marketing
materials as the company reshaped its image relied on NMM to conduct a
comprehensive research program including personal interviews, traditional
focus groups and online focus groups. With a strong market presence in one city and clients
throughout the country, the combined methodologies made sense as the company
looked to ensure its home base of customers liked the concepts, while new
potential customers were also open to the materials and messages.
As
one of the first companies to conduct an online focus group in conjunction
with a traditional focus group, we are familiar with the advantages and
disadvantages to the methodology.
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