• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
QuestionPro

QuestionPro

questionpro logo
  • Products
    survey software iconSurvey softwareEasy to use and accessible for everyone. Design, send and analyze online surveys.research edition iconResearch SuiteA suite of enterprise-grade research tools for market research professionals.CX iconCustomer ExperienceExperiences change the world. Deliver the best with our CX management software.WF iconEmployee ExperienceCreate the best employee experience and act on real-time data from end to end.
  • Solutions
    IndustriesGamingAutomotiveSports and eventsEducationGovernment
    Travel & HospitalityFinancial ServicesHealthcareCannabisTechnology
    Use CaseAskWhyCommunitiesAudienceContactless surveysMobile
    LivePollsMember ExperienceGDPRPositive People Science360 Feedback Surveys
  • Resources
    BlogeBooksSurvey TemplatesCase StudiesTrainingHelp center
  • Features
  • Pricing
Language
  • English
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Português (Portuguese (Brazil))
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Hebrew IL (Hebrew)
  • ไทย (Thai)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • Portuguese de Portugal (Portuguese (Portugal))
Call Us
+1 800 531 0228 +1 (647) 956-1242 +52 999 402 4079 +49 301 663 5782 +44 20 3650 3166 +81-3-6869-1954 +61 2 8074 5080 +971 529 852 540
Log In Log In
SIGN UP FREE

Home Market Research

Focus Group Alternatives for Tight Marketing Budgets

I wonder if you think that focus groups are.  With the onset of social media, it might be tempting to put focus groups on the back burner of your market research plan.  After all, they are expensive and time-consuming.  But that doesn’t mean that they are unnecessary.

Focus Groups 101

A focus group is method of quantitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions about a product and other aspects related to the product like its packaging, service idea, advertising and service. An interactive group is formed and participants are free to talk with other group members, so basically a discussion group is formed and people are led towards discussing various aspects about a product or service. Ernest Dichter coined this term and now it is one of the most popular method to estimate and measure consumer satisfaction.

Here are a few ways that focus groups are used in a variety of disciplines:

In marketing

Focus groups are used to acquire feedback regarding new product, as well as various topics in the field of business marketing. This is helpful for the new companies that are planning to develop some new product. It helps them to discuss about it as well as test it before it is launched. The information so derived is priceless and provides a lot of information about the potential market acceptance of the product.

In social sciences

Through focus groups, people in the field of social sciences and urban planning can study people in a more natural setting than a one-to-one interview. The discussions through focus group can be used for gaining access to various cultural and social groups and to explore unexpected issues. Focus groups are cost effective and yield quick and believable results.

Types of Focus Groups

In traditional focus groups, respondents are screened in a room to ensure that they are part of the relevant target market and they are representative of subgroup of this market segment. The group consists of usually 6 to 10 members and the session usually lasts for 1 to 2 hours. Subgroup analysis is crucial for tailoring treatments to specific patient groups, optimizing healthcare outcomes. A moderator is there to lead and facilitate the group discussion which is observed by clients from behind through a one-way mirror.

The video tape of discussion can be made which can be used by researchers to examine more than the spoken words. Additional information is gained through interpretation of facial expressions, body language, and group dynamics. Information gained from this group dynamics is invaluable and give researchers a precise insight into the minds of respondents

The various kinds of focus groups are as follows, the names are generally self explanatory::

  • 2-way focus group
  • Dual or double moderator focus group
  • Dueling moderators focus group
  • Respondent moderators focus group
  • Client participation focus groups
  • Mini or micro focus groups
  • Teleconferencing focus groups
  • Online focus groups

Modern Alternatives to Traditional Focus Groups

I started this article by promising you focus group alternatives for today’s modern marketers and here they are:

  1. Online communities: The most obvious and free online community is a Facebook group.  You can have private as well as public Facebook groups.  These are a quick and easy way to engage with your customers and prospects.  You can use some of the similar methodologies to facilitate and administer the groups.
  2. Mobile research: There are several mobile platforms that allow for community engagement around a specific topic. With 87% of the world’s population now mobile subscribers, we are in a great position to leverage the power of mobile research. Its applications can range from simple SMS text messaging interactions to leveraging expanded mobile capabilities like video, QR code scanning and location-based data.
  3. Video diaries and photo diaries: These can easily be incorporated using your QuestionPro tool that allows for the uploading of pictures.
  4. Online Chat:  Why not use Google Hangouts to conduct online chats either via video or text.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE:

About the author
Ivana Taylor
Ivana Taylor provides DIY Marketing advice, marketing trends and marketing how-to tips and strategies for small business owners and CEOs.
View all posts by Ivana Taylor

Primary Sidebar

Research what's on your mind. Find out what's on theirs!

A suite of tools to leverage research and transform insights.

Discover our insight platform

RELATED ARTICLES

HubSpot - QuestionPro Integration

Learn from the Vodafone Customer Experience Strategy

Sep 15,2023

HubSpot - QuestionPro Integration

11 Best Employee Onboarding and Training Software in 2025

Mar 27,2024

HubSpot - QuestionPro Integration

Nugget of Information: What it is & Why It's Important

Aug 31,2022

BROWSE BY CATEGORY

  • Academic
  • Academic Research
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Assessments
  • Audience
  • Brand Awareness
  • Business
  • Case Studies
  • Communities
  • Consumer Insights
  • Customer effort score
  • Customer Engagement
  • Customer Experience
  • Customer Loyalty
  • Customer Research
  • Customer Satisfaction
  • CX
  • Employee Benefits
  • Employee Engagement
  • Employee Engagement
  • Employee Retention
  • Enterprise
  • Events
  • Forms
  • Friday Five
  • General Data Protection Regulation
  • Guest Post
  • Insights Hub
  • Life@QuestionPro
  • LivePolls
  • Market Research
  • Marketing
  • Mobile
  • Mobile App
  • Mobile diaries
  • Mobile Surveys
  • New Features
  • non-profit
  • NPS
  • Online Communities
  • Polls
  • Question Types
  • Questionnaire
  • QuestionPro
  • QuestionPro Products
  • Release Notes
  • Research Tools and Apps
  • Revenue at Risk
  • Startups
  • Survey Templates
  • Surveys
  • Tech News
  • Tips
  • Training
  • Training Tips
  • Trending
  • Tuesday CX Thoughts (TCXT)
  • Uncategorized
  • VOC
  • Webinar
  • Webinars
  • What’s Coming Up
  • Workforce
  • Workforce Intelligence

Footer

MORE LIKE THIS

albertsons-companies-nps-2025

Albertsons Companies NPS and Insights in 2025

May 23, 2025

data-augmentation

What is Data Augmentation? Methods & Uses in Research

May 22, 2025

livecast a new way to do research

Here’s how LiveCast can help you survive the great Stanley Cup debate of 2025

May 22, 2025

Credit-Unions-NPS-2025

Credit Unions NPS Leading in Loyalty in 2025

May 21, 2025

Other categories

  • Academic
  • Academic Research
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Assessments
  • Audience
  • Brand Awareness
  • Business
  • Case Studies
  • Communities
  • Consumer Insights
  • Customer effort score
  • Customer Engagement
  • Customer Experience
  • Customer Loyalty
  • Customer Research
  • Customer Satisfaction
  • CX
  • Employee Benefits
  • Employee Engagement
  • Employee Engagement
  • Employee Retention
  • Enterprise
  • Events
  • Forms
  • Friday Five
  • General Data Protection Regulation
  • Guest Post
  • Insights Hub
  • Life@QuestionPro
  • LivePolls
  • Market Research
  • Marketing
  • Mobile
  • Mobile App
  • Mobile diaries
  • Mobile Surveys
  • New Features
  • non-profit
  • NPS
  • Online Communities
  • Polls
  • Question Types
  • Questionnaire
  • QuestionPro
  • QuestionPro Products
  • Release Notes
  • Research Tools and Apps
  • Revenue at Risk
  • Startups
  • Survey Templates
  • Surveys
  • Tech News
  • Tips
  • Training
  • Training Tips
  • Trending
  • Tuesday CX Thoughts (TCXT)
  • Uncategorized
  • VOC
  • Webinar
  • Webinars
  • What’s Coming Up
  • Workforce
  • Workforce Intelligence

questionpro-logo-nw
Help center Live Chat SIGN UP FREE
  • Sample questions
  • Sample reports
  • Survey logic
  • Branding
  • Integrations
  • Professional services
  • Security
  • Survey Software
  • Customer Experience
  • Workforce
  • Communities
  • Audience
  • Polls Explore the QuestionPro Poll Software - The World's leading Online Poll Maker & Creator. Create online polls, distribute them using email and multiple other options and start analyzing poll results.
  • Research Edition
  • LivePolls
  • InsightsHub
  • Blog
  • Articles
  • eBooks
  • Survey Templates
  • Case Studies
  • Training
  • Webinars
  • All Plans
  • Nonprofit
  • Academic
  • Qualtrics Alternative Explore the list of features that QuestionPro has compared to Qualtrics and learn how you can get more, for less.
  • SurveyMonkey Alternative
  • VisionCritical Alternative
  • Medallia Alternative
  • Likert Scale Complete Likert Scale Questions, Examples and Surveys for 5, 7 and 9 point scales. Learn everything about Likert Scale with corresponding example for each question and survey demonstrations.
  • Conjoint Analysis
  • Net Promoter Score (NPS) Learn everything about Net Promoter Score (NPS) and the Net Promoter Question. Get a clear view on the universal Net Promoter Score Formula, how to undertake Net Promoter Score Calculation followed by a simple Net Promoter Score Example.
  • Offline Surveys
  • Customer Satisfaction Surveys
  • Employee Survey Software Employee survey software & tool to create, send and analyze employee surveys. Get real-time analysis for employee satisfaction, engagement, work culture and map your employee experience from onboarding to exit!
  • Market Research Survey Software Real-time, automated and advanced market research survey software & tool to create surveys, collect data and analyze results for actionable market insights.
  • GDPR & EU Compliance
  • Employee Experience
  • Customer Journey
  • Synthetic Data
  • About us
  • Executive Team
  • In the news
  • Testimonials
  • Advisory Board
  • Careers
  • Brand
  • Media Kit
  • Contact Us

QuestionPro in your language

  • English
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Português (Portuguese (Brazil))
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Hebrew IL (Hebrew)
  • ไทย (Thai)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • Portuguese de Portugal (Portuguese (Portugal))

Awards & certificates

  • survey-leader-asia-leader-2023
  • survey-leader-asiapacific-leader-2023
  • survey-leader-enterprise-leader-2023
  • survey-leader-europe-leader-2023
  • survey-leader-latinamerica-leader-2023
  • survey-leader-leader-2023
  • survey-leader-middleeast-leader-2023
  • survey-leader-mid-market-leader-2023
  • survey-leader-small-business-leader-2023
  • survey-leader-unitedkingdom-leader-2023
  • survey-momentumleader-leader-2023
  • bbb-acredited
The Experience Journal

Find innovative ideas about Experience Management from the experts

  • © 2022 QuestionPro Survey Software | +1 (800) 531 0228
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Use