What will the focus group of the future look like?


For those of us who were old enough to watch “The Brady Bunch” when it ran in prime time, today’s focus groups are shockingly similar to those at the beginning of our careers. Same one-way glass. Same semi-retired, ex-brand manager/mother of 1.5 children “moderating” the same group of target consumers gathered using more or less the same screening technique.


Didn’t anyone think of a better way of understanding our precious target audiences’ needs and motivations by now?


The focus groups of the future should look different in the following ways:


• We won’t spend 10 to 20 percent of our precious time with moderators and respondents introducing themselves to each other so they can feel “comfortable” answering questions honestly. Come on. In this era of “consumers in charge,” focus group respondents are not the least bit hesitant to tell us what they think and will be even less so in the future.


Painful as it can be, the people we pay to talk about our products or ideas aren’t generally looking to tell us what we want to hear. Cocktail party pleasantries are a thing of the past. These people are telling us what they think.


I’d bet that the respondents will answer as honestly, or perhaps even more honestly, than when they hear the same “I’m a completely objective observer” spiel delivered by 90 percent of focus group moderators across the country for the last 20 years. 


Instead, start by asking respondents a specific question to which you’d like an answer.


• We won’t have seven to 10 respondents for 90 to 120 minutes anymore.


In too many cases, the meaning of “focus” has been lost in our focus groups. Instead, they’ve become a catch-all for every wild hair that the extended marketing team may have. 


Respondents don’t want to focus on the things we care about for 120 minutes, and we shouldn’t try to make them. If we can’t hone our questions to be answered in 60 minutes, the problem is likely on our side. 


Additionally, it may be the “back room” that is really hurting for focus lately. The time and expense incurred by marketing executives attending focus groups in person, only to be immersed in work at the home front and end up asking, “What was that, again?” when respondents address questions, continues to amaze. 


It’s easy to fall into “back room” attention deficit disorder. It’s dark, fun people are gathered in a small space, and candy is abundant. It always was tough to focus in the back room. But the new variable is Internet access. Focus group facilities of the future should tout the absence of conductivity. We’ll learn more from the people who matter most and generate a better return on research.


• We’ll elevate the position of “moderator” to Consumer Scientist. This person will be trained in psychology to analyze not only what respondents say, but also what they mean. This trained professional will know how to understand what participants say, and be able to read their silences, their expressions and their interaction with information and the other respondents.


When will we see this focus group of the future? Ideally, tomorrow, but the optimist in me says five years. If I’m right, I’ll be richly rewarded with “free” M&Ms and unbearable self-satisfaction.


Kathleen Kusek is a principal with Firehouse Marketing Services, a business management consultancy in San Francisco.