How to Successfully Structure a Virtual Focus Group
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Imagine a time when meetings were in-person, conferences were held in large spaces, and you actually had lunch in the same place as your coworkers. Seems like a lifetime ago, right?
That’s because life has changed immensely and everything we do these days is over a screen, including market research!
One method of research that can be successfully conducted virtually is a focus group. Focus groups often get a bad rap for being unproductive and full of group-think. And when COVID happened everything had to move virtual, “Zoom fatigue” became a real phenomenon throughout the world, and this situation got even worse.
However, when properly structured and moderated, a Virtual Focus Group can be the perfect research tool—especially when the purpose of the session is to explore new ideas or brainstorm with customers.
Without proper facilitation, focus groups of any kind (in-person or virtual) can easily turn into unproductive sessions… they can easily morph into one person taking over or even a group of people ranting about their past experiences.
6 make-or-break tips that define the success of a virtual focus group
P.S. And not the obvious things that you might think of.
Keep it small!
In an in-person situation, you can certainly run a 10-12 person focus group effectively. Not so for virtual focus groups. Keep the group to no more than 5 people to make sure you’re hearing from everyone and getting the most out of your participants.
Send out expectations in advance.
Lesson learned from opening a zoom call to participants...
with no camera,
without shirts,
on the toilet (yes, really)
Make sure everyone knows that they need to share their video, be in a quiet space, wear a shirt, come prepared with the answer to one question. Send these details out ahead of time.Use virtual tools to the fullest.
One mistake we often see is that teams don’t use the features in the virtual tools they have available. For example, no matter what virtual platform you’re on, there’s likely to be a chat feature. That means the moderator can ask questions, and instead of going around the room and calling on people one at a time, participants can be typing their responses in the chat and the moderator can summarize each one as the responses start coming in.
The moderator can also ask participants to upload images that describe something (for example, “Add to the chat an image of how you FEEL when shopping for prepared foods in a grocery store.”)
This is a more efficient way to get ideas out there before you start drilling into a few and calling on people. It gives power to the moderator to choose the direction they want to take the discussion in to keep the conversation on track and pointing toward their research goals.
4. Ensure all perspectives and opinions are heard.
In a focus group, you’ll want to hear from all participants to make sure you’re understanding different thoughts, ideas, opinions, and perspectives. It seems like in every focus group, there’s typically 1 super chatty person and a few who don’t want to speak.
At the start of the focus group, set expectations by telling participants that it’s possible you may mute them to keep the conversation on track timewise, and that it’s not personal—it’s just a timing issue. This way if someone it talking too much or too long, you can cut that off and call on someone else. To do this eloquently, make sure to recreate the person speaking by quickly thanking them, paraphrasing to make sure they know you were listening, and then immediately either calling on someone else or shifting the topic.
Don’t be afraid to call people by name and invite them to share, engaging and probing them. After each person speaks, show them that you appreciate their response, no matter what it is. The goal here is to make sure your participants feel seen and heard. If you’re not summarizing the gist of what they say and showing them that you appreciate their participation, you’re going to lose them early, and they won’t want to participate.
5. The first person who talks sets the tone for the session.
It’s a social norm that the rest of the participants will mimic the style of the first person to speak.
As a result, use this moment to teach everyone else what you want and expect from responses. If you want more details, give that feedback to the first person. If they’re talking too much or telling irrelevant stories, cut them off.
6. Finally, virtual focus groups are 100% about your energy as a facilitator.
Smile. Keep it moving. No dead air/silent time unless they’re all “taking a minute to type/write.” Silent time is often great for in-person sessions, but it’s magnified online and feels awkward in a virtual setting.
Remember a focus group can be a great way to get ideas directly from your customers even at a distance, and these advanced tips will help you run a virtual focus group like a pro!
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