Mastering Focus Groups: Lead Like a Pro

If you’ve read our most recent blog, you may be under the impression that we’ve covered everything there is to know about focus groups, but that’s not the case. While we’ve talked about their importance and their benefits in the world of market research, we haven’t explored best practices for when you conduct one. Read on to learn how to lead one like a pro and design a discussion guide that maximizes the insights you obtain.

Leading a Focus Group

Thinking of focus groups as an exciting opportunity to learn will serve you well when leading one. Why? Because there are three things that you would come prepared with when you genuinely want to learn that are also undeniably important for focus groups: readiness to listen, curiosity, and inviting energy.

Readiness to Listen

Being ready to listen when leading a focus group speaks for itself. While, yes, you’ll need to introduce questions and probe for details, beyond that, your job is to actively listen and take in as much information as possible. In our blog The Art of Moderating Well, we defined active listening as “the act of being completely engaged in the conversation when another individual is sharing their thoughts with you … asking your question, listening attentively, showing interest through subtle cues, and responding appropriately or with related questions.” It may seem like a small detail, but trust us when we tell you that coming ready to listen will have a big payoff.

Curiosity

Curiosity will never lead you astray during a focus group, it will only ever help you to gain better insights. By joining the conversation with genuine interest in the topic at hand you’ll do two positive things. First, you’ll help the respondents realize that what they’re sharing is impactful, thereby encouraging them to share more. Second, by being genuinely intrigued by the topic, you’ll find yourself considering questions and probing on responses that you may not have otherwise.

Inviting Energy

Energy is everything, and that becomes abundantly clear in interview-like circumstances. If you enter into a focus group conversation with a cold and disinterested energy about you, you won’t be pleased with the insights you walk away with. Alternatively, if you enter in with a kind and inviting presence, you’ll create a focus group environment where respondents feel comfortable speaking up and sharing their perspectives. So, set yourself and your focus group up for success by coming with the right attitude.

Designing the Discussion Guide

Preparing the conversation structure for a focus group helps to ensure that things run smoothly and that all of the necessary questions get asked during the allotted time. Start by outlining your objectives for the conversation so that you have a reminder of what has and has not been touched upon. From there, list the primary discussion questions in a logical and compelling order. In a perfect scenario, the conversation will flow seamlessly from one topic to the next. After you’ve included questions in your guide, take a moment to estimate how long each question and the answers that will come will take. This number does not need to be exact; it will only be used to determine whether the plan is achievable. Perhaps you estimate a single question will take up half of the time, leaving you with only 30 minutes to ask and receive answers for nine others. Recognizing this inconsistency will help you to restructure accordingly so that all objectives can be met. 

While structure is important, it’s also important that you leave room for flexibility within your focus group discussion guide. Following a guide to a T can cause the discussion to feel rigid and inorganic. Planning for imperfect answers and the addition of probing questions as you go will keep things light and leave you feeling like you got the most out of the focus group.

Next time you conduct a focus group, take active listening, curiosity, attitude, and guide design into account and watch as the meaningful insights flow. Having the right participants is equally important for obtaining valuable information, and that’s where Zintro can help. If you’re in need of participants, our team can help you find them, no matter how niche.

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