Through The Glass - Research Matters
On Monday evening I found myself sitting in a darkened room watching a qualitative research group through mirrored glass.
It’s been a long time since I have been on either side of the research glass but it felt like only yesterday. Qualitative research based on small groups of moderated consumers is not foolproof but with a well recruited group and an experienced moderator it can be an invaluable exercise.
Oh and did I mention frustrating ? So very frustrating but that’s the whole point.
I’ve always thought that focus groups are like riding a bike for the first time without stabilizers, or swimming in the deep end - at some point as the custodian of the product, message or creative you have to let go for others to discuss and determine its future. And you don’t get to interrupt or justify. You just sit there nodding or shaking your head for no one to see other than colleagues in the room with you.
However it’s been my experience that you are rarely surprised. The threads that the group participants will pull at have probably kept you awake at night too. But without the pressures of delivery they are able to ‘speak truth to power’ knowing they walk away with their cash payment for a few hours work and with no worry about fixing the issues they have highlighted. It’s the ultimate power without responsibility.
And it is essential.
As I walked home last night, not surprised by any of the feedback in this particular case, I reflected on past work and one particular packaging project for The Macallan which remains vivid and results in me saying a phrase I coined back then to this day when confronted by brands wanting to change thing many things at once.
At that time I was in New York and responsible for The Macallan throughout the USA. We were a lead market so that meant creative changes which the Scottish brand team were driving were always tested. In the interest of efficiency we would do two groups in New York on a Monday, Dallas on the Tuesday, LA on the Wednesday and Chicago on the Thursday. Before arriving back in New York on the Friday sleep deprived but with an excellent handle on what the single-malt drinkers of America wanted and didn’t want.
In this particular case it was significant packaging change - both bottle and label. That felt too much for me and when I saw the stimulus that Monday afternoon for the first time I knew the groups would be rocky and they were. That night I summed it up by saying “you can change the physical bottle or you can change the label but you can’t do both”.
Dallas said much the same thing and by LA ‘team Scotland’ agreed with my suggestion that we stuck old labels on new bottles to see what the reaction was. And bingo. Rave reviews which continued through Chicago.
It was a lesson in having confidence in the qualitative process and once you have a clear pattern of reaction using subsequent groups to help move things in the right direction. It’s not as if you are making any difference to the statistical significance over the research project - it may only be 40 - 50 people in total anyway.
It’s why having a confident and nimble moderator is key. Yes they will work to the agreed script but they will also respond to glimmers of insight and dig away helping to unearth vital nuggets.
Clearly I’m a fan of focus groups I just had forgotten how much clarity you get looking through that glass - you can see for miles.
About The Author
Mark Izatt is a brand consultant living in London and founder of Mission Critical, a highly focused and curated weekly briefing for time poor and information hungry decision makers and THE FIRST, a monthly briefing containing 31 inspirational insights. Mission Critical is a digital product delivered via his Estonian Consultancy business.
