Online Focus Groups Will Continue to Outpace In-Person Research

Online Focus Groups Will Continue to Outpace In-Person Research

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The global COVID-19 pandemic put a rush on many technological advancements that were already in the works, including those utilized in market research. The widespread adoption of remote platforms for everything from education to medicine has offered a level of credibility to online focus groups that we may have otherwise never reached. These factors have contributed to the rise of virtual consultations and the expectation that they will continue to outpace in-person research far beyond the pandemic. There are many reasons why this trend will continue. We’ll explore a few of the top driving factors and their implications for market researchers today. 

Convenience for all parties.

Online focus groups offer a level of convenience to both the researcher and the participant that simply can’t be matched by in-person research. Making attendance seamless in a C-Suite officer’s day is paramount. Research shows that senior executives spend the equivalent of two days a week just in meetings, so in order to get on their calendar a consultation needs to be as unobtrusive and accessible as possible. Online focus groups make it easier than ever to secure highly-sought after individuals who are typically inaccessible. 

Simultaneously, the pandemic spurred vast improvements in online focus group technology that make it a preferable option for the researcher as well. Today’s online focus group platforms successfully create virtual full two-way (or back room) mirror capabilities. No more setting up a room with coffee and pastries and ensuring that everyone has transportation, access, and is comfortable. This is an enticing prospect for the researcher who can now conduct multiple online focus groups without leaving their desk. 

Increased participant diversity.

In-person research is limited to a single time, place, and language. Online focus groups eliminate these restrictions allowing for greater diversity in the pool of recruitable participants. A more diverse group of respondents leads to deeper and more encompassing insights for researchers. Online consultations also allow for easier simultaneous translation and transcription making it more accessible to a range of people. 

Better moderation control.

Executive participants have little time to spare. A meandering conversation where one person monopolizes the time, the group strays off topic, or the event takes longer than expected can leave a bad impression. This makes it harder to recruit participants in the future, and the negative experience can affect results. Virtual events allow for stricter moderator control. By implementing platforms tailored to market research and utilizing tools such as mute, chat features, and “hand raising”, the moderator can successfully and discreetly maintain the flow and timeline of a group. This saves time, money, and improves outcomes by helping to ensure that all participants are able to share their insights. 

Online focus groups also allow the moderator to more seamlessly walk a group of participants through the necessary stimuli and to do so with greater control and uniformity. Walking the group through a website and asking for feedback, playing short video clips, or even using other features on the participant side such as screenshare and private and group chat offer the researcher additional tools for success.

Decreased cross-participant impact.

In-person focus groups face a problem of attendees being influenced by each other. Senior-level professionals naturally size each other up and try to project a certain impression which can influence research results. This type of “cross-contamination” is largely solved by the use of online focus group platforms. Even when participants can see each other in a virtual group, the full effect of interpersonal influence is minimized. Participants are more likely to be comfortable, honest, and even vulnerable, producing a much higher quality result.

A Permanent Shift for Focus Groups

There will always be a time and a place for in-person focus groups, but the pandemic has jump-started the adoption of online focus groups as a valuable tool. With an array of advantages over traditional focus group structures, their use will continue to rise even once society is back to some kind of normalcy. Market research firms who are not using the technological resources to create high-quality online focus groups will find it increasingly difficult to compete with those who do. 

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Ivy Insights

Ivy Insights provides our clients with meaningful insights by leveraging our internal network of professionals. We offer white glove recruitment of industry experts for qualitative and quantitative marketing insights studies. Our Market Insights team offers fast, reliable results for businesses seeking professional or subject matter experts across a variety of industries.

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