It seems from many of your comments about focus groups that many of you have experienced some of the problems I mentioned in relation to asking consumers about their perceptions.

To be fair to focus groups I should point out that I was talking about research more generally. 

There’s little doubt in my mind that the focus group, per se, is far and away the most useless, unreliable, misleading and distorting ‘tool’ in the marketers armoury. 

Actually, I should qualify that a little.  A focus group in a viewing facility is the pinnacle of disastrous research techniques, but the focus group part of that is no small component.

I would really appreciate hearing more details from those of you who have had bad experiences with focus groups.  Please email me if you have any stories to share (and I’m happy to respect requests for confidentiality).

Back to the subject at hand…

Yes, perception is everything, but asking consumers about their perceptions is fraught with difficulty; on the other hand, understanding them is very important if you want to understand consumer behaviour.

So how do you understand what customers’ perceptions are?

It’s mostly about time.

One of the benefits of unconscious processing is how fast it is.  Whilst you’re wondering what you’re looking at, your unconscious has filtered 10 millions bits of data about your environment and caused you to respond in the way it thinks best – the way that will keep you safest, usually.

So when it comes to establised brand perceptions what you need to look for are quick associations that a customer makes with a brand or product.  For example, when the opportunity occurs naturally (or apparently naturally) for them to talk about a brand, the more fluently they talk and the more they have to say – in a sense, the more they are reeling off something that’s clearly established and familiar to them – the more deep-rooted what they have to say is.

Similarly, when someone engages with a product (for example in a store), you can see how engaged with it they are, and how readily they select it over the alternatives available. 

You might think this is a tricky skill to acquire, but if I asked you to watch some people meeting in a room do you think you would be able to spot who already liked who?  Assuming they weren’t aware you were watching them and had no reason to mask their behaviour, my guess is you would get it right most of the time.  Trained observers can usually tell even when people are trying to conceal their connections.

In talking to people, the biggest clues to brand perceptions come from inconsistencies.  When what someone says doesn’t match all their experiences or what they do it is a significant clue that confirmation bias is turned up high.

When someone is naturally eulogising about a brand (i.e. not in response to a research-style question) the natural thing to do is to empathise with them and mirror their account with those of your own.  Instead, using a suitably gentle tone, explore the contradictions; “You must have had a few problems with them though, everyone does.”

Yes, this is a leading comment / question (the best ones usually are, but I’ll save that point for another time), but it allows you to find out whether this is a genuinely unblemished experience or a biased assessment.

In case you’re wondering, the most likely source of such biases are people’s first experiences with the brand concerned or what they were told by a friend that made them select it in the first place.

Philip Graves

22 Comments

  1. Duane Cunningham

    Hi Phil,

    Once again great insight into the human perceptions in the field of consumers and what makes us buy!

    Always love stopping by here to learn from you!

    Duane

    Super-ADVANCED Sales & Persuasion Strategies
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    reply to comment→
  3. Jennifer Battaglino

    Hi Phil
    I agree with Duane, you have great insight and I love that you don’t mince words…i.e. “There’s little doubt in my mind that the focus group, per se, is far and away the most useless, unreliable, misleading and distorting ‘tool’ in the marketers armoury.”

    Don’t hold back so much next time! 🙂 Tell us what you really think!

    Jennifer
    The Harwood Center – Tinnitus, Chronic Illness, Fers, Phobias, and Anxiety

    reply to comment→
  11. Lisa McLellan

    I’ve actually participated in several focus groups. There’s a company down here that does them. Every now and then I’ll get a call, they’ll ask a bunch of questions, and then let you know if you’ve been selected. I can remember a couple of times leaving the facility where the focus groups were held and changing my mind about things I had just told them.

    Lisa McLellan, Babysitting Classes – Babysitters, Nannies, and Au-pairs

    reply to comment→
  14. April Braswell

    A man I met this past weekend at a business event was going on and on about using a marketing focus group. I just listened. In my head I thought, “oh NO! not good.” Sigh. He thinks he can rely on them. However, he did not request any sage business advice or feedback from me so I kept my own counsel rather than being obnoxious and offering it unsolicited.

    Best regards,

    April Braswell

    Dating Expert and Online Dating Coach

    reply to comment→
  16. jc mackenzie

    Great information

    Is it also true that the emotional state the person is in will also “color” the perception [example: brand x first encounter x feeling realyy good= good feeling about brand]. I am inclined to believe that.

    Just a thought

    Thanks
    JC JC

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