Putting It into Focus

Several types of focus groups can be used for the purpose of learning more about your customers. Focus groups can be extremely helpful to discover what your customers are thinking, and by inviting both existing and potential customers, you can analyze their input to better shape your customer service strategy. When interacting with customer focus groups, you should focus on learning about the attitudes and reactions of your customers to your company’s products. 

The Traditional Focus Group

With a traditional focus group, you need to choose an experienced moderator who is familiar with your company. The moderator will help keep the discussion on track, be flexible regarding the order in which the topics are discussed and ask specific questions about your concerns. The questions can cover the quality of your existing customer service and any new practices which you are considering implementing. You can also find out what your business is doing right when it comes to customer service. The focus group can discuss what customer service features and techniques are important to them and working for them. They can highlight any positive experience they’ve had, so you wll know which practices to retain. Keeping effective strategies allows your business to keep using successful policies. After you're finished with focus groups, you can then consider rewarding employees who are implementing customer service techniques correctly and conducting any needed changes. 

The Friendly Coffee Conversation Group

This more informal focus group can take place in a friendly environment where customers can relax and get comfortable. How it works is that a participant is chosen ahead of time and asked to be the moderator. This person then asks six to twelve friends to brunch at the company’s expense. The purpose of the gathering is revealed ahead of time so everything is upfront. Since the moderator is known by everyone, relaxed and honest conversations emerge. The information you gather is more likely to be a true representative sample of true opinions. To find out what your group is passionate about, give them a fun exercise to do before the conversation begins. Ask them to write down what inspires them to buy your product. Find out what influences their buying decisions. Listen to what matters most to them. At the end of the conversation, present each member with a gift card from your store. This is a great way to say thank you and have ready participants for future focus groups.

The Outcome

Take notes from these meetings and review them. By using questions not of the yes and no variety, you will capture important themes of the conversations. The questions should fully cover your concerns. Don’t, however, make a final decision about what action you are going to be taking based on one focus group. The information from focus groups should only be one of the phases of your research. Remember, thoughtful deliberation gains you the most insightful feedback from the work you do in improving customer service.

By choosing the focus group which is best suited for your company, you’ll get the best results.  Customer feedback is important, and it should become a highlight of your customer service strategy.

Image courtesy of Ambro / freedigitalphotos.net