Focus group interviews involve a trained moderator conducting a structured discussion with a small group of respondents to gain insights into issues of interest to the researcher. Focus groups typically include 8-12 homogeneous participants and last 1-3 hours in a relaxed, informal setting. The purpose is to understand consumer perceptions, preferences, and behaviors regarding product categories or obtain preliminary reactions to marketing programs. Focus groups provide a broader range of information than individual interviews and allow clarification of responses. They are an effective method for gathering personal and group feelings about new products entering the market.

1. Focus group interview
Nagraj G D
BAPUJI B SCHOOLS

2. What is focus group interview ?
It is an interview conducted by a trained moderator in a non
structured and natural manner with a small group of respondents.
What is the purpose of this interview?
To gain insights by listening to a group of people from the
appropriate target market talk about issues of interest to the
researcher.

3. What are the characteristics of focus groups ?
 Group size - 8 to 12 members
 Group composition - homogeneous
 Physical setting - relaxed ,informal atmosphere
 Time duration - 1 to 3 hours
 Moderator - he has certain observational
interpersonal
communicational skills
 People - the people who have already participated in
numerous focus groups should not be included.

4. How the interview will be conducted?
Determine the objective of the research project and define the problem
Specify the objective of qualitative research
State the questions to be answered by focus groups
Write a screening questionnaire
Develop a moderator’s outline
Conduct the focus group interviews
Review the video tapes and analyse the data
Summarize the findings and plan follow up action

5. What are the Applications of focus group interview?
 Understanding the consumers perception , preferences and
behaviour concerning product category
 Obtaining impressions of new product concepts
 Generating new ideas about older products
 Developing creative concepts and copy material for
advertisements
 Securing price impressions
 Obtaining preliminary consumer reaction to specific marketing
programs

6. Advantages :
 They can save time and money compared to individual interviews
 They can provide a broader range of information
 They offer the opportunity to seek clarification
 They are used to obtain personal and group feelings, perceptions and
opinions.
Disadvantages :
 There can be disagreements and irrelevant discussion which distract
from the main focus
 They can be hard to control and manage
 They can be difficult to encourage a range of people to participate
 They can to tricky to analyse

7. CONCLUSION:
“ It is an effective method for the upcoming products which are
new to the market. And we can use this method in various other
fields like improving the students learning habits ,improving skills
of employees in the work environment etc.”
Reference : marketing research by Naresh K Malhotra