Out-of-Focus Groups

By John Malmo

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkno/local-wkno-870193.mp3

11-04-2009: Out-of-Focus Groups, by John Malmo.

Memphis, TN – Quantitative research is expensive because you poll a projectable percentage of people in your market. That means hundreds locally, thousands nationally. Then you can quantify the answers with some expectation of accuracy. A focus group usually is about a dozen people. You can't accurately quantify the opinions in a focus group, even in several focus groups.
Take the new brand from Hilton, Home2. The name was chosen because it stuck better in the minds of focus group participants by a four-to-one margin over other names. Thus, to pick a national brand, Hilton quantified the opinions, four-to-one, he said, of a few dozen people.

John Malmo is a Memphis marketing consultant with more than fifty years experience. He is former chairman of Archer Malmo Advertising and specializes today in helping small businesses grow. To reach Mr. Malmo - or to buy a copy of his book When on the Mountain There is no Tiger, Monkey Is King - go to http://www.johnmalmo.com.