Focus Group Moderation

Having conducted more than one thousand focus groups during my career and have moderated over forty groups myself, I can attest to the fact that focus group moderation is not as easy as it looks to the casual observer and focus group moderators can range from brilliant to less than adequate. Poor focus group moderation is one of the reasons marketers shy away from focus groups and question their value. This begs the question, "What leads to deeply insightful and highly useful focus groups?"

Here is my list of components that lead to successful focus groups:

• Choosing the right participants. Being very deliberate and specific about who you want to engage in the process.
• Doubling up on groups so that you are not hearing from just one group for each demographic.
• Spreading the groups out geographically if your brand or product has a broad (national or international) geographic customer base.
• Carefully crafting the discussion guide well ahead of the groups themselves. 
• Developing the proper stimulus to use in the groups. Sometimes the stimulus can be elaborate.
• Capturing and anchoring some of the responses on paper prior to soliciting group discussion so that all responses are captured and contrary responses are not lost but encouraged to be articulated.
• Hiring the right moderator with the right skill sets.
• Detailed back room note taking.
• Skillful management of the back room discussion.

What should one look for in a moderator?

• The ability to put the participants at ease and relate to them one-on-one as a peer.
• Someone who has outstanding group facilitation skills. 
• The ability to draw all participants out and to politely shut down participants who try to dominate the conversation.
• Someone who can draw on a large portfolio of projective research techniques. I list twelve of these techniques in the latest edition of my Brand Aid book.
• Someone who is skilled in conducting guided imagery. This is particularly important for drawing new ideas and potential product/service enhancements out of participants, something they are rarely able to envision or articulate otherwise.
• Someone who is agile and is able change course effortlessly upon the need to do so. 
• Someone who recognizes and exploits topics and discussions that that would benefit from deeper probing.
• Someone who can alter the discussion content and flow based on previous learnings (with the client's permission) as the series of focus groups proceed so as to gain maximum learning from the the groups.
• The ability to write an insightful report of findings including implications and recommendations.
• The ability to edit focus group video tapes to succinctly and powerfully reinforce key insights from the groups.
• A broad knowledge of marketing and marketing research so that the groups will be facilitated within the broader project context.
• Someone who can maintain a high energy level within the room.
• Sometimes a knowledge of the industry for which the focus groups will be moderated is an advantage.
• More importantly, extensive cross-industry moderation experience can be an advantage.

Focus groups are typically a large time and money investment. Make sure you get the most out of the groups that you conduct.

Similar Product - Different Brand

I took up fly fishing a couple years ago. I have several lightweight 100% polyester long sleeve fishing shirts in my closet. They range in color from slate blue to tan, white and a shade of green. All of them are tailored in a similar fashion although some have rubber buttons while others have regular buttons. Some use VELCRO on the pockets while other use zippers. They are all made of a rip-stop weave. They all have a cape back for better breathing. Most have sleeves that can be rolled up and tied off to become short sleeved shirts. But each is a different brand purchased at a different store. One is labeled GRT from Columbia Sportswear Company. One is Field & Stream brand. And one is labeled Carhartt Force. LL Bean, Patagonia, Orvis, Worldwide Sportsman Freecast, Magellan Outdoors, Simms and several other brands offer similar shirts. 

Given that the products are designed for the same sport and are so similar with the same functionality, it made me think about how the brands themselves imbued the products with different qualities and different meanings. 

Think about how each of these may vary by brand:

• Store at which it is purchased (Tractor Supply Co., Dick's Sporting Goods, LL Bean, Field & Stream, Orvis, Macy's, etc.)
• Average price point ($35, $50, $100, $400, etc.)
• What the typical customer does outside of fly fishing (lawyer, business executive, farmer, hunter, etc.)
• What the brand itself is signaling
• Which brand says "I am one of you" the best
• Which brand is the most prestigious
• Which brand is the most true to the sport of fly fishing
• Which brand is perceived to be the most functional
• Which brand is perceived to be of the highest quality
• Which brand is perceived to be the most durable

It is interesting to think about how the appeal of very similar products varies depending on the brands that are associated with those products. This then is at the center of what branding is all about.

Business to Business Marketing

Business-to-business organizations are able to draw on a unique set of marketing tactics that are appropriate for business customers but not end consumers.

• Create and actively interact with customer advisory boards. Invite the most influential opinion leaders to participate.
• Create and actively interact with strategic partner boards.
• Create external “expert councils” for all major new products. Invite the most knowledgeable and influential outside experts to participate, and involve them in the product design itself.
• Hold conferences and seminars, inviting current satisfied customers, prospective customers, and internal and external industry experts. Present case studies, discuss the latest innovations, let the experts speak, and allow time for networking.
• For software companies, beta test your software with major influential customers and those that would provide compelling case studies and testimonials.
• Hold product launch parties for important customers.
• Record testimonials from your most supportive customers and subtly interweave them with the background music that plays when people calling your company are put on hold. (Hopefully, incoming callers aren’t on hold for long, otherwise this technique could become annoying to some people who are waiting to speak to a customer service or technical support rep regarding a major problem.)
• Develop and disseminate a portfolio of customer case studies to reinforce specific brand benefits to specific target customers.
• Publish and widely disseminate white papers to position your organization and brand as experts in your field.
• Develop a speakers bureau and actively orchestrate speaking engagements at key industry events such as conferences, trade shows, and industry association meetings. At our company, we started a local chapter of Toast masters and assigned the speakers bureau responsibility to a specific individual.
• Actively seek industry association committee assignments and board positions.
• Constantly keep the following people and organizations aware of your brand and its latest accomplishments:
• Industry analysts
• Financial analysts
• Resellers and other strategic partners
• Your organization’s professional partners (i.e., lawyers, accountants, management consultants, advertising agencies)
• Trade magazine editors and writers
• People who write about your industry for the general business press
• People who write books about your industry
• Other opinion leaders

© 2016 Brad VanAuken, excerpted from Brand Aid, available here.

Small Business Marketing Techniques

Many small businesses cannot afford the techniques persued by larger companies. The following techniques are ideal for individuals and smaller businesses.

• Conduct demonstrations, classes, and workshops. A restaurant’s chef can teach a cooking class for a continuing education program or for a department store or cooking supply store.
• Speak at conferences and for professional associations. Join your local chapter of the National Speakers Association and register with speakers bureaus. Publicize your speaking engagements.
• Hold contests.
• Write articles for newspapers, periodicals, and professional journals.
• List yourself as an expert (e.g., in Radio-TV Interview Report; the Yearbook of Experts, Authorities, and Spokespersons; Broadcast Interview Source, Inc.; ProfNet). Connect with journalists (HARO—Help a Reporter Out). Post your press releases on PR distribution sites (PressReleasePoint, PitchEngine, PR Newswire, PRWeb, etc.).
• Host a local radio or television show on your area of expertise, or be a guest on one.
• Network online and offline (in professional associations, conferences, trade shows, benchmarking groups, chambers of commerce and popular social media channels).
• Publish newsletters (online or offline).
• Publish a blog.
• Write a book.
• Hire a publicist.
• Maintain relationships with the press.
• Get involved in civic organizations. Donate money to local charities, especially complementary causes.
• Volunteer to judge competitions.
• Wear branded shirts and other clothing.
• Put your company's logo and contact information on your motor vehicle.
• Cross-promote with complementary or nearby businesses.
• Give away insignia merchandise (featuring your business’s name, logo, tagline, and contact information).
• Write letters to new residents introducing them to your business (perhaps offering them a free or reduced-price trial).
• Script your customer service and tech support people to cross-sell and upsell products and services as appropriate. (Be careful not to over-incent people. They should only cross-sell/upsell in the most helpful way as appropriate.)

© 2016 Brad VanAuken, excerpted from Brand Aid, second edition, available here.

What Can Brands Sell?

Most of you know that a brand can and should be much more than the product or service to which it is applied. And brands can and should promise customer benefits beyond purely functional benefits. I have said often that brands should deliver emotional, experiential or self-expressive benefits. Or they should stand for something and share values with their customers. So what are some of these less than completely tangible benefits that brands could own?

• Aesthetic beauty
• Poetry
• Symmetry
• Nostalgia
• Confidence
• Silliness
• Playfulness
• Humor
• Reassurance
• Strength
• Harmony
• Excitement
• Surprise
• Warmth
• Nurturing
• Status
• Permission
• Understanding
• Acceptance
• Belonging
• Serenity
• Freedom of expression
• Discipline
• Concentration
• Safety
• Inner peace
• Creativity
• Vision
• Risks
• Adrenaline rushes
• Lightness
• A wakeup call
• Wonder
• Gratitude
• Foregiveness
• Passion
• Intensity
• Stimulation
• Knowledge
• Wisdom
• Truth
• Raw emotionality
• Shock value
• Release

If you haven't thought about your brand in some of these ways, consider it. It will bring a whole new dimensionality to your brand.

The Future of Brands

I have prognosticated about the future of brands several times throughout the last decade. Most of what I predicted has occurred. In a way, brands are still on the same trajectory that they were on a decade or so ago.

Here is where I believe brands will need to go:

• They will need to embrace a set of values and stand for something.
• They will need to take on pleasing and even entertaining personalities. 
• They will need to become very consistent in their delivery across channels of communication and distribution.
• They will need to embrace outstanding customer service in order to remain in business.
• They will need to continuously improve in their crisis management and error recovery.
• They will need to embrace the Internet and mobile devices as important (but not the only) platforms.
• They will need to remain agile and constantly innovate.
• They will increasingly rely on big data and other types of data mining to achieve their objectives.
• They will need to be professionally managed.
• They will always rely on deep consumer insight - hopes, fears, values, attitudes, beliefs, lifestyles, behaviors and motivations.

I wish you great success in taking your brand into the future.

Marketing is More than BS

I have been a marketer for more than 30 years. And, as a brand strategy consultant, I have worked with more than 20 marketing agencies and 200 different companies and brands. Over time, I have heard people refer to marketing as "BS," "overhead," "the dark arts," "fluff," "a necessary evil," "disconnected from reality," "soft," "manipulation," and "baloney." 

If you have read my book Brand Aid or have been following my blog posts, you know that I disagree with these assessments. Marketing is a discipline that uses both the left and right sides of the brain, drawing on qualitative and quantitative research, sales metrics and brand equity measures but also tapping into human and creative insight. 

And, increasingly, one can measure the ROI of specific marketing programs, whether it is tracing online ads to views, click-throughs and product purchases or trade show investments to name and contact information acquisition, salesperson followup and, ultimately, sales. 

And each marketing sub-discipline has its own very specific skill set - marketing research, new product development, advertising, promotion, direct marketing, social media, mobile marketing, (big) data mining, retail merchandising, brand management, product management, pricing strategy, distribution strategy, brand licensing, public relations, guerrilla marketing, product marketing, sales support ... and there are many more. 

It bothers me when someone with no education or experience in any aspect of marketing thinks or says he or she "can do marketing." And I really don't like it when I hear someone say "a monkey can do marketing." Neither of these are true. 

While common sense and intuition regarding human motivation and behavior are important qualities of a successful marketer, they alone are not sufficient to create outstanding results. 

Admittedly, there are some in our profession who are less than well qualified while believing that they are fully qualified. This can be explained by the Dunning-Kruger effect. 

The one thing that writing Brand Aid has taught me is that there is more to marketing than meets the eye. There are many formulas, templates, metrics, rules of thumb, insights and other inputs that go into writing a winning marketing plan and developing a winning integrated marketing campaign. 

So the next time someone calls marketing "BS," don't take it personally but make sure you are not treating it that way but rather are a student and practitioner of all of the aspects of the art and science that comprise marketing.