Do You Really Know What Your Customers Want?™ Sep 20, 2014 1,046Views LinkedInShare Gerald J. Sherman, MBA, DBA Sherman & Perlman LLC, Public Relations, Marketing In one of my recent surveys, I asked a prospective client what business they were in. They stated that some days they don’t know themselves because, their clients are so fickle that they are not sure what they want anymore. We decided to find out what their customers wanted and to determine if they can satisfy their wants and needs. Which is vital in order to stay in business. Market Shift We discovered that our client was not catering to the company’s present market and did not see what was actually happening. They were so involved to the day-to-day operation of the business that they didnt realize that there was a market shift to a younger, more price conscious customer. Focus Group Knowing your audience base is essential for any business. However, we must have the tools to work with in order keep up with the changing times. Enter Focus Groups! What is a focus group? It is a research tool that gives the company the ability to intermingle directly with its target market in a controlled environment. In this setting the participants’ responses are recorded and analyzed. Look at it as another means you can use to evaluate your current services and future plans. It affords you a chance to become more attuned to what your clients are thinking by hearing and analyzing their responses to the posed questions and to each other’s responses. There are various kinds of focus groups depending upon on the size of the business, the size of the geographical area concerned with and the cost allocated to it. Focus groups are also used in marketing research studies, in the social sciences, political campaigns and even by the federal government. For the purpose of the average local business the group should consist of a representative group of your company’s target market usually, 6-12 people, who are requested to participate in your focus group and answer questions posed by the moderator. The questions asked relate to how they feel about your current ads or planned ads, services you provide, your product, future products and their perception of your brand. There is usually some form of compensation for the participants, money, gifts, refreshments and sometimes just recognition in the form of a thank you letter. The information you get can be invaluable in guiding you to make corrections or additions to your company’s plans or format. It provides you an opportunity to glean opinions, perceptions and beliefs about your product. The company is wise to conduct a focus group at anytime and prior to adding a new product or service or planning any large event, advertising or public relations campaign to ensure that they will resonate with the target audience. All of this can be accomplished by a skilled moderator’s questions and an equally skillful analysis of the answers. In my experience conducting focus groups, I find that a successful focus group is achieved when a professional without any company ties conducts it. Company personnel are too involved and should not be present at the focus group. I videotape the entire focus group and provide a written run down of the group’s comments. A successful focus group consists of the following: ▪ An audience that is carefully selected to truly represent a cross section of your customers. ▪ The skills of the independent moderator who is running the meeting, in stimulating audience participation. ▪ The suitability of the questions asked. ▪ The objective analysis of the information obtained. So, as we see, organizing a focus group is not a meaningless activity, it unveils vital information a business needs in order to serve its public. It’s not expensive and the return on investment will pay great dividends. Excerpts from the book, The Real World Guide to Fashion Selling & Management®, Second Edition, Gerald J. Sherman & Sar S. Perlman, Fairchild Books, Division of Bloomsbury Publications. Email:jerry@shermanperlman 561.715.2788 All written work being accepted by your publication must conform to the following: Do You really Know What Your Customers Want?™ is Trade Marked and not to be used without the authors permission. If approved, name/s of author/s of this and or any other of these articles published in your blog, newspaper/internet or other media, must appear at all times including any and all excerpts. The above work is the sole property of Gerald J. Sherman & Sar S. Perlman Read our Second Edition, The Real World Guide to Fashion Selling & Management & also Fashion Public Relations, Bloomsbury Publishing…These books are for anyone, (in any industry) engaged in Marketing, Selling and Design
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 13:11:25 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015