Focus Groups are for Lipstick, not Technology

So you decide to run a focus group. That's what everyone does, right? Wrong.

In my humble experience the high technology market does not lend itself to focus groups.

Unless you want a stilted result. In that case you can go ahead and put 10 - 20 people in a room and ask them all the same questions at the same time - and watch the group dynamics replace the customer truth.

But if you want an honest, accurate customer moment - you have to do it 1:1. Mano-a-mano.

Focus groups work great for markets that are trendy - where buyer behavior follows a herd mentality. Which is mostly in the consumer space.

Take lipstick for example. Back in my grad school days, I worked as a gopher for a hot ad exec in the Chicago area. We ran focus groups all the time - for everything from Soul Train programming to haircare products to McDonald's ads to - yes, lipstick and cosmetics. As part of my gopher role I had the chance to sit 'behind the mirror' and listen to the dynamics on both sides of that piece of glass.

What did I learn?

• Groups have Alphas and Others. Even strangers who met each other five minutes ago will follow group dynamics quickly - and Alphas and Others will appear.
• Alphas will lead, Others will follow.
• Alphas will suppress Others' ideas or opinions that differ from theirs.
• Others will stifle or change their own stated ideas to be 'accepted' by their Alphas.

But these were focus groups with consumers. So what does that have to do with technology?

Everything.

Group dynamics are group dynamics. And those are exactly the dynamics that can give you great insight for popular trends like lipstick colors, car body designs and more. Trendy is great when you can leverage it to compel or attract the masses from specific demographic targets. High technology products focused on consumers can certainly use group dynamics to create compelling market dynamics. Phones, games, laptops and PDAs can fall into this category at a consumer level.

But IT and business executives don't make decisions based on the trendiest thing. Sure, you may think they do. They get excited about the latest whizfloppy, right? But they don't spend budget dollars based on trends. They really don't. Ask yourself: When is the last time a CXO called you and placed a $400K order because 'everyone else is buying it'? Wouldn't that make it easy:)

The best way to find your customer truth is to talk to your customers about their specific situation. In an environment where they can share their truth - uninterrupted and with ease.

One-on-one, up close and personal.