Services

Focus Groups

From concept generation through to product placement and advertising, AZtech is available to assist you in bringing a product to market.

Recruitment

AZtech often employs a stratified sampling methodology to ensure full and broad representation by all sub-populations of interest.  In addition to (or within) specified populations, at the client’s discretion, AZtech can also recruit persons with specific sensory, physical or cognitive impairments.  Such diversification could help to ensure that underserved populations are represented within the sample.  These individuals can offer important insights regarding information clarity, accessible media formats, and appropriate dissemination channels.

AZtech has found that certain days of the week and times of the day result in increased focus group attendance, and as such, we recommend scheduling groups for these days and times.  AZtech suggests recruiting 12 participants per group in order to ensure that 9 people attend each group.  We customarily over-recruit participants, and prepare physical accommodations (space, seating) for the total number recruited.  AZtech has found that providing adequate stipends helps to ensure full attendance.  To prevent last minute cancellations or no-shows, participants are provided with contact information for AZtech’s recruiter, and are encouraged to call as soon as possible if they will be unable to attend.  Our recruiter also contacts all participants the day prior to the focus group to remind them of the group specifics.  Finally, AZtech has access to a fleet of accessible vans and cars through the WNYILP for participants requiring transportation assistance.  AZtech has found that these actions and services typically result in full to near-full attendance.  In the rare event that inclement weather or other unforeseeable circumstances prevent a scheduled focus group from taking place, AZtech has been successful in repopulating rescheduled focus groups in a timely and efficient manner. 

Facility

AZtech’s focus group facilities are housed in its parent organization, the WNYILP’s office building.  The WNYILP employs a staff that is comprised of 51% or more persons with disabilities, and as such the facilities are fully accessible.  Automatic doors, accessible bathroom facilities, ramps, lifts, assistive listening devices, wheelchair height tables, and other accessibility features ensure that all participants’ accessibility needs are met.  The focus group room comfortably seats twenty participants, and the control room seats four to six clients and guests.  The control room offers a two way mirror for viewing of the focus groups in process.  Remote bridging services enable clients to view focus groups in process from remote locations.  The focus group moderator wears an ear bud during the group, which enables clients to talk to the moderator to ask probing questions or gain clarification, without disturbing the group’s synergy.  Audio recording combined with video recording on four cameras catch views from all angles, and produce high quality DVD’s of each focus group.  AZtech’s focus group facilities also offer document sharing capabilities; a 35’’ monitor in the focus group room; and remote control with laser pointer LCD projection capabilities, including input from two computers and/or video player.

In the event that persons with specific sensory impairments are included in the focus groups, AZtech is able to furnish a wide range of accessibility materials to participants.  Sign language interpreters, Braille or computer based materials, and people experienced with alternative and augmentative communication users are routinely used in our focus groups to ensure that all participants are able to fully contribute to focus group activities.

Process

Before the group takes place a moderator ’s guide is developed with each client in order to provide the general direction of the group.  During the group, participants are led through a series of warm-up questions in order to become relaxed with each other as well as to become comfortable in front of the cameras and the two-way mirror. The questions are then continued based on the following four areas of interest:

1. Current Status: Outlines the products and/or practices that your customers currently use to meet the needs that your product is intended to fill. 

2. Development of Ideal Product: Consumers are guided to establish the ideal product that would fill the need that your product is intended to fill.  This portion of the group is intended to identify issues that are important to the participants prior to seeing the product that will be reviewed – thereby eliminating bias. 

3. Evaluation of Prototype/Concept:  Details participant reactions to the various design and functional features of your product.  Outlines the ways in which your product is perceived to be superior or inferior to the ideal product developed by the group in the previous segment.  In the event that a prototype is not available or is not easily transported and displayed, AZtech can use computer-generated images, artistic renderings and non-working models for group evaluation.

4. Purchase Intent/Price Point:  Outlines the price participants are willing to pay for both the ideal product, as well as your product.  Also details locations where participants would expect to find your product and/or product information. 

Additional issues that are commonly identified during the focus group process relate to pricing, advertising, packaging, and purchase intent. This method of evaluating products prior to their final store-ready completion allows your designers to make changes prior to the expense of retooling and manufacturing.

Each group is audio and video recorded, therefore, AZtech will provide a product evaluation report based on findings from focus groups as well as DVDs of the groups.

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