Focus Groups

“It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” – Steve Jobs, Businessweek, 1998

This quote was cited often after Steve Jobs’ passing. A brave, bold statement showing that he does not believe in marketing conventions. However, he somehow seemed to miss the complete point of Focus Groups.

Focus groups are not solely meant to ask consumers what they want in a new product. They can provide you with deeper knowledge from consumers. Your aim should not be to hear the best product from them but you should really try to understand them.

An easy way to obtain this consumer knowledge is to let them talk about concrete things: a product, an idea, their daily routine, etc. When consumers can talk about something concrete (e.g. a product, or product idea, or a daily routine, etc.) they feel more at ease. The job of the moderator is then to persuade the participants to reflect on their behavior. This opens up inspiring discussions about why and how participants make certain decisions. These are the areas where you will find interesting opportunities for innovation.

When Henry Ford said "If I'd asked my customers what they wanted, they'd have said a faster horse” he was right; asking consumers what they want will never result in inspiring results. However when he would have asked them why they would like to have a faster horse, chances are he would have found interesting patterns.

So don’t be fooled by the strong words of Steve Jobs: focus groups can provide you with innovation opportunities, as long as you don’t just ask what consumers want.