Focus Group Recruitment

Focus groups are an important mechanism in the market researcher’s array of tools for discovering the attitudes and opinions of target audiences.  So goes the theory, but as any researcher will tell you, this all comes to naught if the group isn’t recruited effectively.

Any market research professional will agree that focus group recruitment is always time consuming and expensive if it’s done properly.  Promoting the focus group to a wide audience, enrolling participants then reminding them to turn up requires careful coordination and meticulous planning.

However, this need not always be the case…..

At Curtis Associates, we have our own online recruitment tool that takes the stress out of focus group recruitment.  By using your email list of potential participants (clients, students, residents etc) and clear recruitment criteria for each group, we can use our web-based system to fill the groups with exactly the right profile of respondents.

Here’s how it works:

1. An email invitation is sent to the potential respondent group. The email contains a web link to an online focus group recruitment tool.
2. The respondent clicks through to the online focus group recruitment tool.
3. They enter their name and email address and answer some simple criteria questions to determine which group (if any) they are eligible for.
4. The system checks to see if they match the criteria for any of the groups and, if there is a match, whether the group still has available places.
5. The system presents the applicant with the time and date of the matching focus group and waits for a confirmation of attendance (they simply click a button to say ‘Yes they can attend’).
6. The system then presents confirmation of the time and date and details the location of the group. Again a confirmation is required before proceeding. The location is only shown to applicants who initially confirm attendance. This reduces the chances of others trying to attend the group even though they haven’t completed the full booking process (and might not fit the criteria).
7. The system confirms that they are booked on the focus group. It immediately emails a confirmation to them.
8. The day before the focus group, the system emails a reminder of the focus group together with time, date and location, to all registered applicants.

The whole process is handled online and, once set up, requires no client involvement.

It is simplicity itself.  In fact, in previous uses of this system, focus groups have been filled within hours as opposed to days, and the resulting attendance rate is over 95% (much higher than conventional recruitment techniques produce).

Even more useful is the instant confirmation of attendance, where recruits have their place confirmed and a reminder sent the day before the group is run. Being database driven, focus group places and confirmation rates can be monitored online and in real-time before exporting the final details for use in most common software packages.

For more information, please contact us by clicking here.