How do focus groups work? - Hector Lanz

翻译人员: Riley WANG 校对人员: Di SUN

Why do we buy certain products or choose certain brands?

为什么我们会购买特定产品 或特定品牌？

This is the sort of question advertisers have always asked,

这是广告商经常问的问题，

and there are no easy answers.

但想要得到答案并不容易。

However, there is a handy tool that helps companies explore this

然而有一种便捷的工具

可以帮助公司解答这类问题，

and similar questions,

and it's called the focus group.

它叫焦点小组。

Until the 1940s, market research was often quantitative

1940年代之前， 市场调研主要是定量研究，

using things like sales figures and customer polls to track consumption.

通过使用诸如 销售数据、消费者调查来追踪销量。

But this changed during World War II.

但是这在二战时发生改变。

Sociologists Robert Merton and Paul Lazarsfeld

社会学家罗伯特·莫顿和 保罗·拉泽飞开始研究

set out to learn how unprecedented exposure to wartime propaganda

前所未有的战时宣传

was affecting the public.

是如何影响大众的。

Instead of polling large numbers of people

研究者没有对大量人 进行直接提问

with straightforward questions and quantifiable answers,

并给出量化的答案选项，

the researchers conducted in-person interviews,

研究者选择了个人访谈，

sometimes with small groups,

有时以小组形式进行，

engaging them in more open discussions.

使受访者参与到更开放的讨论中。

Later, this method was picked up by the advertising industry

这种方法随后被广告业采用，

with the help of consultants,

得益于咨询师的协助，

like Austrian-born psychologist Ernest Dichter,

例如，出生于奥地利的 心理学家欧内斯特·迪希特，

who first coined the term focus group.

最先提出“焦点小组”这个概念。

This new technique was a type of qualitative research

这种新的方法是一种定性研究，

focused on the nature of people's preferences and thoughts.

专注于人们偏好及想法。

It couldn't tell marketers what percentage of people buy a certain product or brand,

它不能够告诉市场营销人员 多少人会购买该产品或品牌，

but it could tell them more about the people who do,

但是能说明哪类人群会购买，

their reasoning for doing so,

以及他们购买的理由，

and even the unconscious motivations behind those reasons.

甚至是购买理由背后的无意识动机。

Rather than providing definite conclusions for business and sales,

相比于为商业销售提供绝对的结论，

focus groups would be used for exploratory research,

焦点小组多被用于探索性研究。

generating new ideas for products

为产品本身以及营销方式

and marketing based on deeper understanding of consumer habits.

提供更深刻地 基于消费者习惯的理解。

For example, early focus groups found that contrary to popular opinion at the time,

比如说，早期的焦点小组发现 与当时的主流观点相悖的是，

wives often had more influence than their husbands when choosing which car to buy,

对于买车决定， 妻子比丈夫的影响更大。

so Chrysler shifted gears by marketing cars directly to women.

因此克莱斯勒公司改变策略 直接针对女性进行营销。

And Dr. Dichter himself conducted focus groups for Mattel

迪希特博士自己也 为马特尔公司组织了焦点小组访谈，

to learn what girls wanted in a doll.

研究女孩们想要什么样的洋娃娃。

The result was the original Barbie doll.

研究结果则是芭比娃娃的原形。

So how does a focus group work?

那么，焦点小组是如何运作的呢？

First, companies recruit between six and ten participants

首先，公司会找到6-10个参与者，

according to specific criteria that meet their research objectives.

他们符合一定条件来满足研究目标。

参与者可能是5-7岁儿童的母亲，

They could be mothers of children between five and seven,

or teenagers planning to buy a new phone in the next three months.

或是计划在三个月内 购买新手机的中学生。

This is often done through professional recruiters who manage lists of people

这通常是由专业招聘人员完成， 他们联络愿意参加的人，

who've agreed to participate in focus groups for payment or other rewards.

并给予参与者酬金或其他奖励。

During a session, participants are asked to respond to various prompts

讨论时，参与者被要求回应

小组主持人提出的各类指示，

from the group moderator,

like sharing their opinions on a certain product,

例如分享关于某产品的想法，

or their emotional reactions to an advertisement.

或是对某个广告的情绪反应。

They may even be asked to do seemingly unrelated tasks,

受访者或许还会被要求完成 看上去毫不相关的任务，

like imagining brands as animals in a zoo.

例如， 将品牌想象成动物园里的动物。

The idea is that this can reveal useful information

这样的讨论旨在揭示参与者感受，

about the participant's feelings

这些有用信息

that traditional questions might not get to.

是无法通过传统的问题研究获得的。

Beyond these basics, many variations are possible.

除了基本的模式以外， 还有很多其他的变式。

A focus group may have two or more moderators

一个小组可能有2个及以上主持人,

perhaps taking opposite sides on a question,

组内可能会形成对立双方，

or a researcher might be hidden in the focus group

研究员也有可能是参与者，

unknown to other participants to see how their answers can be influenced.

在其他参与者不知情的情况下， 观察他们的回应如何受到影响。

And the whole process may also be observed by researchers

研究人员可能通过单向镜观察整个过程。

through a one-way mirror.

But although they can provide valuable insight,

尽管焦点小组研究 可以提供有价值的信息，

focus groups do have their limitations,

它也有一定局限。

and one of the main ones is that the simple act of observing something

主要局限之一是观察某种行为

can change it.

可以改变该行为。

This principle is called observer interference.

这叫做观察者干扰。

The answers participants give

参与者给出的答案很可能

are likely to be affected by the presence of the researchers,

由于研究者在场，

social pressure from the rest of the group,

或来自其他成员的社会压力，

or simply knowing that they're taking part in a focus group.

以及知道自己正在参与焦点小组 而受影响。

And because researchers often use a small sample size in a specific setting,

由于研究者通常选取小样本 在特定场景下进行研究，

it's hard to generalize their results.

其结果的推广是很困难的。

The findings that researchers do reach from focus groups

通过焦点小组得出的研究结果，

are often tested through experiments and data gathering.

经常需要通过实验 以及数据收集来检验一些数字，

Those put numbers on questions like how many potential customers there are

比如，潜在消费者的数量，

and what price they'd be willing to pay.

以及他们愿意支付的价格。

This part of the process changes as technology evolves.

随着科技的发展， 这一过程也发生变化。

But focus groups have remained largely the same for decades.

但几十年来， 焦点小组的基本形式没变。

Perhaps when it comes to the big, important questions,

或许， 在当遇到重大问题时，

there's no substitute for people genuinely interacting with each other.

没有什么能够代替 人与人之间真实的交流互动。