How To Host a Focus Group For Kids + Parents
April 4, 2015 6:10 PM   Subscribe

How does one organize a focus group for parents and kids? Are there any standardized guidelines for product testing and data collection, or better yet, groups that will perform this service for a small fee? I am in charge of getting a kids product out in front of 100+ kids and their parents and I have no idea how to do this so that a) it's not a huge mess and b) the feedback we collect is actually useful. I'm in California. Target age for kids is 4-6.
posted by Hermione Granger to Education (9 answers total)
 
Do you have a marketing company? They'd know about who to contact for focus testing.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 6:24 PM on April 4, 2015


Response by poster: We do not. I am our marketing department now. 😩
posted by Hermione Granger at 6:29 PM on April 4, 2015


Look for a "market research agency" in a city near you. A lot of them will organize focus groups in their office facilities and be responsible for finding people willing to participate. The trick is that you usually need to be the one to define what types of folks you want (demographics profiles) and define the actual sessions themselves.
posted by ellerhodes at 6:32 PM on April 4, 2015


I MeMailed you a couple of names of companies that I've gotten free kids' stuff from in exchange for a survey. Good luck!
posted by mogget at 7:13 PM on April 4, 2015


If hiring a marketing company is not an option, you can approach formal and informal parenting groups and preschools to ask if you can have a few minutes to recruit their participants. You need to pay adult participants; $25-$40 for an hour long group. In most cases having adult and kid groups separate makes for more honest responses. Logistically this will probably work best if you have staff to run them simultaneously.

Ideally you'll have two staff at each group, one main facilitator and another to take notes, handle issues that might come up, and help re-steer things if it goes away from the primary facilitator. Have a well thought out topic guide prepared.
posted by metasarah at 7:39 PM on April 4, 2015


We get flyers in our child's "mailbox" at preschool all the time for stuff like soccer lessons - would love to receive something like this instead!

Ours is a private preschool. I'm sure that makes a difference. If the Director agrees with your mission, I'm sure they would allow you to solicit volunteers. Ditto at me local park. Tons of parents and kids there. Ditto the YMCA - I'm sure there is a message board at a place like that. Good luck!
posted by jbenben at 11:32 PM on April 4, 2015


Talk to after school care places in poor neighborhoods. Many of these places are struggling for resources and would be happy for a bit of extra money. Make certain that every parent signs a waver. Let the parents know that their involvement is akin to a monetary donation to the school. Serve pizza and drinks upon completion and have a great door prize there that they have to be present to win (encouraging them to stay until the end). Also, keep in mind that parents have almost no free time. Schedule it so that it ends early enough for them to get the kids to bed. Do nothing before 10:00 am on a Saturday. Schedule more people than you actually need because kids get sick and parents get tired- you will have plenty of no-shows.
posted by myselfasme at 6:01 AM on April 5, 2015


Response by poster: This is all great to know. My guess is I will not be allowed to hire anyone or compensate anyone with money (though I think I can give free products instead). If I were to do this myself, is there anything special I should do to structure the actual focus group session? Like always begin with X, end with Y?
posted by Hermione Granger at 4:21 PM on April 5, 2015


Response by poster: Actually, now that I think about it a little more... If I have a product that is mostly complete, and I need to see what 100 kids and their parents think of it, is focus group testing even the right way to go about this? I definitely need to see what the kids enjoy about and have trouble accomplishing with the product so I do need to see the kids in person. Maybe I need product testing guidelines?
posted by Hermione Granger at 4:32 PM on April 5, 2015


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