Q. One of our new products is designed to appeal to kids in high school. Can we do Focus Groups with them, just like we do for our adult products?
A. You can do Focus Groups with teen-agers — but doing the groups the same way you do for adults may lead to some unpleasant surprises!
There are several areas in which groups with teens and tweens (middle and high school kids) should differ from those with adults. If you have kids this age of your own (or a good memory), these will make sense:
1) Mixing genders is seldom a good idea with these age groups. When you mix genders at this stage, there is so much “positioning” going on between the males and the females that the Focus Group subject can be lost in a sea of hormones.
2) Take care with age groupings. “High school kids” may sound like a good demographic break, but freshmen and seniors do not talk to each other — and none of them talk very much when they are put in the same room. The freshmen are too nervous and the seniors are too “cool” — both attitudes that are bad news for group dynamics. To avoid this, I usually group by grade in school. It is best if each group represents one grade, but I have had success mixing 11th and 12th graders OR 9th and 10th graders.
3) Keep it short. Ninety minutes is the maximum length for sessions with these age groups — and I shoot for shorter.
4) Keep it interactive and change it up. To keep their attention and get the best from these groups, it is better to have them responding to stimuli than discussing a subject/product/idea in the abstract. Products to look at, taste and try are very popular. Exercises such as collage-building or reacting to benefit statements or pictures are often effective.
Finally, the key to doing Focus Groups with teens and tweens is treating them with respect. Moderators and others who interact with teen/tween respondents should not try to emulate their speech or their behaviors. They are smart, savvy consumers (why else would you be interested in their business?). They also have excellent antennae for the first signs of condescension. A moderator who tries to be “one of the gang” is not going to have much success with teens and tweens.
Do you have a comment or research-related question? Send it to me for future FAQs!
