A case study which may be helpful is the PRISM study we conducted for the Library of Michigan in 2002. Our goal was to understand the attitudes and views of users and non-users of Libraries throughout the State of Michigan.

While we may have guessed at some of the questions we might ask 1,000 residents of the State in our planned in depth telephone interview, we believed by conducting focus groups first, we could uncover issues of interest and importance to both users and non-users of libraries. We conducted 8 focus groups around the state with users, business users and non-users of libraries. We learned a tremendous amount about the perceptions these different groups have of libraries. We then reviewed this information with the client and channeled what we learned into specific questions for the telephone survey that would confirm or deny scientifically what we heard in the focus groups.

One example is that we learned from the focus groups that library users learn about new books, services or other new information almost exclusively by physically visiting the library. To verify this we asked questions regarding information on new products or services in the telephone survey. The telephone survey fully validated the findings of the focus groups, leading the way to a series of recommendations from us regarding more effective marketing and promotion activities of libraries to users.

Summary
The Focus Group discussion research method is a highly effective qualitative research method which enables clients to understand the why’s and how’s of customer attitudes, behaviors and thinking. The insights gained may be tremendously helpful, especially when used to make important library decisions such as which strategy to employ to build support behind a millage proposal or how to most effectively promote library services to specific populations.

Focus groups aren’t inexpensive and must be conducted by a trained moderator in a controlled setting with the session taped for best results. However, focus groups may be set up easily, executed in a relatively short time frame and can yield substantial amounts of information and understanding for a manageable amount of dollars. Focus groups are an important tool in the marketer’s tool kit. Don’t leave home without them !