Hosting hard-to-reach populations is never easy, but hosting participants whose voices are regularly sought, but infrequently heard in regions where the population is more geographically disperse creates additional challenges. Hearing from groups like non-digital-native seniors or rural healthcare workers requires balancing human concerns like traveling with technological concerns like internet speeds.
EmCee Research’s focus group experts understand these concerns and work with clients to create the best research experience for the participants that will yield accurate results. For many focus groups the choices are to book a hotel or to conduct an online focus group.
Hotels Work—Especially in Small Cities
Face-to-face matters. In-person groups held at hotels offer a neutral, comfortable environment where participants can be more open, especially when discussing sensitive or emotionally charged topics. When meeting in-person, participants are more engaged, and without the distractions of being at home or potential technology challenges, participants are more present and more candid.
Being in a hotel eliminates barriers to participation for people who don’t have stable, reliable internet or who are not comfortable navigating virtual platforms. Research projects that want to hear from geographically disperse populations can conduct focus groups at a centrally located hotel and meet participants where they are.
Clients viewing in-person focus groups can read participants’ body language, expressions even their silences. These nonverbal cues can provide deeper insights that simply don’t translate over a webcam.
Focus groups conducted at hotels have a facility equivariant to our New Orleans research suite, including a viewing room. For clients, observing a live over our HD cameras is an effective way to evaluate a group’s discussion. Our hotel configurations and AV setup make it easier for clients to read nuance including participants’ body language, expressions even their silences. This more complete understanding of the focus group and the participants provides additional confidence in the research findings.
Online Focus Groups Still Make Sense
Online focus groups are appropriate in some situations. Virtual focus groups can significantly reduce costs while making it possible to bring together people from different geographic regions when a project calls for a broader perspective. Online focus groups also eliminate travel for clients and participants alike, which can reduce a project’s timeline, simplify logistics and allow people to participate who are unable to travel.
Conducting research online means greater flexibility for how EmCee Research conducts focus groups. When in-person, clients are limited to methodologically limited, a focus group. But online, EmCee Research can host panels, one-on-one interviews or ask participants to conduct multi-day tasks, an option that is too costly and impractical to facilitate in-person.
Removing Barriers
EmCee Research specializes in removing barriers that keep regularly sought, but infrequently heard voices from participating in focus groups. Our team knows how to tailor both in-person and virtual focus group experiences to the unique needs of your research goals to ensure you get meaningful, actionable insights. Email us to find out how our team can connect you with the people you need to hear from, wherever they are.