Focus Groups in the Work

¶ … focus groups in the work place but I wanted to use an example of one in my community.

The Millersville Community vision statement is admirable in its scope and content, as well as in its brevity. Commitment to small-town charm and the preservation of quality of life are apparent in the three main objectives. Moreover, a person who lives outside of Millersville penned the vision statement. Including an outsider's perspective allows the vision statement to be better scrutinized and more objective than it would have been had the team worked on it internally. Even though the vision statement is short, I can understand how it might have required several months of work. The length of the vision statement reflects the ideal simplicity inherent in the core ideals of community members.

Shortly after taking up my current position, I conducted several surveys of the primary audience for our training.

Soliciting audience opinions is a crucial means of gathering valuable feedback data. The three survey instruments covered essential features of the training program including encouraging predictions for the future. The idea that some of the participants wanted fewer facts and more practical solutions is a helpful one. Disillusionment with online training can be solved easily by revealing the vast potential of new technologies and fun, engaging Internet applications. Finally, the pessimism is unfounded, as the new guard will build upon a pre-existing and strong foundation of knowledge and core concepts.

3. As an Intellectual Property expert, I have been involved at the stage of review of the results of product branding focus groups.

Branding and logo design are exciting and creative stages of the marketing process. Marketing and legal concerns can occasionally clash but often they do not. Because legal constraints might prohibit a certain type of packaging, logo, or product design, the focus groups should always include multiple examples. If the brand or logo that was liked best cannot pass the legal vetting process, then the second-best can be used. Intellectual property issues should always be taken seriously because they can create heavy costs. Those costs can be avoided via skillful researchers and attorneys.

4. It has been a while, but I participated in a focus group for a computer curriculum we used to use.