The following is an excerpt from a chapter in the manual "How to Measure Your Communication Programs" by Angela D. Sinickas copyright 2005 Angela D. Sinickas. All rights reserved. ISBN 0-9661757-1-9
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	Preparing to Conduct Focus Groups
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	Have you ever filled out a survey form, just itching to let someone know exactly how concerned you were with something? Have you ever been frustrated by a questionnaire because none of the questions addressed the problem you were concerned about? Did you ever run out of room in the 'Any other comments?' section describing your concern? If your answer to any of these questions is 'yes,' then you know one of the main reasons it's important to conduct focus groups before you finalize a survey form. A story: Because I believe in the value of feedback, and because I'm a bit of a questionnaire junkie, I often find myself filling out the questionnaires left in most hotel rooms. But sometimes the questionnaires themselves are as frustrating as the hotel room problems I wanted to let the hotel management know about. Two examples: I spent about 40 nights in a particular Houston hotel during 1990-91. Nearly half the time that I ordered from room service, my order was wrong when delivered or was missing some key item -- no spoon for my soup, no steak knife for my rib eye steak, no jams or jellies for my toast, or jellies but no toast. No, I was not being singled out. All the other travelers from my company were experiencing the same problem. I don't doubt that all the other guests in the hotel were getting the identical treatment. Yet the only related question on the survey form was about the quality of the food and the variety of menu choices, not the quality of the service. Then there was another hotel room where the high outdoor heat and humidity required air conditioning all night. The vent was strategically placed to blast frigid air directly into a sleeping guest's face. Because so many other rooms likely had the same floor plan, I assume most guests experienced the same discomfort and, like me, never stayed there again. Yet the customer satisfaction survey asked no question related to temperature or environmental comfort. The nearest related question asked about my satisfaction with the room's color scheme! In both situations when I filled out the customer satisfaction survey, I was left to describe the problem in the 'Any other comments?' section, but quickly ran out of room in the three-line space provided. If only the hotels had conducted a few focus groups of customers before finalizing their survey forms, they would have had a chance of identifying the real problems causing customer migration to the competition. And, they could have tracked over time if customers were still experiencing the same problems or not. This chapter will help you: • See how to use focus groups in relation to surveys. • Understand the definition of a focus group. • Determine when to use a study group instead of a focus group. • Select audience members for the focus groups. • Invite the members to participate. .(End of Excerpt)