Focus Groups

Last night, I participated in a Focus Group for home improvement products.

I've done these before in the past, but it's probably been over 10 years since I've participated in one. Market researchers conduct focus group sessions to see what the average consumer thinks about a product or an idea. Typically, these are small groups of perhaps 8-10 people who sit around and share their thoughts on what the market researcher is offering for discussion.

Last night's discussion was about faucets and toilets. Yeah, not too interesting, right? Wrong! It was a lot of fun! The group last night consisted of six guys, some who have installed the products before and others who have not. All were home owners who had remodeled a bathroom or was in the process of doing so.

For me, I had remodeled two bathrooms, so I was an old pro at it. And yes, I did the installations. I've installed floors, sinks, countertops, faucets, toilets...

Anyway, a gentleman from a market research company called me and asked if I was available to attend a session and then qualified me on the phone. He wanted to know if I owned my home and if I had installed a toilet and faucet before and if I felt comfortable talking in a group... all the typical stuff you would expect. Surprisingly, I qualified for everything! I've been asked to join other focus groups in the past, but something always disqualified me. But not last night!

I had a lot of fun talking about the products and hearing the other people's experiences with installing the products as well. We also seemed to agree on many things about these products too.

For my participation, I was offered $85 for two hours of my time. Not bad for just talking with a bunch of guys! I've heard of people who have earned up to $200 for participating in focus groups! I've never been offered that before though...