Why can’t I just conduct one group?

As much as we like to help clients keep their costs down, allowing clients to conduct only one group is like stealing their money. We will take it, but at the same time we will let you know that we are stealing it!

Normally we recommend holding a minimum of two groups in each segment you are interested in investigating. That way we have a reference point of another group with which to check our findings. If we only conduct one group in a segment, we don’t know if that particular group we have spoken with is idiosyncratic or is representative of that segment. By conducting two groups, you have the ability to compare between the groups and understand if they were both representative or if one was idiosyncratic for some reason. You can’t always know if the group you conducted was quirky in some way until you have something to compare it to.

How many groups should I conduct?

We always advise clients to conduct at least two groups in each segment from which they want feedback. As an example, you are doing research in home repair. You would likely split your customers into business buyer and regular consumer buyer segments or into male and female segments. That would mean you would be conducting a minimum of four groups.