Focus Groups

Many  beauty  industry manufacturers and  distributors use  focus  groups to help determine whether their  product is appealing, delivers  its intended material, and elicits  the  desired consumer response. Such  groups help  the  maker  determine whether they have gotten it right. While some may be volunteer groups assembled through advertising, others are paid as test groups of regular women or men.

Many industry experts  know the marketing value of connecting with their consumer directly  and emotionally; if they do not, the potential client  will not buy or continue buying  their  products. Many  efforts  of the  beauty  industry involve  the direct  marketing of perceptions; therefore, focus  groups are  essential whenever a company decides  to  update or  change a product with  which  consumers are familiar,  or to market a new  product line. These groups can  save manufacturers millions of dollars  in wasted  effort or failed product lines.

Beauty companies often conduct multiple focus groups in varied locations and varied  climates  to  ensure the  diversity  of the  population and  conditions under which  their  product is being  tested. Through these  diverse  groups, the  company may  be  able  to  fine-tune its  targeted audience and  advertisement campaigns. Packaging changes are  one  area  where  focus  groups are  especially  important; changing company logos or familiar package  shapes and colors  can be disastrous if the  consumer no  longer  recognizes the  product and  feels  more  comfortable staying  with her favorite.

Focus  groups are also used  within  the industry, or by outsiders, to access information on how the industry is affecting  people’s  lives. They  can be used  to determine  health risks, facility usage,  diversity, and  psychological effects, among many other topics. Marketers, lobbyists, industry interest groups, and health professionals may all use focus  groups as a way to build  informational databases on various aspects of the  beauty  industry. The  information may determine the  future directions  of product ingredients, specialty  consumers, safety, and product trends.

Some  groups masquerading as focus  groups are actually  product demonstrations  or sales meetings that may be gathering product/consumer information, but whose  main  purpose is actually  to directly  sell the product at that  time.