Copyright 1994 Towse Publishing Company, All Rights Reserved. Home furnishings retailers, manufacturers and suppliers are eager to meet their many and varying needs, and millions have been spent in analysis, all ages, all socio-economic groups, all educational levels, all regions. We know for sure that the furniture and accessory buying population has doubled in the past five years, and that there is a huge pent-up demand for the goods we sell. We also acknowledge the vast majority of consumers are value conscious. But it's beginning to emerge that quality might be even more important than dollars, the notion that items purchased, particularly casegoods, should become long term members of the family.
Most retailers work hard to establish warm relationships with their customers.
But each customer group is unique. Each community has its own problems and opportunities. Amongst all the possible ways to measure customer response to new product lines, design, price points and promotions, focus groups are becoming more and more fashionable, and within certain parameters, rightly so. First of all, let's define what a focus group is or should be. Specifically, it should consist of eight to twelve individuals under the guidance of an effective moderator.