Focus Groups as a method for product development. The funeral market in Sweden

This report is about the business methods. The report is based on the achievements acquired in the last modules. Suitable methods are needed in the business module to help the team move forward in their product development process.

Currently, the team has developed several concepts with different connection types and design styles. However, the team has no idea whether others will like this product. Without such awareness, the team would be blind to see the potential risks and shortages in the project. Thus one method is introduced to make the team aware of how potential clients or companies think about this product. The method described is a focus group. It is introduced in more detail in this paper to discuss the advantages and few disadvantages it contains.

In a focus group different target customers are gathered to discuss their views about the product’s materials, the designs and whether they would purchase this product or not. If they are not interested in buying the product it is of value for the team to know, what influenced their decisions. Since this is a very special product, not only the views of potential customers are of interest, but also the knowledge and experience of experts, such as funeral companies. Therefore an interview was conducted with a funeral company to validate customer opinions.