Marketing textbook, chapter 4

Qualitative surveys deliberately refrain from standardising the questions and their sequence. Nevertheless, it makes sense to develop an interview guide for individual interviews and group discussions.

The guide serves as an orientation aid for the moderator, delineates the various subject areas and is orientated towards the desired information objectives. The group discussion does not necessarily have to strictly follow all the guidelines. Rather, it is the moderator's task to maintain the dynamics of the discussion and to adapt the structure of the discussion guide to the situation. However, it is important not to allow the discussion participants to stray too far from the topic. The following example deals with the positioning of a sweet snack combined with the review of the concept and an initial prototype as part of a 90-minute group discussion.

Welcoming

• Introduction of the moderator → Purpose of the study → Overview or course of the discussion → Rules and information about camera, microphone, mirror, anonymity and confidentiality
• „Breaking the ice“ + arousing sympathy + easing the atmosphere

Rules of dialogue

• There are no right and wrong opinions, everyone should have their own opinion
• The aim is not to reach a consensus
• Change of opinion possible within the discussion

Introduction of the group members

Presentation of the topic of discussion

Introduction to the topic = warming up

• What comes to mind when you think of sweet snacks?
• What products can you think of for sweet snacks?
• Collaborative generation of generic terms: What do you spontaneously think of for the use of „sweet snacks“? (grouping into cereals, snacks during breaks, snacks between meals) [flip chart, whiteboard]
• On what occasions do you reach for snack products?
• Why do you reach for these snacks?

Presentation of the innovative packaging

• Spontaneous impression
• What kind of product is this?
• What expectations, requirements and wishes does the product arouse?
• Where and how can this product be used? (In the evening with beer/cola/tea, in the afternoon with coffee or in between?)
• Who buys such products? Which target groups could be addressed with the snack?
• How is the snack categorised in the competitive environment?

Tasting of the innovative product

• Spontaneous reactions
• How does the sweet snack taste?
• Likes and dislikes
• Are comparable products known?
• Where does the sweet snack rank among the competition after tasting it?

Comparison between expectation and experience

• Does the product fulfil the expectations triggered by the packaging?
• Is the packaging suitable for the snack? What alternatives would be suitable?
• Suggestions for improvement

Summary of the results

• Brief joint evaluation of the most important contributions to the discussion
• Record overall impression

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