focus group

[DrivingInfo]

I need to get a focus group of learner drivers.

Any suggestions where to go and how to get one.

[ogriofa]

How about a younger sister, brother or cousin that might be on one.
A family member might have a pal with a sibling/daughter/son.
You gotta know somebody.

I don't see hanging around driving lesson schools being that fruitful.
Why not use the motoring forum here?

[DrivingInfo]

How about a younger sister, brother or cousin that might be on one.
A family member might have a pal with a sibling/daughter/son.
You gotta know somebody.

People you know are the worst in the world because they will always be nice.
I need critics not friends.

Originally Posted by ogriofa

Why not use the motoring forum here?

Don't get me started, I did try to ask in the learning to drive forum but it is not allowed so i had to come here and ask which make no sense.

[blue4ever]

Originally Posted by DrivingInfo

I need to get a focus group of learner drivers.

Any suggestions where to go and how to get one.

outside a driving center/school - strikes me as a good start

[DrivingInfo]

Originally Posted by blue4ever

outside a driving center/school - strikes me as a good start

I'm a Driving Instructor but the problem is people you are teaching will always be nice just like family.

I was thinking the learner forum would be the best place because they are learning and all have access to the internet.
But not allowed..

[Spinnaker]

OP, A "focus group" can have a formal meaning. Perhaps that is why your thread was moved..

Poor set-up on a focus group can yield non-representative results causing timeloss. A business might follow these tips for a face-to-face focus group:

- use a moderator / facilitator experienced in focus groups
- prepare questions carefully with objectives in mind. take input from moderator
- use participants directly representative of the mix of your target market
- small groups say 4-6 . repeat say 3 times
- observe remotely from a viewing room or webcam with your peers
- record on video/dvd
- perhaps opt for a written report from moderator /practioner with summary of issues and recommendations.
- practitioner expected to have a call-up list of willing, catergorised and VETTED participants

[DrivingInfo]

Originally Posted by Spinnaker

OP, A "focus group" can have a formal meaning. Perhaps that is why your thread was moved..

Poor set-up on a focus group can yield non-representative results causing timeloss. A business might follow these tips for a face-to-face focus group:

- use a moderator / facilitator experienced in focus groups
- prepare questions carefully with objectives in mind. take input from moderator
- use participants directly representative of the mix of your target market
- small groups say 4-6 . repeat say 3 times
- observe remotely from a viewing room or webcam with your peers
- record on video/dvd
- perhaps opt for a written report from moderator /practioner with summary of issues and recommendations.
- practitioner expected to have a call-up list of willing, catergorised and VETTED participants

This sounds like it will cost a lot of money

[one_two]

Hi
Why do you think you need a focus group? May be another method of market research suits you need more?

[DrivingInfo]

Originally Posted by one_two

Hi
Why do you think you need a focus group? May be another method of market research suits you need more?

I have around 2500 unique visitors every month but only 1% are subscribing to the online Driving Instructional Video Tutorials. This is a major issue because if i intend to keep the site up and running I need to make a living.

?????????????? I need to know why only 1% subscribe so that I can make it better ??????????

If you look at the testimonials people are very happy and some people passed without taking lessons, just using the site, But Yet 1%?????????

Thanks

[glanman]

maybe it is website help you need, driving (pardon the pun) poeple to the pages to sign up, trials, testimonials etc... It sounds like a usability and navigation problem. You need to up your conversion rate so maybe you need to observe people using the site, this can be very effect. You sit them down with the site, and watch what they do but don't lead them. You can see their habits, their reaction etc... This is much more effective than a focus group as you would need a lot of experience in doing focus groups to get anything out of them. And they can be very expensive if organised through an agency, your talking 3 or 4 grand (recruitment, venue, recording, reward, food, admin) to run 3 focus groups in Dublin through someone like Grafton Suites.

Observation is the way to go I think. Put an ad in you local paper, "learner driver wanted to test website, €30 for 30 mins work" (or something to that effect) Meet them in a coffee shop, have your laptop with access to internet and just watch them use it and then get interview them based on their actions. Give them a free membership too, this will spread the word about the site if they like it.

Put a link up there and I will have a look at your site and give you some advice if I can

[DrivingInfo]

Originally Posted by glanman

maybe it is website help you need, driving (pardon the pun) poeple to the pages to sign up, trials, testimonials etc... It sounds like a usability and navigation problem. You need to up your conversion rate so maybe you need to observe people using the site, this can be very effect. You sit them down with the site, and watch what they do but don't lead them. You can see their habits, their reaction etc... This is much more effective than a focus group as you would need a lot of experience in doing focus groups to get anything out of them. And they can be very expensive if organised through an agency, your talking 3 or 4 grand (recruitment, venue, recording, reward, food, admin) to run 3 focus groups in Dublin through someone like Grafton Suites.

Observation is the way to go I think. Put an ad in you local paper, "learner driver wanted to test website, €30 for 30 mins work" (or something to that effect) Meet them in a coffee shop, have your laptop with access to internet and just watch them use it and then get interview them based on their actions. Give them a free membership too, this will spread the word about the site if they like it.

Put a link up there and I will have a look at your site and give you some advice if I can

Hi and thank you.

www.DrivingTestTips.ie

I would love it if you would give you slant on the site.

Regards

[glanman]

I am not a website expert, I am a marketing head, so I am probably not the right person to help you here. I think this might be the forum to post in, they can be helpful and honest in here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=23

What I would say though is that you have a lot of resources on the site. Am I right in saying you generate revenue through the subscription to videos and a finders fee from hooking up instructors with clients? You probably have nearly too much free info.

I would also say your front page is very text heavy. The videos are a little lost in the text. maybe get an alteration to the design here.

I am not a learner driver so I can't help but the site does look good and is a good resource. Do you use SEO, link backs from other sites, google ad words etc... I'm not a huge fan of google ad words but you are in a segment that might well be worthwhile checking it out. Getting a good search engine ranking, first 2 or 3 if possible, is very important

[DrivingInfo]

The text is SEO based and I get a good return on search results for Driving Test, Driving test videos, Driving Test Tutorials and a lot more.

I also don't like Adwords, I do know about SEO and also SEO websites for people so i am very up on that side of it. But I have a problem "what is wrong with the site from a user point of view? and why are only 1% subscribing". That is why i posted here because I think It is a marketing problem (I don't know!), you have highlighted an issue of "to much free info", this is something I was thinking,

Any advise is great and thank you.

Regards

[Andy_Black]

Hi guys,

I'm a big big fan of Adwords. I've not got into the SEO yet as you get so much information from Adwords. You can run campaigns and get visitors with Adwords obviously, but you also find out what lots of people are searching for who 'missed' your site, and what Ad copy they react best to over time too.

Something you can do is setup a one page survey page that you send the people to from an Ad and then ask them what it is they are looking for and why. Ask open ended questions to get the language of the market, and ask for their email and phone number. The people who give the longest and most detailed answers and contact details are also likely to be the people most likely to make a purchase... they're motivated (frustrated?) enough to fill in a longish survey after all.

From this you get your volume of searches per keyword, click-through-rates, survey conversion rates, cost per lead/survey, buyer language, buyer concerns, and maybe even some genuine pre-qualified leads.

I've some articles on my fledgling site that might help. I've not written up the survey technique yet but will get round to it.

My brief thoughts on the home page is that there might be too many calls to action. Maybe you can get people to sign up for a free newsletter or access to the free videos, and then you can continue the conversation via email and build up a list of people. Permission based marketing and all that?

Andy

[Andy_Black]

You might find the following couple of freebie eBooks from Yaro Starak useful:

Blogging Blueprint
http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com

Membership Site Masterplan
http://www.membershipsitemastermind.com

Andy