You’re planning a series of focus groups throughout North America. You’re thinking of holding groups in Montreal, but your moderator does not speak French. Can you do focus groups in English Montreal? Probably. Should you? You might want to stop and think about it. Here’s food for thought.

Clarity assessment is a common objective in focus group testing, and rightly so. Having clients decipher your meaning is never a good starting point. How can you best find out if your message is clear? Different approaches yield varying outcomes.

My gym has acquired a new apparatus. It is not a training machine.

It's a "feedback device", to help clients rate their overall satisfaction by pushing smiley or "frowny" buttons.

The provider, “Happy or Not” claims to “Create a more satisfied customer” and “Deepen customer loyalty”. (www.happy-or-not.com ).

Does it?

People do not see the same things in the same way. They respond differently to stimuli. Gender, age, level of education and experience with products affect perceptions and behaviours. In a large and diverse country such as Canada, area of residence is another critical differentiator. Reactions reflect the specific character of the different parts of Canada.