An Online ‘Face to Face’ Focus Group Approach for Understanding How Household Energy Use and Green Investment Decisions Differ by Personality Traits

Duncan Ellis,AbuBakr Bahaj,Philip Turner,Thomas Rushby,Trevor Sweetnam,Victoria Aragon,Patrick James,Stephanie Gauthier

doi:10.1177/16094069211038312

Duncan Ellis, AbuBakr Bahaj + Show 6 more

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https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069211038312

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Abstract

In a UK context, encouraging the uptake of energy efficiency measures at the household level is an ongoing challenge of ever-increasing importance. A combination of economic and psychological factors influence green investment decisions and so this study aims to determine whether online focus groups are a viable means of interacting and evaluating the effectiveness of personality tailored marketing strategies. Here, we present the learnings from over 70 synchronous online focus groups undertaken with a UK energy provider’s household customers ( N = 143) to test the effectiveness of two energy product propositions (smart thermostat and hybrid heat pump) through two channels of communication: video and discussion. The researchers examined and analysed the online engagement and focus group method, focusing on the customer feedback, appropriateness of the approach and how it works in practice, providing key learnings for further research. The approach allowed for greater interaction with a geographically and demographically diverse pool of participants, many of whom are time poor and would ordinarily be unwilling or unable to participate. In this article, we report the differences between implementing online focus groups and face-to-face focus groups and examine the difficulties and uncertainties, in particular relating to entry to sessions and drop-out rates. Online focus groups were found to be a viable, flexible and convenient method for engaging with an energy company’s current customer base in the comfort of their own home.

Highlights

Interview and focus group research is one of the most widely employed research methods, able to study a theme or topic in depth, understanding a variety of alternate views and interpretations (Bryman, 2016; Stewart & Shamdasani, 2014)
Over 70 synchronous online focus groups were conducted to test the effectiveness of two personality tailored energy product propositions through two channels of communication: video and discussion
This subset of customers were contacted in March 2019 to take part in an online survey2 collecting household demographic and contextual factors, energy usage and personality trait factors, with a total of 660 responses, corresponding to a response rate of 28%

Summary

Introduction

Interview and focus group research is one of the most widely employed research methods, able to study a theme or topic in depth, understanding a variety of alternate views and interpretations (Bryman, 2016; Stewart & Shamdasani, 2014). Applied across a diverse spectrum of disciplines including conservation, education, health and marketing (Catterall & Maclaran, 2006; Davidson et al, 2010; Nyumba et al, 2018; Wilson, 1997), focus groups have particular application within advertising research to help develop insights into purchasing motivations, with the aim to construct more persuasive messaging to explore relatively unknown topics (Stewart & Shamdasani, 2017). The researchers present findings and learnings from an online ‘face-to-face’ focus group approach, over a 5month period (August to December 2019) with existing UK. We document the approach and recommend best practice for the benefit of those planning to undertake similar studies

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