When beginning market research, the city where you host your studies is an integral aspect of the study design. The types of companies within a city demographic, regional differences, and exposure to types of market forces (such as technology) can all impact the recruiting mix. Focus groups in San Francisco are the optimal choice if you’re seeking product marketing feedback or concept feedback from a tech-savvy, well-informed, and highly educated demographic.
Recruiting for focus groups can be difficult – particularly when a company is seeking a niche base to get opinions on. For the best results, focus group recruiting should use wide samples from specific demographics to ensure that there is enough variety. If focus groups are the appropriate type of qualitative research for the type of questions you need answered, here are three reasons why San Francisco would be a great fit for your focus group location.
San Francisco focus groups reason #1: Early technology adopters
San Francisco may have a lot of tech jobs, yet tech savviness is not reserved for just those employed in the tech sector, most everyone in the city is a tech-head. In the city that boasts the birth of Airbnb, Twitter, and Uber, San Francisco is an experimental ground for all sorts of startup ideas, ranging from electric scooters (Gogoro) to clothing rental (LeTote). If your market research study involves a new technology product, San Francisco is hands down the best place to host your focus groups and get feedback from a demographic that has seen it all.
San Francisco focus groups reason #2: Plenty of educated millennials to choose from
San Francisco, and the surrounding Silicon Valley area, are a hotbed for jobs – and in particular – tech jobs that millennials are seeking out. Between 2007 and 2013 San Francisco saw a 68 percent increase in its number of millennials – and as long as jobs keep appearing, they’ll keep coming. The high percentage of educated millennials is significant to as why the city is so well suited for focus groups. It’s a fantastic place to host groups in, and recruit from if you’re looking for feedback from millennials. Take note: San Francisco millennials are unique compared to millennials in the other parts of California and the nation: A majority of the millennials in San Francisco are college educated – 57 percent have Bachelor’s degrees or higher, versus 22 percent statewide. Furthermore, millennials in the area earn almost twice as much as those in other parts of California ($60,000/year versus $35,000/year).
San Francisco focus groups reason #3: Wide-swath of regional backgrounds
Finally, hosting focus groups in San Francisco allows you to pull from a demographic that is likely not from California – or even the West Coast. In San Francisco, you’ll find a plethora of “non-natives” which provides the opportunity to speak with people who may have very different regional backgrounds, yet call San Francisco home, giving them a more layered background and broader perspective from those who still live in their home states. Additionally, in San Francisco, you can also recruit from a population that is foreign-born — over 35 percent of residents in the San Francisco Bay Area were born outside of the U.S.
Finally, San Francisco is a beautiful destination to travel to for focus groups
We may be slightly biased because we’re headquartered in San Francisco, but if you have to travel for focus groups, San Francisco simply can’t be beat. From the iconic Golden Gate Bridge to the beautiful Bay, San Francisco boasts a mild climate (bring your jacket in the summer!) and has some stellar facilities for you to use for hosting focus groups.
Interested in San Francisco focus groups? Contact us for a proposal >
