Focus Group Respondent

I was very much looking forward to yesterday evening's focus group. Turns out the topic was pretty much what I suspected - a Continental Airlines credit card.

It appears that Continental is interested in the combination of perks will get high-volume travelers to pay $85 per year for their credit card. We spoke about our perception of airlines, travel experiences, and what motivated us. Boarding airlines early? Bonus miles with approved merchants? Free drink coupons? Guest passes for their Presidents' Club lounges?


Toward the end of the group, it hit me that I'm not sure that the "answer" was any type of consensus. What was important to me wasn't important to someone else. For example, if I had status on the airline, getting a credit card that permitted me to board early would be irrelevant to me (since my status would already grant me that privilege). Free passes to their lounge, however, would be nice (but wouldn't be important to someone who already paid for a membership). Perhaps they will go in an a la carte direction...at my suggestion, of course!

I was paying particular attention to the moderator and how she conducted the group, since I did that for many years myself. She did all the tricks - explained thew structure of the group, dispelled the doubts of the large mirror in the room (yes...it's a one-way mirror, yes there are people sitting back there watching), and attempted to get the group back on track every time we went off on a tangent, which was often.

I wonder how I was perceived by the moderator and the clients. I could have been the "incredibly astute young guy with great ideas," or just as easily "the guy who would always speak first and wouldn't shut up." Whoops!