Answers to Frequently Asked Questions:

1. What is FFA ?

The Focus Facility Association (FFA) was formed in the New York City Metro Area (i.e. New York City, Northeast New Jersey, Long Island, Westchester, and Southern Connecticut) in 2001. It is a non-profit organization for focus group facilities.

2. What is the basic membership requirement?

The membership is entirely made up of focus group facility owners/operators. Furthermore, the member owner/operators have stipulated that the focus group facility operation accounts for 50% or more of total annual income.

3. Why was FFA formed?

As focus facility operators, the membership has several concerns that need to be addressed specifically by those people who deal with them on a day-to-day basis. While other industry organizations concern themselves with market research as a whole, there has never been an organization dedicated to facility operations.

4. What are some goals of the FFA?

The goals might best be described under three banners. However, it is very important to realize that all three cross at several points.

a. Respondents

The main “commodity” a facility has to offer its clients is the respondents we recruit for their studies. The FFA member facilities have accepted the responsibility of trying to “weed” out as many professional or otherwise undesirable respondents as possible. At our monthly meetings (or earlier if urgency dictates) we exchange information about people who have been found to be misrepresenting themselves (i.e. phony ID, multiple names, fraudulent information, etc.).

Added to this list are also names of respondents about whom clients may have reported incidents (rude behavior, constantly changing answers, etc.), and respondents who evidently and deliberately lie (as can be ascertained through the screening, reminder re-screening and written re-screening process).

As the list grows, the word spreads that FFA member facilities should not be approached by those individuals trying to make extra money.

We also share ideas about better practices for expanding our databases (i.e. how to verify information after people respond to an ad placed on behalf of a client. What to do about call-ins., etc.)

b. Clients

Members of FFA want to be thought of as partners in the research effort. To this end, we discuss ways of enhancing communication with our clients. In today’s business environment time is of the essence and yet sufficient time is rare.

FFA members are working to develop guidelines for better communication and quicker action regarding:

** Calendar Issues: Holds and Cancellations/Reschedules; weather impact. (i.e. after trying to contact a client with a hold, how long should we wait for a reply before releasing the room to another client with a definite need?). When should cancellation costs get applied?

** Acceptable/Reasonable Timelines: Signed bid à Screener actually received à Study Completion

** Specification changes and impact on timeline, completion obligation, and costs.

** Recruiting issues that arise after the study has been started on the phone. There is often no time to play “telephone tag”. Quick and effective action needs to be taken to help assure the successful completion of a client’s recruiting needs.

** Respondent issues having to do with clients not adhering to MRA (and the Federal Government) Rights to Privacy policies.

** Payment Issues which are of great concern, especially when talking about incentive advances and/or new clients.

It is important for our members to approach all of the above issues with good business sense. Our goal is not to alienate our clients, but to develop good procedures to alleviate the tension that often accompanies the issues and come up with workable and equitable solutions. Many of our members have initiated a three-prong communication effort when urgent issues have arisen regarding a study (i.e. voicemail, e-mail, fax).

c. Ethics

We are hopeful that by joining and participating in FFA, our members will all strive towards the same high standards. While we are not a governing organization, per se, we have all agreed that the time and energy it takes to be an FFA member can only lead to it being a fulfilling and valuable experience if we raise the industry standard to a new level.

** FFA members are committed to trying to protect our clients against unethical business practices (i.e. eliminating as many cheaters/repeaters as possible, strictly upholding confidentiality of studies, etc.).

** FFA members are committed to protecting our membership against known and proven unethical clients (i.e., payment issues, destruction of facility property, wrongly placing responsibility for recruit when facility is not involved, etc.).

** FFA members are committed to protecting our respondents against clients known to be using market research focus groups for sales purposes.

FFA Member Facilities:

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