Focus groups allow participants to combine experiences and perspectives to explore ideas in depth. Commonly used during creative and conceptual development, they help you understand your customers’ needs, perceptions, and beliefs.

A focus group discussion typically comprises 6 to 8 participants plus a moderator and lasts between 60 and 120 minutes. The moderator is there to keep the discussion on track, encourage participants to explore ideas and prompt interactions. Focus groups provide immediate, rich feedback on things like design, packaging, pricing, and the messaging of any product or service. They can also be used to undertake creative tasks, such as developing mind maps, with each participant able to build on the inputs of the others.

Focus groups can be held face-to-face or online. Online is convenient and makes it possible to hold focus groups with people from different countries or when social distancing restrictions make it impossible to bring people together in a group.

When face-to-face focus groups are possible, the benefit is that our trained moderators can read body language and non-verbal reactions to unlock deeper insights behind the discussion. Face-to-face focus groups are often held in a dedicated market research viewing facility where clients can observe the research as it happens from behind a one-way mirror, or via live video streaming.