Asking the right questions during a focus group plays a critical role in receiving actionable feedback.
Questions should be designed to foster conversation among participants, leading them to think critically about the topic at hand and to share ideas.
As a result, the feedback an organization obtains from focus groups becomes invaluable to its business strategy. The more detailed the feedback, the better the results.
In this post, we'll share over 60 example focus group questions to enhance participant feedback and encourage helpful conversations.
What is a Focus Group?
A focus group is a qualitative market research practice that gathers the opinions of a target audience about a specific topic, product, or service.
Hosting 8 to 12 participants, focus group discussions are led by a moderator who encourages participants to provide in-depth responses. Focus groups can also be hosted in person or online.
In fact, online focus groups are a good option for those looking for a low-cost alternative to in-person group discussions.
Whether it be in-person or online, these conversations provide valuable feedback, allowing businesses to learn detailed insights about their audience.
Example Focus Group Questions
The type of questions asked in a focus group should be open-ended, promoting thoughtful conversations among participants. Below, we've compiled a list of example focus group questions that would yield quality feedback from participants.
Introductory Questions
1. Can you introduce yourself and briefly tell us about your background?
2. How long have you been using our product/service, and what are your overall impressions so far?
3. Can you describe a recent experience you had with our product/service?
4. Can you describe a recent experience you had with our product/service?
5. What features or aspects of our product/service do you find most useful?
6. What were your initial expectations before using our product/service, and have they been met?
7. Can you share any specific challenges or issues you’ve encountered while using our product/service?
Questions About Awareness
8. How did you first hear about our product/service?
9. What sources of information do you rely on most when learning about new products/services?
10. How familiar were you with our brand before using our product/service?
11. What marketing or advertising for our product/service have you seen, and what stood out to you?
12. Have you noticed any social media presence for our brand? If so, what platforms and content caught your attention?
13. Have you noticed any social media presence for our brand? If so, what platforms and content caught your attention?
14. How often do you see or hear about our product/service in your daily life?
15. How do you perceive our brand in comparison to our competitors in terms of visibility and presence?
Questions About Perceptions
16. What are your overall impressions of our brand?
17. How would you describe the quality of our product/service?
18. What words or phrases come to mind when you think of our brand?
19. How do you feel about the value for money of our product/service?
20. In your opinion, what differentiates our product/service from our competitors?
21. How trustworthy do you find our brand, and why?
22. What emotions do you associate with using our product/service?
23. How has your perception of our brand changed over time, if at all?
Questions About Features
24. Which features of our product/service do you use most frequently, and why?
25. Are there any features you find particularly valuable or beneficial?
26. Which features do you find least useful or redundant?
27. How easy or difficult is it to use the various features of our product/service?
28. Are there any features you wish were improved or enhanced? If so, how?
29. What new features would you like to see added to our product/service?
30. How do the features of our product/service compare to those of competitors?
31. Have you experienced any issues or challenges with specific features? If so, can you describe them?
Questions About Likes and Dislikes
32. What do you like most about our product/service, and why?
33. What do you dislike about our product/service, and why?
34. Can you share a specific instance where our product/service exceeded your expectations?
35. Can you describe a situation where our product/service fell short of your expectations?
36. Which aspects of our product/service do you find most appealing?
37. Are there any features or aspects you find frustrating or inconvenient?
38. How does your overall satisfaction with our product/service compare to your initial expectations?
39. If you could change one thing about our product/service, what would it be and why?
Questions About Competitors
40. Which other brands or products do you consider when looking for a product/service like ours?
41. How does our product/service compare to competitors in terms of quality?
42. What features or aspects of competitors’ products/services do you find more appealing?
43. What made you choose our product/service over the competition?
44. Have you switched from a competitor to our product/service? If so, why?
45. Are there any advantages that competitors offer that you wish we did as well?
46. How do you perceive the pricing of our product/service compared to competitors?
47. What do you think our brand could learn from our competitors to improve?
Questions About Marketing
48. How did you first become aware of our product/service through our marketing efforts?
49. What aspects of our advertising campaigns do you find most memorable or impactful?
50. How effective do you think our social media presence is in engaging you?
51. Have any of our promotions or special offers influenced your decision to purchase?
52. What type of marketing content (videos, articles, social media posts) do you find most appealing?
53. How do you feel about the messaging and tone of our marketing materials?
54. Can you recall a specific advertisement or marketing campaign of ours that stood out to you? What did you like or dislike about it?
55. How would you suggest we improve our marketing strategies to better reach and engage you?
Questions to Wrap It Up
56. Is there anything we haven’t covered that you think is important to mention?
57. What are your final thoughts or overall impressions about our product/service?
58. Based on today’s discussion, what would you prioritize as the most important area for improvement?
59. How likely are you to recommend our product/service to others, and why?
60. Do you have any additional feedback or suggestions for us moving forward?
Contact Our Focus Group Company
In order to host a successful focus group, the right questions must be asked. Quality questions = quality feedback.
Our focus group facility provides cutting-edge technology to ensure the best possible experience, with our team at the ready to provide support wherever you need.
Questions? Get in touch with us today.
- Message us on our website
- Email us at [email protected]
- Call us at 888-725-DATA
- Text us at 315-303-2040
Emily Taylor
As Director of Operations, Emily does more than wrangle data. Her work includes executing company OKRs, company-wide project management, training/onboarding, team culture initiatives, and more!
Learn more about Emily, here.
