Table of Contents
Focus Groups
Focus Groups
Learn how to create, configure, and manage multi-participant sessions.
What Are Focus Groups?
Focus Groups in Great Question are moderated research sessions with multiple participants, allowing teams to explore opinions, validate ideas, and understand shared perspectives.They’re ideal for discussions where participants can react to and build on each other’s experiences — helping uncover richer, more collaborative insights than individual interviews.
Focus Groups are Enterprise-only and must be enabled by request. Video recordings currently do not upload to the study repository. Please confirm access with your Customer Success Manager or Support.
Why It Matters
- Collaborative learning: Gather insights from participants interacting together in real time.
- Scalable moderation: Manage multiple voices in a single session while maintaining structure.
- Centralized coordination: Handle invites, scheduling, consent, and notes directly in Great Question.
Common Use Cases
Use Case | Description |
Concept and Idea Validation | Test early-stage product ideas, messaging, or design concepts with a group of participants to gather a range of perspectives and reactions. |
Feature or Product Feedback | Discuss new or existing features with multiple users at once to identify common themes, expectations, and usability concerns. |
Market and Persona Exploration | Explore attitudes, behaviors, and motivations among participants within a shared demographic, industry, or persona to better understand audience segments. |
Message and Campaign Testing | Evaluate how users interpret and respond to marketing messages, creative materials, or value propositions before wider release. |
Community or Customer Advisory Sessions | Engage loyal customers or power users in structured discussions to gather feedback, co-create ideas, and strengthen relationships. |
How to Set Up a Focus Group Study
Step 1: Create your study
Navigate to Studies in the left-side menu.
Click New study and select Focus Groups.
Add core study details:
- Title and research goal
- Participation limit per focus group
- Participant segments (optional)
- External recruitment (optional)
- Incentives (optional)
- Screener (optional)
- Consent form
- Custom study attributes
- Automatic slot release settings
- Participant language preferences
Review your plan, then click Next.
Step 2: Set Up Your Screener (Optional)
- Add multiple-choice, text, or scale questions using the screener editor.
- Apply logic under Preferences or view full rules under All Logic.
- Review and click Next.
Step 3: Configure External Recruitment (Optional)
If using User Interviews for sourcing:
- Enter participant count, request title, description, and recruitment criteria.
- Review and click Next.
Step 4: Set Up Your Calendar
Use the calendar setup to define when, where, and with whom your Focus Groups will take place.
For a deeper walkthrough of scheduling options, see the Scheduling in Great Question article.
Configure session details
- Moderator — The study owner is automatically set as the moderator for Focus Groups.
- Observers — Add any observers who should attend or view the session.
- Location — Choose where the focus group will be hosted (e.g., Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Webex, in-person, or a custom link).
- Duration — Set how long each session will run (available in 15-minute increments).
Set up focus group sessions
- Sessions — Define the specific dates and times participants can book for each focus group session.
- Timezone — Your workspace time zone is shown and used for scheduling; participants will see sessions in their local time zone.
Step 5: Review and Publish
Check all sections for accuracy. When ready, click Create to publish your study.
Managing Your Study After Publishing
After publishing your Focus Group study, there are several areas you may want to configure or monitor before and after inviting participants. These actions fall into two categories: Setup and Execution.
Setup
These areas help you fine‑tune your study before inviting participants.
Plan
Return to the Plan step anytime to adjust details such as participant limits, incentives, study attributes, or segments.
Screener (if applicable)
You can edit screener questions or update logic if your qualification criteria change.
Calendar
Manage your calendar set-up and make any adjustments necessary.
Incentives (if applicable)
Manage incentive settings and make any adjustments necessary.
Emails
Customize participant-facing communications—including screener invitations, study invites, task reminders, and completion emails.
Pages
Update the Landing Page and Screener Disqualification Page to ensure participants receive the correct instructions and messaging.
Automations
Enable automatic reminders to streamline participation:
- Send invitation reminders to candidates who do not respond after 24 hours.
- Send interview reminders to candidates 24 hours before their scheduled interview.
- Mark participations as completed 24 hours after their interview.
- Create an internal calendar event for new bookings.
Notifications
Choose which email alerts you want to receive related to this study.
Execution
Once the study is live, these sections help you manage participants and monitor activity.
Participants
Add candidates, track their progress, and take actions such as inviting, removing, or reviewing participant status. This is where most post-publish activity takes place.
Recruitment Requests (if applicable)
Manage recruit requests and make any adjustments necessary.
Stats
View email performance metrics such as delivery, opens, and clicks.
Screener Responses (if applicable)
Review individual or aggregate responses to your screener questions to determine eligibility.
Interview Guide
Craft the questions that you want to ask in your interviews.
- Keep focus groups to 4–8 participants for manageable discussions.
- Use clear arrival instructions for in-person sessions.
- Reuse content: pull screeners or interview guides from the Library or Templates.
- When recruiting externally, ensure your Participant limit and sessions reflect your outreach capacity and incentive budget.
Troubleshooting Focus Groups
Issue | What's Happening | How to Fix It |
Can’t see the Focus Groups study type | Focus Groups are Enterprise-only and not enabled | Confirm Focus Groups access with your Customer Success Manager or Support |
Meeting provider not available | The required calendar or video integration isn’t connected | Go to Settings → Integrations and connect Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, or Webex (admin approval may be required) |
Participants aren’t filling available slots | Not enough eligible candidates or invites aren’t being sent | Increase participant limits or sessions, enable Continuous invites, and confirm automations are active |
Screener auto-review not qualifying participants | Screener logic isn’t configured correctly | Review logic under Screener → Preferences or All Logic |
Time zone appears incorrect | The study calendar is set to a different time zone | Update the Moderator’s time zone under Calendar settings and confirm via participant preview |
Observers can’t join the session | Observers weren’t added or livestream isn’t enabled | Add observers under Calendar → Observers and confirm livestream is turned on |
Video recordings not appearing | Focus Group recordings do not upload to the repository |
Still need help?
Reach out to us anytime in the app or email us at [email protected]!
