59 Focus Group Questions for Any Purpose

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Market research is an overarching term for gathering information from you customers about your business, and focus groups are one way to conduct market research.

Whether your focus group’s goal is to give feedback on a product or service or help you assess how your brand stands out in your competitive landscape, thought-provoking, open-ended questions are essential to a productive discussion.

Focus group questions should dive into the mind of a consumer. What do they think? How do they make their decisions? You want more than a yes or no answer, and your questions need to generate them. However, it is easier said than done. What can you ask beyond “What do you think of our product?” to provoke the most fruitful answers?

Here, we have compiled the most insightful questions you can ask in your next focus group to get the best insights from your participants.

Copy-and-paste the questions you like below into this note taking template for a ready-to-go, printable document you can bring to the session.

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For a free template for note taking during focus groups, a guide on conducting market research, and several other templates, download our Market Research Kit.

Focus Group Question Examples for Building Trust Among Focus Group Members

Before diving into deeper questions, it’s best to warm up the group with a couple of open-ended questions that allow participants to get to know each other a little bit. Participants should have the liberty to decide how much they want to share with the group. Don’t force anyone to share something they may not feel comfortable sharing.

By including a question that allows people to talk about something tangential to the topic of the focus group, your participants will begin to build empathy for each other. That empathy can grow into trust, which is essential for eliciting honest insights out of your group.

Here are a few questions you might ask to build trust:

“Share an aspect of your work or life experience that has brought you here today.”
“Why did you decide to join our focus group today?”
“When and how did you first come across our brand/product/service?”

Focus Group Question Examples to Encourage Follow-up and Continuation of Ideas

The most helpful insights that come from focus groups are often the most specific points. Challenge your participants to reflect on their comments if something sparks your curiosity. For instance:

“That’s a fascinating point that [name] just said — what do you all think of that?”
“Do you agree or disagree with [name]’s statement, and why?”
“[Name], you’ve been a bit quiet recently. Did you have any thoughts on this topic that you wanted to share?”