Running Focus Groups and Customer Interviews

Surveys tell you what and how many. Conversations tell you why. This guide covers how to plan, run and make sense of one-to-one customer interviews and small group discussions.

Interviews or focus groups?

	One-to-one interview	Focus group
Usual size	One person	A small group, often five to eight people
Usual length	30 to 60 minutes	60 to 90 minutes
Best for	Personal experiences, sensitive topics, detailed buying journeys	Seeing how people react to ideas and to each other
Main risk	Fewer people covered for the time spent	Loud voices dominate; people go along with the group
Skill needed	Listening and follow-up questions	Listening plus managing group dynamics

For most small businesses and student projects, one-to-one interviews are the easier place to start. They are simpler to schedule, easier to moderate and less prone to everyone agreeing with the first speaker.

Recruiting the right people

Decide whose views you need: current customers, lapsed customers, or people who buy from a competitor. Lapsed customers are often the most revealing and the most overlooked. Write a short screener of three to five questions that checks whether someone fits, for example: “In the last three months, have you bought ready-to-eat snacks from a local shop?” Avoid recruiting only friends and family; they know you and will be kind.

If you can, offer a small thank-you for people’s time, such as a voucher or a discount, and make clear it does not depend on what they say.

Writing a discussion guide

A discussion guide is your plan for the conversation, not a script to read word for word. A simple structure:

Welcome and consent (2–3 minutes): who you are, why you’re talking, how notes will be used, and permission to record.
Warm-up (5 minutes): easy questions about their routine around the topic.
Recent experience (15–20 minutes): “Tell me about the last time you…” and follow the story.
Problems and workarounds (10 minutes): what annoyed them, and what they did about it.
Reactions (10 minutes, optional): show an idea, a price or a design and ask for an honest reaction.
Wrap-up (5 minutes): “Is there anything I should have asked but didn’t?”

Moderating: how to ask well

Ask open questions

Start with “how”, “what” or “tell me about”. “Do you like ordering online?” gets a yes or a no. “Tell me how you ordered your last meal” gets a story.

Follow the specifics

When someone says “it’s usually expensive”, ask “What did you pay last time?” or “Expensive compared with what?” Concrete details are worth more than general opinions.

Get comfortable with silence

After someone answers, wait a few seconds before speaking. People often add the most useful detail when they fill the pause.

Don’t sell

The moment you defend your product or explain what you really meant, people start telling you what you want to hear. If they misunderstand your idea, that misunderstanding is useful information.

In groups, manage the room

Invite quieter people by name, thank and gently redirect dominant speakers, and ask everyone to jot down their first reaction before discussing, so the first voice doesn’t set everyone’s opinion.

Tell participants plainly what you are doing and why, ask before recording, and let them skip any question or stop at any time. Store recordings and notes securely, remove names when you share findings, and delete what you no longer need. India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 sets out duties for those who handle personal data; if you collect names, contact details or recordings, read up on what applies to you or seek proper advice. Students should also follow their institution’s ethics rules.

Making sense of what you heard

Write up notes within a day, while your memory is fresh. Keep what people said separate from your interpretation.
Read everything once without judging, then mark recurring themes, such as “price confusion” or “delivery timing”.
Group the themes and note how many participants raised each one.
Choose a few short, anonymised quotes that illustrate each theme.
List what surprised you; surprises are often the most valuable findings.
Treat results as directions, not percentages. Eight interviews can reveal a problem; they cannot tell you how common it is. A follow-up survey can.

Checklist for your first round

I know which decision these conversations will inform.
I have a screener and I’m recruiting beyond friends and family.
My guide uses open, “last time” questions.
I have a consent script and will ask permission to record.
I’ve planned where notes are stored and when they’ll be deleted.
I’ll write up notes within a day of each session.