Looys delivers consumer research from start to finish: participant recruitment, in-depth interviews and focus groups, analysis of customer needs, motivations and behavior, customer journey mapping (CJM), and recommendations for product, marketing and sales.
Consumer research supports B2B and B2C products before launch, when entering new regions and when scaling a business. We select the format to suit your goals: in-depth interviews or focus groups.
Consumer research analyzes people’s needs, preferences, expectations, satisfaction, behavior, self-image, fears and objections. We talk to your audience in depth to understand how people perceive and use your product, how they decide to buy it, and which problems it solves for them.
Consumer research is a broad field. Here we focus on two specific methods: focus groups and in-depth interviews.
These are two of the main and most widely used consumer research methods. Both enable the most important step: talking directly to your customers, your competitors’ customers, and people who chose a different type of product altogether.
The key difference between the methods is the number of people taking part at the same time.
Interviews are conducted one to one and explore individual experiences in greater depth. Focus groups bring several people together and provide a broader discussion, with less depth per person.
Compare focus groups and in-depth interviews by format, depth and research goals.
6–8 people
1 person
up to 2 hours
up to 1.5 hours
2 weeks
3–4 weeks
Moderate depth with a variety of opinions because several people take part. A group can explore two or three topics in depth, or discuss five or six more broadly.
Deep insights that are often personal or private: things people may not share in a group. The interview continues until all relevant topics have been covered, usually seven to ten.
The moderator must watch group dynamics closely: manage dominant voices, encourage quieter participants and prevent people from persuading each other. Their own wording and tone also matter, because they can unintentionally steer the discussion.
The moderator’s main task is to build trust and respect so the participant can speak openly. In an individual interview, there is less risk of distorting the discussion by imposing an opinion. Even so, the moderator must remain neutral, adapt to the person and understand their responses.
B2B decision-makers such as business owners and senior executives can be difficult to recruit into groups. Bringing even middle managers together for a focus group can be challenging.
The format has few recruitment constraints. Even politicians and senior business leaders agree to in-depth or expert interviews.
Family, personal and sexual life, health and illness can be difficult to discuss. Participants may also avoid subjects they feel are too private.
Constraints are uncommon and mainly depend on the individual participant’s preferences and boundaries.
At least four focus groups are conducted, organized by audience segment: loyal customers, dissatisfied customers, those who switched to competitors, and other relevant groups.
Focus groups work well as an exploratory stage before a larger study: understand the audience, develop hypotheses for in-depth interviews and validate ideas. They can also follow individual interviews to test insights and hypotheses with a larger sample.
In-depth interviews are a primary and widely used way to study customers. They provide a more detailed understanding and a rich set of insights. A series of 20 interviews can produce more than ten recommendations for changes to a company’s product and marketing.
Would focus groups be the right approach, or do you need in-depth interviews? That depends on your research objectives. We help select the method that fits your goals.
We define the audience segments to study and the number of people in each. These often include loyal customers, dissatisfied customers and those who switched to competitors, but other segments may also be relevant.
People within each segment must share the characteristics that matter to your business. For example, if we study customers with children, every participant should be a parent with relevant purchasing experience. People without children or whose purchase falls outside the required period should not be included. This helps ensure the findings describe the intended segment and support conclusions about what those customers think.
In simple terms, this is the list of questions for a focus group. Questions are organized by topic and tailored to each segment, often with substantial differences. A 90-minute session typically covers around 40 questions. Wording is kept as neutral as possible to avoid steering people toward a preferred answer.
Our recruiters find people who meet the screening criteria and schedule the focus groups. Sources include your customer database, our participant databases, relevant online communities and forums, and professional networks.
We conduct the session. The interviewer responds to participants’ moods, creates a trusting atmosphere and follows the discussion guide.
Listening through interview recordings is time-consuming, especially when you need to find a specific passage. We transcribe every interview before passing it to the analyst. The transcripts are also provided to you at the end of the project.
An expert prepares the analysis and recommendations for changes in your business based on the focus-group findings. These recommendations form the final deliverable of the research.
We have worked with this method since 2020, learning from experience and addressing blind spots. Today our studies give clients decisions they can act on, rather than leaving them with even more questions.
You do not have to write the discussion guide or find participants. Our professional moderators run the sessions, and access to extensive databases helps us recruit the right people.
We carry out the research and manage the team. A dedicated project manager coordinates your study and keeps you informed throughout.
In-depth interviews / 20 participants
4 focus groups with 5–8 people each
Build your marketing approach: company positioning, brand communication channels, a development strategy for each channel, budgeting and an implementation plan.
Define the essence of your company: its mission, positioning and values. Establish what sets you apart from other businesses.
Understand competitors’ strategies to strengthen your market position: advertising budgets, strategic priorities, campaigns, promotions, special offers, price monitoring and more.
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Tell us what you would like to understand. We are always happy to discuss your research questions.
