Comparison Between focus-group and in-depth interview
Focus groups with group interaction (6-10 people) provide broad exploration of insights and generate ideas and test concepts, utilizing the social dynamics, but having a risk of groupthink and less depth of individuals. In-depth interviews (IDIs) are one-on-one and provide a deep and personal exploration of motivations and sensitive topics.
They are great for in-depth understanding, but at the cost of added time and cost per participant. Focus groups are great for discovering new topics, developing ideas, or even for understanding the typical reaction. At the same time, IDIs work best when the subject is sensitive or involves personal experiences, and you want to understand a person’s motivation completely.
When it comes to B2B customer surveys and qualitative research methodologies, organizations are at an impasse when choosing between focus groups and in-depth interviews. Both approaches have unique purposes in collecting customer feedback and informative data for business strategies, but both have their unique strengths that fit different research purposes.
Focus Groups
Focus groups involve 6-10 participants in a type of moderated group discussion in which researchers can observe social dynamics, collective reactions, and peer-to-peer interaction. This group discussion vs individual interview debate is really about whether breadth or depth concerns you more as you attempt to attain your particular research aims.
In-Depth Interviews
In-depth interviews (IDIs), on the other hand, are one-on-one interviews between a researcher and participant and can be used to get a personalized exploration of complex emotions, motivations, and touchy business topics. For decision-makers, VCs, and startup founders who want to have a more rational understanding of the actual differences between methodologies, the implications of these insights on the feedback strategies and resources they invest in B2B are direct.
Advantages of Focus Groups
Focus groups have several attractive advantages for organizations seeking to increase survey response rates and to solicit many diverse views in an efficient manner:
- Efficiency and Multiple Perspectives: Focus groups allow researchers to obtain information from 6-10 participants at once in 90 minutes, making them very efficient in terms of time efficiency to gather feedback from groups at a broad level. This approach is instrumental in the exploratory research phases of studying the market, when testing new concepts, or gaining an understanding of market trends.
- Group Dynamics and Social Influence: The benefits of focus groups are that they allow you to see how participants influence one another; they reveal social norms, collectively held attitudes about products or services. This social element helps businesses to understand such concepts as virtue signaling, peer influence, and consensus-building processes that impact purchasing decisions.
- Cost-Effectiveness for Broad Insights: In comparison to individual interview implementation, focus group studies minimize facility time and moderator costs, though there is no difference in participant incentives. Organizations such as Nexus Expert Research use focus groups for brainstorming sessions, concept testing, and trying to figure out common pain points across customer segments.
- Stimulating Idea Generation: The interactive nature of focus groups stimulates creative discussions, with participants building upon each other’s ideas and generating innovative solutions that might not be considered in isolated conversations.
Advantages of In-Depth Interviews
The advantages of in-depth interviews make them essential to more nuanced B2B customer surveys that require deep exploration:
- Rich, Detailed Insights: IDIs offer 30-60 minutes of focused conversation with each participant, giving researchers the opportunity to dig deep into people’s motivations, emotional drivers, and decision-making processes. This is a depth that proves crucial when trying to grasp sensitive financial decisions or confidential company policies and/or personal product experiences.
- Elimination of Group Bias: Unlike focus groups, in-depth interviews eliminate groupthink bias, dominant voice bias, social desirability, etc., and ensure authentic, unfiltered responses. Participants feel more comfortable relinquishing free opinions without peer pressure or judgment.
- Flexibility and Customization: Skilled interviewers can improvise questions based on responses from participants and go deeper into relevant topics, and can customize their conversations based on the expertise and experience of the individual. This flexibility allows the most value to be extracted from each research interaction.
- Geographic Accessibility: The IDIs conducted over the phone or video conferencing allow recruitment of participants across the country or the whole world without the need for facility constraints, thus widening the potential pool of respondents to a great extent.
Focus Group Limitations vs. the Interview Methodology Challenges
Understanding the unmet needs of focus groups and interview methodology challenges organizations to make informed decisions when conducting their research.
| Limitation Area | Focus Groups | In-Depth Interviews |
| Cost Structure | Facility rental fees, group incentives ($75-150 per person), moderator costs | Higher per-participant cost ($50-100), requires more sessions, transcription expenses |
| Time Investment | 90-120 minutes per group session | 30-60 minutes per participant, multiple sessions needed |
| Data Quality | Surface-level insights, risk of groupthink and conformity bias | Deep insights but no group dynamics observation |
| Participant Influence | Dominant voices can skew results, social desirability bias present | No peer influence, but lacks collaborative idea generation |
| Scheduling Complexity | Difficult coordinating 6-10 schedules simultaneously | Easier one-on-one scheduling, more flexible timing |
| Sample Size | Smaller overall sample, less representative | Requires more sessions for comparable participant numbers |
When to Choose Focus Groups vs. In-Depth Interviews
Decision-Making Model in Selecting Research Methodology:
When to use Focus Groups :
- Exploring new market segments or product concepts for which varied initial feedback is needed.
- Testing marketing campaigns, advertising, or messaging that benefit from the immediate reaction of a collective.
- Understanding social dynamics, peer influence, and survey engagement patterns is essential for your research objectives.
- Budget limitations require that several participants be gathered efficiently without delays.
- Brainstorming sessions or co-creation workshops align with your customer survey improvement goals.
When to use In-Depth Interviews :
- Sensitive topics, such as financial decisions, healthcare decisions, or confidential business strategies, need to be discussed privately.
- Deep understanding of individual motivations, emotional drivers, and complex decision-making processes is essential.
- Eliminating group bias and getting authentic, uninfluenced perspectives is the most important for research validity.
- Working with high-level decision-makers, C-suite executives, or VCs that don’t have the time for group sessions.
- Deep delving into personal experiences, pains, and nuanced opinions drives strategic value.
Comparison Table: Focus Groups vs. In-Depth Interviews
| Research Dimension | Focus Groups | In-Depth Interviews |
| Participant Size | 6-10 people per session | 1 participant per session |
| Session Duration | 90-120 minutes | 30-60 minutes |
| Primary Purpose | Broad insights, concept testing, group dynamics | Deep personal insights, sensitive topics, individual motivations |
| Bias Risk | High (groupthink, dominant voices) | Low (no peer influence) |
| Cost Per Session | Moderate to high (facility + multiple incentives) | Lower per session, higher overall for same participant count |
| Insight Depth | Surface to moderate | Deep and detailed |
| Best For | New topic exploration, idea generation, social influence observation | Complex emotions, sensitive subjects, decision-maker interviews |
| Scheduling | Complex (coordinating multiple schedules) | Simple (one-on-one flexibility) |
Strategic recommendations for B2B businesses:
For startups, SMEs, and decision-makers who want to optimize their B2B feedback strategies, consider taking a hybrid approach. Start with focus groups in exploratory phases to generate common themes and hypotheses, and go further with in-depth interviews to confirm findings and dig deeper into individual nuances.
Nexus Expert Research has shown that fusing the methods together results in a holistic understanding, with focus groups helping to find out what customers think as a whole, while IDIs help to understand why individuals are making particular decisions. This dual approach maximizes engagement in the survey and provides actionable insights to achieve competitive advantages in crowded markets.
When resources are constrained, consider using interview methodology rather than focus groups in making more strategic decisions that rely on depth, and use focus groups as more general concept validation or early market exploration. The dividends of quality insights are far more substantial than marginal cost differences, especially if the insights are directly linked to product development, positioning, or go-to-market strategies.
Unlock More About Your Customers with Expert Qualitative Research
Ready to roll up your B2B customer surveys into strategic assets? Nexus Expert Research is a consulting expert in dedicated focus group and in-depth interview research that provides tailored research with decision-making and actionable insights for decision-makers, VCs, and growth-focused businesses.
Contact us today to learn just what qualitative research approach will boost survey response rates to create business impact for your organization.
