Focus groups for life sciences, healthcare and technical market research
There’s a moment in every focus group when a participant says something highly technical – a nuanced observation about assay variability, a comment about regulatory constraints, a comparison of analytical workflows – and the facilitator’s eyes glaze over.
They nod politely. They write it down. But they don’t understand it. And because they don’t understand it, they can’t dig deeper. They can’t ask the follow-up question that uncovers the real insight. The conversation moves on, and valuable intelligence is lost.
At kdm, we facilitate focus groups where technical depth matters. Our facilitators are scientists – PhD-level experts who understand the science, the workflows, the regulatory landscape and the technical challenges your customers face.
When a clinical lab director mentions “pre-analytical variables affecting turnaround times”, we know what they mean. When a research scientist discusses “reproducibility issues for high throughput screening”, we can probe deeper. This allows us to uncover the nuanced, technical insights that generic market research firms miss entirely.
We’re not a market research agency, and we don’t pretend to be. But when you need to gather insights from scientists, clinicians or technical buyers, you need facilitators who speak their language.
Our approach step by step
1. Listen: define your research objectives and participant criteria
We start by understanding what you’re trying to learn. Are you exploring unmet needs in a market? Testing product concepts? Understanding buying decisions? Gathering feedback on positioning or messaging? Identifying pain points in current workflows? Each objective shapes how we design and facilitate the sessions.
We’ll discuss who needs to be in the room. Typically, focus groups work best with 6-10 participants who share similar characteristics:
- Role-based groups – bringing together individual lab managers, research scientists, clinical directors or procurement teams
- Application-based groups – involving users of specific techniques, workflows or therapeutic areas
- Experience-based groups – incorporate a range of current customers, competitive users or non-users
- Geography-based groups – looking at regional differences in practices, regulations or preferences
We explore the technical depth required. How specialised is the topic? Are we discussing general workflows or highly specific technical challenges? Do participants need particular expertise or experience?
We also discuss logistics: locations (if multiple groups), format (in-person or virtual), timing, incentives for participants, and whether sessions should be recorded, transcribed or observed by your team.
Critical point: We clarify what you’ll do with the insights. Are you making product development decisions? Refining positioning? Validating strategy? Identifying new market segments? This ensures we focus discussions on what actually matters to your business.
2. Think: design discussion guides that balance structure with exploration
Based on your objectives, we design discussion guides that ensure we cover your key topics while allowing natural conversation to flow… and unexpected insights to emerge.
Our approach to discussion design:
Open-ended exploration – We don’t lead participants to predetermined answers. Questions are designed to uncover genuine insights, not validate assumptions: “Tell us about your current workflow,” not “Don’t you find your current workflow frustrating?”
Building from broad to specific – We start with context-setting questions about their work, challenges and environment. This builds rapport and ensures that we understand their world before diving into specific topics.
Technical depth where it matters – For highly technical topics, we design questions that allow participants to discuss at the depth they’re comfortable with. We don’t dumb things down, as the nuanced technical details are often where valuable insights hide.
Probing techniques – We plan follow-up probes for anticipated responses –”Can you walk me through that process?”, “What’s the implication of that for your work?”, “How do you currently work around that?” – but remain flexible to pursue unexpected insights.
Comparative discussions – For discussions about solutions, vendors or approaches, we design questions that elicit genuine experiences without being inappropriately direct about competitors.
Stimulus materials – If testing concepts, messaging or prototypes, we prepare materials that spark productive discussion without biasing responses. We show, ask reactions, and dig into why people respond as they do.
Prioritisation exercises – To understand what matters most, we often include activities where participants rank needs, features or benefits. These reveal trade-offs and true priorities.
3. Do: facilitate discussions that uncover genuine customer insights
On the day, we create an environment where participants feel comfortable sharing openly – including frustrations, criticisms and experiences with competitive solutions.
What makes our facilitation different:
Scientists facilitating scientists – When participants discuss technical details, we understand them. This isn’t just about credibility (though that matters) – it’s about being able to ask intelligent follow-up questions. When someone mentions ‘lot-to-lot variability affecting reproducibility’, we can probe into the issue further: is that specific to individual suppliers or common across certain reagent types? Generic facilitators can’t do this.
Technical fluency creates trust – Participants relax when they realise that they don’t need to simplify or explain. They can discuss their work at the level they think at, which leads to richer, more honest conversations. Scientists are used to people not understanding their work – when someone finally does, they open up.
Reading between the lines – Because we understand the science, we recognise when something significant has been said, even if it’s mentioned casually. We can spot the valuable insight buried in a tangential comment, and bring the discussion back to explore it.
Managing group dynamics – Some participants dominate while others sit quietly. We actively manage this; redirecting conversation, asking specific people for input, and ensuring all voices are heard. The quietest person in the room often has the most valuable perspective.
Neutral facilitation – We’re not selling to participants or defending your product. We’re genuinely curious about their experiences, challenges and opinions. This neutrality encourages honest responses, including criticism when warranted.
Probing without leading – We dig deeper into interesting responses without putting words in participants’ mouths. “Tell me more about that” is more valuable than “So you’re saying it’s too expensive?”
Capturing verbatim gold – Alongside our notes, we capture exact quotes that illustrate key insights. The way participants phrase things often reveals more than summaries can convey.
Flexibility within structure – We have a discussion guide, but we’re not slaves to it. If an unexpected topic emerges that’s clearly important, we explore it. The goal is insights, not ticking boxes.
Following technical tangents – When discussions get technical, we don’t shut them down. We follow them, because that’s often where the most valuable insights emerge. Our technical fluency means we can stay with highly specialised discussions that would lose generic facilitators.
4. Review: comprehensive analysis and actionable customer insights
After the sessions, we don’t just transcribe recordings and send you notes. We analyse what we heard across all groups, and translate it into actionable insights.
Our reporting includes:
Executive summary – Key insights, patterns and recommendations for leadership or stakeholders who need the highlights quickly.
Detailed findings – Comprehensive analysis organised by research objective: unmet needs identified, pain points expressed, product feedback, competitive intelligence, buying criteria, workflow insights, regulatory concerns, technical challenges and user preferences.
Cross-group patterns – What themes emerged across multiple groups? Where did opinions differ by role, application or experience level? What surprised us? What contradicted expectations?
Verbatim quotes – Exact participant statements that illustrate key points. These bring insights to life, and often prove more persuasive than summaries when building internal cases for action.
Participant profiles – Context about who said what (role, organisation type, experience level, geography) so you can weight feedback appropriately.
Segmentation insights – If different groups revealed different needs or preferences, we highlight how segments differ and what that means for your strategy.
Actionable recommendations – Based on what we heard, what should you consider doing differently? What opportunities emerged? What assumptions were validated or challenged? How should this inform product development, positioning or go-to-market strategy?
Supporting materials – Session recordings (if recorded), transcripts (if requested), stimulus materials used, attendance lists and any additional materials referenced during discussions.
Implications for your business – We connect insights to your objectives. If you’re developing a product, we highlight must-have features versus nice-to-haves. If you’re refining positioning, we identify which messages resonated and which fell flat. If you’re exploring market entry, we outline barriers and opportunities.
Reports are typically delivered within two weeks of completing all sessions, giving you time to digest insights while they’re still fresh.
Focus group research: what we explore
Unmet needs and pain points
Understand current challenges, frustrations and gaps in available solutions. Identify opportunities for new products, features or services that address genuine needs.
Product concept testing
Test concepts, prototypes or ideas with target users before full development. Gather feedback on features, benefits, positioning and pricing to inform product strategy.
User experience and workflow research
Understand how customers work, where friction exists, what workarounds they’ve developed, and where solutions could add value. Particularly valuable for product development and user interface design.
Buying process and decision criteria
Explore how customers evaluate solutions, who’s involved in decisions, what criteria matter most, and what influences vendor selection. Uncover the real buying journey beyond what sales teams assume.
Message and positioning testing
Test messaging frameworks, positioning approaches, value propositions or campaign concepts before launch. Understand what resonates, what confuses, and what drives interest.
Competitive intelligence
Gather insights on how customers view competitive solutions, what drives vendor choice, and how your offerings compare. Conducted ethically to understand experiences and perceptions.
Segmentation and persona validation
Validate or develop customer segments and personas through direct discussion with representative users. Uncover motivations, priorities, pain points and decision-making processes that distinguish segments.
Customer satisfaction and experience
Explore satisfaction with current products or services, identify improvement opportunities, understand why customers stay or leave, and gather ideas for enhancing customer experience.
Market opportunity assessment
Explore potential new markets, applications or customer segments. Understand needs, challenges, current solutions and receptivity to new approaches.
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