Focus groups are a form of group interview that capitalizes on the interaction between research participants and generates in-depth discussion on a specific topic area. Participants are encouraged to talk to one another: asking questions, exchanging anecdotes and commenting on each others' experiences and points of view. The method is particularly useful for exploring people's knowledge and experiences and can be used to examine not only what people think, but how they think and why they think that way.

Banister Research has conducted focus groups as a qualitative assessment in the following areas: branding, pricing, promotional strategy and consumer behaviour related to programs, services and products. Focus group findings can also be utilized to support the results from other quantitative research.