Learn how to thank, validate, and engage your online focus group participants with these tips on sending emails, asking for feedback, sharing results, offering incentives, and building relationships.

At Good Sense Research we house all participants on our online community. This means we can easily and cost affectively follow up with them over any time line... either for feedback or for follow on research. Revisiting the same consumer group at different points has proven to be very useful when working on long term innovation projects and our super qually Jules Greene is incredibly skilled at this.

How can you effectively follow up with participants after an online focus group?

Online focus groups are a valuable method of collecting insights from your target audience, but they require careful planning and execution. One of the most important steps is to follow up with your participants after the session, to thank them, validate their responses, and encourage further engagement. In this article, we will share some tips on how to effectively follow up with participants after an online focus group.

1 Send a thank-you email

As soon as possible after the online focus group, send a personalized thank-you email to each participant. Express your appreciation for their time and input, and remind them of the purpose and objectives of the research. You can also include a summary of the main findings or themes that emerged from the discussion, and highlight how their feedback will help you improve your product or service. This will make them feel valued and respected, and increase their trust in your brand.

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Kelly Dowson

Managing Director at F!S Group - Food Innovation Solutions ~ Good Sense Research ~ Kicr Innovation ~ Cambridge Market Research. Experienced Non Executive Director
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At Good Sense Research we house all participants on our online community. This means we can easily and cost affectively follow up with them over any time line... either for feedback or for follow on research. Revisiting the same consumer group at different points has proven to be very useful when working on long term innovation projects and our super qually Jules Greene is incredibly skilled at this.

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Anusha Thakur

Padma Shri Award Nominee - 2024 | Independent Researcher | Solo Research Papers without Ph.D. | Best Woman Researcher Award (Below 35 years) | Shiksha Bharati Award | LinkedIn Top Voice| 3AI-Young Turks Award | CEO Award
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Showing appreciation to the participants for their valuable time and input plays a vital role. A thank you email shows a professional etiquette and acknowledges every action taken to maintain positive relationship with the clients.

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2 Ask for feedback

Another way to follow up with your participants is to ask them for feedback on their experience of the online focus group. You can use a short online survey or a phone call to collect their opinions on the platform, the moderator, the questions, the duration, and the incentives. This will help you evaluate the quality and effectiveness of your online focus group, and identify any areas for improvement. You can also use this opportunity to ask them if they have any additional comments or questions that they did not get to share during the session.

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Anusha Thakur

Padma Shri Award Nominee - 2024 | Independent Researcher | Solo Research Papers without Ph.D. | Best Woman Researcher Award (Below 35 years) | Shiksha Bharati Award | LinkedIn Top Voice| 3AI-Young Turks Award | CEO Award
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Asking for participant feedback helps to gain insights from their experience and determine the aspects of the program working well, the gaps, and their impact on the participants.

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3 Share the results

Once you have analyzed the data and prepared your report, you can share the results of your online focus group with your participants. This will show them that you value their input and that you are transparent about your findings. You can send them a brief summary of the key insights and recommendations, or invite them to a webinar or a presentation where you can explain your results in more detail. You can also ask them for their feedback on the results, and how they relate to their needs and expectations.

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4 Offer incentives

One of the best ways to motivate and reward your participants for their participation in your online focus group is to offer them incentives. These can be monetary, such as gift cards, vouchers, or cash, or non-monetary, such as discounts, coupons, or free samples. You should inform your participants about the incentives before the online focus group, and deliver them promptly after the session. You can also use incentives as a way to encourage referrals, by asking your participants to share your online focus group invitation with their friends or contacts who might be interested.

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5 Build relationships

The ultimate goal of following up with your participants after an online focus group is to build long-term relationships with them. You want them to become loyal customers, advocates, or partners of your brand, and to provide you with ongoing feedback and insights. You can achieve this by keeping in touch with them via email, social media, or phone, and providing them with relevant and useful information, updates, or offers. You can also invite them to join your online community, where they can interact with other customers and your team, and participate in future online focus groups or other research activities.

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Clare Otridge

Market Research & Strategic Development in the Food Supply Chain | Steering Group of Women in Food and Farming | Advocate for better panel data and research sources for food and agriculture sector
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We have built a panel of around 10k participants with very focused interest points relating to the food supply chain. For many projects with very specific requirements a gen pop sample isn’t what is required. We maintain engagement levels through similar methods as you would building a brand community. We also don’t operate ‘points mean prizes’ as a differentiator as that tends to be where you attract participants who aren’t necessarily who they say they are or who aren’t as engaged as they appear.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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⚡️Jake Pryszlak

Mixing research with life - 95% useful. 5% useless
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It really depends on the project, but here are some ways I've reached out to participants after a focus group in the past: - Created a private group for participants to carry on the conversations (a great way to unearth some hidden insights) - Sharing a summary one pager of what was discussed so they feel like they have been listened to. - Provide any follow up information to help with future research projects.

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How can you effectively follow up with participants after an online focus group?

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1 Send a thank-you email

2 Ask for feedback

3 Share the results

4 Offer incentives

5 Build relationships

6 Here’s what else to consider

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