Marketing

BEYOND LISTENING
LEARNING THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF FOCUS GROUPS

Bonnie Goebert
Editions Wiley, 2002, 224 pages.

This book offers an interesting overview of best practice and the use of “focus groups,” i.e. qualitative marketing studies conducted by discussing a product with small groups of current or prospective customers.

This book is not a practical manual or how-to guide, but rather a testimonial. The author, who manages a marketing research firm, shares her thirty years of experience facilitating focus groups. She draws two types of conclusions from this experience:

• First, practical advice on how to organize an facilitate focus groups;
• Second, more general observations on consumer behavior and impact on marketing.

The related conclusions are of varying interest, some being presented as mere anecdotes. However, an instructive overview is provided by the wealth of real-life examples taken directly from the field.

Bonnie Goebert manages a qualitative marketing research firm in New York.