It would be great to claim that every one of the 150 focus group projects I have conducted have been uniformly successful. There have been a few times when I felt less than totally satisfied with the final results. And almost every time I felt this way the problem could be traced back to the preparation period before the first session was ever held.

Certainly, qualitative research can be a valuable research tool. But anyone involved in the process should realize that productive and useful focus groups just don't happen. They are the result of careful and proper planning.

Focus groups and one-on-ones may be the fastest growing segment of marketing research. They are used more and more not only in conjunction with quantitative projects but also alone to develop information for use in the decision-making process. Some marketing managers seem to want to use this method to the exclusion of all others and do so with valid reasons.

As with all research projects, the first item of consideration is setting the objective(s). The objective should tee such that when the project is completed, actionable decisions can be taken. Everyone who will be involved in the project should be made aware of the objective.

There are many different reasons why one may decide to use focus groups. Sometimes it is to assist in the development of questionnaires. Occasionally focus groups are used after quantitative research to better understand the statistical results. And there are many instances when they are sufficiently definitive in themselves that no additional research is needed. For whatever purpose that focus groups are planned, it is important that the method selected is the most efficient and effective way of obtaining the needed information.

Once it has been decided to consider focus groups as the research methodology, it is time to involve the moderator (facilitator). The earlier the moderator becom...