The books are piling up so high I can barely see my Mac! This round of reviews includes a look at the  women's market, a unique atlas of America and confessions of a moderator.
 
E. Janice Leeming and Cynthia F. Tripp are president and vice president, respectively, of About Women Inc., a publishing company that helps companies market to women. Their book, Segmenting the Women's Market, contains portraits of the lifestyles and consumption habits of 13 ethnic and demographic segments of the women's market, from Asian-American women to homemakers. The authors have taken pains to avoid breaking down the women's market into tiny subgroups - which is a danger that few of niche marketing's champions acknowledge. Take the niche idea too far, Leeming and Tripp say, you'll end up with groups such as "mid-life working boomer lesbians."

Instead, they focus on segments that they describe as "eminently targetable," providing data and insights into buying motivation from a wealth of sources, including books, magazine articles, research company data and government studies. Since the book is loaded with facts and figures, each chapter ends with a list of the addresses and phone numbers of sources cited so you can contact them should something pique your interest.

If it's part of your job to market to one of these segments, I think you'll find this book useful and informative.

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Some years back I reviewed Michael J. Weiss' The Clustering of America, in which Weiss used Claritas' PRIZM system to profile U.S. consumers based on where they live, what they eat, etc. He's taken the same approach with his new book, Latitudes and Attitudes.

The first half of the book is an atlas-style look at U.S. consumption habits, using Claritas and Simmons color-coded maps generated from MRB data. The maps show regional differences in both run of the mill consumer categories (smokers, dog and cat owners) and more offbeat ones (people who spend more than $10 at Tupperware parties). The second half contains snapshots of the nation's 209 consumer markets - as defined by Arbitron's ADIs - featuring key demographics and a list of what's hot/what's not in consumer goods, food, cars, politics, TV shows, etc.

Obviously geared toward a general audience, the book probably doesn't hold any surprises for the marketing pro, but if you need quick information on an ADI or two it will come in handy. And, like Clustering, the book is fun to read thanks to Weiss' breezy, informal style.

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Last but definitely not least is The Focus Group, by Jane Parley Templeton, director of Choice Points, a New York research firm. She has more than 25 years' experience with focus groups.

The Focus Group is one heck of a book, a well-written, informative examination of all aspects of focus groups, from recruiting to report writing. It offers philosophical and practical advice that should be useful to both newcomers and veterans.

In chapters like "How to Be the Best Possible Client/Researcher" and "Coping With Problem Groups," Templeton gets her points across with a clarity that's uncommon in marketing/business books, many of which are stuffed with vague puffery. She knows what she's talking about so she doesn't have to resort to business-speak.

Templeton relates her war stories and how-to information in an intelligent style that informs and gently instructs. Some sections have a memoir-like feel, but the stories always have a point. Moderators will no doubt find plenty to relate to in these pages, while those who hire moderators will learn how a good one approaches the balancing act that is the focus group.
 
Reading this book made me think about focus groups the same way I do about driving to work some mornings: With so many opportunities for disaster all around, it's amazing everything works as well as it does. From the moderator's appearance and demeanor to the analysis of the final report, there are a million chances for misinterpretation and misunderstanding, for accidents to happen. They most assuredly do happen, but more often than not, the process works.

As Templeton writes, "With experience comes the awareness of how many separate people, each per-forming an integral function within a narrow range of tolerance, and of how many lucky meshings of func-tion and fortuity go into a smoothly run focus group. Recruiting must be impeccable, planning thorough, communication between client and moderator as good as humanly possible, and emotional commitment warm. On top of all that, the weather must be good enough to not stall flying schedules or present obstacles to panel members, but on the other hand, not so good that panel members will play hooky and go fishing, or that client sportsmen will be strongly tempted to try the golf course in the vicinity they've heard so much about. Finally, the respondents themselves must not know each other too well or hate one another (or the moderator) on sight. If all of these factors are favorable, the group should go well."

Sounds easy, doesn't it?

The Focus Group ($27.50 hardcover, 325 pages) by Jane Parley Templeton and Segmenting the Women's Market ($32.50 hardcover, 346 pages) by E. Janice Leeming and Cynthia F. Tripp, are published by Probus Publishing, Chicago.

Latitudes & Attitudes (529.95 hardcover, 224pages) by Michael J. Weiss is published by Little, Brown and Co., New York.