Editor's note: Yvonne Martin Kidd is president of Martin Kidd Associates, a Nashville, Tenn., research firm.

Ask any focus group moderator: life in front of the one-way mirror can be a solitary existence. While moderators engage in frequent discussions with the client before, after and even during focus groups, most often these conversations are limited to details of the research project at hand. Unless specifically requested to do so, very few clients openly offer feedback about the moderator's skills and techniques or what the qualitative research process looks like and feels like from their perspective.

At the 1996 annual conference held in Montreal this past October, the Professionalism Committee for the Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA) designed a presentation to encourage feedback from the client side so that focus group moderators can better understand and meet the needs of those who purchase and use their services. The committee staged "Through the Client's Eyes," a 60-minute mini-focus group in which respondents were independent consultants and QRCA members who recently served on the client side in a decision-making capacity regarding research.

Six respondents were recruited for their unique dual perspective and ability to understand the challenges and opportunities that exist on both sides of the one-way mirror. They were a geographically-diverse group of individuals boasting client-side experience in marketing, brand management and research management from companies in the packaged goods, financial services, and advertising industries. The moderator for the group discussion was Linda LaScola, a Washington, D.C.-based moderator and co-chair of the Professionalism Committee.

Key findings

There were four basic issue areas covered in this discussion. These included:

  • the life of a client
  • selection of moderators
  • qualities of a "great" moderator
  • business development

Following are key findings for each of these topical areas.

The life of a client

The client life is viewed by some respondents as "a futile exercise in time management"; these individuals describe fast-paced, hectic and often frustrating environments on the client side. They cite the continual challenge of trying to balance myriad projects and political pressures with the need to keep an eye on the "big picture." Research, though important, is just one small piece of the pie.

As a result of their experience on the client side, most respondents voice a heightened empathy for their clients. They understand their clients' situation - including the overload, demands from supervisors and company executives, and, ultimately, the need for flexibility. They feel that part of their current jobs as moderators is to make their clients look good to their internal clients. This often means "grinning and bearing" seemingly unreasonable requests regarding such things as timing or change of venue.

These respondents, based on their own experience, suggest that moderators be prepared to submit a thorough topline of the research within 24 to 48 hours of the last focus group in order to satisfy their clients' project timelines. For most projects, the preferred format for this report is a four- to five-page executive summary. Oftentimes the client will attach a brief memo for others on the project team and in management and distribute this summary in its entirety. The key piece of advice in writing reports is to be sure to query clients about their needs and preferences and to tailor the style, the length and the timing of the report accordingly.

Selection of moderators

It appears that the selection of a moderator is often left to the discretion of more junior staffers. The more senior the manager, the more they are focused on larger, strategic issues and the less interested they are in project logistics, such as moderator selection.

In relating their own experience, some of the respondents describe having a list of favorite moderators with whom they were comfortable. Once this list was established, there was little incentive to add new vendors unless this individual offered a new technique or segment specialty. Respondents were occasionally willing to test new vendors on smaller, less expensive projects before considering them for larger jobs.

Although it might provide a foot in the door, some respondents feel that there is a potential danger in establishing a reputation as a specialist - that is, becoming known for a specific technique or audience segment. Unless the moderator makes a point of showing interest in handling other types of projects, there is the possibility that he or she may become pigeon-holed into a particular specialty.

Price does not seem to be a major issue in the selection of moderators. Unless the overall project price is significantly out of line with other bids, the moderator's fee does not appear to be a motivating factor in deciding which vendor to use.

Qualities of a great moderator

Qualities that these respondents - as clients - considered part of the skill-set of a "great" moderator include:

1. An ability to understand the client's business in more than just a cursory fashion, to become an integral part of the project team, and to have credibility with senior management.

2. The ability to provide the strategic leadership in both the planning and the execution phases of a project in order to improve the overall research design and to provide more relevant information on which to base decisions.

3. Providing feedback to and being a sounding board for the client at every stage of the research process, including before, during and after the groups. This included being able to turn the research findings into strategically-sound implications for the client at the end of the project.

4. Reliability, responsiveness, trustworthiness, independence, and a dogged determination to remove obstacles in order to get the job done.

5. A personal style that is a comfortable match with the client.

6. Being able to offer and/or use both qualitative and quantitative research in a complementary fashion.

As former clients, these respondents recall observing groups more for the content provided by the focus group participants; they tended not to notice or focus on the process or techniques used by the moderator. Exceptions to this seem to be when there were troublesome respondents and the clients noticed how well (or poorly) the moderator handled them, and when the moderator used new or unusual techniques.

Business development

The respondents suggest the following techniques to enhance a moderator's business development efforts.

1. Consider sales to be an on-going part of doing business. Regularly identify new prospects and call on them as if you were selling another product or service besides yourself.

2. If appropriate, point out your shared category and industry experience to new business prospects. If you do not have relevant experience, sell yourself on the basis of your strategic skills.

3. Establish a network with clients and former business associates. Seek referrals from these individuals.

4. When presenting your qualifications and capabilities to potential clients, be yourself. Keep in mind that personal style and a personality match are an important part of their decision in selecting moderators.

Next steps

Other QRCA members who observed this focus group agreed that this presentation represented the tip of a communications iceberg and showed that there is much to be learned by increasing meaningful, two-way communication between qualitative researchers and clients. To that end, the QRCA Professionalism Committee is looking at several ways to encourage more dialogue between these two segments. Current plans include developing a QRCA-sponsored workshop to help new and established clients understand and appreciate the value of qualitative research. In addition, additional research with current clients - such as surveys or additional focus groups - are being considered to help QRCA members stay abreast of client trends, needs, and motivations.