Now on Amazon: “Focus Groups 101” The First Book on the Fundamentals of Focus Group Research Written for Marketers by a Marketer

January 27, 2017 – – Dublin, Ohio — Michele Brenner, Principal and Moderator at Brenner Brand Marketing, a consumer brand marketing and market research consulting firm, announces the launch of her new book, “Focus Groups 101, The Brand Marketer’s Guide to the 5 Stages of Focus Group Research.”

“Focus Groups 101” is a quick read written specifically with the marketer and business leader in mind. It will answer their key questions on how to use focus group research to better understand consumers. Searching for books on how to conduct focus groups usually yields lengthy, expensive books geared toward the professional market researcher. To make matters worse, market research is typically a very small part of business school curriculum, although market research will be a responsibility of many business people, including most marketers.

“This book provides a clear, succinct, real-world approach to focus groups. It should be considered a must-read primer for any new brand manager. Being a key stakeholder in focus group research will serve you well over many years, as you will be garnering valuable insights for your brands,” said Nancy DeMuch, Vice President Marketing of JP Morgan Chase.

Brenner said marketers typically live and work in places that do not represent the “average” consumer. “It’s no wonder one of the biggest mistakes marketers can make is assuming our own motivations mirror those of the people who buy our products and services,” she said.

The first part of the book explains and gives pros and cons of several research methodologies and the best applications for each. It gives a broad overview of the two main types of market research, quantitative and qualitative. Then the book delves into specific qualitative methodologies and, finally, moves into the meat of the book on how to conduct successful focus groups.

The second part contains The Brand Marketer’s Guide to the 5 Stages of Focus Group Research. The process provided in this book for managing a focus group project can be applied more broadly to many qualitative research methodologies.

The 5 stages include:

1. Write the Research Brief
2. Recruit the Participants
3. Develop the Discussion Guide and Stimuli
4. Conduct the Research
5. Analyze and Share the Research Results

“The voice of the consumer is at the heart of every business decision. Cheers to Michele for a smart, simple guide to help leaders hear the consumer and turn insights into action,” said Cathy Lanning, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Nationwide Insurance.

Market research overall exists to mitigate business risk and maximize business potential by cultivating understanding of what motivates the end users of products and services. “In the end, it’s all about selling more stuff,” said Brenner, “but it’s doing it by providing what the consumer needs or desires when and where they want it, not by ‘pushing’ more stuff at them.”

“I wish I had a copy of this book as a young marketer or business student. A book like this would have been invaluable and prevented a number of learn as you go mistakes on my part,” said Ray Thomson, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing at Huffy Bicycles.

“Focus Groups 101” is available on Amazon in paperback ($19.95) and Kindle edition ($9.99).

ABOUT MICHELE BRENNER: Michele Brenner is the Principal/Moderator for Brenner Brand Marketing, providing marketing and qualitative research consulting to leading consumer brand marketers since 2005. Brenner’s natural curiosity about people, classical consumer packaged goods marketing training, and business management background, combine to make her brand of qualitative research insightful and actionable for the end user. Find out more at www.brennerbrandmarketing.com

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Contact Brenner Brand Marketing:

Michele Brenner
mbrenner@brennerbrandmarketing.com

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