In my forty-some years in the publishing industry, I have been involved with many different kinds of research designed to provide insights, disprove long-held perceptions, indicate or negate customer loyalty and/or demonstrate a need to rethink or improve a product. Rarely have I’ve been convinced of the results of such research.
Sometimes, the participants did not seem like the right ones or the facilitator didn’t know how to relate to the group or the line of questioning seemed flawed—or any combination of the above.
At a certain point, I gave up doing research altogether. Then I met Janet and, over time, saw her in action (she worked on projects for our publisher). Finally, I decided to take one last what-the-hell chance and asked Janet to conduct a series of focus groups for Town & Country in 2008.
It was the first time I had done focus groups since becoming editor in 1993. I was so glad I did because all of my previous concerns evaporated. Janet found the right people, asked provocative questions, led the groups in an amiable and professional manner and presented the results in an impressive way.
Would I use her again? In a second.