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As an eight-year-old, he already had his own small busines—selling monogrammed matches, napkins, and coasters around his New Rochelle, N.Y., neighborhood. And his own business card: “Tommy Greenbaum—Lion Match Company.” So Thomas L. Greenbaum ’64 can lay legitimate claim to “always being oriented toward business.”
Greenbaum has stayed true to his roots. He is a nationally recognized authority in the field of qualitative research, most often obtained through focus groups, and has written a number of critically acclaimed books on the subject. He is president and founder of Groups Plus, a market research firm based in Wilton, Conn.
Greenbaum’s latest venture is Jury Sense, a newly formed subsidiary of Groups Plus Inc. It is designed to give litigators a sense of how a jury will react to a case or argument using focus groups. “Lawyers have used focus groups for some time, but when I started researching the whole area of jury panels I would frequently see quotes referring to my books,” he says. “I started to realize this was an area where I could make a difference.”
Greenbaum’s career took off quickly. After graduating from Lafayette with an economics degree and then from Columbia University with a master’s in business administration, he joined Proctor & Gamble Company in 1966. First he was product manager for Puffs facial tissue and later Charmin toilet paper. In those days, P&G’s marketing and sales staffs were well-respected leaders in the business.
“Three years later I was hired by Church & Dwight Co. to introduce its biodegradable Arm & Hammer laundry soap, the first non-polluting detergent,” Greenbaum says. “This was in the early ’70s when the environmental movement was gaining momentum. Here I was only 30 years old with one of the hottest brands.”
Greenbaum went on to establish a consulting business with other P&G people, then, in 1979, his own consulting firm, Connecticut Consulting Group, Inc.
From Marketing to Focus Groups
During this time Greenbaum occasionally used focus groups for research, but he often wasn’t satisfied with the results. Focus group research is designed to discover the attitudes of customers, prospects, consumers, and other target groups about a service or product. The groups usually involve about 10 people and a moderator participating in a guided, in-depth discussion.
“I used to hire moderators and I was never happy with them,” he says. “I did a literature search trying to find articles to give them on ways to improve and couldn’t find anything.”
This dearth of information lead to a turning point in Greenbaum’s career. He wrote a book on the subject and began receiving a lot of calls to do groups. “At that time, I’d only moderated about 15 groups myself,” he says. “Since then I’ve moderated at least 3,000.”
In The Practical Handbook and Guide to Focus Group Research (Lexington Books, 1987) and subsequent publications, Greenbaum outlines what to look for in a moderator—someone who understands how to control group dynamics not by dominating but by listening to and digesting information.
“What’s really important is having a moderator that can take the information and put it into action-oriented conclusions that the client can use right away,” he adds.
One of the hallmarks of Greenbaum’s company is that moderators write their own reports and submit them to the client within five working days of the final focus group.
Groups Plus has a diverse mix of clients around the world in health care, technology, finance, and beverages. His staff has run focus groups on mutual funds, light wine, U.S. Navy recruiting, salad dressings, bathtub liners, and public library systems, among hundreds of other categories.
Academic Marketing
An achievement Greenbaum is especially proud of is his work for Lafayette. He was instrumental in developing the College’s marketing positioning statement, The Lafayette Experience. “I really feel I made a contribution, getting them to focus on who they are and helping to solidify communications about the school,” he says. “I myself had a wonderful experience at Lafayette and have remained close with the college and my fraternity brothers. And I met my wife, a graduate of Cedar Crest, while I was there.”
With clients also including St. John’s University, Greenbaum has a special fondness for academia. “I love working in that field because it is not market-oriented and I can really make a difference,” he says. “Selling the academic community on the need to sell itself is a real challenge.”
Greenbaum is adjunct professor of marketing research at New York University’s Stern School of Business. He has also been a guest lecturer at Cornell University, Columbia University’s School of Business, and University of Connecticut.
What inspired Greenbaum to take on another new project at this stage of his career?
“I just want to keep learning,” he says. “I spend a tremendous amount of time taking courses, mostly on tape, on World War II and other topics. I just love learning and making a contribution. I’d rather do this than vacation in Florida.”