Focus groups are an easy sell because they are tangible—there is no mystery to the idiom. They unfold right in front of your very eyes.

You can see the participants (through the glass darkly) and watch them eat M&Ms. You can conveniently edit together the selected "highlights" to support an intractable point of view. Frankly, you can generally make groups behave the way you want.

So what's not to like?

Focus groups have masqueraded as decision-support research for too long. Admittedly, well run groups can be very useful "market sensing" tactics. But there is no actionable science or data produced by this practice.

Focus groups are falling out of favor because there are so many other innovative research platforms that produce data—quickly, and inexpensively. They are measurement strategies that are based on statistics and science. These are performance enhancing marketing strategies that generate real ROI.

It's probably true: no one ever got fired for buying a focus group recommendation. But you should think twice before you buy the next one.